Wave Upon Wave of Demented Avengers, Indeed...

Interesting thought piece over at CNN (of all places) today:

Foreman: You say you want a revolution?

Washington (CNN) -- In case you didn't notice, London is on fire. Rioters are setting blazes, hurling stones, beating up famous statues and some of them kicked Prince Charles' car. Which is a little like beating up a statue, but still...
...
Which has me wondering if maybe we're setting the stage for similar unrest here on the American side of the pond.

Foreman touches on the LA riots in the early 1990s as the "it could/has happen/ed here" anecdote, and while I disagree with his premise that the LA Riots in 1992 mean riots could be right around the corner, I agree that the potential is here. One of the unintended consequences of trying to turn the US into Europe West is that we're likely to get *all* of the features of Europe, including the riots on a monthly/weekly/daily basis. The LA riots of the early 1990s were a near-perfect storm of discontent: racial unrest, rampant unemployment, out-of-control crime, and an overbearing police department all contributed to the flare-up that costs dozens of lives and millions of dollars in damage.

But it hasn't happened since.

Sure, we've had sporadic incidents here and there; a trashed downtown after a sporting collective wins/loses the big game; lioting in the wake of floods/hurricanes/other natural disasters; periodic instances of unrest have reared their ugly heads. But we haven't seen rampant violence like in France, where it's considered "normal" for only a couple cars to be overturned and burnt in a night. We haven't seen riot police out in the streets for extended periods of time even in our most dilapidated cities. Strikes do not utterly paralyze major cities in America, with police clashing with workers in ever-increasingly violent fashion.

Certainly the Second Amendment plays a part here; even the LA riots themselves were kept to the levels they were owing to privately owned firearms (witness the largely untouched Korean-owned shops where the owners barricaded themselves inside armed with SKS rifles and shotguns). It's a lot harder to rampage through a city setting fire to people's houses if they're very likely to shoot you dead before the molotov cocktail leaves your hand. Even the riots that have occured here in the USA have happened in urban areas where "self help" is "discourage[d]" (to borrow a term from the illustrious MA AG). People - even when they've formed a mob - are lot less brave about confronting armed opponents than unarmed. Certainly the police are armed - but there are clear and defined "rules of engagement" for them to employ deadly violence. Not so with a homeowner facing several dozen rioters with clubs, fists, and improvised explosives.

The larger part, though (and perhaps this is where JayG shows his foolish optimistic side) is the general spirit of America. We can excuse riotous behavior after a particularly thrilling sports team win - it's generally localized to the city of the win, and most often involves minor property damage. "Boys will be boys" and all that. When it's more widespread - or turns deliberately violent - we're far less charitable, and the vast majority don't mind seeing violence employed against the violent. This is what happens when there's still a semblance of private charity and not rampant socialism; when the less fortunate are helped not solely by the government but also by private organizations and religious entities. We're generous to a fault, and when this generosity is snubbed in favor of violence, we become less inclined to be sympathetic.

Widespread violence like which has been seen in Europe would be a sheer catastrophe here in the USA. Too many groups - both private and federal - would be quick to seize upon pandemic unrest for their own gains; rash acts of individual and mob violence would be flashpoints across the landscape for demagoguery and grandstanding. Should we start to see the same discontent here that has ravaged Europe, it's not clear whether harsh government response would help - or hurt - quell the unrest; it's quite possible that it could prove the flash that ignites a larger conflagration.

In any case, I certainly hope we never get to find out.

That is all.