More (Sort of) Recent History of Riots
We may be recalling the Los Angeles riots of 1992 but others are looking further back. Picture it: 387 AD. "In response to an unwanted tax imposed by the Emperor Theodosius, a mob of citizens and local officials of Antioch tore down painted wooden panels and bronze statues of the imperial family and dragged the loot through the streets. After setting fire to a house and attempting to ignite more buildings, the riot was finally quelled by law enforcement." Hey, let's not forget Constantinople in 388! And then in 532! The Nika Riots were half soccer hooligans at work, a quarter anti-tax zealots and a quarter paid agitators, basically. Only 30,000 people were killed! And then nobody got to have nice things (chariot races mostly) for a long time. Mm hmm.
Probably we should also be looking at Evil May Day, in 1517, when some folks decided it was time to get all the dirty foreigners (Of course, Jews! But also Greeks and Italians and worse) out of London. The city set a curfew and later arrested everyone, the army occupied the city and then, after some political groveling, everyone was pardoned! Ta da, the end.
I'm so eye-rolley about the conceit of riots.
The only riot I was in was at my college during homecoming. I use the term "riot" rather loosely since some looters asked us politely if we wanted that old couch on our porch and if not, may they burn it?
@SuperMargie Are you from Canada?
@John Band@twitter Close. MN.
You can't leave out the pogroms! It's like rioting, only with Jew-killing instead of stealing TVs.
The Nika Riots were the best! I love this description of how the hooiganism worked, from Wikipedia:
"The team associations had become a focus for various social and political issues for which the general Byzantine population lacked other forms of outlet. They combined aspects of street gangs and political parties, taking positions on current issues, notably theological problems (a cause of massive, often violent argument in the fifth and sixth centuries) or claimants to the throne. They frequently tried to affect the policy of the emperors by shouting political demands between the races. The imperial forces and guards in the city could not keep order without the cooperation of the circus factions which were in turn backed by the aristocratic families of the city; this included some families who believed they had a more rightful claim to the throne than Justinian."
See, before Facebook petitions, we had to shout our political demands at the emperor while he was trying to enjoy a chariot race.
@jfruh: Speak for yourself, man. I still shout my demands at Obama during Sunday Night Charioteering.
@jfruh And the best part is that football games in modern-day Turkey are only a notch or two below that!
@jfruh Edward Gibbon is pretty good on the Nika Riots, and I suspect that Wikipedia passage is heavily cribbed from him. Present-day pundits could learn a thing or two from him about the interaction between politics and spectacle.
@jfruh I believe it is time for me to plug a super fun fantasyish historical fictionish novel called Sailing to Sarantium, which iiiinnnncludes thouse riots!!
We need to add this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rmP93s8UDk