UK Riots Analysis

So two weeks after the riots started in Tottenham, and moved around Britain, the dust has settled, and thankfully we have peaceful streets again. Out of every tragedy, we need to find a silver lining, and we need to make something good come out of this.

Those with right wing views were feted on the tv channels this week. It was a week of bash the blacks. They were called scumbags, feral, underclass, lowlife criminals. It was enough to make me as a black person feel ashamed of my race, and my 20 year old daughter felt everyone was looking at her on the way to work the next day. In fact her boss at work even joked that he had seen her on TV the previous night.

With the rioting of some youths, have we set race relations back 20 years. There are already vile things said about black people on the Internet. Look at any YouTube video which features black people. The N-word is as common as any other word used. Racism is alive and well, and perhaps we are fooling ourselves when we think the world is less racist.

David Starkey, eminent historian apparent heals it was the blacks fault and the White youths were taking on black culture. That's why they were also rioting and looting. So hold on. What colour are football hooligans? And who was involved in the student protests which turned violent over the hike in student fees? Not blacks. Yes, Mr Starkey is voicing opinions of many british people, so perhaps it should not have been so surprising. It's enough to make one realise that we are fighting a losing battle and we just have to make our way through life the best we can. Let's be realistic. There is no utopia to aspire to. Some people will always be racists, and others will always be bad. Or bad for a period of time, until they change.

How it started.
Yes another black person dies at the hands of the police. Mark Duggan was murdered, and the police have changed their story 3 times. We note that to date, no arrest has been made, and no suspensions announced. The police who did this does not appear to be receiving any of the harsh sentencing that the rioters and looters are receiving. There have been over 250 unexplained deaths of black people at the hands of the police. That is an epidemic, and the mainstream press has brushed this under the carpet. Police have lied and covered up these incidences and the families have been left bereft and suffering with no recourse to justice which in itself appears to be stacked against them. Operation Trident was set up to investigate black on black crime, but if the police are killing as many people as gangs are, what is going on here? Black people were angry, and when police started beating a 16 year old girl who had been peacefully protesting, then the touch paper was lit. Pandemonium broke out.

Rioting and Looting
Is there ever an excuse for rioting and looting. No. It is wrong.
Can it be be justified to attack businesses, set fire to buildings and stone the police. No. So while we are not seeking to justify wrong doings, one can however, understand the reasons behind this.

Underlying Causes
Can it be explained. Yes.

1) Demanding Action Now. Unfortunately many peaceful protests have been proven not to work. Attention is only drawn when there is a burning building, crowds running amok, and there is death. There had been many peaceful marches in London and Birmingham this year about unexplained deaths in police custody and these protests got no publicity whatsoever. The peaceful protest outside the police station in Tottenham were requesting answers and were ignored. Thats what the establishment typically do, ignore black people. They look through us, as if we are not there. They think we do not notice when they behave as if we are invisible. So the cry for attention went up loud and clear, around the world. All of a sudden there is an acceleration of debate and action.

2) Police Inadequacies . Call it what is is. Yes, once the touch paper was lit, opportunism reared it's head, and greed and lawlessness took over. Interesting that blacks and whites and many other nationalities joined in the arson and looting spree. It's as if people felt that because loads of people were at it, it had suddenly become the right thing to do. A switch had been flipped. Then we realised how powerless the police really are if people decide to form a commotion. If the police govern by consent, what happens when that consent is withdrawn. I was not comforted to find the metropolitan police only number 32,000. Er - are there not 14 million people living in and around London? What happens when 0.01 of that population decide enough is enough? That is 140,000 people. Democracy is built on people accepting the decision of the majority. However the minority can be big enough to upset the apple cart. We cannot assume that in the west what happened with the Arab spring uprisings cannot happen here. People might not always want to wait 4 or 5 years to change a government.

3) What is wrong or right? Everybody knows what is wrong or right. They would have learnt this from parents, or school, Tv or books. However, some choose to believe that if they have been wronged, it is ok to do wrong to others. Perhaps we do not realise we do have 'an eye for an eye' society - where wrong doers get their just desserts. They say - lets see what we can get away with - like its a game.. If there is free stuff available - people will run and grab what they can. it is not right, but it happens. Someone sees a fire, and others think, oh that looks good, lets start another one. Others think, well the window of the shop is smashed in, let's go and help ourselves - then we don't have to save up for it. It's not even about poverty. For then we are assuming that the poor have no morals. And as seen from the roll-call of those charged, some come from good families, who are in no sense of the word - poor.

Are we inflating the wrong doing, by filling our prisons with people who have stolen a bottle of water or a tv. Or are we just trying to make a point to those people that if you a daft enough to steal without covering your face you will be caught. Its puzzling that people forgot that if they walk down a high street there are 50 cameras pointing at you. Surely they must know london is the UK is the CCTV capital of the world. We see looting all over the world after an opportunity arises such as a disturbance or a disaster - except in Japan. After the earthquake and tsunami, the people were calm and measured in their approach, and we can only commend, look and learn.

4) Media incitement. The flames were fanned by the media and technology. There needs to be a study done on those involved in the rioting ( at least those who have been apprehended). We know there will be many not caught or handed over to police. Were they part of an underclass which is commonly assumed. Were they unemployed? Were there parents unemployed? Were they part of a gang? Were they part of a single parent family? Were they kids on holiday from school or college with nothing better to do? Were they educated? What race were they? it is has been said that the Scarmen enquiry can be dusted off and just change the date, and the trigger. However things have changed now. Did modern technology really fan the flames. Did Blackberry Messenger, Twitter or Facebook actually help the riots spread? Did the news channels, in showing what people were up actual showcase what could be done and how weak the police actually are? I can guarantee you some people developed an extraordinary interest in the news during this period.

There is nothing new under the sun. Let the lessons of the past be taught again and again. Lest we forget.

(c) Black Economics, 22nd August 2011