Ferguson 1

Ferguson: A Psychosocial Model of Crowd Violence

GeMiracle Lee
The University of Illinois at Chicago

Professor Scott Grunow

English 161
May 2, 2016

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Over 25 burned-down businesses, roughly 80 arrests in the first night, and close to $6
million in damage sums up the physical aspects of what occurred during the Ferguson riots of
2014 (O'Neill, 2014, p.1). However, the true complexity of this event makes it much more
difficult to comprehend than these numbers may suggest. Based on my research, I can conclude
that multiple factors played a role in the 2014 Ferguson riots. The protests began shortly after the
murder of Mike Brown, causing anger in Ferguson and beyond. The murder, and what some saw
as a mishandling of the case, added onto anger stemming from the issue of police brutality
against African-American men in America. In recent years, this topic has been at the forefront
more than ever as repeated cases of black men dying at the hands of officers occur. The
instability that these issues caused within Ferguson and other cities created a tense emotional
environment, leading many to think that it was only a matter of time before residents took a
stand.
Although the killing of Mike Brown did in fact play a pivotal role in initiating the
conflict in Ferguson, the years worth of emotion in the city was what sustained it. Many believe
that the Ferguson riots were caused by police brutality and racism, while others see the media as
the main factor. Without a thorough look at these underlying factors, one might characterize the
protestors as a group of rowdy attention seekers, instead of people demanding change. Yet, those
who have analyzed this example of crowd behavior may not have taken into account the effects
of some important psychological theories regarding crowd behavior. LeBon (1895) exerts several
theories on crowds including contagion and deindividuation, which apply to this event. The
Girardian (1986) theory of scapegoating is also helpful in explaining the actions of the protestors
and their motives. Based on these factors, I claim that crowds respond to feelings of inferiority
that develop from the treatment from their opposition.

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As I address the issue of violence in the Ferguson protests, I will first provide an
historical perspective of violence in other protests movements. Second, a review of several
psychosocial theories that offer explanations on crowd behavior. Third, I will present and analyze
the ideas of several scholars on Ferguson and the various factors involved. Lastly, I will present
my own theory on violence in protest movements, focusing on Ferguson.

Historical Summary
Protest-related violence is something that has occurred numerous times throughout
history. Specifically, violence has found its way into protests against police brutality and racism
very frequently throughout the years. One of the most infamous cases of police brutality in
history was that of Rodney King. King was a African-American man who was beaten by four
police officers in Los Angeles in 1991. The beating was caught on tape and the public began to
demand a conviction for all four officers. This did not happen, and the LA riots began soon after
(Bradley, 1991, p.1).
Even before the Rodney King beating, there had been years worth of complaints from
citizens about being racially profiled and mistreated by law enforcement. Many people,
specifically African Americans, felt that this injustice had gone on too long and something
needed to be done. Unfortunately, cases such as this still go on today. The growth of social media
and mobile technology has brought police brutality to the forefront even more than ever as news
of these kinds of events is now made public as soon as they happen. With that has come more
and more protests from those who are seeking change (Bonilla, 2015, p. 5). Protests, like those
which occurred in Ferguson, often take on violent tones, resulting in property damage and

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numerous arrests. This leads one to question why protesting crowds act as they do and what
factors influence them?

Literature Review
LeBon (1895) in his book The Crowd claimed that upon joining a crowd, individuals lose
the qualities that once set them all apart. They instead adopt the same mentality and ideas,
making them one being. LeBon argues that this new sense of belonging leaves crowd members
with a sense of confidence and security that allows them to do certain things they would not have
on their own.
LeBon (1895) also outlines the idea of contagion and its effect on crowd behavior.
According to LeBon, In a crowd, every sentiment and act is contagious, and contagious to such
a degree that an individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the collective interest (P.
154). In other words, ones intrinsic desires and thoughts are placed in the background upon
joining a crowd and behaviors begin to mimic one another. A common trend in these behaviors is
the lack of reason or restraint that someone may have on their own. The crowd is spontaneous in
its actions and almost animalistic with its violence.
Girard (1986) in his book The Scapegoat claims that the Scapegoat Mechanism occurs
when someone is unfairly blamed for something because of certain characteristics about
themselves. Girard uses the example of Marie Antoinette, the former Queen of France who was
executed after being tried for various crimes, including incest (p. 20). Girard highlights that like
many victims, Antoinette was receiving unfair blame because she was not what the prosecutors
liked, being a woman and foreigner.

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Girard (1986) argues that a lack of difference in society is the cause of anger for
persecutors which leads to the punishment of their victims. Girard claims that people are
accustomed to different facets of life being a certain way, whether this be something as small as
choice of clothing, or broader topics like religion and sexuality. When things stray from the
comfortable norm and old boundaries become blurred, persecutors react. This dynamic leads to
people like the disabled or overweight being ridiculed because they do not look or act like we
expect them to.
Rembert et al. (2016) claims that the minority group threat hypothesis explains that
minorities are always held back by the more powerful and dominant groups in society (p. 231).
The dominant group holds the power in politics and at the judicial level. This allows them to
create a culture where they will forever be superior, making it nearly impossible for those
beneath them to get ahead.
In conjunction with the aforementioned theories, the following factors also offer insight
into protest crowd behavior.

Evidence Analysis
Police brutality is not an issue that has been isolated to Ferguson. Years worth of research
and evidence exists exploring where conflict between civilians and police officers occurs, and
who is involved. Incidents of police brutality often occur in areas where minorities or the
economically challenged live, as opposed to the more affluent areas. According to a 1992 study
mentioned by Holmes (2000), Blacks were overrepresented among complaints against
municipal police officers, but their complaints were less likely to be sustained (p. 347). In other
words, black people make up a large percentage of the those who complain about the actions of

Ferguson 6
police officers, and oftentimes little is done about it. This quote implies that black people are
those who are most often on the receiving end of mistreatment from law enforcement. They not
only have to deal with being targeted by those who are meant to protect them, but they also lack
the power needed to get justice for themselves. Thus, the idea that members of certain racial and
socio-economic classes are more susceptible to abuse by law enforcement is supported by
statistical analysis. I agree with this quote based on other research I have done on Ferguson,
Missouri and the state of that community prior to the riots. Ferguson resident Barry Perkins told
USA Today that throughout his time living in Ferguson, he had experienced many negative
encounters with local law enforcement and often felt targeted because of his race (Alcindor,
2014, p. 2). Perkins felt that the riots finally gave him the opportunity to vent his frustrations,
though he acknowledged that this got out of hand when he threw a rock at police officers. What
this incident shows is that the anger a person has over a certain situation can result in impulsive
behavior. The findings in the Holmes article concurs with the ideas of Rembert, Watson, and Hill
(2016) who argued that black people have been the targets of police brutality as early as the 20th
century. Rembert et al. (2016) claimed that, Black people lived in constant dread of the police.
More often than not, policemen, across the United States, served in their official roles to wrongly
persecute Black people and in their unofficial roles as racist vigilantes (p. 230). In other words,
the idea of police brutality is not a new phenomena. In fact, it is something that many have been
dealing with for generations. This sheds some light on why events like Mike Browns murder
evokes such a response from protesters. For many, this is just another example of law
enforcement flexing their muscle.
Race is also to blame when analyzing a situation such as Mike Browns murder and the
protests that followed. Rembert, Watson, and Hill (2016) claims that minority groups like

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African Americans have been placed in a subordinate position to whites for years (p. 231). This
second class treatment is another reason why there was so much anger in Ferguson leading up to
the riots. Rembert et al. argues that, As the population size of minorities increase, the dominant
group exerts social control directed at minority groups (p. 231). In other words, the constant aim
of dominant groups in society is to maintain their superiority and to keep everyone else down.
Whether this is through the actions of law enforcement or discrimination in job fields, the goal
remains the same. The authors called this idea the Minority group threat hypothesis (p . 231).
This kind of racism is certainly a factor in the division that many people feel in America, and
especially in a town like Ferguson. I will say that race was not the main reason that the riots took
place. However, there was certainly a racial undertone that must be acknowledged for a proper
analysis of the protests. One participant, Kellen Goodwin, gave some insight into the mindsets of
Ferguson residents when asked why the protests escalated as they did. Goodwin claims that
anger stemmed from a, unfair, aggressive police; and a government that does not fully represent
the people...You can only knock at the door peacefully for so long (Alcindor, 2014, p . 2). In
other words, many protesters had grown tired of living in a city where they did not receive fair
treatment. This explains the actions of some. The Chicago Commission on Race Relations (1920)
agrees with this theory by emphasizing the effect that pre-existing racial tension had on the riots
that occurred there (p. 82). Similar to Ferguson, the riot itself was triggered by a certain event,
but what sustained it was pre-existing emotions tied to race.
Is the media a cause for violence in protest situations? This is a factor that many may not
think of when analyzing riots but the media has been shown to play a major role in just about any
public event. Bonilla (2015) claims that, the use of mobile technology to record and circulate
footage of events has played a key role in promoting public outcry (p. 5). Basically, the media,

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specifically social sites like Facebook and Twitter have become a main source of news for
people. These platforms differ from older news methods like newspapers and television because
information can be spread faster and farther than ever. In the case of the Ferguson riots, social
media was used initially to give updates on the aftermath of Mike Browns killing. Eventually,
people began to use these sites to organize protests and to document what was going on it the
city for those that were not there. Some protesters took videos of themselves being tear-gassed in
the streets by police officers. This kind of imagery evoked a great deal of emotion for many and
led to the protests groups growing larger as more people wanted to take part (Bonilla, 2015, p. 7).
Thus the media certainly played a role in the growth of the protests and the actions of many of its
participants. What it also did was create a perception of many protesters that may not have been
entirely true.
Bonilla (2015) claims that, It is surely not coincidental that the groups most likely to
experience police brutality, to have their protests disparaged as acts of rioting and looting
and to be misrepresented in the media are precisely those turning to digital activism (p. 8). In
other words, many of the protesters were being unfairly labelled as troublemakers by traditional
media outlets. Though some of the people in Ferguson may have had ulterior motives when they
took part in protests, the vast majority was there for an honest protest. The media though, are the
ones with the power to create the narratives that the masses will accept, even if they are not
accurate. Pratt- Harris et al. concurs with this idea by also arguing that the media paints unfair
pictures of people. Pratt-Harris et. al claims that, In 2015 the media has played a significant role
in perpetuating the myth that Black males are criminogenic, sociopathic, incorrigible,
academically incompetent, barbaric, and menaces to society. The stereotypic imagery of Black
males as prone to violence, which moved inexorably across the nation in the antebellum era,

Ferguson 9
serves as the basis for contemporary policing (Pratt- Harris et. al, 2016, p. 380). In other words,
black people, specifically men, have been viewed in a negative light for years because of the
narrative created of them being violent and problematic. The protesters of Ferguson were victims
of this as multiple media outlets characterized them all as wrongdoers, even though many were
peaceful. This idea implies that there is a variance in society regarding how members of certain
groups are viewed. This is important to note when analyzing the behavior of a crowd because
some sources of information may be biased. It is also important to rely on the more classical
theories of crowd behavior to gain a full understanding of a situation like Ferguson.
In his book The Crowd (1895), LeBon called contagion the cause of every sentiment and
act in a crowd (p. 154). LeBon argues that this phenomena is almost hypnotic and crowds are,
contagious to such a degree that an individual readily sacrifices his personal interest to the
collective interest (p.154). In other words, upon joining a crowd, all personal desires and
thoughts are cast aside for those of the group. This quote would suggest that an individual is not
nearly as strong as a crowd is. It also suggests that members of a crowd greatly influence the
actions of one another. I agree with this because my own research which shows several instances
where individuals seemed to mimic each other. One incident occurred in a video of the Ferguson
protests which showed a young woman with a megaphone leading a crowd in chants (The New
York Times, 2014). As the woman got louder and more enthusiastic, more and more people
began to chant with her. Before long an entire crowd was shouting in unision. This demonstration
of contagion is just one example of this phenomena which is common in crowds.
In Stereotypes of Persecution from The Scapegoat Girard (1986) responds to the issue
of individuals being victimised due to them belonging to certain groups, calling this the
Scapegoat Mechanism. Girard claims that the blame placed by persecutors is often unfounded

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and based solely on bias held against victims. Girard (1986) references the trial of Marie
Antoinette, the disgraced former Queen of France who was executed after being accused of
various transgressions. The one accusation that Girard emphasizes was that of incest between
Marie Antoinette and her son. According to Girard (1986), this accusation, is often passed over
but which figures explicitly in the queens trial (p. 20). In other words, people often neglect to
mention the charge of incest when talking about Marie Antoinettes trial, although it was
probably the most important. Even though the accusation proved to be false it still deserves
attention. A crime like this is offensive enough within itself, but unfortunately for Marie
Antoinette she was ridiculed for far more than that.
On top of facing a horrible criminal charge, Marie Antoinette had other factors which
counted against her in the eyes of the public. According to Girard (1986), Marie Antoinette,
belongs to several familiar categories of victims of persecution; she is not only a queen but a
foreigner (p. 20). Basically, Girard is highlighting the fact that women have been routinely
mistreated throughout history and are often the recipients of irrational blame. The case of Marie
Antoinette was no exception and many people, especially men, were more willing to convict her
for being of the opposite gender. Her being a foreigner from Austria also added onto the dislike
that many harboured for her. The bias that was held against Marie Antoinette for her gender and
origin thus played a considerable role in her conviction. The persecutors relied on their own
feelings and stereotypes, ignoring the lack of probable evidence when they made their final

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judgement. Being associated with a certain group is all it takes for some people to determine
ones guilt. It can be said that Mike Brown was a Marie Antoinette of sorts in Ferguson. Many
people had decided his guilt as soon as they found out his race and age. He was quickly
characterized as a thug in the media and some felt that he deserved to die in the way that he did.
This again shows that the contempt that many hold for others based on biased beliefs often gets
in the way of the truth. Rembert et. al (2016) concurs with this idea and claims that,
Historically, black people have been criminalized in the United States as a function of a
racialized society and culture that blames them (p. 230). Black people, and many others have
often been the victims of scapegoating for who they are.
Another author who shares similar ideas with Girard is Elias Canetti. In his book Crowds
and Power, Canetti (1962) makes claims on several types of crowds and how they form. One of
these crowds was the persecuted crowd. Canetti (1962) called persecuted crowd one that feels
threatened from an outside source. Canetti argues that, One of the most striking traits of the
inner life of a crowd is the feeling of being persecuted, a peculiar angry sensitiveness and
irritability directed against those it has once and forever nominated as enemies (p. 22).
Basically, this type of crowd always feels a tension coming from the outsiders who are their
enemies. From the viewpoint of the crowd, these outsiders want to destroy them. Intriguingly,
this threat is oftentimes as internal as it is external. This theory offers insight into the Ferguson
protests and the actions of many participants. One video shows protesters being chased through

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the streets by police officers aiming their guns and shooting rubber bullets (The Alex Jones
Channel, 2014). The protesters were doing nothing but standing together and chanting but treated
like criminals. This kind of threat to a group can quickly change their mindset from peaceful to
violent as they feel the need to defend themselves. This suggests that the experiences of a crowd
can lead to changes in their emotions that affect their behavior.
Both Girard and Canetti include crowds of crowds who react to events that they find
unacceptable. Canetti, like Girard, showed the unity that exists in a crowd as all of its members
act as one. In Girards examples, the persecutors were punishing those they felt created a
disturbance in society. According to Girard, Those who make up the crowd are always potential
persecutors, for the dream of purging the community of the impure elements that corrupt it
(p.16). In other words, crowds have an intrinsic need to be mobile and to feel like they are
helping the community by getting rid of those that are problematic. Building on Girards point,
Canetti shows us a crowd from the opposite side of the spectrum. This time they are the ones
being persecuted and their actions are against those who oppose them. Thus both crowds act in
response to something that they are not pleased with. At this point there comes an interesting
distinction between Canetti and Girard.
Unlike Canetti, Girard emphasizes the viewpoint of the persecutor more so than the
victim. Girard explored the thought process behind the actions of a persecutor with his example
of Marie Antoinette. The people of France were upset because Marie was an outsider who

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blurred the lines of difference in their community. Canetti on the other hand, focused more on
those who were on the receiving end of the persecution. Had he used the same example as
Girard, he probably would have given Marie Antoinettes viewpoint. This distinction between the
two authors is worth noting because it offers insight into each of their ways of thinking in
regards to the topic of crowds.

Theory
All of the sources above are correct to a certain extent on their analysis of crowd
behavior. I agree with all of the sources to an extent, however, there are several factors which
were not addressed. They all fail to address the inferiority that protesting crowds often feel
towards authority and the effect this dynamic exerts on their behavior. Thus, I claim, based on
the above, that the mistreatment and actions by those in power creates an overall feeling of
inferiority that contributes to the actions of a crowd.
Those who are persecuted are often up against an enemy who is much stronger and more
powerful than they are. For instance, the protestors in Ferguson, Missouri were looking to call
attention to law enforcement in the area who they felt had mistreated many citizens. The
protesters wanted an end to police brutality as well as for proper action to be taken against officer
Darren Wilson, who killed black youth Mike Brown. Protester Alexis Templeton called the

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protests, A justified expression of anger, of frustration at losing black life at a consistent basis
(The New York Times, 2014). Basically, the rash of murders against African-Americans had
upset many to the point that they were ready to force change. Templeton, who was one of the
leaders at her specific protest, also acknowledged that being taken seriously as a protestor would
be hard because many were quick to label her as an angry black woman or a looter (The New
York Times, 2014). On top of the doubt from the public Ferguson protesters also had the task of
challenging a local government and police force that was much stronger than them. This fact
shows the uphill battle that protesters in Ferguson were facing. Factors like these offer an
explanation for the behaviors of some protesters in Ferguson, as some may have felt that their
backs were up against the wall and that any actions they took had to be drastic.
My research also shows that there was an overall lack of trust in the Ferguson community
between its citizens and police which started long before the murder of Mike Brown (Davis,
Prusaczyk, Ravindranath,Sewell, 2014, p. 23). The ill feelings stemmed from the many negative
encounters that Ferguson residents had experienced with police officers and the local
government that made them feel targeted. With these occurrences came feelings that certain
officers may have been abusing their authority in some situations and not acting professionally.
These events created a general feeling in Ferguson that the citizens would always be at the mercy
of public servicemen who were supposed to be there to help them, but may have possessed other
motives. This feeling of inferiority and hopelessness was only strengthened when Mike Brown

Ferguson 15
was killed ,and for many, this was the last straw. This led to some protests getting out of hand as
some demonstrators retorted to violence and destruction to get their point across.Others refused
to listen to orders from the police when told to vacate certain areas. Protester Barry Perkins told
reporters that, It feels good to act out against the police and I want to do what they did to me.
I want physically fight the police for all the stuff they have done to me (Alcindor, 2014, p.1).
For Perkins and many other protesters, there was a great deal of emotion fueling their actions.
These feelings stemmed from years of mistreatment from law enforcement and the lack of
changes made to better the situation.
Pent up feelings against authority may correlate to the aggressive actions of many
protesters. According to the Chicago Commission on Race Relations, a situation similar to the
one in Ferguson occurred in the early 1900s. (1920.) Racial tensions in Chicago began many
years prior as blacks and whites struggled to co-exist. There was segregation in the city and even
the beach had an unspoken boundary between the two races. When a young black man was killed
by a white man at the beach, the build up tensions finally came to a head and a outbreak of
violence began. Basically the black people were tired of being treated as second class citizens by
white people and were ready to fight. The feeling of being treated as less than or inferior for so
long was certainly a major force behind the actions of the crowd. In relation to my research
topic, pent up emotions pertaining to racism and discrimination also played a role in the protests.
This all relates back to the distribution of power in places like Ferguson and the effects that this

Ferguson 16
social stratification has on peoples behaviors. Being treated as if one is less than others can be
damaging to the psyche of a person and lead to them internalizing an idea of inferiority that will
eventually show in their actions (Pratt-Harris et al., 2016, p. 381).

Conclusion
The discussion on crowd behavior is one that is both fluid and ongoing. Crowds will
continue to be one of the most difficult parts of life to analyze as people and the ways that we
live change. Many questions about crowd behavior will still be asked in the future like to what
extent does societal issues like race and poverty contribute to riots like those which occurred in
Ferguson? There is also the question of how much of a role did the murder of Mike Brown have
on the events that occurred in Ferguson.
One may never know what truly inspires a crowd to act in the ways that they do because
of the limitations that exist when delving into ones psyche.What can be said about protest
crowds is that multiple factors can influence their actions, including the treatment they receive
from those who are socially superior to them, as they attempt to make an impact on specific
social structures.

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References
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Retrieved from http://www.usatoday. com/story/news/nation/2014/12/01/fergusonstruggles-to-understand-move-to-violence/70120308/
Bonilla, Y., & Rosa, J. (2015). #Ferguson: Digital protest, hashtag ethnography, and the racial
politics of social media in the United States - BONILLA - 2015 - American Ethnologist Wiley Online Library. Retrieved April 21, 2016, from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/amet.12112/full
Bradley, T. (1991, March 24). The Rodney King Affair. Retrieved from
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-03-24/local/me-1422_1_king-s-injuries-officer-laurencem-powell-beating
Canetti, E. (1962). Crowds and Power. New York: Viking Press.
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Chicago:A study of race relations and a riot. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Davis, M,.Prusaczyk, B., Ravindranath, D., Sewell, W. (2014, November 1). Race in
Contemporary America: Protest, Police, and Media in Ferguson. Economic and Political
Weekly.
Girard, R. (1986). The Scapegoat. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
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Le Bon G. (1895). The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. New York. Viking Press.

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Murch D. (2015). Historicizing Ferguson. New Politics, 15(3), 5.
ONeill, P.H. (2014, November 25). The final tally of damage done in the Ferguson riots.
Retreived from http://www.dailydot.com/politics/ferguson-riots-tally/
Pratt-Harris, N. C., Sinclair, M. M., Bragg, C. B., Williams, N. R., Ture, K. N., Smith, B. D., . . .
Brown, L. (2016). Police-involved homicide of unarmed Black males: Observations by
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Rasmussen, C. (2013). "A Web of Tension": The 1967 Protests in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Journal
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RT. (2014, August 14). You must disperse now! Missouri police crack down on Ferguson
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