Riots: can you predict them?
There has been days of protests and arguably riots in Los Angeles focused on the activities of the US ICE, essentially immigration police, often it seems under the present US Government irregulars
The media refer to riots and Tump ordered a law and order crack down. Arrests continue as do protests
The Kaiser Chiefs famously sang that they ‘predict a riot’ but in fact this is not possible.
While many riots are not quite the spontaneous events they seem to authority- there is usually some spark, often the intervention of authority in a protest, that provokes them- they are not and can’t be pre-planned events like a big demonstration.
Historically, riots are not for abstract principles like Brexit. Action over rising food prices while wages don’t keep pace is a more likely focus. Police racism is another
Expect more protests and riots.
In the meantime while a riot may not be the most effective form of protest it has an impact and it’s a which side are you on issue. In this case the Los Angeles protesters
Keith Flett is the Editor of A History of Riots (CSP 2015)
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