Admittedly this question was raised by the current events in France but it is one that I have about all long term riots.
What exactly is the mentality behind multi-day riots? I can understand a single event riot in terms of mob mentality. A spark sets off triggering long held anger or resentment, a mob forms, people stop thinking for themselves, the mob takes over, riot starts. But when people described what was happening in France they made a note that the rioting was only going on at night and was quiet during the day. How does the whole mob mentality take over night after night and then disappear during the day? These types of riots are never really about the events that set them off, they are not about Rodney King, or the boys who were electrecuted, but they still need that spark. What exactly continues to spark them night after night? Or is there anything at all?
Mostly I just want to give this a BUMP because it’s a good question. Surely somewhere, someone has looked into this matter.
Don’t know if this has anything to do with the answer, but my understanding is that it is common in France for strikes (like for the subway workers for instance) to be announced days in advance so as to not trouble the general public too much. Maybe their riots are more structured than good-ol’ American riots.
It’s the same psychology as behind multi-day festivals, parties, drinking sprees and other things people do over an extended timeframe but in discrete phases.
“That felt pretty damn good! Lets do it again! YeeeeHA!!!”
Why at night? Because at night you feel safe doing things you’d never do during the daytime. Rioting, singing karaoke, wearing white leather trousers with a mauve shirt, whatever. Darkness gives a feeling of concealment and security, which is why lots of crime happens at night.
Lots of rioting follows this pattern - people spontaneously riot for some reason, discover that they not only can they get away with it but that they are part of a big group who are on their side. They go out the next night to see if the experience can be repeated, and sometimes it is. Rinse and repeat until the buzz wears off.
Another factor would be the news cycle: people reading in the paper/hearing on radio and TV about last night’s riots. Those in particular who didn’t participate last night will see a lot of hand-wringing going on and think: that sure jolted them. Seems to be a cool thing to do. Let’s try it here this night.
Thanks for the replies, that makes some sense. I was wondering if there wasn’t some aspect of anarchy in it, the idea of ‘Well what do you know? I can get away with this!’
Ask most experts, and they’ll tell you riots almost NEVER occur when things are bleak and hopeless. People who are truly oppressed and downtrodden are too afraid to rebel or riot. Historically, riots and rebellions usually occur when things are actually getting BETTER, and the oppressive power structure is starting to liberalize.
I mean, black Americans DIDN’T riot in the South during the worst days of Jim Crow and the KKK- rather, they rioted in liberal Northern cities at a time when their economic and civil rights prospects were unmistakeably IMPROVING.
Similarly, would-be revolutionaries in Russia laid low while the tyrannical Nikolai I was in power, but ran wild when the liberal Alexander II was tsar (they actually murdered Alexander II).
Is what’s going on in France an exception? Or are Muslims rioting now because they DON’T expect or fear police brutality or violent government crackdowns any more?