When Is Rioting the Answer?
From the Boston Tea Party to Ferguson, Americans Have Employed Violence to Improve Their Lot. But Does It Work?
America was founded on riots. From as far back as the days of tar-and-feathering British tax collectors, citizens have resisted power by fighting back, using fists when their voices weren’t heard.
This violent tradition lives on in the country, boiling up at times in our cities. In places like Los Angeles in 1992, and Ferguson and Baltimore in the past year, urban tensions—often the result of racial and economic inequalities—have exploded into a mess of arson, looting, and police brutality.
What sort of progress is made in these periods of …
