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Causes Of The Stonewall Riots

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Another cause of the riots was the mistreatment of the arrested patrons from the police. The patrons taunted the police as they were paraded out into the streets to the wagon waiting to transport them to the police station. As the patrons left the Inn, they struck poses towards the crowd as the people showered the police and arrested with coins. One notable drag queen, stopped and posed, only to get pushed roughly into the wagon by police. This is when the crowd noticeably got angrier, and began to throw trash and stones. (Truscott).
“A number of incidents were happening simultaneously. There was no one thing that happened or one person, there was just… a flash of group, of mass anger” (Wright). It is agreed on though, that as the mass of people grew, so did the collective anger of the people. “Gay people were pissed off that the Stonewall had been busted and its patrons had been arrested and harassed by the cops. There was a riot going on. They weren’t going to take it anymore.” (Truscott).
While the riot grew over a span of 45 minutes, it lasted for six days. “A multiracial lot of poor gay teens, many living on the streets because they had been tossed out of homes or ran away from abuse, taunted the cops with abandon. Transvestites who camped and mocked the cops while striking blows with spiked heels showed that defiance and humor could be complementary.” (Wolf). Drag queens strutted down streets, kicking in chorus lines to mock the police. (Eilperin). The crowd erupted,

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