Lie #1 is not a lie. In the Ferguson situation and in this one it was fact that outsiders were coming in and stoking the flames getting things started. A number of online groups even stated they were behind it. There are residents who are there who state the same thing. The news stated the same thing during these riots on AMERICAN tv outlets (a broad range of them not just CNN) So here we have residents and a number of media outlets as well as online groups stating that outsiders where involved.
Lie#2 is not a lie either. There were peaceful protests for days. Large portions of Baltimore not even involved. Not so sure a blunt England but the US media has a long history of reporting things just to get ratings. They are not balanced. They try to sensationalize things for ratings. I have family just outside of Baltimore and Maryland and the first thing that they state is that indeed it is being overblown.
"The other double standard is that people then make excuses for the behavior. "There were lots of peaceful protesters" they say, "you can't judge everyone on the actions of a few". Apart from the fact that this wasn't just a few people isn't this completely contradictory to the notion that they want to condemn the police as a whole based on the alleged actions of a few."
Not a double standard. The people have condemned this police department not all police. They have had interactions with the police in ways that you probably can not understand. Look at the news in Florida where the Palm Beach police were using black criminals mugshots as shooting targets. Look at the corruption cases pending against the entire department.
When there are riots in sporting events in the last few years they are not even reported as riots. They burn cars destroy property rape people tear down street signs and it gets no coverage. Why? Because they are white hockey and baseball fans just acting up. The negative stereotypes of black people in the USA has been put on them for generations wether it was warranted or not. Why are there no stereotypes of white people as Slave driving genocidal murderers when that is what they have done in Europe Africa and North America for literally centuries? There have been many cases of white people destroying black communities and killing black people but there was no negative stereotype attached to white skin? Why not.
Your experience and especially being from another country greatly limits your ability to fully understand the complexity of race in America. It is similar to talking heads lashing out against things in britian when they are not a part of that society and therefore can not fully understand the intricacies of the situation