Pitchforks and Torches…All It Takes Is A Spark
“A riot is an ugly thing” so said Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp (played by the late Kenneth Mars) in the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein, as he confronts the yelling mob of townspeople who have gathered to hunt the monster down …he then leads them on…sounds familiar? The leader…who could have swayed the mob, any which way, leans into their ethos and the rest is pitchforks and torches.
Mobs, by definition, are also ugly things…says Webster.…” A large crowd of people, especially one that is disorderly and intent on causing trouble or violence”. And all it takes is a match…
And all it takes is a spark to turn a mob into a riot and intent becomes action.
“I Have A Dream”
Yet great assemblies of people, gathered with a common purpose, are neither ugly or dangerous. Nor are they mobs or rioters. In fact, they are powerful in their ability to communicate purpose, cause and change. They tend to come together, united by a cause. Passionate in their beliefs.
A case in point is the 1963 March On Washington made forever famous by Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech. In a quote that sounds sadly and tragically contemporary Senator Olin D. Johnston, Democrat of South Carolina, rejected an invitation to the March by saying “you are committing the worst possible mistake in promoting this March. You should know that criminal, fanatical, and communistic elements, as well as crackpots, will move in to take every advantage of this mob”.
Hammers, Bells and Songs Won The Day
To his credit, the Senator did understand that a crowd can be swayed and turned into a mob and a mob into that “dangerous thing”….just not this one. In fact there were many in Washington DC that were convinced that there would be violence, a city burned down to the ground…riots.
Yet, nothing could have been further from the truth. My dear friend and teacher Peter Yarrow, who sang that day in his role with Peter, Paul and Mary still shares, with activists today, the energy, the focus, the power that the crowd radiated that day. All far from the predicted violent disaster.
Leaders Light The Match
Speaking from personal experience, back in the day, I can tell you that the spark that turns, even a great assembly, can come from anywhere and before you know it…that beautiful purpose morphs to mob and often violence. Sadly though, way too often the ignition is supplied by leaders.
I remember being in a crowd of passionate people, protesting one thing or another, when the leadership…religious leaders by chance, decided that the best path to TV (shocking right?) was to stir it up. Some began to push on the barricades and confront the, frankly, surprised police…one thing led to another…many in the crowd follow along or just get caught up….the result being the 6PM News and a few sore heads and arms to be exact. So it goes.
The Questions
Yet, the question confronting us today is different and is at the heart of much of the national divide.
Are all assemblies’ mobs?
Is all Mob Violence the Same?
Are Mobs all rioters?
Who/what do I condemn or condone?
Moral Equivelency?
Or, perhaps articulated a different way…is there a Moral Equivalency between looting and yes rioting, to be fair and an armed assault on the US Capital with crowds roaming the Halls looking for key Senators and Congresspeople to “punish”.
We saw it in the “Fine People” statement by the former President. We saw it in the Presidential debates as the candidates challenged each other to condemn violence from the other’s side. And we saw it in the Impeachment Proceedings as the assault on the Capital was likened to Antifa assaults in State Capitals or riots/looting during BLM protests.
Consequences
Inspector Kemp was right…and riots do tend to have consequences far beyond their stated beginnings. What coalesces as a moment of justice can turn into a looting spree as opportunistic criminals grab the moment and spark some in the crowd. We saw it in New York as fast-moving organized gangs…with lookouts and brilliant harvesting tactics looted luxury stores. But we also saw it in residential neighborhoods as participants, caught up in the wave, followed the crowd and small business, many owned by people of color, were destroyed and livelihoods wiped out. And we saw it as people of privilege, used that privilege to work out their faux revolutionary fantasies.
And yes there was shaming of some and needless confrontations and violence. But in the end…when stores boarded up in fear…and people stayed inside frightened…nothing happened. Except that voters came out in record numbers to change the status quo.
No Excuses
Is violence bad? Yes…it's bad and dangerous and destructive. No excuses. It diverts attention from the issue and gives excuse to the critics.
But then there is organized assault. Planned. Fed. Nurtured. A coordinated mob that gathers under the guise of protest and assembly…but always had a bigger mission. And the spark is less an explosive moment than it is a coded call to begin the assault.
All violence is bad and needs to be condemned.
Personal violence. Random violence. Police violence. Group violence. Violence in the name of anything.
Moral Equivalency or Absolutes?
But insurrection. Attacks on our very democracy. Crowds hunting the leadership of our county fueled by hate and lies. This is just not the same as criminals clearing out a Louis Vuitton store…..no matter how heinous you might think that is.
As my lifelong friend and muse D pointed out…..we are still debating, 160 years later, the legacy of John Brown…hero or villain…terrorist or freedom fighter.
Moral Equivalency or absolutes…..weigh in.
“How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see?”