London Riots
The news on Sunday initially reminded me of the 2005 London bombings. Shocking images of destruction filled the screen for minutes and even after a while and having read several 'news', it was still unclear to me what caused all this.
You can't easily (if ever) explain suicide bombings nor rationalize the reasons behind such actions, especially when you're the victim / target.
On Sunday, the news were talking about the damage, loss of business and 2012 Olympics. A couple days later, things look worse; there are more riots and there's more damage. I haven't followed the news closely but I've heard enough (mainly on BBC Radio) to understand that this is not another 2005 type event. Yet many of the people interviewed by BBC seem to have a hard time trying to rationalize what's going on. Just like in 2005, someone's attacking them and nobody understands why.
Why would anyone try to destroy their own neighborhood? Looks like not even the rioters can answer this question. Still, what's going on there and who does all this damage?
Rioters = Hooligans
Hoolingans are many things. A few that come to mind (with wikipedia's help):
- gang members; the gangs a.k.a. football firms or hooligan firms might sometimes try to 'fix' something through violence. Most of the time however, violence is their sole purpose.
- "unbalanced" individuals (who can't afford a shrink)
- uneducated individuals / bullies / brutes / <you fill in the next 5> (not always poor)
- adrenaline junkies
- British citizens
Rioters = Youth
Londoners and media don't know who the rioters are nor what they want. Nobody likes them very much right now and everyone talks about Londoners (who clean up the mess) and rioters (who make a mess) - two separate teams sharing the sameplaybattlefield. Almost as if the rioters are just visiting - the Londoners will clean the mess ( minor disaster/headache) and will merrily return to their old habits (or get ready for the 2012 Olympics) in a jiffy / once the game is over.
Well....not really. Rioters live in London. In the very same neighborhoods they set ablaze. They are not going away. And they're young (that much we know). Maybe young just like the people who started some different kinds of riots in Egypt and Libya.
To sum it up: the rioters are young Londoners. The (by)product of the British society, British media, British government, security cameras and of the other Londoners.
Rioters = ?
Are the rioters just young hooligans? They share the same common belief that things can be solved through violence and exhibit the same inability to articulate their ideas but I think that it goes beyond hooliganism.
First of all, there's no football game. Second, they don't fight the supporters of another team, they fight the police and the shopping malls and, sometimes, 'posh' neighborhoods.
As funny as it may sound, it looks like they fight 'the system', the foundations of their own society (as they see it). This simple fact looks pretty obvious to me and, while the rioters might not be able to articulate this fact in one full sentence (which doesn't surprise me), I find it a bit surprising that the media and other Londoners are unable to see it:
Things are not well
Things are obviously getting bad enough that misguided and uneducated (not educated enough, if you like) people (some of London's next generation) are willing to give up their Play Stations and are ready to go out and put to practice what they learned on their Wii consoles: lobbing Molotov cocktails is not much different than playing tennis with that Wii controller. Obviously, no game taught them that 'redistribution of wealth' doesn't equal to stealing chocolate from stores.
Things are bad and this should scare Londoners and everyone else more than the sight of a few burning buildings or that of their own destroyed cars.
Most Londoners I heard on BBC Radio are now scared enough to demand/ask for more police control...there were even talks about bringing in the army. Presumably, to save their 'way of living'. And help create a proper police state that will protect them from their own (only they're conveniently not 'their own' anymore, they're rioters). In Libya, Gaddafi calls them terrorists.....
The recent, still unfolding, events should not simply scare but mobilize the society to come up with a better plan instead of demanding more control. A plan that can close this big divide, heal the cuts and make their society whole again.
'Clean-Up squads' are only going to get rid of the rubble. They might even teach a few 'rioters' a good lesson about what a society can be/should be, what solidarity means and how things can be achieved in non-violent ways. I hope that it will work for them - change at least a few minds and hearts while cleaning the rubble.
Some days or weeks from now the rubble will be gone. So will the squads. The hooligans/youth/rioters will still be there - maybe in the next building. What then?
You can't easily (if ever) explain suicide bombings nor rationalize the reasons behind such actions, especially when you're the victim / target.
On Sunday, the news were talking about the damage, loss of business and 2012 Olympics. A couple days later, things look worse; there are more riots and there's more damage. I haven't followed the news closely but I've heard enough (mainly on BBC Radio) to understand that this is not another 2005 type event. Yet many of the people interviewed by BBC seem to have a hard time trying to rationalize what's going on. Just like in 2005, someone's attacking them and nobody understands why.
Why would anyone try to destroy their own neighborhood? Looks like not even the rioters can answer this question. Still, what's going on there and who does all this damage?
Rioters = Hooligans
Hoolingans are many things. A few that come to mind (with wikipedia's help):
- gang members; the gangs a.k.a. football firms or hooligan firms might sometimes try to 'fix' something through violence. Most of the time however, violence is their sole purpose.
- "unbalanced" individuals (who can't afford a shrink)
- uneducated individuals / bullies / brutes / <you fill in the next 5> (not always poor)
- adrenaline junkies
- British citizens
Hoolingans are to England what pizza is to Italy. Well... sort of but one thing is for sure - they're the product of the British society. They are more British than the BMW owned Rolls-Royce. They ARE English.
Also known as the English disease, football hooliganism has been addressed by the British society (through their government) in various 'sensible' ways: police batons, tear-gas, fines for standing up during a football game and surveillance cameras.
Does any 'Londoner' wonder how London turned itself into a modern day Panopticon (original English 'design', none the less)?
How about any of the dudes and dudettes from all over the world currently and conveniently showing their support for London and Londoners through tweets while getting excited over their amazing social media 'poweeeer'(TM) to create and support trending hash tags?
Does any 'Londoner' wonder how London turned itself into a modern day Panopticon (original English 'design', none the less)?
How about any of the dudes and dudettes from all over the world currently and conveniently showing their support for London and Londoners through tweets while getting excited over their amazing social media 'poweeeer'(TM) to create and support trending hash tags?
Breaking news: rioters are Londoners. The kind of Londoners that break things then set them ablaze.
Londoners and media don't know who the rioters are nor what they want. Nobody likes them very much right now and everyone talks about Londoners (who clean up the mess) and rioters (who make a mess) - two separate teams sharing the same
Well....not really. Rioters live in London. In the very same neighborhoods they set ablaze. They are not going away. And they're young (that much we know). Maybe young just like the people who started some different kinds of riots in Egypt and Libya.
To sum it up: the rioters are young Londoners. The (by)product of the British society, British media, British government, security cameras and of the other Londoners.
Rioters = ?
Are the rioters just young hooligans? They share the same common belief that things can be solved through violence and exhibit the same inability to articulate their ideas but I think that it goes beyond hooliganism.
First of all, there's no football game. Second, they don't fight the supporters of another team, they fight the police and the shopping malls and, sometimes, 'posh' neighborhoods.
As funny as it may sound, it looks like they fight 'the system', the foundations of their own society (as they see it). This simple fact looks pretty obvious to me and, while the rioters might not be able to articulate this fact in one full sentence (which doesn't surprise me), I find it a bit surprising that the media and other Londoners are unable to see it:
Things are not well
Things are obviously getting bad enough that misguided and uneducated (not educated enough, if you like) people (some of London's next generation) are willing to give up their Play Stations and are ready to go out and put to practice what they learned on their Wii consoles: lobbing Molotov cocktails is not much different than playing tennis with that Wii controller. Obviously, no game taught them that 'redistribution of wealth' doesn't equal to stealing chocolate from stores.
Things are bad and this should scare Londoners and everyone else more than the sight of a few burning buildings or that of their own destroyed cars.
Most Londoners I heard on BBC Radio are now scared enough to demand/ask for more police control...there were even talks about bringing in the army. Presumably, to save their 'way of living'. And help create a proper police state that will protect them from their own (only they're conveniently not 'their own' anymore, they're rioters). In Libya, Gaddafi calls them terrorists.....
The recent, still unfolding, events should not simply scare but mobilize the society to come up with a better plan instead of demanding more control. A plan that can close this big divide, heal the cuts and make their society whole again.
'Clean-Up squads' are only going to get rid of the rubble. They might even teach a few 'rioters' a good lesson about what a society can be/should be, what solidarity means and how things can be achieved in non-violent ways. I hope that it will work for them - change at least a few minds and hearts while cleaning the rubble.
Some days or weeks from now the rubble will be gone. So will the squads. The hooligans/youth/rioters will still be there - maybe in the next building. What then?
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