Riots are an essential topic in sociology since they explain the behaviors of people and what contributed to such actions. Usually, riots are the aggression that accumulates in society and then manifests into a physical confrontation. Among such events is the one that happened in 2021, which was a riot in Capitol. However, while this is majorly discussed, the critical factor to consider is political agitation.
Before his speech in Washington, DC, President Donald Trump posted accusations of election rigging in the early morning. A few hours later, a right-wing militia group, the Proud Boy group supporters, could be seen marching in the direction of the Capitol (BBC, 2016). The president then started speaking to his followers and began pressing them to gather at the Capitol (BBC, 2016). The president was speaking as more people gathered outside the Capitol. They started moving toward the security barrier and managed to get past the guards (BBC, 2016). Trump tweeted a request for everyone to remain peaceful after many hours of the Capitol being broken into (BBC, 2016). The riot ended with Trump broadcasting a video message in which he ordered the rioters to go home.
From a sociological perspective, such a kind of riot is a perception of Trump’s supporters that they were not heard. The frantic behavior of the former president’s followers was supported by the agitation of the politician. The questions any sociologist would be asking involve whether the social issue was big enough to follow such a path of communicating the message, and whether the violence that led to deaths was a necessary action. In the given situation, larger social forces, such as agitation, led to the events of rioting. While there is freedom in the U.S., but it is constrained “to some degree by society’s standards and expectations” (Sociology, 2016, para.5). As a result, without receiving what they wanted and having the support of their leaders, Trump’s followers decided that rioting was the right decision.
Hence, political agitation is a crucial issue to take into account when discussing the Capitol riot. Any sociologist would question if the social issue was significant enough to warrant taking such a route to spread the message, and whether the use of violence that resulted in deaths was warranted. Larger societal dynamics, such as agitation, were the driving causes behind the riots in the circumstances at hand.
References
BBC. (2022). Capitol riots timeline: What happened on 6 January 2021? BBC News. Web.
Sociology. (2016). University of Minnesota. Web.