May 5, 2000
The pleasure of being in a rampaging, angry mob...and the terror of being in a rampaging, angry mob.
- Writer Bill Buford reads from his book Among the Thugs. In it he sets out to try and understand the soccer hooligans who were rioting in ways large and small on a regular basis after soccer matches. It's a remarkable book—in turns funny, and then horrifying. By the time Buford's done, you understand that the thrill of being in a violent mob is as hardwired into us, as basic to us as a species, as the ability to love. (18 minutes)