By now we've all had time to review the pictures of London on fire and the sense of emergency this has engendered. The immediate shock value of these salacious images of civil disorder may well have been replaced by anger and even outrage -how dare these 'orrible kids be allowed to get away with it!
I'm old enough to remember a series of serious inner city disturbances that occurred in the UK back in 1981. These particular riots stick out in my mind because of the intense apocalyptic mood they created in Thatcher's Britain. In my early teens listening to the Ruts' Babylon's Burning, the rough and ready pop culture of frantic punk and stylish ska appeared to rule supreme -to walk the streets of London felt like skating on ice not knowing when something violent was about to burst out of control. And unless you were looking for trouble or were a teacher, you kept away from skinheads, punks, rockers, mods, rudeboys and the rest.
In truth, the riots of the early 80s took place only in seriously deprived areas of Bristol, London, Manchester and Liverpool. They were largely connected with serious racial issues of the time and served as a wake-up call for society at large. Measures for better social housing and integration were implemented, but it took until after the Broadwater Farm and Handsworth riots of the mid-80s for the hopelessness experienced by many in inner ghettos to be fully vocalised. Police became a little more cautious about using 'stop-and-search' powers that were rightly seen as discriminatory against black youths, the Scarman report indicated the causes of deprivation and the increasing prosperity of the later 1980s and 90s meant that folks were less keen on serious street protesting for political purposes. Riots still erupted every few years largely in response to social issues, such as the Brixton riots of 1985 caused not only by the death of an arrested black man in police custody but also at the perceived gentrification of Brixton -the Dogstar boozer was smashed up and burned having recently been refurbished as a yuppy pub: serious working class anger could not be assuaged.
What is significant about the recent unrest has been the way it has been portrayed. They have clearly not reflected struggles against an uncaring society as seen in recent French rioting in Clichy-sous-Bois and Villiers-le-Bel. Neither are they the release of years of pent-up hostility against aggressive policing or any other aspect of poor government. They appear to have simply been a blatant disregard for any form of law and order. In an on-line BBC article many-a pundits' fourpenceworths indicate 10 possible reasons for the disturbances including lack of fathering, gangsta rap and opportunism. These, of course, may be right and if you interviewed each 'rioter' I'm sure you would find any number of sad reasons behind their antisocial behaviour, but were it not were ever thus? The broken angry mentality of de yoof is a response to their debilitating dependence on aspects of a prosperous mainstream culture which they may aspire to be a part of, but because of a lack of personal ability, competency, race or opportunity will always be beyond their attainment. Even the politicians knick stuff and claim it on expenses, so why not go and grab it?
Two girls interviewed by the BBC's Leana Hosea on the street said that rioting was "good fun" and that it was the "government's fault". They were showing the police "we can do what we want". And the targeting local businesses was a targeting of 'rich people', clearly seen as another cause of why all this has happened. At no point did they question their means or motives -the enjoyment of being beyond the control of society's conventions, the prized looting of shops and the wreckage done to other people's property were merit alone.
So when society finally does take notice, through the smoke of burnt-out shops, does it expect anything from these disaffected yoofs? Not really. Take, for example, Daytime TV with a succession of prosperity-linked programming such as Homes under the Hammer, Cash in the Attic, Bargain Hunt and A Place in the Sun and the increasing number of teleshopping channels. These may, of course, be what people want to see on TV, but they also imply that anyone without the ability to do these things (the vast majority of the daytime TV audience) are failures and therefore not as good as the rest of us. Wayne and Waynettat Slob can stay in their council houses and 'smoke fags'. The angry underclass of have-nots therefore have nothing to lose taking from the smug haves -all they needed is the opportunity for a bit of class war in the shops.
Riots from ancient Rome and Byzantium to the Boston Tea Party are nothing new. What is new is the way each sensational image of burning buildings and violent assaults is added to a seething cauldron of media excitement -a news viagra to keep you up all night. I'm sure that the people who own looted shops and the poor coppers receiving well-aimed bricks are not enjoying the spectacle half as much as the rest of us.
As for the cause, much hand-wringing can be done about the effects of government cut-backs and community policing. Brendan Barber, TUC leader, indicated back in 2009 that the consequence of "prolonged mass unemployment will have terrible effects on social cohesion, family break-up and the nation's health." This was clearly a prediction of direct political reaction, but I didn't see many union leaders carrying Tolpuddle Martyrs banners in the vanguard of the carpet warehouse burners. David Hartshorn 'super' at the Met's Public Order Branch also predicted in the Guardian of Feb 2009 that middle class people would take to the streets. Indeed, they may have been so with the teachers on their strike of 30th June, but there clearly weren't many trendy lefties in Palestinian keffiyehs rifling through JD Sports for the right sized trainers or shell suits. Although a few well-heeled opportunists took part, they were much more likely to be amongst the riot wombles tut-tutting as they swept up the glass.
So the current riots are a means by the disenfranchised underclass of gettin rich(er) quick(er) simply by being nasty(er). And, if the last few nights are to be believed, it has clearly worked. Forget politics, religion, race, culture and any noble cause that may have started a riot at any time in the past because rioting for rioting's sake is now on the cards. I imagine many rioters are asking themselves why they didn't do this sooner!
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