Is another revolution inevitable?

[Free Bird]

The events in Ferguson have opened my eyes. Agree or not, people are starting to become aware that we are beginning to live in a police state. Will this escalate into another full on revolution? Why or why not?

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

No, but it should be.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

no. I think a shake-up of the existing order is "inevitable"; but I doubt it'll take the form of a revolution, unless the skies are falling in on global capitalism.

[bedstuy]

It's a very stupid question honestly.  An armed revolution in this country is not on the horizon in any way.  But, nobody knows the future and you can say, "who knows?" with respect to anything in the distant future. 

But, drawing a line between Ferguson and a growing trend, that's just silly.  Let's just think about where we've come in the past 20 or so years.  As per wikipedia:

Rodney King Riots:  11,000 arrests
Ferguson Riots:  205 arrests

Rodney King Riots:  2,000 people injured
Ferguson Riots:  6 people injured

Rodney King Riots:  53 people dead
Ferguson Riots:  0 people dead

So, if you look at where we've come since the Rodney King riots, we're moving in the right direction.  Cities are getting safer, racism is slowly but surely going down and the public is on board with a new direction on many policing issues.  We've gone from the hysteria of "just say no" to drug legalization in many parts of the country.  The rhetoric of "tough on crime" and "law and order" which justified mass incarceration is increasingly marginalized. 

And, this idea that we're living increasingly in a police state, that's just nonsense.  Obviously, we still have a large, powerful organization standing in the way of civil liberties in this country named the Republican Party.  But, there's always hope that Republicans will be defeated and we can start to see some positive change again.

[publicunofficial]

Revolution as in overthrow of the government? Never.

[BaconBacon96]

These rioters are far from revolutionaries.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

It's a very stupid question honestly.  An armed revolution in this country is not on the horizon in any way.  But, nobody knows the future and you can say, "who knows?" with respect to anything in the distant future. 

But, drawing a line between Ferguson and a growing trend, that's just silly.  Let's just think about where we've come in the past 20 or so years.  As per wikipedia:

Rodney King Riots:  11,000 arrests
Ferguson Riots:  205 arrests

Rodney King Riots:  2,000 people injured
Ferguson Riots:  6 people injured

Rodney King Riots:  53 people dead
Ferguson Riots:  0 people dead

So, if you look at where we've come since the Rodney King riots, we're moving in the right direction.  Cities are getting safer, racism is slowly but surely going down and the public is on board with a new direction on many policing issues.  We've gone from the hysteria of "just say no" to drug legalization in many parts of the country.  The rhetoric of "tough on crime" and "law and order" which justified mass incarceration is increasingly marginalized. 

And, this idea that we're living increasingly in a police state, that's just nonsense.  Obviously, we still have a large, powerful organization standing in the way of civil liberties in this country named the Republican Party.  But, there's always hope that Republicans will be defeated and we can start to see some positive change again.

Only 205 arrests? Easily a quarter of those were Oakland alone. Then again, it's Oakland.

[Adam Griffin]

And, this idea that we're living increasingly in a police state, that's just nonsense.

Well, it's not to those of us who haven't lived under the thumb of the likes of Giuliani and Bloomberg since we were children. Particularly in suburban America, there is a massive militarization of local police departments over the past decade that in no way shape or form is justified given the national downward trend of violent and non-violent crime alike (supported in part by the stats you posted).

But lo and behold, guess who is increasingly inhabiting suburban America these days? Though probably not intentional (as the federal government's wasted splurge on war equipment and local/state/federal politicians' fetishes with appearing to be "tough on crime" made a perfect marriage in this case), the disbursement of excessive equipment to law enforcement in select jurisdictions continues to follow the migration of minority communities as they move away from residing exclusively in urban areas. Cities with 10,000 people and crime rates below the national average do not need their own SWAT teams - let alone a freaking tank.


I highly doubt we're about to see any sort of "revolution" of sorts. It would have been far more likely to have occurred under economic circumstances in 2010-2011 if it were going to happen. With the rapid expansion of law enforcement's capabilities, it will only occur if/when people become as desperate as past generations (when they truly have nothing left to lose).

[Joe Biden is your president. Deal with it.]

These rioters are far from revolutionaries.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

These rioters are far from revolutionaries.

That doesn't mean they can't spark a revolution. No revolution begins without some type of protest to preface it.

As for the question, I believe that there will be a new American revolution. Maybe not in my lifetime, but there will be one.

[Bacon King]

Nothing in history is ever truly "inevitable".

[Frodo]

Revolutions generally occur only in societies where there is no outlet to express dissent.  So you're asking this question in the wrong country.  Perhaps Russia and China (or some other authoritarian countries) would be more suitable. 

[Vosem]

Voted "eventually", since it's impossible to know what things will be like a century from now, but obviously not any time soon and Ferguson does not presage a revolutionary tendency.

[SteveRogers]

No, but certainly another "Is another revolution inevitable?" thread is inevitable .

[free my dawg]

Fear not, the dictatorship of the proletariat is on the horizon. A socialist candidate got 16% of the vote in Washington this November.