The first riot
The first televised riot I remember seeing was instigated by the beating of Rodney King in 1991, just after the start of the first truly televised war, the Gulf war, where every channel was running the scenes of war near 24/7 globally. I think that this was a turning point in television news and how truly powerful the medium was, as it could capture never before seen detail. If you remember the scenes from Iraq with reporters speaking while Scud, Cruise and Tomahawk missiles lit the sky and the fires they caused scarred the ground.
I was young, not quite twelve and I remember how it all captured the collective imagination and even at that age, I knew it was important. Do you remember seeing the night-vision footage of strikes, the flames burning in the background, the newscaster Bobbie Battista's crossed eyes? This was war like we had never seen before and while Vietnam had coverage that was pushed into the public news, the Gulf war made it an armchair sport.
A couple months after the start of the Gulf war, there was the Rodney King beating after he ran from police in a car chase. Who knows how many other similar incidents ended with a black man beaten, but I am sure this wasn't the first. However, it was at least among the first that was captured on camera, with George Holliday, a member of the public, filming from his balcony.
These days, everyone has a camera, because everyone has a smart phone in their pocket and this means the chance of pretty much anything getting caught on camera has gone up by a few thousand times. It is incredible that the US police still haven't learned, as even they wear body cameras now.
But, what I find even more incredible is that people still believe that protesting and rioting actually improves the situation. I was writing about consumer behavior today and how I believe that we as the economic collective powerhouse can change the entire process through our purchase decisions and our decisions in general. The control held over us is granted by us, largely through apathy and a desire for convenience.
Social movements do create change, but what most don't seem to recognize when it comes to protests and riots is that any change and gains made isn't necessarily what they believe it to be. Essentially, a protest is putting in an appeal to authority, saying to the authority that we want them to change their laws or processes in some way. Essentially, it is begging slave masters for better quality food, but not freedom from slavery.
When there is victory in this way and the authority makes a change, it is generally much like getting a discount on a car, but unknowingly paying extra for the tires - the concessions made for changes are just shifted to a less visible area, one that is less socially charged - but the cost to society is the same, if not more.
As I see it, the only way to actually get out of the slavery of governments and debt cycles is to take the very messy position of responsibility for ourselves and this requires giving up on the convenience. This is done by developing our own economy that doesn't rely on a government or corporation to function and one with a community that is able to flex if it feels the conditions are untenable, much like the conditions that forked the Steem community into two, with the new Hive community holding more value than the first.
The shift of war to become a sport back in 1991 resulted in the degradation of the media to pander to whatever grabs attention, the tabloid news made mainstream. This has been further driven by the ramping up and leveraging of the internet's ability to distribute as well as capture audiences into content buckets and target them with cheap and focused advertising - and, the ability for us as citizens to submit all kinds of news into the cycles, and then feed off our own creations as consumers. It is a strange reality.
Perhaps, the fork of Steem could be a turning point in the other direction, one where instead of throwing up arms and appealing to the authorities, the community itself takes matters into its own hands and shifts. This is unlike the general internet habits of society on social media, where no matter how restrictive, how intrusive or how harmful the platforms get, they are still in demand, still supported. The user base throws up its arms for a day or two, and then it is back to business, driving even more value into the hands of those they despised just moments ago.
The decisions we have made have created the world in which we live and the decisions we will make will shape the future.
Don't protest, don't riot, don't say a word -
Change.
The spikes in history leave us with memories of change, but as they say, slow and steady wins the race. Rather than fight against authoritarian systems, replace them with something better. Replacement takes development, testing and time to capture attention and gain adoption - but when that tipping point is reached, it moves swiftly and very little can stop the flood.
We live amongst regular riots here. Schools, libraries and health clinics are burned, shops are looted and trucks are hi-jacked. Protesting is one thing, but when the protest actions become mixed with criminal elements it becomes quite another issue.
Setting fire to buildings was always the norm, but no more. Now they loot the shops first and then set fire to the empty shells. During lockdown most of our schools were targeted and all the PCs and laptops were stolen. People throw big rocks down upon the cars that pass under the bridges on the highways. Hoping to crash the cars so that they can rob the people inside.
Paramedics are lured by false emergency calls into the townships, where they get assaulted and robbed. Doctors are not safe in the practices and I don't even want to start on the farm murders here. People of all races are killed here every day my friend!
Not much time left for this change to take place, but change it certainly has to!
!ENGAGE 25
Thank you kindly for this G-Dog!
Take care my friend!
The activity will always lead to violence, it must, due to the desensitization of us, the viewer. To get social change there has to be society supporting it and we always want the latest and greatest - a larger damage bill, a higher death toll, a bigger tragedy. It is a pity we don't put as much energy into the betterment of our world, as we do the participation in the destruction.
Woah now! What fun is there to behave like a responsible person? Much more fun to wait at the bus stop for school girls and to steal their cell phones at knife point.
I haven't even shared the real bad stories here, but I think that the idea to create a better world is dying with the whales that are choking to death on the plastic in the oceans.
What I find incredible in the world is how willing people are to live under oppression, as long as it isn't too painful.
Oppression here can become extremely painful my friend.
It will only change when we change.
Yeah right, only thing is that we cannot afford to drag the change and it will not bode well for the future.
We should all work towards unshackling ourselves from this governed and manipulated status that we were dragged into.
Yes, my fellow South African compatriot, we live in the war zone situation in a country not at war. The crime rate is the people at war with themselves, driven mad by circumstances of poverty, unemployment, lack of education and role models in power that also loot.
Like the price of Hive, and also Steemit in the longterm, it has only ever gone down. Expecting this situation to improve is a fools errand. It never has and probably continues to sink.
Hive of course has the benefit of being new, but none of the three SA, Steem and Hive, have ever improved, only devalued in their lifetimes. The charts speak for themselves.
The biggest fear and culprit Sir Julian is no doubt the lack of education. I am not talking about the 30% pass rate that are promoted as "world class" here, but real education.
An educated poor person can be helped, but we work with so many that are totally illiterate.
Like fighting against the wind. Our prisons are bursting at the seams and bedlam rules.
But we cannot sit back and even though we face many uphill's as a charity, we simply continue with our work. If the billions that were looted were poured into the upliftment and improvement of the people living in haggard conditions in the slums, things could have worked out a bit better.
But a new Maseratti and a Gucci suit is more important to a looter than the innocent life of a poor person, or family.
Such is life!
As you said, sitting back is not a better option. Doing charity, voluntary work, doing good, in general, has always felt as if fighting against the wind. And it still matters. It matters to someone. I am sure you are happy about what you succeeded in giving to those who were there to learn from you.
Yes indeed my friend I am happy and sad at the same time, as we could have done so much more, but we have and still are fighting against the odds to survive. But be that as it is, we will continue to fight, as we also know that it matters and that the work must continue!
Fair winds, and soon!
That is what we pray for my friend.
Take care!
Hectic scenario good Sir, you are in the social trenches there, which deserves a medal.
Wow! 20 days ago Sir Julian, you are a busy man.
Not medals that we need, only more support.
Times are tough, but thankfully we are used to it.
ENGAGEtokens.A great thank you @misterengagement and also to @galenkp.
You couldn't have said it better. People want the change... Of others. Rarely they admit they have to change. Convenience is easy. Change is hard.
A violent riot is not a solution, it is only a primitive reaction and shows poor conflict managing skills. I strongly believe people need education in order to change. To admit that a part of the problem, system, leaders, is theirs. I hope to live long enough to see a better version of the human specie.
This is what most are not even willing to explore, they would rather feel righteous.
Primitive reaction 😳
Poor conflict managing skills 🙆🏾♀️🤦🏾♀️
I beg to differ. African Americans keep watching their kind being killed and oppressed and you want them to react peacefully, you want them to show good conflict management skills when all they have been exposed to is violence and oppression. SMH
With all the education going on in the world, how many changes have you seen? These people are hurt and they aren’t seeing justice being served and you want them to be calm.
Even in countries where their governments aren’t doing their jobs, people protest and they see a change.
Please bear in mind that there is no right way to protest
It is the person who wear the shoes that knows where it hurts
I used to go to all the protests and boycott all the things and make sure everybody knew about it. Then a relatively short (but still way too long when looking back on one's cringey past XD) period of time later I switched to neurohacking which works much better with my brain (except when devil's advocating, that still causes anxiety attacks, but has the added bonus of confusing everyone who has seem me devil's advocate both sides of an issue), probably takes about the same amount of time and is so much more satisfying to watch come into fruition XD
I often think that a lot of what we think we are doing is not having the intended consequence, but it "so inutitive". Intuition is driven by what we know and our habitual reactions to cues. We don't seem to keen to explore these areas.
Interesting read. In South Africa the masses not only protest they destroy and nothing changes.
Love your punchline
"Don't protest, don't riot, don't say a word -
Change."
Thank you for writing.
These things take form in every country, more obviously in some than others. I hope we learn that they don't actually work, especially long term.
The People are learning. During the last super police fiasco, of Ferguson riots in 2014, where the protesters burned the homes and shops and business of the people, at least, for once in the life of the protesters, they did take action and show displeasure at a location that was central to the cause of their disgruntlement. Yes there was other damage to places not related at all to the cause of the riot/protest, but at least the people are learning to take their war to the cause of the war.
Were the people right in the method they chose to show that displeasure? only history will tell. Will their actions cause a change to police procedures in what is allowed or not allowed to restrain an individual? I guess we will see.
One fact people always seem to forget when it comes to situations like this. The person that died as a result of the police action was innocent. People are innocent in the United States until Proven guilty. His past criminal activity, if there is one, has no bearing at the time of his death. If he was guilty of a crime and out walking the streets and being a member of society, it means the State has forgiven him of his past crimes.
I know that is a lot to complicated for some people to understand. Innocent until proven guilty.
I haven't followed the news on this at all, just the mention of it. I don't watch the news. The thing that I see is that no matter how many protests there are and how many changes are made, it is still living at the pleasure of the authority, hoping they will be benevolent.
That is pretty much what it is, this is the first case I have seen/read/heard of that a police station has been on the receiving end of the peoples wrath. My wife is the news watcher, so I get to hear and see the videos when she sees something important like this.
Sometimes a protest is a way to tell the authorities we don't want you to change things, as is the situation in Hong Kong. All we wanted was status quo, leave us alone as promised.
But this is exactly what I mean, why should we have to beg to be left alone?
Can't comment on other countries, but in Hong Kong's case we didn't beg. We told China to leave us alone. This was promised under the Sino British Joint Declaration, which China signed and is a legally binding treaty with the UN.
Under a civilised democratic country, citizens can vote out a government as a sign of protest. Hong Kong doesn't even have that right even though it was promised to us under the joint declaration.
But do you see what I mean with this? the people have zero say in this, even though it is he people who actually hold the power.
The people of Hong Kong don't actually hold any power because it was denied to us. Its a sad fact of life.
No, none of this is natural. This is an engineered system, not some universal law.
Cool buddy, at this stage the laws of the jungle are shifting, and the law of the jungle is what may prevail, as opposed to the law of the slave masters. We could be at a tipping point. World revolution and upheaval is more likely now than ever before on the past 75 years since WW2.
Yep and I think that we are more disjointed and polarized, less experienced and increasingly filled with emotional reaction than at any time in history - it is a tinderbox.
Good point, none of us have any recollection of a world war. Life has been stable for the first world generally since then on a political front and the economy went through predictable boom and bust cycles, but this is a major black swan event, for which none of us has any experience.
But we have seen lots of movies, so we must know what it is all like.
Many people are finding they are stronger than they thought, many more are discovering the opposite.
I remember Rodney Hood and the Gulf War vividly. It's a preview of the hi-tech wars governments are preparing and game-planning for. And while the power of information thru television have spread to the internet, I still believe it is capable of influencing reality with the images it projects to the world. You are right, we need change, both for social institutions and deeply on a more personal level. Gandhi said it before, 'be the change you wish to see in the world'. Good morning @tarazkp.
Be the change and explore the steps of change, rather than feeling that what we want and how we think we get there is correct.
True, I tend to be more optimistic in these situations. There is a place for old-school activism advocating for social reform but this might not be the time for it. Especially, when there is a pandemic that requires a lot of resources and is already causing stress in the world. Also, the criminal side of it just makes it worse...
Interesting perspective, Taraz, about begging slave masters for power. But, I will politely disagree. Riots are messy, but they do work. For example, it took three days of protests in Minneapolis and across the USA (over the murder of yet another innocent black man, at the hands of racist, violent cops) to actually get the officer responsible arrested and, just now, Derek Chauvin has been charged with 3rd-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
And there will be the next and the next and the next. How many will die globally before actual change happens? The punishment of the officer responsible doesn't change the system. With systemic problems, the system needs to be restructured so it works.
Why should their need to be protests to get a murderer arrested? What is the end goal?
The end goal is increased awareness and, like everything else, this happens gradually. Otherwise, if we turn away because we say this is how it is, or we can't do anything about it, then we are accomplices to the systemic injustice. By association, a silly example: I think of food labels and all the unhealthy things people did not know goes into their system. With better informed and engaged customers, they were able to demand and receive more. It's the same with civil servants obligated to clean up their act.
Today, is JFK's birthday, here's a quote of his that seems apt: Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.
Obesity epidemics, depression on the fast track, drug addiction and social disconnection... we have never had access to more information than we have now and it has never been more accessible - yet, look at us.
We are the violent ones, we choose the inevitable daily.
!ENGAGE 25 ?
On one hand you seem so optimistic, Taraz, and open to helping others and yet this is isn't the first time I come up against your cynicism...
I will not argue, further, since that does not help.
Peace
Optimism and cynicism has nothing to do with this. Negotiating more comfortable conditions in a slave camp doesn't change much.
ENGAGEtokens.In the comments, I keep seeing the word ‘CHANGE’.....
Can someone please tell me who should change?
Let’s all remember that the reaction was caused by an action...
Everyone should change. If we want different results, we need to do different, not just today - every day. Rather than appeal to authorities to change their behavior, we have the possibility and power to change the entire system and render the current one irrelevant.
The question is how. How can a disadvantaged people change an entire system that is working against them?
This is why the blacks are telling everyone to speak up... All races. Condemn the injustice.
I had some issues with the comments I saw because it seemed like they suggested that a simple dialogue and change would bring peace. That’s easier said than done because we cannot deny that there are people out there who are enjoying the oppression that the blacks are facing...
It’s 2020 and black people are dying senselessly.
What we want is for justice to be served and realistic measures to be put in place to curb this discrimination.
If someone attacks you, will dialogue solve the issue?
Let’s not forget the Amy Cooper video... I am just tired.
My point of the article, consume differently. The entire world is driven by an economy that we as consumers support, consume differently, change the world.
It's 2020 and many are dying senselessly.
The way it is being done is just changing the shape of the cage, but the cage still exists.
Who is Amy Cooper?
What has this got to do with anything?
Just the domino effect that it has...
And I get your point of view. But how realistic is it to achieve the change you are talking about?
I am horribly familiar with race relations in the US (I hate the word race as applied to humans. There is only one race) and I have some sympathy with the 'protestors'. I've never understood, do not understand and can't figure the angle on burning and looting. All I can imagine is long simmering anger, and a thousand little cuts leading to such behavior.
Harry Truman integrated the Armed Forces of the United States via Presidential Order in 1948. It took AT LEAST 50 years for the order to fully take effect.
I can't tell you how many instances of 'equipment failure' exist in the police forces that wear body cams (I'm not even sure the majority does). I have an easy answer for that problem, but nobody cares. Make it a firing offense to NOT have your cam functioning. A few people lose their jobs and they will learn to routinely check equipment. They check their weapons multiple times a day, check your cam function at the same time...
We here in the US desperately need to have the obvious discussion. Instead, we have the President inciting and dividing. Baby steps, indeed.
And then there is the group mentality, the safety in numbers, the masks. Protests need not be violent, protests can simply be changing behavior to longer support the violence of other.
The cameras seem to not work in the jail cells either, no matter how high-profile the inmate is.
I have several US friends here, but they have already been selected as different, because they are here. I can't generalize the people, but the systems supported are lunacy.
After the assault of Rodney King in 1991, blacks attacked the Korean town. When white police assaulted blacks, the blacks attacked non-white Koreans.
Blacks attacked weak Koreans because they could not attack strong whites. Racism against blacks in the United States is an issue, but racism against Asians is hidden.
So, I am dissatisfied with that.
I think racism in general is hidden, but I also some groups are more outspoken than others. In my experience, Asians suck it up and get on with building a life more, which is likely why they will economically outperform other groups. No matter the group, people who consider themselves victims are more likely to have lower quality lives.
In what way are Asians economically superior to other groups? Koreans, Japanese, and Chinese are paid less than whites and have longer working hours.
In the United States, Asians are sometimes more successful than whites if they succeed. Asians may be more successful than white people when they adapt to the environment.
The richest in the world on average work 8-10 hours a week more than the poor. And I am not sure about the paid less thing.
The adaption is important - adapt or be a victim.
Dear @tarazkp, Currently, Korean workers must work on holidays. They must work without overtime pay. They are not compensated for death from overwork and accidents.
You are right. White people are also victims if they cannot adapt.
In Korea?
Yes, also china, japan....most Lower-class workers are in east asia. @tarazkp, are you a white color worker?
I have to agree and disagree with you on this one.
Yes protests are not as effective as they were during the civil rights movement, but they are still the fastest way to get the governments attention.
I agree with the Opinion that people now participate in protests just to have a Sense of doing something now though, not necessarily caring about the impact or desired change it brings.
Perhaps we should stop seeking their attention.
Nice to know police stations can be overrun and burnt to the ground, though.
Just sayin'
Pretty much anything can - it just takes enough people. I still think that enough people could just as well move on and never have to worry about them again.
Fear! Fear!! Fear!!!
This is the major problem of humans. We are afraid to speak up, we are afraid of the aftermath of our speech and actions, we are afraid of being tortured and speaking the truth.
Fear! Fear!! Fear!!!
We need fearless heart to be able to change the face of the earth.
Hmm😢
Ever wondered what would happen if everyone globally just stopped listening to governments and corporations?
Good story and motivation 👏👏👍
What are you motivated to do?
When I opened this post, I was planning on reading it and reserving myself to voting only, as to not flood your notifications with my lame commentary. Obviously, I've failed, but it is on account of your success in this post. It's your fault because it is SO GOOD - SO NEEDED. I'm really quite blown away by how well you've captured this hard-to-tackle subject. Thanks.