gr8

Aug. 11th, 2011 11:13 am
ermenengilda: (tea)
[personal profile] ermenengilda
Some people are blaming BlackBerry phones, as if throughout history it's not been possible to organise a riot without a BlackBerry. Before the storming of the Bastille there must have been criminals across Paris sending messages such as "C u by drawbridge 2 mash da Kng shd b gr8."
. . .

A riot is usually a sudden realisation, that after years of feeling helpless and rubbish, with a growing sense you're being blamed for everything, that if everyone goes berserk at once they can do what they want for a couple of days. The current violence has been contrasted with 1981, as if back then, there were proper, decent riots with a political purpose and a Specials song. Now it's accepted by much of the establishment that there were genuine issues that enraged a generation. But at the time, as I remember, the news was packed with politicians yelling there could be no excuse for mindless criminality.

One difference with those times may be there were political organisations that attracted the angry. Black groups that identified with figures such as Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X had a big enough following to give a sense of direction to communities in the aftermath. Now those organisations have mostly collapsed, and appear to have been replaced by the gangs, so the fury is more likely to be random and aimed at everyone and no one.

So we should force these mindless rioters to abide by the same rules as respectable people. We should insist they set up a body for self-regulation; the Looter Complaints Commission, with a procedure whereby people whose houses they've destroyed can appeal for an apology which is granted or not, depending on how the rioter feels.
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