The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win and their participants know it. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility. -Martin Luther King Jr
Martin Luther King also said, “A riot is the language of the unheard.”
Wonder if MLK made a distinction between riot vs protest. Riot is a widely used term to describe a protest involving communities of color. And often these peaceful protests end in riots when government operatives or opposition groups infiltrate to agitate and incite violence that nullify the message or intent of the protest.
With so much government spying, can riots or protests lead to real change?
They haven’t so far, yet, we see more and more protests or riots to increase awareness and more and more opposition to that awareness. Change requires long-term commitment while protests or riots are as MLK said, reactionary emotional catharsis. Plus protests or riots are vulnerable to outside inference that dilute their message.
How else can we attract media attention to increase awareness about important life and death issues?
