Five myths about riots

This is a short but incisive bit dispelling some of the common myths about riots.  The general theme is that we in the US have an overwhelming urge to delegitimize riots by claiming they are ineffective, misled, started by outside agitators, etc.  I understand this urge; I was raised to believe in the basic legitimacy and effectiveness of US-style democracy to address and resolve social problems, so the use of political violence (and any acknowledgment of its potential validity) shakes to the very core my fundamental conception of the world.  But the author shows how the facts go against any argument that seeks to easily and neatly dismiss riots as a political reality.