Why Riot?

   Yesterday, April 27th 2015, the city of Baltimore exploded as riots consumed parts of Charm City. I watched a lot of it unfold online through various sites, but mostly through Google+ and Twitter. On Twitter there are a lot of posts like the following:

Lets protest for justice!!!!! HOW!? By smashing the windows of all the shops on the road.. Wait Wut!? #BaltimoreRiots
— Tom Syndicate (@ProSyndicate) April 28, 2015

Nothing sways public opinion quite like assaulting bystanders, media & police, looting & destruction of property #BaltimoreRiots #Baltimore
— Aaron Robinow (@aaronrobinow) April 26, 2015

Rioters mind set: Lets destroy and burn our city! Because when this is all over we can enjoy being left with nothing!.. #BaltimoreRiots
— Tom Syndicate (@ProSyndicate) April 28, 2015

"I'll just throw this chair through a sports bar and social justice will be restored." #BaltimoreRiots pic.twitter.com/pGCxqe8ZoW
— ShitWhitePeopleRuin (@PeopleRuin) April 28, 2015

Yes, because burning and looting your own neighborhood is always the most reasonable way of getting your point across. #BaltimoreRiots
— Future First Lady (@Future1stLady1) April 28, 2015

Prove you aren't a criminal by acting like a criminal. Logic. #BaltimoreRiots
— Dani Butcher (@RepublicanSass) April 27, 2015

Burn down your neighborhood and steal from local businesses to promote justice. Makes sense, right? #BaltimoreRiots
— Dani Butcher (@RepublicanSass) April 27, 2015

  That last woman is so dense I had to post two of hers. And this is just a small sample. If you search #BaltimoreRiots there are tons of tweets saying essentially the same thing. They point out the stupidity and senselessness of it all or simply ask why. Obviously this is a question a lot of white people seem to be asking. I'm hoping I can explain it.
  The problem seems to be that people are confusing a peaceful protest with a riot. They are not the same but in this case they are related.
  In a peaceful protest, a bunch of people with a common grievance get together and decide to take their cause to the streets. This usually involves organized marches, media outreach, chanting, and signs describing the problem you want solved. The key factor in all of this is organization. It's all planned, it's all organized and it all has a common goal.
  Yesterday started out as protests. However, at some pointed it turned into riots. A riot is violent, undirected, lacks little to no leadership, and has two goals. Destruction and release. Riots do not get planned, no one sits around and says "Hey, lets solve our problem by destroying our own community".
  Riots are not rational, they are emotional. Riots occur when a group of people become so disenfranchised that they simply do not care who or what they damage anymore. They don't feel they have any power or control over their situation. The only goal is to vent anger and frustration.
  In this particular situation, a man died in police custody, and virtually no explanation has been giving as to how or why he died. This isn't the first time. It's been happening quite a lot lately, so much so, that the black community feels it's intentional. There have been protests about it, there have been discussions about it, and yet here we are and it's happening again. And each time it happens, the police, for the most part, get away with it.
  Because it has continued to happen and there seem to be little consequences, there is a growing number of people who don't feel that peaceful avenues are working. They've tried communicating, protesting, and even litigation. None have succeeded. When a person has no civilized options left, lawlessness becomes the only option. They are frustrated and they're angry. Really angry. They're not thinking about this rationally. They don't care what they smash, smashing anything within reach is the point. Why? Because it emotionally vents the negative feelings that have been bottling up. Riots are not thought out solutions, they're reactions on a cultural scale.
  If it sounds like I'm defending the rioters, I'm not. Rioting is foolish, it accomplishes nothing, and nine times out of ten, it hurts the people rioting more than anyone else. However, I can completely understand why this is happening. They don't feel they have any other options and they don't care if it makes sense. They're reacting out of rage and anger. They don't care how it makes them look online, or in the media. You don't have to condone it, to understand it. If we can understand it, hopefully we can come up with solutions so that it doesn't happen again.