Collective Behavior Civil Disturbances, Part 1

[Music] [Music] The history of civil disturbance. in the United States goes back to the nation's very beginning to the rebellious acts of the colonial citizens who defied [Music] the indeed the very existence of the United States resulted from one of the greatest civil disturbances in history. The Revolutionary War as we call it and the war of the rebellion as the British call it. Today we look back with pride to the spirit of those days. But we must never forget it was a spirit of descent. 200 years have not dampened our spirit. [Music] Indeed, the spirit of disscent as expressed by the freedoms of speech and peaceable assembly is a constitutional right of the American people. As every policeman knows, these freedoms must be protected under law. But every policeman also knows there is a narrow narrow line between civil descent and civil disturbance. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Whatever the underlying cause for disscent, and there are many in today's troubled world, the transition from a peaceable assembly into a disorderly mob is a step into lawlessness. When this occurs, the police have a greater duty to protect public peace. This responsibility is shared by every law enforcement agency in the nation and by the United States Army. For the civilian policeman, the military policeman, and the soldier, no assignment is more difficult than to be called out for duty at the scene of a civil disturbance. [Music] The biggest problem in an operation like this is trying to dope out what the crowd will do next. When does dissension become disobedience? When does disobedience become disorder? When does a disorder become civil disturbance? We've got to know what the crowd is likely to do in order to plan what we're going to do. Civil disturbances do not materialize out of thin air. They are provoked by one or more causes and they evolve through successive stages. If we're going to handle civil disturbances rationally, we must understand their causes and recognize the successive stages which lead to violence. Let's begin with an understanding of causes. We of the third world feel that we have the right to be able to decide for ourselves. The causes of civil disturbance in America today stem from disaection felt in three large segments of our population. One is the youth of this country in need. We must have the right to determine our own destiny. [Music] Yesterday, the Yippi sent a representative to the White House uh telling the president that if he would appoint a Yippi commission uh to uh determine the direction of the war in Vietnam, uh we would then immediately call off the Yippi Festival. Um the president refused. Um so we're going [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] The youth of this country are restless, impatient and eager to change the world. They are by far the largest segment of our population. They are constantly increasing in number. The disaection of youth to existing society leads to a rise in tension, the underlying cause of civil disscent and disturbance. Another large segment of our population is composed of dissatisfied racial minorities. The wheel of yesterday is gone. The challenge is at hand. Principally, the blacks of America of nonviolence is reaffirmed. People just get tired of living these slums and these homes ro and rats running all through the crib. Walk on your front porch, you fall through it. Although blacks are by far the largest racial minority, they are not the only group who feel disaection. [Applause] [Music] [Music] disaffected racial minorities are not limited to the cities and suburbs. They are to be seen and heard throughout all of America. [Music] There is a third large segment of our population where feelings of disaection provide an underlying cause for civil protest and disturbance. a no longer silent majority composed of many different groups of our adult white population. [Applause] You're a little hardy stew. Why don't you take a bath? We can't bear any more. We can't bear any more. There are so many such groups with so many opposing viewpoints that conflicts occur even within the groups. Vietnam. And it is conflict between groups which initiates the third stage in the evolution of disorders. the development of a high tension situation. When a crowd gathers to voice a protest for or against something, any form of opposition tends to provoke a high tension situation. [Music] A high tension situation is characterized by name calling, pushing, and other aggressive acts which an individual could not commit under normal circumstances. supply you asked for it and I'm telling you that moreover the appearance of opposition especially the police creates a mood of excitement and expectation which impels persons to hang around and see what happens. Well, everybody wants to see a riot. At this stage in the evolution of disorder, the mood of the crowd, although defiant, is not rebellious. So far, tension has not led to violence. At this time too, the leadership and organization of the crowd are critical factors in its response to opposition. The group may be defiant, but also passive. If the police do not initiate violence themselves, it is not apt to occur and the development of further tension is avoided. On the other hand, the crowd may be militant to begin with and the appearance of police only adds to the tension. Protected by their anonymity, some individuals respond to their attention by striking out. [Music] And the direct confrontation between the opposing forces leads to the next step in the evolution of disorder. The outbreak of initial violence. The initial occurrence of violence is a fickle factor in the evolution of disorder because of its inflammatory effect on the demonstrators. At this point, demonstrators are restless, anxious, frustrated, perhaps fearful and angry. people. The crowd like the individual may seize upon one act of violence to justify additional violence. [Applause] Perhaps we can better understand the psychological factors affecting the crowd at this time by relating crowd behavior individual behavior. When an individual's emotions are stretched to the same breaking point, I didn't get that job. They gave it to a white kid. A goddamn white kid. I swear I'm going cut me up somebody. Hey. Hey, look at this. Look at this. Would you would you believe this, sir? Another murder. Another old woman beating the rap. How long we going to stand for this anyway? When are you going to start rounding up all the the [ __ ] and it's fix and pot to start killing them for a change? Huh? War is hell. [Music] Listen to this. It has been conservatively estimated that anti-pollution fines imposed on the American oil industry this year amount to millions of dollars. Fines? Are they kidding? When are we going to stop those old men from lousing up our world? When an individual is overcome with feelings of frustration and anger provoked by apparent social injustice, the normal reaction is simply to let off steam in the privacy of his surroundings. The specific objective of his anger is not right at hand. Usually no harm is done. [Applause] But when these individuals find themselves in a group of other individuals sharing their emotions, and when the objective of their anger is close at hand, such as any immediate opposition, the factors of individual psychology are compounded by factors of group psychology. The factors affecting the individual in this setting have been clearly defined and can usually be recognized in the response of individuals to a high tension situation. One is anonymity. When the individual feels himself lost in the crowd, he is apt to lose the constraints of shyness or responsibility. He is more likely to speak and act irresponsibly. Another important factor is suggestability. The individual is responsive to inflammatory slogans and catchwords. He is turned on by the excitement of the occasion. Still another factor is imitative behavior. Having achieved a feeling of security and unity within the group, the individual becomes compelled to follow the group and do as others are doing. And perhaps the most significant factor of all is emotional contagion. Everyone likes to see a riot. Down the streets, dogs are chasing them. Cats are hitting everybody. The anger expressed by a few individuals quickly spreads to others and they react as a group in order to satisfy the emotional needs they feel individually but now without restraint. The outbreak of initial violence is a critical event especially if it results in personal injury. The natural reaction of an individual, any individual to being injured is to return the injury to act with violence. This leads to the last stage in the evolution of disorder, the spread of violence. In some cases, this is unavoidable. In others, we can prevent it. This is not entirely a matter of fate, nor is the outcome always dictated by actions of the crowd. Sometimes we have a lot to do with it. And by we, I mean all of us who turn out for civil disturbance duty, both civilian and military. We can stop a disturbance. All right? We have the tactical knowhow and the weapons to overcome and subdue the most violent civil disturbance that could possibly occur in this country. The ultimate control of the situation is not our problem. Our problem is to exercise effective controls before a disturbance evolves into this regrettable stage. We cannot control the basic causes of civil disturbance which are deeply rooted in the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the American people. We cannot prevent people from gathering together in public places to express their disaection. For this right is guaranteed under law. But we can do something to prevent the escalation of tension which leads to violence when people are overcome by strong emotions. [Applause] We too are people and we cannot ignore the fact that we are subject to the same emotional reactions that cause normally law-abiding individuals to lose control of themselves under conditions of intolerable provocation. The challenge of controlling civil disturbances in America confronts all law enforcement agencies. Effective control measures require an understanding of the psychological factors affecting the conduct of the crowd and of the control force itself. These factors must be considered in planning, training and in supervision at the disturbance site.