Several national leaders, including President Obama, have issued calls for calm as the country prepares for protests in the wake of the grand jury’s decision in the August shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. In any case, it’s crucial to put the reaction into context, whatever the outcome.
On Monday, Twitter users reminded the world that civil unrest can be caused by a wide range of factors and can manifest in a variety of forms (yes, including relatively bad ones). When tensions rise to a boil, it’s easy to blame the people who are organising it because of their skin colour rather than the underlying issues