This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Racial uprising and social unrest has become one of the defining stories of Between political speeches, social media debates, news articles and in-person conversations, it can be tough to know what to call a riot or an uprising, a boycott or a strike. Beyond dictionary definitions, there are also times when meanings can change depending on the context and who is being spoken about, explains Beverly Bain, a women and gender studies professor at the University of Toronto with a long history of activism.
For example, a riot can be used to describe mayhem carried out by fans after a sports loss, or a prison riot against unfair treatment. One is hooliganism and another is about rights and survival, Bain said. The Star spoke to activists and scholars to see what implications can come along with some words. This iteration, BIPOC, emphasizes the unique experiences that Black and Indigenous people can have in North America, due to the history of colonization, slavery and genocide. Similarly, use anti-Black racism when referring to discrimination, individual or systemic, experienced by Black people based on race.
For example, in response to COVID , some have committed acts of violence against Chinese Canadians, or people who appear to be Chinese, and it would be accurate to call it anti-Chinese. By definition, strike refers to employees who refuse to work as a form of organized protest, often to pressure their employer to meet certain demands. Strikes are generally voted on by the union membership. A boycott is when a consumer decides to withdraw their support or business, to express disapproval of or effect change within an organization.
The terminology that people use shapes how historical events are perceived, from the way they came to happen to why they matter. Disagreements over what to call Stonewall reflect different conceptions of what it was. Today, riots is most popular, followed by uprising and more distantly by rebellion.
Uprising has seen a surge in recent years, and the first mainstream media reports about Stonewall used different language entirely. The event was disruptive and violent. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, LGBT bar patrons pushed back, throwing coins at police, liberating detainees from custody and attempting to light the bar on fire while police were still inside. Parking meters were uprooted, stones were thrown and several nights of protests, involving thousands of people, followed.
In the years leading up to , places like the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles and the city of Detroit had seen massive unrest in black communities. The deadly upheavals there left hundreds of buildings razed and hundreds injured. Thousands were arrested and the streets were calmed only after officials deployed military troops. By contrast, evidence suggests that about 20 people were arrested during the protests that followed the Stonewall raid.
Mitchell advocated for public oversight, as well. Ultimately, Kelley came down strong against policing, arguing that American society would be better off if we could somehow find a way to move beyond it. He pointed out that policing actually has a relatively short history in the U. The question is: what was the organizational path that paved the way for these explosions? Mitchell, for her part, stood by a key distinction. The word riot is also used in a much different way to refer to something very funny, especially in the phrase laugh riot.
The term implies that it results in intense, unrestrained laughter. Example: The riot outside the stadium left dozens of people injured, along with widespread damage to cars in the parking lot.
The first records of the word riot come from around Riots are not peaceful. Situations accurately described as riots always involve some form of violence or destruction—especially a chaotic scene in which people are fighting and things are being broken.
Using the word almost always implies a criticism of the people participating. A protest might be called a riot if it turns violent. What are some other forms related to riot? My father was telling us to hear. He was beckoning us to do justice.
He was provoking us to true peace. A call to conscience.
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