London's burning

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Peaceful riots don't exist, it's always pointless destruction that shoots up insurance premiums in the area and likely leading to further deprivation in whatever area it takes place.

The big Sony distribution centre on fire is quite eerie.

I mean if the army does get called in, it would just signify complete loss of control, which it seems to already be.
 
Perhaps TheEdge is looking for the term "Peaceful Demonstration"? Or does that term not exist in Britain :)wink: )
 
We have no Army, there all in the far reaches of the world. We need to arm the police and anyone caught looting should be shot.
 
Independent, August 9 (opinion)
Twitter and Facebook have kept the perverse momentum going, transmitting invitations such as: "Bare shops are gonna get smashed up. So come, get some (free stuff!!!!) F... the feds we will send them back with OUR riot! Dead the ends and colour war for now. So If you see a brother... SALUTE! If you see a fed... SHOOT!"

...An absence of morality can easily be found in the rioters and looters. How, we ask, could they attack their own community with such disregard? But the young people would reply "easily", because they feel they don't actually belong to the community. Community, they would say, has nothing to offer them. Instead, for years they have experienced themselves cut adrift from civil society's legitimate structures. Society relies on collaborative behaviour; individuals are held accountable because belonging brings personal benefit. Fear or shame of being alienated keeps most of us pro-social.

Working at street level in London, over a number of years, many of us have been concerned about large groups of young adults creating their own parallel antisocial communities with different rules. The individual is responsible for their own survival because the established community is perceived to provide nothing. Acquisition of goods through violence is justified in neighbourhoods where the notion of dog eat dog pervades and the top dog survives the best. The drug economy facilitates a parallel subculture with the drug dealer producing more fiscally efficient solutions than the social care agencies who are too under-resourced to compete.
There is no such thing as community?

I actually saw a somewhat similar op-ed earlier (Telegraph I think?) that said that precisely, apparently without irony, in the context of mocking some North London MPs who've been discussing the riots as an "attack on community."
 
Yeah seen that and that is fucking disgusting. Fuck would I love to see that twat get a bullet in the back!
 
I don't believe deadly force should be used on someone that is not putting another's life at risk. People beating other people or law enforcement with boards, or bricks that put their life in danger should expect extreme force to be used on them.

People that loot should be charged with a higher crime with more punishment than someone that simply steals during 'normal' times.

A looter is much worse than regular thief.
 
Yeah seen that and that is fucking disgusting. Fuck would I love to see that twat get a bullet in the back!

All of them should be shot, they show no regard for human life whatsoever, no remorce. To help him up and then to rob him on the sly is lower than low.
 
Independent, August 9 (opinion)

There is no such thing as community?

I actually saw a somewhat similar op-ed earlier (Telegraph I think?) that said that precisely, apparently without irony, in the context of mocking some North London MPs who've been discussing the riots as an "attack on community."

I believe what they are getting at is that some people are seeing this as a break in the social contract between the people and the government. When the people no longer see the government or law as something that is for their good (protection, services etc) and in these communities the people feel the state is against them then there is no longer a need to uphold the law.

The kids don't feel like they belong to a community and so can do what they want to their own area without feeling the weight of social norms constraining them. I think that is the gist of what they're getting at.
 
I was more thinking of the allusion to Thatcher's "There is no such thing as 'society,' (only individuals...)" In context she meant to praise self-sufficiency, not antisocial behavior; I just found the seemingly unintentional and unironic paraphrase odd. Maybe it's not as famous a quote as I thought.
 
No it's pretty famous, and I see what you mean. Just me being a bit slow, in the middle of an essay on palliative care policy at 4.30 in the morning is taking it's toll.

Maybe it's all the realisation of Thatcher's grand dream.
 
the trigger situation reminds me very much of the situation in Paris a few years ago - 2 north african (i think) boys got electrocuted in the "banlieux" (sink estates) after trying to hide in a electricity substation when chased by police - this led to the Paris riots which were handled VERY controversially by Sarkozy who was interior minister, not president, at the time... it did all calm down quite quickly though and Sarko sent the heavy duty CRS riot police in... still, didn't look quite as bad as these images/footage though...

in that situation too, the rioting youths felt marginalised, alienated and excluded from society, felt they had no future... and took out their frustration and anger on the police...

tbh, i wouldn't want to be a 17 year old, without a family financial safety net, embarking on adult life in the UK right now - no jobs, and not even an education any more! the future is looking incredibly scary indeed! and no-one seems to know what the fuck to do about it...

this mass destruction is just horrendous, but reports of "mass muggings" in pubs and restaurants is on another level altogether! petrifying! are people going to start killing each other next??
 
Well, that was an interesting night.

I live in an area that is right in between two of the heavier trouble areas (Hackney and Camden), and we had sporadic outbursts, but nothing sustained, and the police and a few vigilantes (they did well, but I hope that kind of thing doesn't spread if it kicks off again tonight - that *will* result in serious problems) sprung very quickly and nothing got out of control. I think maybe the distraction of the war zones and running battles immediately to our east and west probably 'saved' our neighborhood. It seemed most groups were just passing through.

Saw a truly funny incident involving a kid and a bunch of riot police that I wish I'd caught on video - after throwing a chair at a pub window, only to have it just bounce off the window frame and straight back on him, he sprinted around a blind corner and collided with the riot police, bounced straight off them, not sure who was more surprised, but it was the end of his night. Would have been a great 20 second clip of complete failure.
 
Working from home today (err, in the pub...) - 2pm, very strong police presence around here already. Not sure if that's worrying or reassuring, but they do seem way more organised today.
 
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