>>I wish I knew. Maybe the masses are already trained to expect violence and looting, and nobody bothers to organize really peaceful protests. Those who come do so with a shopping list. People tend to repeat what they see on TV.
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>Unfortunately there really are people who are simply ignorant thugs who will take any opportunity that presents to make others lives miserable. People key other peoples cars. Why? People pull down street signs. Why? They smash the glass in bus shelters. Why?You can look for conspiracies everywhere if you like, but sometimes it's as simple as thugs.

Random acts of vandalism against public property used to be a tradition over here. Park benches would be broken within months, phone booths demolished, the swings and carousels on a playground would be torn, even random trashcans may be overturned. A part of the explanation for that may lie in the history - after 340 years of Ottoman rule (which somehow figures as five centuries - the worst rounding error ever) and then a couple of occasions of Austrian, German or other rule, there's a healthy disrespect towards any authority. But private property was generally respected, even in years of socialism.

Nowadays, the initial accumulation of this wave of capitalism has brought thugs on top (and that's not just Serbia, it's all the way to China; IMO, part of the project) and greed is promoted as good, while removing the social safety nets. As a result, you get a thick layer of disenfranchised people who see symptoms of wealth all around, owned by someone else and inaccessible to them. A part of those will take it out on anything that comes under their hand - be it during a peaceful protest which they will see as a chance to fight the police or get a new pair of sneakers from a shop window, or just to key an expensive SUV they couldn't afford even if they had a job.

OTOH, I am amazed with the number of phone booths and park benches which remain intact and operational here nowadays.