When is a riot not a riot? When it involves hundreds of thousands of white youths.

That’s apparently the conclusion of officials at Woodstock ’99 and the media. The three-day replay of the famed 1969 rock festival in upstate New York ended in looting, vandalism and rock throwing.

Two state troopers were among seven people injured and one concertgoer suffered a broken leg in the melee that ended the concert in the early morning of July 26. Seven people were arrested on charges of rioting, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.

What happened? A mob burned a row of 12 tractor trailers, set fires to a small bus and several portable toilets, overturned a car and vendor booths, ATMs, light stands and a speaker tower. The destruction went on for 90 minutes. Authorities claim that only several hundred people were actively involved.

Meanwhile thousands cheered them on.

On the other hand, the weekend college fest in Atlanta known as "Freaknik" is often couched in negative terms in the national spotlight even though incidents that may occur often are not as noteworthy as many of the incidents that occur on Florida beaches where white students frolic to on their summer break. Residents of Daytona Beach, Fla., shuddered at the idea of thousands of Blacks showing up at their doorstep for their annual college summer break, so the city put up barriers to discourage as many students as they could from coming.

In Chicago, officials found a way to cause a sponsor of a local festival dubbed "Freaknik" to cancel his event simply because the near 10,000 Blacks who showed up last year frightened whites in the nearby communities.

Even some city officials admit that many of the problems from last year’s event were caused by panicked law enforcement officials who closed off streets, causing a tremendous traffic jam.

What would the headlines have been if Black youth did what the whites at Woodstock ’99 did? It would probably still be a topic of discussion.

Any event that draws thousands of young people is bound to have some problems. But it seems those problems are more acceptable when it comes from white youths.