ABSTRACT
These events were catastrophic – in a flash they created strong visceral responses, prompted emotional reorientation, and disrupted the status quo. Without underplaying their ability to shake things up, I have argued if their effects are to be enduring and democratic, the political and social movements they enlist and the contexts in which they arise must be considered. To determine an event’s ability to foster democratic sensibilities and practices, I have analyzed the mass and social media (the power of affective communication and the potential for critical thinking), the movements that kept these grievances alive, as well as the neoliberal governing practices in which these events have arisen.
