"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." (Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Acceptance Speech, on the occasion of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, December 10, 1964).
It is being called the 2nd pandemic, a scourge that is sweeping the nation while the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is still in its infancy; this new danger, however, is neither microscopic nor novel. It has a very human face, yet manifests some most dehumanizing features. Joe Pierre, M.D. writes passionately in The Psychology of Rioting: The Language of the Unheard: Denouncing symptoms of disease without treating the root cause is bad medicine about the need to understand the psychology behind the riotous reaction of some to the tragic death of an unarmed man at the hands of a police officer. I should first say, that the murder of George Floyd was insensible and the psychology of the perpetrator might make an interesting case study; he is currently in custody and I am hopeful the wheels of justice will turn swiftly to bring some relief to his family and loved ones.
While peaceful protests respecting the wrongful death of an individual are an essential exercise of 1st amendment rights, our focus here is on the rioting and violence that has ensued They too are violations - violations of the rights of entire communities - and harm the very causes for which the aggrieved allege to fight.
Dr. Pierre writes that " [r]ioting can be thought of as a symptom of a disease. In order to treat the symptom, we have to treat the disease. And the disease - the root cause - in this case is systemic racism. " There is clear evidence that the history of the United States is tarnished severely by atrocities of prejudiced persons who fail to see the dignity of another human person because of the color of his skin. Yet, in the current episodes of rioting, I would offer that systemic racism is not the cause of the rioting, and maybe not even one of the primary contributing factors.
Recent research suggests that past explanations of crowd violence - e.g., mob theory where individuals lose their sense of self and do things they otherwise might not, resulting in damage that is random and undirected; "bad" individuals enacting their violent predispositions together; or unscrupulous outsiders take advantage of the gullibility of the crowd in order to use them for destruction - do not account for the phenomenon adequately. Rather, the primary factor appears to be the norms held generally by in-group members and their influence on those around them. The current riots are defined in large part by a view of police as lacking legitimate authority to keep order, and an entitled sense that one should be able to express rage and resentment with no consideration of the effect on the innocent or on the common good. The collective rioting we now observe is far from random; it is focused on targets that the in-group deems offensive.
The tragic death of a defenseless man was the trigger, but the anger, aggression, and senselessness of the responses indicate that there are many more factors at play. Why else would the rioting be manifest through burning business, stealing and looting, violations of public health codes, and so on? These targets and actions are wholly unrelated to the death of Mr. Floyd. The rioting must be understood in the context of many things, among them: the immediacy of the 1st pandemic, and the consequent isolation, job loss, fear, and more systemically, the seeming hopelessness of the poverty of the inner city; and finally, a desire on the part of some to tear down the system with no real design on what should replace it to make things better - ala the French Revolution.
So how does one respond in a way to transform outrage into meaningful change? The beginnings of the answer are found in Dr. King's Nobel Prize acceptance speech quote: recognition and acceptance of the truth, and responding to that truth with love . In one sense, this seems simple, but in a world where the very e xistence of truth is debated, recognizing and accepting it becomes quite complex.
Collective data on racial differences in the United States are pretty clear: as a group, black men have lower life expectancy, higher health risks, higher rates of incarceration, greater barriers to employment, and more impediments to social mobility. But if one tries to go beyond the what , to the why , rational discussion becomes nearly impossible. Sadly, these reflect in some manner historical injustices that are difficult to measure, quantify, or remedy, but this is not the whole story. And so we must ask: Is systemic racism so pervasive that it is wholly invisible to all but the aggrieved, or, might it have something to do with the breakdown of the family and individual responsibility? Best of luck to anyone who would like to have a civil discussion in search of the truth. But unless we can get to the truth, we cannot respond to it with love.
Furthermore, the love based on truth must be individual , person to person. Humorist Charles M. Schulz noted " I love mankind; it's people I can't stand ." The rioters will claim to be fighting for mankind, but have utter disregard for their fellow man. True care and concern acknowledges the other's inherent dignity, desires that he become the best version of himself, offers support, encouragement, and yes expectations for change and development of virtue (in this current situation, temperance and self-control are good starting points). Until all sides seek the truth in goodwill, strive for the greater good, choose to love, and pray for those with whom they disagree, we will never be able to agree on what comprises the justice we seek.