#Race, #Fear, and #Social Media
Emerging problems such as the Ferguson, Missouri riots in 2014, like the Los Angeles riots in 1992, provide a complex social dynamic that elude political science models. Civil rights problems tend to emerge from stimulus of both micro-individual behavior and macro-social forces, that is to say riots are a complicated social event evolving from individual behaviors influenced by two frames: emergent (short-term) stimuli and long-term inequalities.
The application of this dynamic can be clearly seen emerging in the Ferguson, Missouri Michael Brown case in 2014 and again in Baltimore in 2015. In both cases, the deaths of young black men at the hands of white police prompted quick reaction at all levels of government, including inquiries and investigations into police practices and racially-biased policing by the White House and the Department of Justice. Interestingly, however, despite the rapid amount of emergent public opinion, the issue fades quickly.
Although the shooting in Ferguson occurred August 9th, 2014, the issue remained somewhat salient, demonstrating staying power in social media as well as with most media syndicates. It can be readily noted that there is a correlation between the issue of Ferguson and perceived racism related to the event; where one rises, there is a corresponding rise in the other. On October 8th, there is a notable rise in the sentiment of racism in the context of Ferguson. The rise correlates to a shooting of a black teenager by an off-duty white officer in St. Louis on October 7th, 2014. Salient events cause an episodic reaction in attention as noted particularly on October 13th, when clergy were among dozens arrested on the final day of ‘Ferguson October’ protests.
Officer Darren Wilson was investigated and the case was referred to the grand jury to determine whether the officer would be indicted. Evidence was determined ultimately to be insufficient to indict the officer; the jury decision came on November 24th, 2014. Reactions of the public were remarkable and social media on the issue responded at an incredible speed. Shortly following the decision, social media posting rates on Twitter increased from ~9,000 Tweets per minute (TPM) to exceeding 52,000 TPM within 30 minutes, based on real-time analysis of Topsy.com, and Tweet Reverb analysis collected after the event, confirming initial findings.
As shown in figure above, within hours, every major city in the U.S. was ablaze regarding the jury decision. Countries throughout the world reacted to the decision, in particular, the United Kingdom, San Paulo Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Germany, though not to the same degree. However, within days, the rapid torrent of attention quickly faded to a fraction of what it was.
A strong racial dynamic was at work by the evening of November 24th, 2014, demonstrating that Ferguson is much more about the complexity of racial dynamics than about justice and the late Michael Brown. Similar undercurrents, perhaps far more strong, are at play in Baltimore. Leading up to the riots in Ferguson, social media analysis from October 26th to November 25th indicated strong correlation between fear, racism, and violence.
An association could clearly be seen between the Ferguson jury decision and race. As the Baltimore Six were recently indicted by the Grand Jury, the issue of civil rights in America stands at the precipice, waiting with bated breath for what comes next.
