Surviving Riot Season
Some tips for the upcoming "summer of love"
An Instagram account I followed posted video of teens in downtown Chicago attacking cars a few nights ago:
The incident was random, not related to any protests and no one attacked by the mob was seriously hurt that I’m aware of. On the right side of the web we call summers in big cities “riot season” because mobs, usually of teens, going on rampages happens quite often during this time. In fact I’ve covered random mob violence in big cities since the inception of my online writing career - which was in 2004 or so?
This was for either crime or political blogs so I covered the subject through that lens but I saw some patterns develop that can help you. I’ll post some articles I still have online as sort of a bibliography so you can read the reporting I used to come to the following conclusions on how to navigate mob violence.
Here’s some basic rules you need to understand about riots, “direct action” and other sorts of dangerous mobs:
Mobs are usually organized - there is a misconception on most people’s part (due to academic research into mob behavior) that mobs form organically. Most mob violence is organized in advance. In fact we can see the real time organizing of violence online if you follow the right social media, like in “the purge” riots from a few years ago. The hashtag Purge was used to coordinate looting. Knowing this you might be able to build intel resources in your area like local Facebook pages for political activists.
Never get out the car - the only reason a crowd wants you out the car is to attempt to murder you. Do whatever you have to to not be dragged out of one.
Lock up your animals - animals are tortured during riots. I don’t know why this is. NSFW links but a puppy was stolen from a rescue and severely abused live on tv during the Memphis riots a few years ago. A raccoon was filmed being run down, tortured and beaten to death by BLM supporters in NYC. Dead cats, dogs and other animals often litter the ground during riot clean up. I couldn’t find the clip but news reporters in one town caught a running street battle between Antifa and homeless street kids which started when one Antifa member pepper sprayed a homeless girl’s dog. Protect your animals.
Be on good terms with your neighbors - in cases where there is video evidence of rioters being stopped from attacking residential areas we see the people of those areas banded together to face them down.
Don’t be the only X in a area full of Y - Sad but true. Black folk fleeing riots were attacked and almost murdered when they mistakenly went into Latino areas:
Here’s a Black transit authority worker talking about having to be escorted home by police because she lived in a mostly Mexican areas:
And finally a White liberal protester was viciously assaulted by several people while the mostly black crowd just watches
Mobs are tribal so be very careful about being in areas where you are easily singled out.
Also remember, the mobs want specific targets. If you are one get out. If you can’t get out be a hard target.
Here are some articles and blog posts about mobs I’ve written in the past:
Teen mob terrorizes Greenwich Village Dunkin’ Donuts
A lesson in mob tactics from the California tuition protests
Vicious wolf pack attack on two marines
This one is only found on the Internet Wayback Machine:
The Violent Mobs of Keretea: America’s Future
Stay safe out there this riot season