Internal
Links
Top
|
|
External
Links
|
|
- Project: Defusing the
Crown Heights Riot |
Link
|
|
- Project: Stopping the
1992 LA Riot |
Link
|
|
A riot is a disturbing; confusing; disorderly, wild, violent
public disturbance |
|
|
Legally a riot is a tumultuous disturbance of the public peace by three
or more persons who assemble for some private purpose and execute it to
the terror of the people; however, the precise legal definition of a riot
differs from place to place |
|
|
A riot is a noisy, violent outbreak of disorder by a group of people |
|
|
Few riots, unlike revolts or rebellions, are aimed at overthrowing
a government or removing specific leaders; however, a riot may set
forces in motion that bring about such a result |
|
|
Rioters often harm other persons & damage property |
|
|
Rioting or urging people to riot is a crime in most countries &
in all the states of the United States |
|
|
Rioting cannot always be easily distinguished from vandalism, disorderly
conduct, or other similar offenses |
|
|
But most riots involve hundreds or thousands of people, & follow
an aggravation of already severe economic, social, or political grievances |
|
|
A riot may break out spontaneously, or it may be carefully planned
through
conspiracy |
|
|
A riot may break out during a demonstration |
|
|
In a demonstration, many people gather merely to protest publicly against
some policy of the government, an industry, a university, or some other
institution, & the intention is not to riot |
|
|
But when passions run high, the massing together of thousands of persons
and the efforts of police to keep order can lead to violence |
|
|
In the US, the Constitution guarantees everyone the rights to
assemble
in peace, to petition the govt for grievances, & to dissent (disagree)
as an individual or in a group |
|
|
But when dissent changes into disruption of order & is accompanied
by violence that injures others or causes physical damage, it is a riot |
|
|
Historically, riots have always existed & they are the primary
reason that early social theorists believed that all collective behavior
was violent & that crowds or masses of people inevitably become violent |
|
|
See Also: Major US Riots |
|
|
See Also: World Riots |
|
|
The Watts Riot of 1965 was the largest & most deadly riot
at the time |
|
|
The 1967 race riots affected many US cities |
|
|
In 1968 more than 150 US cities rioted after the assassination of MLK |
|
|
Miami, FL had a riot in August of 1968 |
|
|
Miami, FL had a riot in December of 1980 which was the
largest & most deadly riot at the time |
|
|
Like many other large cities, Miami faces unemployment, housing shortages,
poverty, & crime which especially affect the black & all lower
class populations |
|
|
In 1980, racial tension erupted into violence after four white former
county policemen were found not guilty of killing a black Miami businessman |
|
|
The verdict on the 1980 Miami police violence sparked rioting that
led to 17 deaths and over $100 million in damage. |
|
|
The Miami Riot of 1980 is the first major riot where participants began
to attack & kill bystanders, participants & police or the military |
|
|
In LA, CA in May of 1992 the Rodney King Riot became the largest
& most deadly riot at the time |
|
|
In 1992, 11 US cities rioted after the not guilty verdict of the LAPD
case related to the Rodney King beating |
|
|
After the innocent verdict for the police accused of beating Rodney
King, the rioters became very dangerous: they attacked bystanders, each
other & the police/military |
|
|
The conditions that sparked all of these riots are similar |
|
|
While race riots, & other topical riots such as bread riots, water
riots, response to police/military crackdowns riots, etc. seem to have
a specific cause, specific causes are often sparked by an inflammatory
event, but more importantly, are often the result of structural conditions
such as unemployment, housing shortages, poverty, & crime, drug use,
etc. which creates a climate of hopelessness & frustration leading
people to act of violently |
|
|
Most riots result in destruction of property & sometimes the injury
& death of people though some riots only destroy property, some only
injure, some only kill |
|
|
A riot is classified as a "deadly riot" when participants attempt
to injure or kill each other &/or bystanders |
|
|
Deadly riots have occurred in every major city & many smaller towns
in the US |
|
|
People riot over religion, politics, economics, law, race & more |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
Types of Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
- Project: Types of Riots |
Link
|
|
Not all social theorists agree on the classification of the types of
riots |
|
|
The NINE types of riots include instrumental riots, race riots, pogrom
riots, revolutionary riots, protest riots, expressive riots, deadly riots,
celebratory riots, & bread riots |
|
|
Instrumental riots occur when groups resort to violence because
of discontent over specific issues |
|
|
Most riots today are instrumental riots |
|
|
The violence of instrumental riots results from attempts to change
certain policies or to improve certain conditions |
|
|
Race riots, protest riots, pogrom riots, revolutionary riots are all
instrumental riots in that they are focused on specific issues |
|
|
Race riots are either pogroms or protests in that they are either
one racial or ethnic group trying to kill or injure another group, possibly
engaging in ethnic cleansing or genocide, or they are protests against
the oppression of one group over another |
|
|
A pogrom is an organized massacre of an ethnic or racial group,
especially of Jews |
|
|
See Also: Race Riots of 1967 |
|
|
Revolutionary mvmts are soc mvmts whose objective is to achieve
some radical change, & remake the entire, or most of society |
|
|
See Also: Revolutionary movements |
|
|
A revolution is a complete overthrow of an established government or
political system |
|
|
Revolution is a term that generally refers to a fundamental change
in the character of a nation's govt |
|
|
Fundamental changes in a govt may or may not be achieved through violent,
revolutionary means |
|
|
Revolutions may also occur in other areas, including the cultural,
economic, social, & even religious spheres of life |
|
|
People who work to replace an old system w/ a new one are called revolutionaries |
|
|
Revolutionary riots are those riots whose aim or effect is to
cause a complete overthrow of an established govt |
|
|
Because the goals of many protests, riots, revolutions, etc. are often
vague, unclear, or contradictory, a protest may evolve into a revolutionary
movement & riot |
|
|
Protest riots begin as a protest but then "spontaneously" becomes
violent, becomes violent as the result of a calculated move by either the
leaders of the protest or some other protester, or becomes violent as a
reaction of to violence against the protest itself, i.e. by police or govt
suppression, or by counter-protestors |
|
|
When protests become riots, usually there is some precipitating event
that turns the incident violent |
|
|
Many labor riots, especially those in the past, fall into the instrumental
category |
|
|
During the 1800's & early 1900's, for example, U.S. laborers fought
to improve working conditions in mines, on railroads, & in factories |
|
|
For example, in the 1980s in the Wise, VA area, strike lines around
coal facilities would be trying to discourage scabs from working, &
fights would break out, sometimes escalating to the level of small riots |
|
|
In the case of the coal strikes, often the precipitating, violent event
was started by non labor people in order to create bad publicity for the
strikers |
|
|
Up until the 1930s, union disputes w/ mgt often resulted in violence;
violence after the legalization of unions in the 1930s is much more rare,
though not unheard of |
|
|
Other instrumental riots include prison, antidraft, antiwar, &
student riots |
|
|
Instrumental riots frequently indicate that the organizations being
attacked have not listened effectively to or acted upon grievances previously
voiced through 'legitimate' channels |
|
|
But most people condemn the use of violence to achieve even the most
desirable goals when peaceful means of change are available |
|
|
Expressive riots occur when many people use violence to express
dissatisfaction w/ their living conditions |
|
|
Studies of urban riots of the 1960s show that African Americans in
the riot areas had many grievances, including few job opportunities, bad
housing, & inferior schools, & the use of excessive force by the
police |
|
|
Several riots were triggered by arrests or other routine police actions
that people of the black ghettos considered police provocation or brutality |
|
|
These police actions brought crowds into the streets in protest |
|
|
The small number of police at the scene could not control them |
|
|
The resulting riots became chiefly symbolic gestures of widespread
discontent. |
|
|
For some rioters, however, the expressive riots became opportunities
to loot stores for personal gain & for others, the riots were little
more than destructive play |
|
|
In trying to restrain the rioters & promote a return to order,
the police sometimes used more force than many people thought necessary |
|
|
The violence police use to restore order caused many rioters to become
even more violent |
|
|
Race riots may be expressive or instrumental in that the aim of the
rioters may simply be to express rage, or they may be instrumental if the
rioter hope to gain particular, rights, concessions, etc. |
|
|
Deadly riots are those riots that cause death or large scale
injury & destruction of property |
|
|
Celebratory riots involve the destruction of property for the
joy of celebration & the participants do not intentionally hurt other
participants & generally try to fight only w/ police or other authorities |
|
|
Note that celebratory riots may also be deadly riots |
|
|
See Also: Celebratory Riots |
|
|
Bread riots are riots which occur because the population is
starving or fears starving |
|
|
Bread riots are the oldest known type of riot, & historically were
the most numerous |
|
|
Bread riots may occur in large sectors of the public, in prisons, in
the military, or among an oppressed ethnic or racial group |
|
|
Bread riots are rare in the core nations, not common in the semi-peripheral
nations, & the most common in the peripheral nations |
|
|
Because of the development of the nation-state system & the consolidation
of power in govts & the technology of police & the military, even
though there is a historically high level of hunger in the world, there
are comparatively less bread riots than occurred 500 years ago |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
Major US Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
Historically, riots have always existing & they are the primary
reason that early social theorists believed that all collective behavior
was violent & that crowds or masses of people inevitably become
violent |
|
|
One of the first known riots in the US occurred in Plymouth, MA in
1634 when a small riot btwn Pilgrims & MA Bay Colony Puritans killed
two |
|
|
During the 1700's, most riots in the United States were instrumental
riots |
|
|
High & unfair taxation was a leading cause of instrumental riots
in the 1700s |
|
|
During the 1760s & 1770s, American colonists rioted against tax
collectors & other British appointed officials |
|
|
The Boston Tea Party, the Revolutionary War in America, Shay's Rebellion,
the Whiskey Rebellion, & others are all examples of riots in early
America |
|
|
During the 1800s, anti Catholic, anti immigrant, & anti black riots
were common |
|
|
Riots were fomented because many native born Americans strongly disliked
immigrants, especially Irish Roman Catholics & Asians |
|
|
The mid- 850's, members of the Know-Nothing, or American Party opposed
the Catholic Church |
|
|
The Know-Nothings feared rising Irish Catholic political power |
|
|
The Know-Nothings attacked Irish Catholics in several cities, including
Baltimore, Louisville, New Orleans, & St. Louis & the uprisings
took several lives |
|
|
In 1863, during the Civil War, antidraft riots broke out in NYC for
the time, they were among the most destructive riots in US history |
|
|
Armed mobs swarmed through the downtown area to protest the drafting
of men into the Union Army |
|
|
Rioters looted, set buildings on fire, & shot blacks, policemen,
& federal troops & more than 1,000 people were killed or wounded |
|
|
Race riots in the US have been especially destructive |
|
|
Violence aimed at blacks & abolitionists broke out in several Northern
cities before the Civil War |
|
|
After the war, in 1866, white Southerners attacked blacks in New Orleans
& Memphis |
|
|
Many Chinese immigrants were victims of mob violence during a depression
in the 1870s |
|
|
Many native born Americans believed the immigrants were taking their
jobs & forcing down wages |
|
|
Anti Chinese riots in CA & other states resulted in several deaths
& the passage of laws prohibiting Asians from entering the US |
|
|
Labor riots of the late 1800s caused great bloodshed |
|
|
The Haymarket riot of 1886 in Chicago erupted when someone threw
a bomb during a meeting of anarchists who were protesting police tactics
against strikers at an industrial plant |
|
|
See Also: Union Activity: Haymarket Square Riot, etc. |
|
|
See Also: Strikes |
|
|
Dozens of people were killed in riots in several cities during the
great railroad strikes of 1877 |
|
|
During the 1900s, labor & race riots continued to cause destruction |
|
|
In 1919, efforts to unionize the steel industry led to riots at plants
in Indiana, OH, & PN |
|
|
In 1934, a dispute between unions & mgt in the cotton textile industry
led to riots in GA, SC, AL, RI, & other states, taking about 20 lives |
|
|
In the early 1900s, attempts to segregate Southern blacks & keep
them from voting led to lynchings in rural areas & riots in cities |
|
|
During World War I (1914-1918), many blacks moved to the North to work
in defense plants |
|
|
Whites feared blacks would take their jobs & move into their neighborhoods |
|
|
Blacks claimed white law officers treated them unfairly & these
grievances led to clashes between whites & blacks |
|
|
The worst one occurred in 1917 in East St. Louis, Illinois, where 39
blacks & 9 whites died in a riot |
|
|
A race riot in Chicago in 1919 caused 38 deaths |
|
|
After WW 1, US service men marched on Washington DC demanding their
pensions |
|
|
They were attacked by mounted calvary, & a deadly riot ensued |
|
|
What many historians have called the nation's worst race riot occurred
on May 31, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma |
|
|
Blacks & whites clashed when a mob of whites gathered to lynch
a black man who had been accused of attacking a white woman |
|
|
During the violence that followed, whites burned & looted more
than 1,200 buildings destroying the city's black business district |
|
|
The deaths of 40 people were documented, but some historians estimate
that as many as 300 people were killed, mostly blacks |
|
|
Racial violence also broke out during World War II (1939-1945) |
|
|
The most destructive riot during the WW II occurred in 1943 in Detroit,
where 34 people died |
|
|
The Watts Riot of 1965 was the largest & most deadly riot
at the time |
|
|
The 1967 race riots affected many US cities |
|
|
In 1968 more than 150 US cities rioted after the assassination of
MLK |
|
|
In 1968, riots broke out during the Democratic National Convention
in Chicago when thousands of young people assembled downtown |
|
|
Many were protesting the nation's part in the Vietnam War (1957-1975) |
|
|
Many supported the presidential nomination of Senator Eugene J. McCarthy
of Minnesota, a critic of the war |
|
|
Several bloody clashes took place between demonstrators & the police,
but no one was killed |
|
|
US involvement in the war led to an increasing number of small riots
& demonstrations across the country |
|
|
During the late 1960s 7 early 1970s, student riots occurred in many
US cities |
|
|
Most of the rioters were middle class students who demanded a greater
voice in the administration of their schools |
|
|
Militant black students also used violence in efforts to enforce their
demands, which included the addition of Afro American history & culture
courses |
|
|
In 1971, one of the worst prison riots in the history of the United
States occurred at the state prison in Attica, NY |
|
|
The inmates, mostly black, charged that the white prison guards mistreated
them |
|
|
Rioters seized the prison & held it for four days, but finally,
state troopers stormed the prison to regain control |
|
|
This action resulted in the deaths of 11 guards & 32 prisoners |
|
|
In 1980, a riot at the state penitentiary in Santa Fe, NM, caused 33
deaths |
|
|
That same year, an urban riot in Miami led to 17 deaths & over
$200 million in property damage |
|
|
In 1992, 11 US cities rioted after the not guilty verdict of the LAPD
case related to the Rodney King beating |
|
|
In 1997, the Oklahoma Legislature created a commission to study &
officially document the 1921 Tulsa race riot |
|
|
In early 2000, the commission recommended to the Legislature that survivors
of the riot & their descendants be paid to compensate for their losses
during the riot |
|
|
The commission's full report on the Tulsa Riots in 1921 was expected
in mid 2000 |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on Major
World Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION |
|
|
The Bastille was a great fortress in Paris that stood as a symbol of
royal tyranny |
|
|
About 1370, King Charles V built the Bastille of Paris as a fortress
& later, it was used as a prison for people who displeased the kings
or their officials |
|
|
On July 14, 1789, at the beginning of the Fr Rev, a huge crowd of Parisians
rushed to the Bastille |
|
|
At the Bastille, Parisians believed they would find arms & ammunition
there for use in defending themselves against the king's army |
|
|
The people captured the Bastille & began to tear it down |
|
|
The capturing of the Bastille convinced King Louis XVI to withdraw
his troops from Paris & to accept the Fr Rev |
|
|
At the same time King Louis withdrew troops, leaders in Paris formed
a revolutionary city govt |
|
|
At the time of the Fr Rev, massive peasant uprisings against nobles
also broke out in the countryside |
|
|
A few nobles decided to flee Fr, & many more followed in the next
5 yrs |
|
|
TIANANMEN SQUARE PROTEST & OPPRESSION |
|
|
At the time of Tiananmen Square protest & oppression, in December
1986, many Chinese university students began demanding increased freedom
of speech & a greater voice in the selection of officials |
|
|
At the time of Tiananmen Square protest & oppression, students
held demonstrations in a number of cities to promote their demands |
|
|
In January 1987, Hu Yaobang was removed from his post of Communist
Party general secretary because he was not crushing student demands for
freedom |
|
|
Hu died in April 1989 |
|
|
University students held marches to honor Hu & mourn his death |
|
|
Students called for a re-evaluation of Hu by the country's leaders |
|
|
The death of Hu & other events led to large demonstrations by students
& other citizens in Beijing's Tiananmen Square & on the streets
of a number of other Chinese cities |
|
|
The protesters called for more democracy in China & an end to corruption
in govt |
|
|
The military crushed the demonstrations & killed hundreds of protesters |
|
|
After the demonstrations, the govt arrested many people who were suspected
of being involved in the pro democracy mvmt |
|
|
The govt executed a number of those arrested & put an unknown number
in "re-education camps" many whom may still be there |
|
|
In addition, the Communist Party dismissed Zhao from his post for showing
support of the pro democracy mvmt |
|
|
Jiang Zemin replaced Zhao as general secretary |
|
|
In 1993, Jiang was also named to the largely ceremonial post of China's
president |
|
|
Bolivian Water Riots |
|
|
Tearing Down the Berlin Wall |
|
|
Fr Riots of the 2000s |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
Watts Riot of 1965
|
|
External
Links
|
|
All race riots must be understood in the context of the slavery
& the civil rights of the 1800s & of Jim Crow laws &
the Civil Rights Movement of the 1900s |
|
|
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave the fed govt power to enforce
school desegregation orders & to prohibit discrimination in public
accommodations & employment, but problems w/ voting rights remained |
|
|
On August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed, exactly
100 yrs. after the conclusion of the Civil War, outlawing literacy tests
& other commonly used barriers to voting |
|
|
Despite the changes in the laws, the struggle continued in the street,
in the daily lives of blacks & whites, to end all forms of discrimination |
|
|
Many people recognized that the various civil rights laws were important,
but change would only come about when some whites were forced to accept
it |
|
|
Like many other states, CA had racial problems during the 1960's |
|
|
In 1965, rioting broke out in Watts, a black section of Los Angeles,
just days after passage of the Voting Rights Act |
|
|
In the Watts section of of south central LA, CA in August, 1965, the
Watts riot occurred & became the largest & most deadly riot
at the time |
|
|
34 people were killed & 900 were injured in the 1965 Watts riot
in south central LA & there were millions of dollars of damage |
|
|
Many structural causes related to discrimination & unemployment
created conditions making major cities in the US ripe for rioting &
other forms of collective violence |
|
|
The precipitating event occurred when a black motorcyclist was
pulled over by the white LAPD, resulted in a struggle, & a beating |
|
|
Six days of rioting followed |
|
|
1,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed w/ $ 40 mm in damage |
|
|
There were primarily injuries during the riots from 1965 to 1972; the
only deaths were that of rioters shot by the police or military |
|
|
After the Watts riot, the CA Legislature tried to reduce the complaints
of minority groups by providing increased education, employment, &
housing |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
Race Riots of the 1960s
|
|
External
Links
|
|
A race riot is any riot in which issues of race are the primary
factor in the cause of the riot |
|
|
Race riots are either pogroms or protests in that they are either one
racial or ethnic group trying to kill or injure another group, possibly
engaging in ethnic cleansing or genocide, or they are protests against
the oppression of one group over another |
|
|
A pogrom is an organized massacre of an ethnic or racial group,
especially of Jews |
|
|
Bitter hostility toward blacks erupted into several race riots during
the early 1900s |
|
|
Major riots broke out in Brownsville, TX, & Atlanta, GA, in 1906
& in Springfield, IL, in 1908 |
|
|
The riots of the early 1900s alarmed many white Northerners as well
as many blacks |
|
|
The race riots of the early 1900s were one of the factors leading to
the formulation of the Niagara Movement which resulted in the founding
of the NAACP |
|
|
Race riots were particularly common in the US btwn 1917 to 1921 &
1965 to 1972, & 1992 |
|
|
During the 1960s, unrest among ghetto blacks exploded into a series
of riots that shook the nation |
|
|
Many riots erupted in US cities during the 1960s, largely because of
the economic deprivation & social injustices suffered by ghetto
blacks |
|
|
One of the first race riots of the 1960s occurred in Harlem in the
summer of 1964 |
|
|
President Johnson (LBJ) implemented his Great Society Program
of social & govt reforms beginning in 1964 |
|
|
The Great Society Programs provided aid to inner cities & poverty
stricken areas throughout the US |
|
|
In August 1965, 34 people died & almost 900 were injured in an
outburst in the black ghetto of Watts in Los Angeles |
|
|
During the next two summers after the Watts Riots, major riots erupted
in numerous cities across the nation |
|
|
At the time of the race riots of the 1960s, the Vietnam War
forced LBJ to make cuts in the Great Society program |
|
|
More Republicans were elected to the 90th Congress, & many of them
opposed Johnson's Great Society programs |
|
|
Opposition grew to the increasing US role in the Vietnam War, &
racial unrest increased |
|
|
Demonstrations occurred throughout the nation |
|
|
Riots broke out in the overcrowded ghetto slums of Chicago, Cleveland,
Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City, & Newark |
|
|
The Detroit riot was the most violent resulting in 43 deaths
& property damage of about $45 million |
|
|
Johnson had to send federal troops to Detroit in July 1967, to stop
a riot there |
|
|
After the Detroit riot, President Lyndon B. Johnson established the
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known as the Kerner
Commission, to study the causes of urban riots. |
|
|
He appointed a special commission of prominent Americans headed by
Governor Otto Kerner of Illinois to try to determine causes of the riots |
|
|
The commission warned that the US was moving toward two societies,
"one black, one white, separate but unequal." |
|
|
The war & racial problems at home caused many Americans to question
LBJ's foreign & domestic policies |
|
|
The race riots puzzled many people because they came at a time
when African Americans had made tremendous gains in the campaign for full
freedom |
|
|
In its March 1968 report, the Kerner Commission put much of the blame
on racial prejudice of whites |
|
|
It stated that the average black American was still poorly housed,
clothed, paid, & educated & still often suffered from segregation,
police abuse, & other forms of discrimination |
|
|
In 1968, Johnson established the National Commission on the Causes
& Prevention of Violence |
|
|
The commission recommended vast programs to improve ghetto conditions
& called for greater changes in the racial attitudes of white Americans |
|
|
It recommended such measures as better housing & increased
economic
opportunities for blacks & poor people |
|
|
The commission believed that these steps would reduce the dissatisfaction
that contributes to riots & other violence |
|
|
In 1968, shortly after the Kerner Commission issued its report, MLK
was assassinated, precipitating riots in nearly 150 US cities |
|
Link
|
The Table on US Race Riots demonstrates
that race riots have been widespread in the US |
|
Table on US Race Riots
|
Year
|
City |
Year
|
City |
Year
|
City |
1831
|
Providence, RI |
1898
|
Wilmington, VA |
1943
|
New York, NY |
1841
|
Cincinnati, OH |
1906
|
Atlanta, GA |
1943
|
Los Angeles, CA |
1863
|
New York, NY |
1908
|
Springfield, IL |
1946
|
Athens, AL |
1866
|
New Orleans, LA |
1917
|
Houston, TX |
1951
|
Cicero, IL |
1868
|
Camilla, GA |
1917
|
East St. Louis, IL |
1964
|
New York, NY |
1870
|
Laurens, SC |
1918
|
Philadelphia, PA |
1965
|
Los Angeles, CA |
1870
|
Eutaw, AL |
1919
|
Chicago, IL |
1967
|
Detroit, MI |
1871
|
Meridian, MS |
1919
|
Washington, DC |
1967
|
Newark, NJ |
1873
|
Grant Parish, LA |
1920
|
Ocoe, FL |
1968
|
150 US Cities |
1874
|
Vicksburg, VA |
1921
|
Tulsa, OK |
1980
|
Miami, FL |
1874
|
Eufala, AL |
1935
|
New York, NY |
1992
|
11 US Cities |
1875
|
Clinton, MA |
1942
|
Detroit, MI |
1996
|
St. Petersburg, FL |
1876
|
Hamburg, SC |
1943
|
Detroit, MI |
|
|
1876
|
Ellenton, SC |
1943
|
Mobile, AL |
|
|
*Violent conflicts between different racial groups or between
minority citizens & white police officers.
Sources: Jet, The New York Times, Boskin 1969, Hofstadter &
Wallace 1970, Smelser 1962, Tolnay & Beck 1998, Turner & Killian
1957. |
The Table on US
Race Riots demonstrates that race riots have been widespread in the
US |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the Los
Angeles Riot of 1992
|
|
External
Links
|
|
The LA Riot of 1992 is often called the Rodney King Riot |
|
|
As of 2002, the LA Riot is the most costly riot ever |
|
|
51 deaths, 2,383 injured, $1 billion in damage,
700 businesses burned in a 25 square block area |
|
|
In the early 1990's, police brutality & destructive race
relations became major concerns in LA & the most publicized incident
involved Rodney G. King |
|
|
In 1991, Rodney G. King, a black motorist, was stopped after
a pursuit & beaten by four white police officers in LA |
|
|
In March of 1991, Mr. Holliday, a plumber, happened to be trying
out his new camera, when he saw & recorded the Rodney King beating |
|
|
The videotape of King's beating was then broadcast by television stations
throughout the nation |
|
|
As a result of the King beating, the officers faced criminal assault
charges, including assault & most Americans believed the officers
were guilty of police brutality |
|
|
Tom Bradley, the Mayor of LA, called for Daryl Gates, the Chief of
Police, to step down but the Chief refused |
|
|
In July of 1991, a commission recommended that the Chief of Police
to retire & called for changes w/in the LAPD |
|
|
The trial against the police who assault King was moved to Simi
valley, a suburban Ventura County that is 98 % white |
|
|
The trial against the police who assaulted King began on March 4, 1992
& the jury was composed of 10 whites, 1 Hispanic, 1 Asian & no
blacks |
|
|
The jury saw part of the tape that most people did not see which showed
Rodney King repeatedly charging the police |
|
|
Although the King beating was recorded on videotape, a jury declared
three officers not guilty of all charges in April 1992 |
|
|
One officer who assaulted Rodney King was acquitted of all charges
except one, on which the jury was indecisive & this charge was later
dropped |
|
|
Many blacks felt the trial proved the US court system treated blacks
unfairly |
|
|
After the acquittal of the police who assaulted King, small multi-racial
crowds gathered in LA & the around the nation |
|
|
The crowds who gathered after the acquittal of the police who assaulted
King almost immediately began to riot upon hearing of the innocent verdict |
|
|
The police's innocent verdict sparked rioting in LA & other US
cities |
|
|
In the spring of 1992, Pres Bush, Sr faced one of the worst domestic
crises of his presidency when riots broke out in LA & other US cities |
|
|
At first, the racial make-up of the rioters was of equal numbers
of white & black, w/ Hispanics & Asians in significant numbers |
|
|
Within minutes City Hall was on fire |
|
|
Crowds of mostly young men threw rocks, bricks & bottles
at passing cars |
|
|
The 1992 LA Riot was a series of riots lasting 72 hours |
|
|
The official death toll was 51 w/ 54 eventually linked to the riot
& about 2,400 were injured |
|
|
48 people were killed by the participants, 6 by the police & military |
|
|
Of the people killed, 22 were black, 18 were Hispanic, 11 were white,
2 Asian, 1 burned beyond recognition, 48 were male, 6 were female |
|
|
During the riots, Reginald Denny, a white truck driver, was pulled
from his truck & severely beaten by rioters |
|
|
The beating of the truck driver was captured on videotape & seven
black men were arrested in connection w/ the beating |
|
|
The news did not record the black man who was injured while rescuing
a white trucker named Denny, & taking him to the hospital |
|
|
Three of the people who beat the truck driver pleaded either guilty
or no contest to various charges, one of them received a three year prison
term, & two received two years |
|
|
One of the other men was convicted of felony mayhem on Denny &
of assaulting four other victims & was sentenced to 10 years in prison |
|
|
The three others were convicted of lesser charges & were sentenced
to probation & community service |
|
|
The Rodney King riots resulted in over $1 billion in property damage |
|
|
After the riots, Pres Bush Sr. sent 5,000 federal troops & law
enforcement officers to LA to help restore order |
|
|
Pres Bush, Sr. also released fed funds for rebuilding the damaged area |
|
|
In addition, Bush promised to support programs to help the poor
areas of US cities |
|
|
Warren Minor Christopher headed a commission that investigated the
use of force by the LA police against minorities as a result of the incident
in which white LA police officers beat Rodney G. King, a black motorist
stopped after a pursuit. |
|
|
Later in 1992, the fed govt indicted the four police officers
on charges that they had violated King's civil rights |
|
|
In 1993, a fed jury convicted two of the officers on charges
of violating King's civil rights |
|
|
They were each sentenced to 21/2 years in prison. The other two
officers were acquitted on the same charges |
|
|
In 1994, a civil court ordered the city of LA to pay King about $3.75
million in damages |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
Causes of Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
- Project: Can There be
a Just Riot? |
Link
|
|
- Project: Can the Causes
of Riots Ever Justify Them? |
Link
|
|
Riots have occurred throughout the world since the beginning
of history |
|
|
In most societies, at one time or another, the poor have rioted
to press their demands for food in what has become to be called
a bread riot |
|
|
But poverty & need are not the only reasons that riots occur |
|
|
For example, in Britain during the early 1800s, workers called Luddites
staged riots in which they destroyed labor saving machines, which they
feared would replace them |
|
|
In Mexico City in 1968, rioting students fought w/ police over various
issues, including alleged police brutality during student demonstrations |
|
|
The specific issues that trigger riots, i.e. the precipitating events,
vary widely |
|
|
However, the underlying causes of many riots are similar |
|
|
Many riots occur because some groups believe they do not have an equal
chance for economic, political, or social advancement |
|
|
A contributing factor for riots is that.... |
|
|
- members of many minority groups live in situations of unequal
economic, political, & social conditions |
|
|
- throughout the world, people may feel they are mistreated
by individuals or by govt agencies or other organizations that influence
their lives |
|
|
- people may become depressed because they feel they cannot help
make decisions that affect themselves & their community |
|
|
- people who believe their grievances are being ignored
often become defiant, & their feelings can erupt |
|
|
- members of a majority group may also become rioters
if they fear a minority |
|
|
Majority members may attack members of the minority to keep them in
an inferior social or economic position |
|
|
Most lynch mobs in the Western & Southern US were composed
of members of dominant, majority groups |
|
|
Riots & other manifestations of social unrest such as revolutions
often come after hard times, i.e. when things have improved |
|
|
While it may seem counter intuitive, riots & other manifestations
of social unrest often come when conditions are getting better rather that
getting worse |
|
|
Riots & other manifestations of social unrest are more likely to
occur during times of improvement because peoples' expectations are also
improving & usually expectations rise faster & farther than the
actual conditions |
|
|
Rising expectations occur during times of improvement because
people begin to envision how good things could actually be |
|
|
The phenomenon of rising expectations has been a contributing
factor for many social mvmts, protests, riots, actions, & other manifestations
of social unrest including the Fr Rev & the Civil Rights Mvmt |
|
|
In the US, the riots of the 1910s, 1940s, 1960s, & 1992 all have
in common the fact that they came during or w/in about a year after a major
US war |
|
|
Riots & other manifestations of social unrest are more likely to
occur after a war, depression, weather disaster, a natural disaster, a
human or indl disaster, or just when things are improving in general |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on an Analysis
of the 1992 LA Riot: Value Added Theory
|
|
External
Links
|
|
- Project: Stopping the
1992 LA Riot |
Link
|
|
- Project: Defusing the
Crown Heights Riot |
Link
|
|
Smelser's value added theory posits THREE specific factors are important
to structural conduciveness:
a. the structure of responsibility
b. channels for expressing grievances
c. communication among the aggrieved |
|
|
a. In a functioning society, the structure of responsibility
is such that whenever social conditions exist that people do not like,
they expect official action to rectify the situation |
|
|
There were no riots after Rodney King was beaten because people were
patient & expected that the justice system would find the police guilty |
|
|
After the video of Rodney King was revealed, the people in LA believed
that the official channels & the video would produce justice |
|
|
Participants in the 1992 LA riots wanted the legitimate authorities
to punish the officers for the beating of Rodney King |
|
|
W/ reference to the Rodney King police trials, people did not want
the cunning of defense attorneys to outweigh justice |
|
|
The riots of the 1992 LA Riot began after the first trial of the police |
|
|
b. If there are channels for expressing grievances, people
are less likely to take collective action |
|
|
If the channels for expressing grievances are blocked or if they are
ineffective, the crowd is more likely to feel strain & take collective
action |
|
|
The courts had been the channel for expressing grievance for the Rodney
King assault, but after the verdict this channel was no longer seen as
legitimate & there was no other channel available |
|
|
There were no more legitimate channels for people to express their
grievances over the King assault & the police acquittal |
|
|
c. The more quickly there is communication among the aggrieved,
the more quickly & easily they can share feelings resulting in rapid
development of group sentiments or generalized beliefs making violent outbursts
or peaceful collective action possible |
|
|
In the LA Riot, the participants found it easy to communicate w/ each
other since they had gathered in open, public areas & they had radio
& TV |
|
|
Good communication made it easy for people to gain some sense of consensus
that the trial was unjust & something should be done about it |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
2. Structural Strain Contributing to Race Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
In the 1992 LA Riot, the not guilty verdict for the police officers
is not structural strain rather it is a precipitating event |
|
|
The social conditions of many cities provide structural strain
contributing to race riots, including
- poverty stratified by race
- high unemployment
- government neglect
- government ( police ) abuse
- racism
- conflict among residents from different racial, ethnic &
class groups & police
- a history of racial conflict which magnifies recent events
- & preserves /mythologizes the importance of past events |
|
|
LA race relations were formed as a result of |
|
|
- the 1871 anti Chinese riot |
|
|
- the 1943 anti Mexican "Zoot Suit" Riots |
|
|
- the 1965 Watts Race Riot |
|
|
An example of negative LA race relations can be seen in that in LA
in March of 1991 a black teen, Latasha Harlins, was shot in the back of
the head by a Korean store owner |
|
|
An example of negative LA race relations can be seen in that the store
owner who shot a black teen was found guilty only of voluntary manslaughter
because the Judge ruled she was justifiably fearful |
|
|
Race relations in LA were such that there is conflict among every race/ethnic
group which created structural strain which contributes to rioting, crime,
& other acts of violence |
|
|
For at least 100 yrs., there have been constant complaints
of excessive force against the LAPD |
|
|
In 1950 Chief Parker developed the "kiss the cement" policy
which was designed to cut off interaction btwn officers & civilians
to reduce corruption |
|
|
It had the effect of increasing tension & eliminating community
policing |
|
|
Chiefs up to & including Gates in 1992 adopted a hard nosed policy
which created hatred toward the police |
|
|
Police in LA were reluctant to enter & enforce the law in minority
enclaves, thus poor, law abiding residents felt helpless & abandoned |
|
|
The acronym DWB designates Driving While Black, which is a metaphor
for the fear of rampant, random police violence that people feel |
|
|
Racial conflict & police harassment created the generalized
belief that the police were unjust & that the system will not address
inequities, which the verdict in the Rodney King Police trial validated |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
3. Generalized Beliefs Contributing to Race Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
The structural strain which adds to racial tension combined w/ precipitating
events such as Rodney King's beating creates the generalized beliefs
leading to race riots |
|
|
In the 1992 LA Riot, the participants believed the trial verdicts were
incorrect & unjust & many nonparticipants agreed |
|
|
A common generalized belief which leads to a riot is that true justice
will never be achieved through official, legitimate channels |
|
|
The generalized beliefs around race riots include the beliefs
that: |
|
|
- violence would bring attention |
|
|
- violence at the least would provide revenge |
|
|
- violence, at best, would force the govt to act |
|
|
In the 1992 Riots, President Bush, Sr., announced that the Fed Govt
would indict the officers who beat Rodney King on fed charges |
|
|
The precipitating event usually confirms the beliefs
formed in light of the structural strain which may have existed for decades |
|
|
To the extent that people confirms some parts of the precipitating
event & deny other disconfirming evidence, a riot becomes more
likely |
|
|
The media, authority figures, govt officials, etc. all may engage
in confirmation & denial around the precipitating event which supports
their generalized belief |
|
|
Legal decisions are the opposite of generalized beliefs because |
|
|
- legal decisions are as specific to a given case as is now humanly
/ socially possible |
|
|
- thus they do not have to take into the long term social impacts
into account |
|
|
- they are concerned w/ procedural justice: make the rules
the best that you can, & then follow them: the outcome is judged
only on whether it follows the rules |
|
|
Generalized beliefs are in many ways the opposite of legal decisions
in that |
|
|
- they are most general, flexible type of belief |
|
|
- they take into account long term social impacts |
|
|
- they seek substantive justice not procedural justice |
|
|
The various publics including the riot participants do not use
the judicial process to form their generalized belief: they look
primarily at the big picture |
|
|
Generalized beliefs & rioting behaviors often change as the riot
continues |
|
|
First, all types of rioters focused on symbols of authority:
police stations, courts, govt property |
|
|
When blacks attacked whites & Koreans, the gen belief shifted from
a focus on police to a general rage, or the belief that these groups were
also responsible for their troubles |
|
|
When toward the end of the first day of rioting, Latinos outnumbered
all other rioters & focused on looting, the gen belief you the Latinos
must have been that this riot was an opportunity |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on Social
Control
|
|
External
Links
|
|
- Video: Social Control
1:26 |
Link
|
|
- Video: Norms & Conformity
6:53 |
Link
|
|
SOCIAL CONTROL IS THE CONTROL OF THE INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR
BY SOCIETY OR CONTROL OF SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE INTEREST OF THE WHOLE
SOCIETY |
|
|
Soc con is an important part of soc stability |
|
|
All of us are subject to social control, attempts by society to regulate
people's thought & behavior |
|
|
Much of soc control is done through culture, socialization, & formal
control by authorities |
|
|
Soc controls are organized methods for teaching & enforcing conformity |
|
|
Cases of serious deviance may provoke action by the criminal justice
system, a formal response by police, courts, & prison officials to
alleged violations of the law |
|
|
Durkheim held that in modern society social control was slipping because
the old forms, found in traditions, which he called mechanical solidarity,
had not yet been replaced by the new form, found in the interdependence
of society, which he called organic solidarity |
|
|
See Also: Durkheim |
|
|
Where soc control fails, we see deviance, collective behavior, soc
mvmts, crime, alienation, other social problems, & other forms social
behavior that are outside the norm |
|
Link
|
Examples of Deviance as a violation of social norms |
|
|
A. FOLKWAYS ARE THE MOST INFORMAL OF NORMS |
|
|
Examples of folkways include manners, etiquette, customs, normal behavior,
etc. |
|
|
B. MORES ARE SERIOUS NORMS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT BE WRITTEN
INTO LAW |
|
|
Examples of a more include flag burning, questioning someone's religion
or politics, etc. |
|
|
C. LAWS ARE A TYPE OF NORM W/ THE SUPPORT OF THE STATE
/ GOVT SANCTION W/ EITHER CRIMINAL OR CIVIL PUNISHMENT |
|
|
i. Criminal law is law which the state will prosecute
The body of rules or principles prescribed by authority or established
by custom, which a state, community, society, or the like recognizes as
binding |
|
|
ii. Civil law is law which allows one citizen to
prosecute ( sue ) another |
|
|
SOCIAL CONTROL INCLUDES ALL PROCESSES USED TO MINIMIZE DEVIANCE
FROM SOCIAL NORMS; E.G., CULTURE, NORMS, SOCIALIZATION, LAW, ETC. |
|
|
Social control includes all social processes used to minimize
deviance from social norms; e.g., culture, norms, socialization, law, etc. |
|
|
There are TWO Types of Social Control |
|
|
FORMAL OR DIRECT SOCIAL CONTROL IS REGULATION THROUGH THE
ENFORCEMENT OF NORMATIVE STANDARDS |
|
|
It is often done by a person(s) w/ authority & responsibility |
|
|
Formal con is defined by legal sanctions & enforced by instits
such as the police, the courts, & the various local, state, & fed
legislatures |
|
|
The formal enforcement of norms is done through the threat of &
implementation of rewards or punishments by those who represent an org
or instit or the whole society |
|
|
The formal agents of socialization act on the basis of rules &
laws most of which are written |
|
|
See Also: Formal or Direct Social Control |
|
|
INFORMAL OR INDIRECT SOCIAL CONTROL IS REGULATION THROUGH
IDEOLOGICAL OR CULTURAL MANIPULATION |
|
|
It is often done by surrogate human authority such as rules,
customs, laws, even machines |
|
|
Indirect social control is accomplished through socialization |
|
|
Indirect social control is the most powerful type of social control |
|
|
At the heart of informal social controls are relationships w/ significant
others (SOs) |
|
|
Review: For Mead, SOs are people whose affection & approval
are very important |
|
|
SOs will reward, punish, or use other methods of socialization to enforce
the norms of society |
|
Link
|
Examples of direct & indirect control |
|
|
Sanctions are rewards for conforming behavior & punishments
for nonconforming behavior |
|
|
There are FOUR Types of Sanctions |
|
|
1. A FORMAL POSITIVE SANCTION IS A FORMAL REWARD |
|
|
A formal positive sanction is a formal reward, etc. is applied by a
socially recognized actor ( person, organization, institution, etc. ) empowered
to give that reward |
|
|
Formal Positive Sanction are well defined & can only be applied
by people w/ proper institutional credentials |
|
Link
|
Examples of Formal Positive Sanctions |
|
|
2. AN INFORMAL POSITIVE SANCTION IN AN INFORMAL REWARD |
|
|
An informal positive sanction is an informal reward, etc. by almost
any actor ( person, organization, etc. ) |
|
|
The Functions of Positive Social Control Methods are social control,
inducement, & reward |
|
Link
|
Examples of Informal Positive Sanctions |
|
|
3. A FORMAL NEGATIVE SANCTION IS A FORMAL PUNISHMENT |
|
|
A formal negative sanction is a formal punishment, etc. by a socially
recognized actor ( person, organization, institution, etc. ) empowered
to give that punishment |
|
|
Formal sanctions are well defined and can only be applied by
people with proper institutional
credentials |
|
Link
|
Examples of Formal Negative Sanctions |
|
|
4. AN INFORMAL NEGATIVE SANCTION IS AN INFORMAL PUNISHMENT |
|
|
An informal negative sanction is an informal punishment, etc. by almost
any actor ( person, organization, etc. ) |
|
|
The functions of negative social control methods are social control,
deterrence, & punishment |
|
Link
|
Examples of Informal Negative Sanctions |
|
Link
|
Chart of Examples of FOUR Types
of Social Control |
|
|
For Durkheim, the positive consequences of deviance and social
control include increased solidarity |
|
Chart
of Examples of FOUR Types of Social Control |
|
Formal
|
Informal
|
Positive
|
Formal Positive
Pay, grades, awards |
Informal Positive
Tip, praise, smile, inclusion |
Negative
|
Formal Negative
Fine, pay cut, bad grade, note in a file,
Excommunication from a religious organization, expulsion from high
school, & criminal punishment |
Informal Negative
No tip, criticism, scowl, ostracism |
Examples of Deviance
& Norms
Men w/ long hair, women in pants Dress
Norms:
Folkways: dressed in casual clothes for formal occasion
Mores: no shirt in dept. store
Laws:
Criminal: no shirt, no shoes in food store
Civil: copying super model's look
|
Civil law
Body of law proper to the city as distinct from that common to all
nations
Also, the whole system of Roman law
Hence the body of private law developed from Roman law
Law pertaining to the citizen as an individual
|
Examples of direct
& indirect control
Factory Work:
Supervisor harangues or beats workers to work faster
Supervisor issues penalties
Computer measures output w/ pay proportional to this output
Elementary school: Teacher constantly making sure child turns
in work
College: Prof establishes goals. It's up to the student
to achieve them
|
Examples of Formal
Positive Sanctions
A raise
An awards dinner
A certificate of achievement
A reward
|
Examples of Informal
Positive Sanctions
Giving an "atta boy"
Taking someone out to lunch for a reward
A pat on the back
A big thank you
|
Examples of Formal
Negative Sanctions
Bad Grades
Expulsion from High School
Prison
A ticket
|
Examples of Informal
Negative Sanctions
Taking someone to the woodshed
A talking to
A frown
Ostracism
|
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on
Formal Social Control
|
|
External
Links
|
|
LEGITIMATE FORCE |
|
|
Social mvmts or any individual, group, or org that is pushing for soc
change often meets resistance from existing social agents |
|
|
Change agents & mere deviants want changes or the freedom that
social & political leaders do not want |
|
|
The methods of formal social control include legitimate force, law
& ordinances, & informal sanctions |
|
|
Legitimate force is the force yielded by police, national guard, the
army, etc. |
|
|
The police et al can be ordered to use legitimate force to quell any
public activity |
|
|
As long as the force is not blatantly excessive, most citizens will
not question the tactic of the police et al using legitimate force |
|
|
Social control agents can use force legitimately, but any force on
the part of social mvmt members will be perceived as illegitimate |
|
|
Police can physically push protesters out of a park, but protesters
cannot legitimately push the police at all |
|
|
Authorities use of force is seen as legitimate as long as it stays
w/in certain bounds allowing appointed officials to use the police &
other agents of control, w/in limits, for their own purposes |
|
|
LAWS & ORDINANCES |
|
|
The most common use of social control is not physical, it is the norms
of laws & ordinances |
|
|
Leaders of soc mvmts & other deviants are often arrested for minor
crimes that usually would not result in arrest for the average citizens |
|
|
Public nuisance & disturbance laws, noise ordinances, & loitering
laws are applied selectively against soc mvmt leaders, members, deviants
or whomever authorities target |
|
|
Jaywalking laws are rarely enforced in normal life, but may be used
against protesters, street people or other deviants |
|
|
Cities pass ordinances again signs in particular areas, limiting the
number of people as a group on sidewalks, etc. |
|
|
Obscure fire codes may be used to shut down a soc mvmts headquarters |
|
|
Any soc mvmt, deviant, or other social actor that the authorities do
not like will likely find itself the target of all of these tactics &
more |
|
|
The authorities technically do not violate any laws when they use this
kind of tactic against anyone, but many argue that they are violating the
spirit of the law & are exercising an abuse of power |
|
|
It is difficult or a soc mvmt to maintain momentum when it must worry
about harassment from law enforcement officers & state prosecuting
attorneys |
|
|
Such harassment can even bring the participants of a soc mvmt closer
together & increase their passion |
|
|
Constant legal harassment makes it difficult for members of the mvmt
to get anything done |
|
|
Ideally all groups would receive equal protection under the law but
in reality groups that upset or anger social control agents are likely
to receive little or know protection & face a great deal of harassment,
resistance, & even imprisonment |
|
|
Physical violence is the most extreme form of resistance to deviance,
including soc mvmts |
|
|
See Also: Violence |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on Violence
as Social Control
|
|
External
Links
|
|
Violence is the most extreme form of social control |
|
|
Violence is frequently used as resistance to soc mvmts & deviance
in general or anyone or any group or org that goes against the norms of
society |
|
|
Violence here must be distinguished from legitimate force
which is violence, legally implemented by the police, military, or other
authority of the state |
|
|
Violence must be understood as being "illegitimate" when the state,
i.e. society does not sanction it; violence is force carried out unofficially
by members of a society |
|
|
In the sociological sense, violence must be understood as being
"informal or formal" |
|
|
Informal violence is perpetrated by individuals operating on
their own or by relatively small informal groups such as a mob, or a lynch
mob |
|
|
Formal violence is perpetrated by individuals, groups, orgs,
etc. who operate as part of an org that is not sanctioned by the state,
but may be tolerated by the state, e.g. the KKK, & other grps |
|
|
Violence against soc mvmt leaders, deviants, or others who are going
against the mainstream of society is all too common |
|
|
Violence by the state should be, & usually is the last resort
while
violence is all too often a first line of defense against, soc mvmt
leaders & members, deviants, etc. |
|
|
When an individual decides that abortion is murder, & they see
that the state is not punishing the abortionists, their logic may be to
take the law into their own hands in the form of violence |
|
|
When an org sees gay marriage as a threat to society, & sees the
state not preventing it, their logic may be to take the law into their
own hands in the form of violence |
|
|
In the past 20 yrs. several pro life individuals have killed, injured,
or attempted to kill doctors, nurses & women who are involved w/ abortion |
|
|
The use of violence as intimidation is a typical rationale for
those who try to resist soc mvmts |
|
|
Blacks were often lynched by white mobs w/ the goal of scaring all
blacks into submission to Jim Crow laws |
|
|
See Also: The KKK |
|
|
Pogroms, violent riots of intimidation are the most extreme
form of violence against soc mvmts & deviants; lynchings & assassinations
are the next most extreme; & beatings & threats are the
least extreme but much more common |
|
|
Sometimes violence is part of an organized effort, formalized violence,
from a counter mvmt such as the KKK or the Pinkertons |
|
|
The KKK, the White Citizens' Council, et al have perpetrated formalized,
organized violence against blacks, & a few whites, to resist the social
change of increased civil rights for blacks & others for over 100 yrs. |
|
|
Informal violence can be carried out by authorities who
operate outside of the bounds of the law |
|
|
See Also: Police Corruption |
|
|
Many people in the early labor mvmt & the civil rights mvmt experienced
undue
force at the hands of the authorities, & it still happens today |
|
|
In May of 1970, the National Guard shot thirteen anti war protesters
at Kent State, Ohio & four died |
|
|
An investigation tried to determine if this was a legitimate or illegitimate
use of force in that none of the rioters were armed, but public property
was being destroyed, but not by these students |
|
|
Illegitimate violence is less common in the US than some other
nations |
|
|
While video & legitimate witnesses have made the use of illegitimate
violence less common, it still occurs |
|
|
Violence is more likely to occur where there is less democracy &
human rights |
|
|
In Tiananmen Square in 1989, Chinese troops killed dissidents |
|
|
Salaam Hussein gassed Kurds in northern Iraq in the 1980s |
|
|
Stalin sent millions of people to their deaths in the gulags in the
SU in the 1920s & on |
|
|
The goals of individuals, counter mvmts, authorities who use legit
or illegit force, informal or formal violence are the same when they use
violence: to resist a soc mvmt, a deviant, or anyone going
against the norms of society, to intimidate them, or to punish or kill
them & eliminate the threat |
|
|
When violence becomes wide spread, & organized or sanctioned
by the state, it may be thought of as terrorism or state terrorism |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on 5. Social
Control Agents & Riots
|
|
External
Links
|
|
In most situations, social control operates based on norms
that are backed up by law |
|
|
In riot situations, people ignore old norms & laws &
establish new norms & obey no law, no conventional social controls |
|
|
In most riots the police are the primary agents of social control |
|
|
The National Guard & the fed military are also primary agents
of social control that may back up the police |
|
|
In any riot or other collective behavior, secondary agents of social
control include friends, family, acquaintances, the media, & anyone
who tries to influence behavior |
|
|
Anticipating & preparing for a riot by both the primary &
secondary agents of social control can do much to alleviate or even
stop the damage |
|
|
Several forceful & non forceful steps can be taken prior to a riot
or after one has started in order to try & control it or minimize it's
impact |
|
|
Agents of soc control use the media to calm people, urge restraint
& explain why rioting will not help, i.e. explain what is being done
to correct the structural problem |
|
|
Preparing to use an overwhelming force may return social control
to a riot if the participants can be made aware of it |
|
|
Blockading the area of a riot may return social control to a
riot if the participants can be made aware of it |
|
|
During the LA Riot of 1992, the police took no steps to return social
control except to send in the police & were woefully, some say criminally
unprepared |
|
|
When Rodney King appeared on the televised news at the height of the
LA Riot of 1992 & made his now famous statement: "Why can't we
all just get along?" he was acting as a secondary agent of social control
& had a major impact of calming the rioters |
|
Internal
Links
Top
|
Outline on the
6. Classification of Participants in a Riot
|
|
External
Links
|
|
Ego involved participants feel a deep connection to the concerns
expressed in LA |
|
|
In the 1992 LA Riot, or in any race riot, the early rioters are the
ones who felt the most empathy for the victim, Rodney King, & the most
hatred for the perpetrator, the LAPD |
|
|
In the 1992 LA Riot, ego involved participants fully accepted the generalized
beliefs & believed it was up to them to do something |
|
|
In the 1992 LA Riot & many race riots as well as in many other
types of riots, ego involved participants believed that rioting would produce
real change & their violence was the only way to bring about that change |
|
|
President Bush, Sr. did order Federal prosecution during the 1992 LA
Riot & it is doubtful that he would have done so w/o the violence |
|
|
Concerned participants are not so personally involved so they
did not initiate the riot but followed the lead of others |
|
|
Concerned participants believe something should be done, but they are
not sure what it should be |
|
|
Concerned participants could have just as easily followed a peaceful
march |
|
|
Insecure participants just want to be a part of something, or
are afraid of missing out |
|
|
Insecure participants may not have understood the riot's cause, but
joined in out of a sense of solidarity |
|
|
Insecure participants felt powerful as a result of the riot |
|
|
Spectators want to watch but do not want to get involved, but
fast moving events can sometimes involve people who do not want to be involved |
|
|
Spectators frequently become targets for the hostile participants |
|
|
Spectators may get caught up in the excitement & join the action |
|
|
Spectators may join the police or the rioters or act independently
as did the rescuer of Reginald Denny |
|
|
Ego detached exploiters does not care about the issue but will
enthusiastically join, encourage & participate in the riot for the
thrill & the looting |
|