Paris, Birmingham and Toledo

What do they all have in common? Neighborhoods who thru frustration and lack of information turned to riot.

In Toledo, part of the problem was the lack of information as to why the NSM was allowed to march, then a lack of information that the NSM had left without marching contributed to causing the riot.

In Birmingham, England, the false story by a pirate radio station DJ aired allegations that a black teenage girl had been gang raped by Asian men was the catalyst to the riot.

In Paris, the rumors that two boys had been killed while fleeing the police started the violence to begin.

While all three are similar in that aspect there is also another common factor that was shared. Underlying tension directed at a group. In two situations it was the police. In two race played a part. Paris and Toledo the underlying problems with the police added to it. In all three race was an underlying issue, with the NSM being the focus in Toledo and Asians being the focus in Birmingham and in Paris the riots took place in an area where former North Africans live.

It is much harder to build a good sense of community shared interest in neighborhoods that have had tension with authorities or other groups than it would be to make sure that correct, valid information was immediately disseminated in these situations to diffuse them. Waiting until the violence has already started then trying to communicate with angry mobs of residents does not work the majority of the time. That should be the goal for all three of these locations, to first improve information. Then work on the other goals as those will take time.