Author: Allie53

Allie Perez

Section 2

 November 23, 2015

Reaction 3 (editorial)

With more and more rioting around the country, maybe the problem lays within the system not the people. People are frustrated and unable to voice those frustrations; they are also trying to make a change in a broken system. With a lack of ability to change, the people are frustrated and the way that the cities across the county deal with the riots and their lack of trying to prevent them. Cities need to recognize that there is a problem and change the way the system is dealing with it.

The problem with lack of government caring is cites around the country have experienced riots since the beginning of the country yet there has been little to prevent them. It seems as though the government is not realizing that there is a problem. From riots in Chicago in the 1900’s to the 2015 Ferguson riots; the people were frustrated with the system and saw no other way to let the police know that they were unhappy. In an article by Fabien Jobard, he wrote about why rioters can be violent “…characteristically destructive forms of actions undertaken by rioting youths, extensively cited by the authorities as sheer nihilism or vandalism, were actually more the product of police tactics and political configurations than the free will of the rioters” (Jobard, page 135). He argues that is not necessary that the rioters want to be destructive it is that they feel there is not other way.

Community power is affected by riots because there is a strong community within the cities and when the riots occur they not only come together they are also deeply affected by it. These riots hurt the community because they cause a separation between the citizens and the government. This divide only grows as the frustration and lack of change keeps on going. It is obvious from the prolonged progression of the riots that communities are suffering.

It is apparent that the cities’ government along with the national government is not doing the necessary steps in order to prevent and help with riots. Not only prevent but also deal with the real reason that the people are rioting, frustration. If there were plans to fix these then maybe there would be a decrease in riots and frustration among the people.

Work cited

JOBARD, FABIEN. “Rioting As A Political Tool: The 2005 Riots In France.” Howard

            Journal Of Criminal Justice 48.3 (2009): 235-244. Political Science Complete.

Web. 23 Nov. 2015. JOBARD, FABIEN. “Rioting As A Political Tool: The 2005

Riots In France.” Howard Journal Of Criminal Justice 48.3 (2009): 235-244.

Political Science Complete. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.

Riots

Riots are usually not something that happens without cause or happens randomly. Riots happen when groups of people are not able to let their voice be heard and or feel strongly about something and are unable to make a change. Though class readings and current events, it appears that rioters are taking their anger and frustrations out on the easiest form of power that has angered them. However the power may not be the ones that have actually let them down. The book Race, Space and Riots in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, and the recent Baltimore riot, appear to follow after the government at the local, state and/or national level have let the people rioting down. The anger may be directed at the police but it is only after several or many instances that have occurred and the government did not step and make the change that the people wanted but could not make on their own. Abu-Lughod brings up some ideas to why other riots have happened and it can be used to look at the Baltimore riot of 2015.

The book Race, Space and Riots in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, highlighted many race riots that took place before 2000’s and discussed the causes. The author, Abu-Lughod, did write about how the riots post 1970’s seemed to have a better understanding of what they wanted the outcomes to be and how they should go about fixing the problems (Abu-Lughod, 2007). The riots the book highlighted do not seem to have that path clear like the Baltimore riot. In the case of the Chicago riots, the riots appeared to be against African Americans, however, it did not appear to all stem from an isolated act but many acts put together and the government either causing the problem or not stepping up and fixing the problem. The very recent Baltimore riot had a similar feel and motivation behind it.

In spring of 2015 Baltimore, Maryland experienced a riot, which was a reaction to police violence that had occurred. People were angry with the police but also the state that failed to protect them by allowing local police to treat their citizens unjustly. The people had nowhere to turn because the people who were supposed to protect them were the ones that were hurting them. There was a strong sense of feeling powerless. While it appears that the Baltimore riot had a clearer message and reasoning behind it; it is still a little fuzzy to exactly what the rioters wanted the outcome to be. It appears that the rioters wanted justice for Freddy Grey however the readings appear to make it seem like they wanted more than just justice for one individual (Lynch, 2015). They wanted the unfair treatment to stop entirely and were just fed up in general.

The powerless feeling can be seen even through the media portal of the riots. An article my CNN, shows the tweets by the Baltimore Police stating that they are doing everything they can to put out the riots (Vega 2015). While the riot was violent however there was little to no appearance that the police were trying to understand the anger and working with the people (Vega, 2015). Violence should never be justified however the people probably felt they had to check the police officers because the government was/is not.

Using the book Race, Space and Riots in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles to understand and look at riots pre 2000, it was possible to examine the recent riot in Baltimore Maryland. The riot in Baltimore looked different on the surface than the riots in Chicago that the author writes about however the in-depth reasoning behind them were very similar. There was a strong sense of lack of power and inability to make a change without making a lot of noise.

 

 

References

 

Abu-Lughod, Janet L. Race, Space, And Riots In Chicago, New York, And Los Angeles. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 6 Nov. 2015.

 

Lynch, Dennis. Baltimore Riots 2015: Freddie Gray Slammed Head Into Police Van, Causing

            Fatal Injury, Report Says. April 30, 2015.

http://www.ibtimes.com/baltimore-riots-2015-freddie-gray-slammed-head-police-van-causing-fatal-injury-report-1904371

Vega ,Tanzina. How Baltimore police, protesters battle on Twitter. Tue April 28, 2015.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/politics/baltimore-riot-social-media/index.html

 

Who Has the Power?

In the book . Driven From New Orleans: How Non-profits Betray Public Housing and Promote Privatization the author Arena wrote about power in a community and who really has the power. By looking at the city of Fredericksburg’s comprehensive plan it shows that a government’s power chain has many parts. This is similar to the cases written about in the city New Orleans; the power appeared to be in the hands of the government and citizens but in reality many other groups and institutions had a larger say and more power. In the Fredericksburg city’s comprehensive plan, it focuses on the partnership with major intuitions in the area, mainly University of Mary Washington and Mary Washington hospital.

The comprehensive plan of Fredericksburg came out in 2015 and stated the goals, plans, and projects of the city. A section of this plan was devoted to the partnerships with the University of Mary Washington and Mary Washington Hospital; the ways at which they are beneficial to partner with the city. By working together, there are both pros and cons to the city and the citizens. Many articles and books that have been read have dealt with power structure at the local level but mainly Driven From New Orleans: How Non-profits Betray Public Housing and Promote Privatization. The concept of npo’s can be related to the same idea that power may seem to be coming from one place but in reality it is not. In this case the power seems to be in the hands of the government but in reality the institutions have a lot of power.

Part of the plan mentions how the city and the intuitions have an agreement to let each other use buildings/land plus they agreed to let their plans be agreed upon and help each other. “Maintain strong liaisons with the University of Mary Washington and Mary Washington Hospital, to share information, support each other’s initiatives, and to coordinate efforts” (Page 157). This appears to be the city working with surrounding intuitions for a way that is beneficial to both the city and the intuitions. However, it does not account for the citizens’ power or lack thereof. Now the intuitions have a larger say because they have a partnership with the government, possibly taking away power from the people. The people on the board of the University and the hospital are looking out for their best interest not the citizens. So whoever is in control of the institutes’ now gets a larger say. Local government power chain may appear to be obvious but it does not factor private intuitions and their part.

Decisions of the government are not only looking out for the people but also big institutions. This is not necessarily bad. By having a partnership with them is gives the government a way to protect the neighborhoods from over development. “Ensure that neighborhoods near the University are not adversely impacted by growing enrollment” (page 157). By partnering Fredericksburg city can help the citizens be protected against the growing university. The city may have to give power up but it also gives the citizens more control. It is even stated in the plan that there will be “Continue to participate in regularly scheduled Town/Gown meetings” (157). By this clause there is another way to make sure that both parties are getting what they want.

It is important for there to be a good working relationship between the institutions in a city and the government however there is also a fine line between working with and giving up power. The city of Fredericksburg comprehensive plan gives power to the University and Hospital because it puts their interest into account as well as gives them power to say no and threatens to stop supporting the city if they want to. When the city counts on the institutions for support they need to give into some demands. This could cause a slippery slope. When looking at power in a city, it is just not the elected and standing members of the government that have power but there are also silent institutions with a lot of power.

Woks cited

 

Arena, John. 2012. Driven From New Orleans: How Non-profits Betray Public Housing and

Promote Privatization. University of Minnesota Press.

 

Adopted by the Fredericksburg City Council. City of Fredericksburg Comprehensive Plan

September 8, 2005 http://www.fredericksburgva.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5099