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The Rabble-Rouser Effect
rabble-rouser (noun) a person who speaks with intentions of inflaming the emotions of a crowd of people, typically for political reasons.
After fatal police encounters involving African Americans during the last decade, American cities experienced rioting that was reminiscent of the 1960s.
But the 21st century actually began with a riot that has been forgotten.
In 2001, rioting erupted after an unarmed black man was fatally shot by the police in Cincinnati, Ohio. This incident was the largest civil disturbance since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, which took place after four white police officers were acquitted for beating black motorist Rodney King.
The rallying cry of Cincinnati protesters was Stop Killing Us. There were other fatal shootings of black men by the Cincinnati police, which built tension and made the violent response by residents inevitable. The relationship between the black residents and the Cincinnati police was so bad that activists didn’t want any police presence in the black community.
The Cincinnati police obliged and withdrew.
Two months later, crime rates skyrocketed. There were 60 shootings, 78 people were wounded, compared with 9 shootings the previous year…