Week 6: Macdonald and Symmonds

According to the text written by Sarah MacDonald and Nicole Symmonds, they state that “…riots, when practiced as a tactic of resistance to political and economic oppression, may be a means toward flourishing” (pg. 39). Although I agree that an organized riot might have the ability to create an outcome that is flourishing, I don’t necessarily agree that violence should be the solution to obtain that outcome. Anger is the motivation that gathers people to work toward a goal, but when anger becomes violence it causes more damage than it does good. Violent rioting destroys people’s property, and in some cases harms innocent people.

So how should people use their anger to achieve a flourishing outcome? This is a difficult answer because it’s not easy to gather a large amount of people to work towards the same goal without corruption. There has to be an incentive that applies to all people, no matter their individual beliefs. However, social media is a platform that is accessible to a vast population. Spreading awareness through the media and encouraging others to interact in some simple way can motivate more people to participate in acquiring the desired outcome. In other words, starting a butterfly effect that can evolve and continue growing until it can’t be ignored.