[WS:] It certainly is, I have to admit. One definitely feels a rush marching with others and that rush increases by the possibility of a counterattack. I recall a large anti-wear demo in Santa Cruz, known as a hippie community, blocking a major highway. At one point an asshole in a sporty car tried to drive through the protest crowd. I do not think he injured anyone, he moved very slowly, but that provoked a reaction from the protesters who jumped on his car and started pounding it with whatever they had, even bare fists. This was like a rush - everyone tried to join in. I was very close to the action but the crowd was so intense that I simply could not get closer than 10-15 meters from the center of the action (the car being pounded). Needless to add that this was the main thing that the corporate media reported about the demo.
This was not much different from riots back in the old country, except that protesters faced armoured vehicles that moved at much higher speed and were, in turn, set ablaze by the protesters. It was very scary but also very exciting.
But upon a reflection, I find this riot adrenaline rush a bit disturbing. It may be for a right cause, allright, but in the end it is not that much different than soldiers attacking their enemies, or cops attacking protesters. In other words, macho bravado, something that I find utterly repulsive. This is not an argument against riots, but rather an expression of cognitive dissonance with them.
-- Wojtek
"Modern conservatism is just a neoliberal gloss on medieval domination."