CRS
Chandler, Arizona, United States

There's an old saying. If you don't want someone to join a crowd, you ask them, "If everyone were jumping off of a cliff, would you?" Well, I have. So my answer would be "Yes". True story.
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I Don't Predict a Riot

Saturday, August 20, 2011

this entry brought to you by portal 2 soundtrack, "ghost of rattman"


The recent riots in London have reminded me of something I've strongly felt about this country for a little while now: That could never happen here. Not over politics, anyway, and not for any sort of prolonged length of time. Yes, we've had riots before, but they've always been a reaction to a cultural occurrence. They were specific things that pissed people off, that then resulted in chaos. But political riots? We just don't have it in us.

People-- cynics mostly-- often warn that if something political happens, say, unemployment raises any higher, that there will be rioting in the streets. If gas prices go any higher, they warn, people will riot. If fill-in-the-blank happens, people will riot.

But they won't. We don't have it in us any more. People will protest at the drop of a hat, but actual rioting because of politicians? Never. We will never revolt. We will never do anything but stand still and hold signs, and if things spill over into heat, they won't be able to sustain themselves long enough to make any politician rethink their stance. It'll just be a sad thing we see on the television.

I'm not even sure if this is a bad thing or not. People fantasize about the threat of rioting as if rioting is inevitable and, under certain conditions, wonderful. And I just don't know if I agree with that, especially since the neighborhoods that are always the most effected by riots are always the poorest neighborhoods. I think that this is the most key thing. Somehow, people never take to the suburbs and to the gated communities with their anger and their rock throwing. They just burn down the neighborhoods that absolutely do not deserve such a thing.

This is why I don't think rioting or revolt will ever bring about anything good in this country. We are simply too complacent, and too unwilling to direct our anger at the things that they need to be directed at.
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with love from CRS @ 10:39 AM 

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