Many have highlighted similarities and differences between last summer’s riots and the invasion of the US Capitol. All else aside, I believe there’s one commonality that contains the key to their solutions.
In their pursuit of justice, normally law-abiding individuals only engage in unlawful actions after they are convinced that lawful actions are insufficient.
Law-abiding individuals will firstly speak, write, vote, sue, and/or peacefully protest to obtain justice. But after these and other lawful actions fail, where can they turn? As they hear school children daily chant the sweet promise of “liberty and justice for all”, they perceive a bitter jeer, deriding their naive submission to laws which claim to establish universal justice while they themselves cope with the realities of injustice. It is in the crucible of this cognitive dissonance that many rioters are born.
If we are to approach solutions to riots, we must distinguish between these normally law-abiding individuals and the opportunists and extremists who always pop up to exploit circumstances for their own agendas. The popular inclination is to group all rioters into this second category. Some group everyone who rioted last summer as looters and Antifa thugs, and others group everyone who rioted at the Capitol as Proud Boys and neo-Nazis. Then, we simply condemn them all and call in the national guard. There’s nothing else we can do because looters, Antifa thugs, Proud Boys, and neo-Nazis are all bad people we can’t fix. And since we can’t fix them, and all the rioters are them, there’s nothing more we can do about the rioting.
But if we consider the large numbers of rioters who are normally law-abiding – soccer moms, lawyers, deacons, and hair stylists – we can begin to discern solutions. These individuals are only rioting because they are convinced that lawful actions cannot bring justice. Condemnations and the national guard are not the most effective long-term solutions for this group. The most effective long-term solution for this group is to convince them that lawful actions can bring justice.
For the normally law-abiding rioters of last summer to be convinced that lawful actions can bring them justice, one solution is serious federal effort to address systemic racism. Since the 1960s, relatively little has been done federally in this area and, as a result, inexcusable injustices remain. The reality of these injustices and the apparent failure of lawful actions are vividly brought to mind with every report of an officer-involved killing of an unarmed African American. Serious federal efforts to address systemic racism would significantly reduce the number of normally law-abiding individuals who feel unlawful actions to be their only recourse in these events.
On the other hand, for the normally law-abiding individuals who invaded the Capitol to be convinced that lawful actions can bring them justice, the only solution is for them to be convinced of the truth. In this case, lawful actions did produce the justice they seek. The recounts, audits, court cases, and constitutional provisions did ensure that justice was served. Unfortunately, most mainstream media outlets and public officials have not earned the trust of this group the way President Trump has; and he has convinced them that what they justly deserve – a fairly elected president – was denied them. If it were true that the election was stolen and every lawful action had failed to remedy this injustice, what other recourse do these normally law-abiding individuals have? As the President tweeted regarding the invasion: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots …”
As long as this lie is maintained, these normally law-abiding individuals will not need a Trump speech to call them to further unlawful behavior; day after day, they will hear the call of justice urging them to engage in the only options they have left. Only truth from those they trust can solve this problem. Condemnations of their violence that ignore this reality are at least unproductive if not counterproductive.
With every public call for justice, we must always endure the scourge of opportunists and extremists. And for these, condemnations and law enforcement – which are necessary – may be our only tools. But if we commit ourselves to providing every citizen with effective lawful remedies for injustice and commit ourselves to being credible speakers and seekers of truth, I believe we can make significant progress towards stopping the riots.