London Riots

[Stuart_C]

At the end of the day all of us always have a choice how to behave. That defines who we are. Those people chose to rob, steal and vandalise.

 

Whatever excuse they hide behind or whoever people feel is to blame, at that moment they chose to take those actions.

[Stuart_C]

Grrr.... Duplication.

[Trapper]

This has been doing the rounds:

 

[SpuffMonkey]

Obviously been watching quite a few of the "riots" and tbh I've seen more threatening trouble dealt with on a "normal" Friday night down town.

 

Anyone else cynical enough to think that the police were "stepping back" as a warning to politicians about what will happen if their share of the cuts and pension reductions go through?

[mrwobbly]

This has been doing the rounds:

 

 

That's from Photoshop looter.

 

photoshoplooter

[6Foot2]

Another topical photo-edited image:

 

http://gyazo.com/3c7c2ea5c99680aae40caf68e26dc5cc.png

[6Foot2]

Here's an idea [Picture edited for language]

 

http://gyazo.com/36e32f7ced2b582e48afc7941c2ed0dc.png

 

That way while you are in court you can hold your trousers up at a proper level before your stolen goods are confiscated.

[jinnantonnixx]

Anyone else cynical enough to think that the police were "stepping back" as a warning to politicians about what will happen if their share of the cuts and pension reductions go through?

 

Well, they didn't exactly go in hard and fast. I found this article, its explanation is rather different.

Why the police are in a state of impotence | Mick Hume | spiked

 

The authorities have left a power vacuum that invited anybody with a brick or a shopping trolley to come and have a go. On Saturday police left people free to loot shopping centres in north London, supposedly while the Force focused on dealing with the riot in Tottenham. Yet as residents pointed out, they did nothing to stop the burning down of shops and flats there, either. Over the days that followed there were many complaints from angry shopkeepers of the Met standing back while their premises were robbed and fired.

 

One Met commander gave a revealing interview to Sky News, explaining that the policing of communities had changed a lot since the riots of 25 or 30 years ago. This time, he said, ‘we’re standing next to these people watching them cry because their businesses have been destroyed. We’re going to work with the partners in that local community to make sure we help them rebuild Tottenham. That’s what policing is all about.’ Call me old-fashioned, but that sounds more like a professional therapist or town planner than a police chief faced with civil disorder.

 

The flabby police response gave the green light to the would-be looters and assorted toerags to come out and play. Indeed, the way the police then toured other areas of London telling shops to shut up early because trouble was coming – by implication making clear that they could not protect the properties – may well have put the idea of a little looting in some people’s heads. In these circumstances there was surely no great mystery as to why the riots spread so fast. There was nothing to stop them. The police were sounding the retreat before battle had even commenced.

 

For all the promise of ‘robust policing’, the only threat the authorities were really making was of robust videoing of looters to facilitate later prosecutions. A call to arms it was not.

Edited August 11, 2011 by jinnantonnixx

[JJonas]

UK riots: the list of magistrate cases and convictions so far | News | guardian.co.uk

 

Zoomable image: Peckham's peace wall

Edited August 11, 2011 by JJonas

[6Foot2]

London riots Google Doodle?

 

http://gyazo.com/ce43ce47a332ba9b4f0ccb87a5def418.png

[mattx]

This one made me chuckle:

 

http://i1118.photobucket.com/albums/k616/drohnwerks/nevervotedtorybeforecopy-1.jpg

[mattx]

Wishful thinking.....

 

http://www2.b3ta.com/host/creative/45021/1313067905/cammerwrong.jpg

[elsiegee40]

Our local rag is scraping the bottom of the barrel

 

Large header: Police strive to keep looters away.

 

Big photo: Burning shop (Caption reveals it's in Tottenham).

 

Story: Most of a page, but this is the key quote... “Officers were called to The Slug and Lettuce Bar at 10.15pm following reports of two men who were believed to be in possession of a brick with the intention of “carrying out disorder”. They were handed a section 27 notice ordering them to leave the area.”

 

* Sigh *

[mattx]

I think John McDonnell MP says it quite well in The Guardian:

 

Haven't the warnings been there, from as wide a range of people from Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett to Rowan Williams? We are reaping what has been sown over the last three decades of creating a grotesquely unequal society with an ethos of grab as much as you can by any means. A society of looters created with MPs and their expenses, bankers and their bonuses, tax-evading corporations, hacking journalists, bribe-taking police officers, and now a group of alienated kids are seizing their chance. This is not to condone but to understand. Addressing inequality is the only way we can avoid a rerun of these riots.

 

John McDonnell MP

 

Letters: We have created a society of looters | UK news | The Guardian

[Dos_Box]

I trust the Guardian as much as I trust the Daily Mail, in fact should either paper come into physical contact with the other something very 'bad' will happen to our universe.

I also note that Mr McDonnell is a labour MP and is duty bound to blame the riots on anything but his parties running of the country for the past 13 years.

[mattx]

I trust the Guardian as much as I trust the Daily Mail, in fact should either paper come into physical contact with the other something very 'bad' will happen to our universe.

I also note that Mr McDonnell is a labour MP and is duty bound to blame the riots on anything but his parties running of the country for the past 13 years.

 

You obviously don't know Mr McDonnell then Dos_Box as he has never been duty bound and if you >actually< read the short paragraph - IE: We are reaping what has been sown over the last three decades of creating a grotesquely unequal society with an ethos of grab as much as you can by any means

I think you will find that covers both the left and right.

 

Whilst I'm at it:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chavs-Demonization-Working-Owen-Jones/dp/184467696X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1313097736&sr=8-1

 

It's a good read but you may not enjoy it as it's written by a leftie.

Edited August 11, 2011 by mattx

[Trapper]

I just broke my TV watching Question Time. Anyone know where I can another one, cheap?

[elsiegee40]

So... if you recognised any of the toe-rags in the mug shots the police are showing to the world, would you shop them?

 

I only ask because it's occurred to me that there must be school staff in the affected areas who are recognising a fair number these youths. We were debating this in school at lunch time. It's hypothetical in our case... our town is so unlikely to be affected by rioting or looting unless anyone really wants the contents of a charity shop. The majority opinion was that we would, but there were a few voicing the opinion that it would be difficult for them to do so in case the youngster concerned was actually innocent or it caused a breakdown of trust in their school.

[GrumbleDook]

Yes, I would shop them. Done it before and would do it again. If I was there seeing them do it I would arrest them myself. Done it with shoplifters, vandals and muggers!

 

But I am also happy to try and work with them afterwards to pull them out of the pit they might be in ... But there has to be effort on both sides ... And right now there is little coming from the other side.

 

I do believe that youth clubs and community work can improve things, but it cannot work in the way it used to ... Even if you go back 10 years and look at support for youth initiatives, they would find it difficult.

 

It used to be that the community would help build the activities for young people, would support youth clubs and sports events. It is difficult to do that now. Trying to break down the barriers put in place, partly by the young people and partly by the circumstances they are in, is nigh on impossible. Gang ang youth cultured is fueled by the idea of "i want!" with little consideration for consequences. This is fueled by years of growth, of easy money through loans, of state support with few achievable targets, of a system that just could not cope ... And you can't blame one party or another as many of the local council run and work on their own initiatives and so many have been found to be ineffective ... when there are any, that is.

 

I do hope that all the filters and looters get caught, sentenced and serve their time or whatever punishment they get. I also hope that a serious look is taken to look at rehabilitation whilst they are in jail (if they get a custodial sentence) and is continue when they are back in the community.

 

For all those who have said (on the news, in the papers and online) that they can understand why it went up in flames, I hope they are also sitting down with their community trying to see what they can do to stop it happening again. As much as people might ridicule the Big Society, I do think that we are going to have to do a fair chunk of this on our own, with minimal funds, with limit resources and try to get as many people involved as we can.

[JJonas]

Birmingham Riots 2011 - Inspirational People

 

There are people on here like Tariq Jahan but also things like builders offering free riot repairs.

[thepineapplehead]

just to throw some more info in, I have two kids. Only one of them is mine. When it was a single parent family my boy was brought up beautifully by his mum. When I joined the picture he continued to act wonderfully. When his sister came along he acted out a bit, as you would expect, as he was an only child for five years. However we as parents nipped it and told him what was right and what was wrong and he was punished if he did something wrong intentionally. He is now a wonderful big brother who loves school and always wants to help people.

 

His sister has recently been two and is now starting to be naughty. I'm going to do the same with her.

 

My point is, if you bring your children up properly then I don't see how they can turn out like this. I know its hard but I like to think my kids will keep talking to me if they have problems when they're older.

[JJonas]

UK Riots: Teenagers Involved In London Looting Tell Sky News Looting Was Like A 'Shopping Spree' | UK News | Sky News

[tommej]

If the entire reason why someone is rioting and looting is "free stuff / smashing things up is fun / police are outnumbered so chances of getting caught are low" there's still questions to be asked from that about why the urge to gratify your own urge for free stuff and fun trumps the rule of law, your sense of community, your thought for the people whose lives you are endangering when you torch a building, your thought for the small business owners who are getting screwed over etc. Once you know the answers to those questions, how you fix things in the future so that this doesn't happen again.

 

I've actually been suprised at how little the government seem to be interested in looking for deeper explanations. I'm not expecting much out of Cameron et al, but I expected that it would at least be part of the message. And as far as I can tell it simply isn't. It seems looking deeper would be a waste of time because some people will always make bad moral decisions because that's fundamentally the human condition.

 

How depressing.

Edited August 12, 2011 by tommej

[tommej]

BBC News - Zoomable image: Peckham's peace wall

 

Aww

[localzuk]

So... if you recognised any of the toe-rags in the mug shots the police are showing to the world, would you shop them?

 

I only ask because it's occurred to me that there must be school staff in the affected areas who are recognising a fair number these youths. We were debating this in school at lunch time. It's hypothetical in our case... our town is so unlikely to be affected by rioting or looting unless anyone really wants the contents of a charity shop. The majority opinion was that we would, but there were a few voicing the opinion that it would be difficult for them to do so in case the youngster concerned was actually innocent or it caused a breakdown of trust in their school.

 

I'd shop them, definitely. It isn't our jobs to prosecute them, merely to aid enquiries, matching names to faces. It is then up to the police and courts to do the rest of the leg work. If they turn out to be innocent of any crime, that's great, but if you don't match names to faces, how will they check that?