The riots in the US: an accident or a pattern?

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

2014 was in many ways a time of amazing, but very scary events. Messages from various parts of the world plunged the public into shock and horror. The planetary hegemon did not remain without such unpleasant attention. The whole world was surprised by the riots in the United States. It would seem that in this "society of prosperity and democracy" nothing bad can happen. However, the media showed a different picture. What happened and why? Let's find out.

Start: event series

The city of Ferguson (USA) became the arena of events. The riots there began with one, they say, quite an ordinary event. A police officer shot a black teenager. Sounds, you see, very scary. How can it be that the law enforcement officer raised his hand (especially used a weapon) against a child? However, many sources claim that the child was still something. The teenager was engaged in petty theft. These teenagers are said to have a criminal record. In addition, the law of the country allows the police to use weapons. Yes, and the statistics (which are "a stubborn thing") state that the case is notwas out of the ordinary. This happens regularly. But this particular case gave rise to unrest in the United States, caused unrest in society. Condolences were expressed to the family of the deceased, political leaders vied with each other to appeal to the nation, demanding concrete action from President Obama.

Development of events

The whole planet learned a lot about the city of Ferguson (USA) in a few hours. Unrest and unrest for a long time secured his place on the front pages of news portals. The events were followed by many curious eyes around the world. The riots in the US seemed like nonsense. It couldn't be, but everyone was now watching the live broadcast. World turned upside down? For several days, crowds of protesters occupied the avenues and streets of Ferguson. The police tried to disperse them, without much ceremony, by the way. People demanded that the guilty policeman be severely punished. The investigation dragged on. According to correspondents from the scene, "radical elements" from neighboring states began to flock to the city. Washington residents joined the action. The riots in the United States threatened to turn into a nationwide action (or did other peoples, tired of the arbitrariness of the hegemon, just want it?).

Expanding the overview of events

The meaning of any social phenomenon cannot be understood without a thorough study of all circumstances, tendencies and forces in society. So, the Ferguson incident was not the first, and the last, by the way, too. But the public reacted to it. What happened at that moment in the political field of the country? Spending just oneminute, we can find out (or remember) that the election race was already in full swing in the United States. Elephants and Donkeys fought for seats in the House of Representatives.

The elections were intermediate. Nevertheless, in 2014 they became clearly very significant for both parties. Obama supporters (Democrats) have traditionally relied on the black population. Their opponents decided to cut the ground from under the opponent's feet. This could be the explanation for these events that shook the world media for several months.

Provocation or pattern?

Ferguson is just an arena for an election spectacle? Then maybe it's all set up? Let a cruel, but a single event? So, most likely, the interested reader will think. Some experts, in any case, decided to find out this as well. As a result of the polls, it turned out that the attitude of citizens towards the police, as well as law enforcement officers towards violators thereof, strongly depends on the color of the skin (even if this is not a completely politically correct remark). Here is the data published by Gallup in August 2014. This organization asked citizens questions regarding their attitude towards law enforcement agencies. It turned out that 59% of "whites" were confident in the police. The confidence of black Americans is much lower - only 37%. In addition, there are studies that show that black US citizens are more likely to go to jail, they are less likely to be acquitted by the courts, and so on. Therefore, if the Ferguson events were provoked, then the ground for outrage is still real.

1992 US riots

You should not assume that mass demonstrations of citizens did not happen in the States before. Not at all. In Los Angeles back in 1992, this was already the case. Then four white police officers beat the black man. Rodney King was guilty of speeding. He refused to surrender to the authorities without resistance, for which he was severely beaten. The court's acquittal against the police officers then caused riots in the United States. African Americans did not limit themselves to simple protest. They burned over 5,000 buildings. Protestants used weapons against the police, stormed government offices.

Interestingly, in both cases described, there were similar reasons for the start of unrest. The white guardian of order violated the constitutional rights of an African American. And the sections of the population involved in the protests were also similar. It all started with African Americans, followed by Hispanics and immigrants.