
Straw Hat Riot - andy_herbert
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_Hat_Riot
======
yorwba
A nice demonstration of the theory that riots start when a well-known signal
synchronizes the actions of a critical mass of would-be rioters:
[https://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2020/05/on-days-of-
disor...](https://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2020/05/on-days-of-
disorder.html)

> 1\. An event occurs that signals to would-be rioters that they may soon be
> able to riot.

In this case, the end of straw hat season.

> 2\. This event gathers a crowd. A significant percentage of this
> crowd—though rarely, it seems, the majority—are eager for destruction.

In this case, teenagers on the lookout for people wearing straw hats.

> 3\. An entrepreneurial would-be rioter tests the crowd for the presence of
> other rioters by engaging in a minor (yet easily perceived) act of carnage.

In this case, by knocking the straw hat off someone's head and stomping on it.

> 4\. Other rioters follow suit, and as the number of offenders grow so does
> their willingness to take increasingly brazen acts of vandalism, theft, or
> violence.

