Mass Hysteria Research Paper

994 Words4 Pages
Riots are recognized by the violence and destruction it leaves behind. They are initiated through common ground such as race or poverty. Usually, they are the last cries for help that people use when they demand change. Behind the start of riots is the mass hysteria that arouse the individual to come together as a group and form aggression towards an entity they do not find desirable. Mass hysteria can even be considered a psychosomatic disorder that eventually seeps into the start of a riot. However, it is seen that police brutality is a factor to the start of mass hysteria, riots, and psychological detriments to the victims. The continuation of police misconduct can and will lead the community to not trust and seek aid from the very people…show more content…
It is because of this that they are not considered lawful protests or demonstrations. People are unified due to a social and/or economic issue that are beyond their control. But there are specific triggers that create the riot. Triggers tend to be acts of authority deemed outrageously unfair or acts in which it seems that authority has failed. Past triggers include the Los Angeles riots in 1992 after the jury acquitted police officers caught on tape beating Rodney King or the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, where riots raged for days (Edmonds). According to Molly, people who lack economic opportunity often participate in a riot because they have nothing to lose by doing so, whereas those with a higher income and a more fruitful life tend to stay away from these violent events that could taint their livelihood (Edmonds). Typically riots are unstructured and impulsive and take place in urban areas where there can be a common, recognizable landmark as a starting point. The lack of a leader is due to the insecurity of being held responsible for initiating a riot which is why the individuals in the groups can feel invisible and blend into the crowd. Because of how unpremeditated riots are, they are tenuous and temporary which manifests an easier control tactic, a simple intimidation for arrest, by the police to subdue the riots (Edmonds). Even more so, the longer the riot, the less likely people will remember the main purpose for
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