baltimore

[DanaC]

Ha!

That is a good point.

People - even reasonable, law-abiding, gentle people, can be very different in a crowd. It shifts the dynamic.

I've been involved in several major demonstrations, mainly when I was much younger. Several of them turned nasty (the big Poll Tax demo in London in 1990, for example - and the anti-racism demo after the first BNP councillor was elected to a seat on the Isle of Dogs).

The poll tax demo turned into a full on riot, with around a quarter of a million marchers and full on riot police, with shields and batons, mounted police and police dogs. It was mayhem. It was terrifying - and was exhilirating.

The sense of righteous anger and collective response was powerful. It is a very strange feeling - being involved in a riot. It's like you become part of some larger organism. Really weird.