Why is Britain Burning ?

[marharth]

You should be attentive to the causes and find solutions.

 

The riots are criminal and stupid, but ignoring the fuel of the anger won't help a thing.

 

Then maybe you should have a chat with the folks doing the rioting..... after all, the government didn't hold them at gunpoint, and say: "Go Forth, and Riot!"

 

We saw pretty much the same behavior with the Rodney King debacle. And he wasn't even killed. This is all a matter of the cops say one thing, but the neighborhood paints him as something completely different. Now, if the cops had video of this guy stepping out of a cab, and firing a couple shots at the cops....... would things be any different? Or, would those folks that are rioting just have some other explanation for why he fired at the police, and still blame the cops for his death?

The real cause of the riots wasn't a simple police murder. Just gave a reason to do something.

 

 

The real cause of the riots are people that are pissed off by the way their live and government is.

[VictoriaG]

Perhaps the initial riot in Tottenham had some perceived political motivation but what followed was purely a mass thieving spree by people who really couldn't care less about the police shooting, not when there were free flatscreens, games consoles, trainers etc etc. up for grabs.

 

Here's a little piccy I took on my way to work: Click

[ginnyfizz]

My parents are old enough to remember the depression of the 1930's. That was the kind of poverty that these yobs cannot even begin to comprehend. And ooh look, no riots then! So don't give me that old chestnut, Marharth. The problem is that the old left wing line about they are rioting because they are deprived and disenfranchised has been trotted out so often that too many people believe it.

 

The problem is the culture that you are entitled to have it all and have it all now, fuelled by the celebrity culture. Reality shows make the gullible think they can be rock stars sans any kind of talent. Everyone must have the trainers, clothes or the gadgets of the moment just because Cheryl Cole (speaking of no talent) or whoever is wearing them. I saved up the £1000 to build my new computer. Well more fool me. Perhaps I should have ram raided the computer parts store instead. (English sarcasm at work).

 

These riots were being organised via various IM services, Facebook and Twitter. Criminality on a grand scale. The guy who was shot, whilst he did not fire a shot at the police, was in possession of a replica gun converted to fire live rounds, which he had wrapped in a sock, which is a favourite method of gangsters by all accounts, to prevent leaving shell cases around. A gangster/drug dealer who lived by the sword and perished by it. In the words of that song from Chicago "He had it coming...he only had himself to blame..."

 

As one Mohandas Kharamchand Gandhi, doyen of the PEACEFUL protest said

"No one has any rights, unless he first do his duty."

[Sepherose]

My opinion is this: All governments rise and fall, it's a cyclic event that has always happened, and there is no reason for it to stop at our (humanities) current juncture. That is likely what we are seeing. It could take another twenty years, but that is what I see. I do feel that people being trampled on by their government is a good reason to get angry, but it is not a justification for looting and burning things to the ground. So yes, the government and it's choices are partially to blame, as are the rioters. Taking a solid stance on one side of that line or the other is a futile attempt at making a grey area situation into a black and white "it's all their fault" situation.

 

And Ginny, there were riots during the great depression: Timeline of the great depression.

 

They may not have been as big, but you also have to take into account that that was when people were not nearly as disillusioned with the federal government as they are now.

Edited August 14, 2011 by Sepherose

[JimboUK]

This is criminality from a group who have a huge sense of self entitlement thanks to our ridiculous welfare system, the suggestion that these thugs with their £100 trainers, designer clothes and gold jewellery are organising riots via their £300 smartphones because they're impoverished is laughable. I wouldn't take too much notice of the what the Guardian, BBC and The Labour Party have to say, it's years of their policies that have caused this.

 

Our criminal justice system is a joke, on the rare occasions criminals are caught the punishments are so light they provide no deterrent at all.

We don't treat criminals as criminals, we make excuses for their behaviour and in some cases treat them as victims.

Our police are so scared of being sued that they fail to act unless forced to do so.

We encourage teenagers to breed by giving free housing to anyone with kids, the more kids you have the bigger the house.

Years of feminist claptrap has led to the family being hugely undervalued, especially the importance of a permanent male role model.

We have no discipline in schools.

Children are taught about their rights but never about their responsibilities.

Our education system is broken, it's turning out kids who can't read and write and are thus completely unemployable.

Welfare has become a career option, in this country the poorest are those in low paid jobs, not those without jobs.

Those at the top of our society as bad as those at the bottom, they certainly don't provide anything to aspire to.

 

Combine this with one of the most consumerist societies in the world and you get what we saw last week.

 

On a lighter note this Photoshop made me laugh.....

 

http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/7065/cameron.jpg

[marharth]

Is there any proof that the riots were organized as a mass criminal attack?

[JimboUK]

Is there any proof that the riots were organized as a mass criminal attack?

 

Gangs organised where to strike via Twitter, Facebook and BBM, RIM gave police logs from BBM while Twitter and Facebook were there for all to see.

[HeyYou]

This is criminality from a group who have a huge sense of self entitlement thanks to our ridiculous welfare system, the suggestion that these thugs with their £100 trainers, designer clothes and gold jewellery are organising riots via their £300 smartphones because they're impoverished is laughable. I wouldn't take too much notice of the what the Guardian, BBC and The Labour Party have to say, it's years of their policies that have caused this.

 

Our criminal justice system is a joke, on the rare occasions criminals are caught the punishments are so light they provide no deterrent at all.

We don't treat criminals as criminals, we make excuses for their behaviour and in some cases treat them as victims.

Our police are so scared of being sued that they fail to act unless forced to do so.

We encourage teenagers to breed by giving free housing to anyone with kids, the more kids you have the bigger the house.

Years of feminist claptrap has led to the family being hugely undervalued, especially the importance of a permanent male role model.

We have no discipline in schools.

Children are taught about their rights but never about their responsibilities.

Our education system is broken, it's turning out kids who can't read and write and are thus completely unemployable.

Welfare has become a career option, in this country the poorest are those in low paid jobs, not those without jobs.

Those at the top of our society as bad as those at the bottom, they certainly don't provide anything to aspire to.

 

Combine this with one of the most consumerist societies in the world and you get what we saw last week.

 

On a lighter note this Photoshop made me laugh.....

 

http://img542.imageshack.us/img542/7065/cameron.jpg

 

Love the pic. :D

 

And again, this sounds REALLY familiar........ You could be describing the United States in each and every one of those statements...... although, I think your welfare system is even more overboard than ours.....

[grannywils]

jim_uk, your conservative politics frequently disagree with my more liberal ones. However, I have always admired you as a poster, and in fact make a point of looking for your posts on these threads. I number you as a friend on my profile. And your above, somewhat difficult to swallow post, is one of the reasons why. Although I do not agree with everything that you say (I do agree with some of it), you are open minded enough to see all sides of most situations. Your posting of the link regarding the top of society being as bad as the bottom is further proof of this in my mind. Thank you for that link, and also for the photoshopped print. Both were interesting.

[JimboUK]

Love the pic. :D

 

And again, this sounds REALLY familiar........ You could be describing the United States in each and every one of those statements...... although, I think your welfare system is even more overboard than ours.....

 

Our welfare system is beyond ridiculous, it actively discourages people from seeking employment and taking responsibility for themselves. In fact our whole system is completely wrong, we punish those who work hard by taxing the hell out of them while rewarding failure with free houses and money. A society that punishes success and rewards failure shouldn't be surprised when it finds itself with a large group of people unwilling to make any contribution towards it.

 

@grannywils Thank you for your kind words. The vast majority of people in this country are hard working and decent, the problem is that those at both the top and bottom of our society live in a moral vacuum. Business leaders have no social conscience, our politicians are dishonest to the point of being criminal and the less said about our senior police and the media the better.