Rioting And The Rodney King Analysis

Collective behavior is relatively spontaneous, a social behavior occurring when people try to develop a common solution to an unclear situation. It’s brief, sometimes it can be emotional, and involves many people who may not know each other. In 1992, The Rodney King Riot is just one of the many examples that follow the six preconditions that group behavior follows. The 4 day riots An opposing viewpoint is that not all group behaviors follow theses conditions. Group behaviors , Rioting and the Rodney King incident follows the Six preconditions in relationship with collective behavior by structural conduciveness, structural strain, the growth and spread of the generalized beliefs, precipitating factors, mobilization, and social control.

Structural

Racism in L.A. during 1992 was part of the preconditions structural strain. It was alienation, it is the black community and their struggle to free themselves from past history of bondage. The rioters target the whites, they blame them for keeping them in the poverty they are in, squatting in their own neighborhoods, they saluted fists high in the air, falling on the victims, they fight for the justice, equality and the revenge. The fate of Blacks were in the hands of those with power, the discrimination was not to be excepted. Racism, a factor in Rodney's verdict, an all white jury decided on a black man's fate against four LAPD white officers who tenderized him. They wasn’t a moment where any of Rodney's thought or ideas were taken into account or justified. Racism relates to collective behavior in 1992, because blacks do not agree with the treatment or verdict of how Rodney was being treated, it is a form of Structural strain because racism was the underlying problem that created this negative situation. They wanted to defend and retaliate, they want their rights to be heard which caused them to act out in such a rash

Collective behavior impacts life in a ways that people may regret after incoherently acting out against an action. Not all group behaviors follow the six preconditions, however in 1992, the Rodney King rioting lasted four days and went through each condition. Problems such as population density, racism, media, a verdict, looting, setting fire, and the involvement of a curfew and the National guard, were all actions and reasons for such wild collective behavior to act out. After the 4 days of pure destruction, the people have come to their senses, and realized that forgiveness was the key to moving forward. Violence was no longer the answer, it's about raising the future generation to be productive and