Are there sociological, political and economic reasons for the riots

[BadFish]

or are the rioters just greedy, mindless thugs?

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Just ferals nicking stuff and shitting on their own doorstep.

 

[bhaexpress]

or are the rioters just greedy, mindless thugs?

In the main the latter. Turns out that the man who was shot and was the alleged start of this disorder was the nephew of a well known criminal and in fact he had fired at the Police before he was shot. I'm sorry but whilst it's not totally without foundation the 'Race Card' being played is getting very old now. What is even more ironic is that the Police have been accused of being ineffectual, can't win can they ?

 

[Skaville]

Surely the correct answer is both. Mindless, greedless, thievery and thuggery underpinned by social and economic and political problems.

 

[Seagull on the wing]

Surely the correct answer is both. Mindless, greedless, thievery and thuggery underpinned by social and economic and political problems.

It has to be the first one,it cannot be...economic and political.....no. Not when a millionaires daughter,a promising musician,an olympic rising star a trainee solicitor were involved in the looting and rioting. Politicical...no...no anti government banners,no anti government chanting.It is pure greed.

 

[DJ Leon]

Surely the correct answer is both. Mindless, greedless, thievery and thuggery underpinned by social and economic and political problems.

Yep, surely if you are a mindless thug you are one because of social, economic and political reasons.

I'm sure though that you'll get loads of people voting for the thug option because it's easier and satisfies the nonsense agenda of a certain political view.

 

[bpbill]

In the main the latter. Turns out that the man who was shot and was the alleged start of this disorder was the nephew of a well known criminal and in fact he had fired at the Police before he was shot. I'm sorry but whilst it's not totally without foundation the 'Race Card' being played is getting very old now. What is even more ironic is that the Police have been accused of being ineffectual, can't win can they ?

Actually I think you will find he didn't shoot at the police first.

The IPCC had to issue an apology for this piece of misinformation. Mark Duggan death: IPCC 'may have misled journalists'

Despite this there are undoubtedly some sociological reasons behind all this.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Why no option for both?

Crime nearly always has a genuine cause, and is always 100% wrong.

 

[Jonno]

Of course there are, you don't see the Ruperts and Hugos ram-raiding or petrol-bombing the Henley on Thames branch of Dixons

 

[Seagull Stew]

Not when a millionaires daughter,a promising musician,an olympic rising star a trainee solicitor were involved in the looting and rioting. Politicical...no...no anti government banners,no anti government chanting.It is pure greed.

And of course, these people were representative of all those who were involved in the looting and rioting were they?

Out of interest, why do you believe that a promising musician or rising olympic star could not possibly be socially and economically deprived?

 

[BadFish]

And of course, these people were representative of all those who were involved in the looting and rioting were they?

Out of interest, why do you believe that a promising musician or rising olympic star could not possibly be socially and economically deprived?

Or politically motivated?

 

[BHAFC_Pandapops]

If that 16 year old is anything to go by, they were all bored, and apparently, teen 'angst' doesn't exist. Especially if some of them want to be like this forever. It is only when they get sent down, if they get sent down, that they will grow up, hopefully.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

"Mindless" thuggery and thievery is itself a social, economic and political phenomenon. And it's not mindless.

As I said on another thread, this is "social banditry" - the term used by Eric Hobsbawm in Primitive Rebels. These are urban bandits, obviously, rather than the rural bandits he was writing about.

"The point about social bandits is that they are peasant outlaws whom the lord and state regard as criminals, but who remain within peasant society, and are considered by their people as heroes, as champions, avengers, fighters for justice, perhaps even leaders of liberation, and in any case as men to be admired, helped and supported. This relation between the ordinary peasant and the rebel, outlaw and robber is what makes social banditry interesting and significant ... Social banditry of this kind is one of the most universal social phenomena known to history".


Change the word "peasant" to "Londoner", and "the lord and state" to "the authorities" in the above passage and read it again.

The looters are making a statement about their place in the wider society. The wider society doesn't want to listen. It just wants to lock the looters up and throw away the key.

 

[KZNSeagull]

I watched the 'debate' that Sky News had about it on Thursday night. According to that, it is down to the creation of a dependance culture, lack of discipline, fatherless families and the lack of Faith in modern British society.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Of course there are, you don't see the Ruperts and Hugos ram-raiding or petrol-bombing the Henley on Thames branch of Dixons

But you do get rich kids hanging off the Cenotaph and throwing bins at police escort cars.

 

[beorhthelm]

odd poll the two options are not mutually exclusive. of course there are social reasons etc. the point is the the rioters were not conscious of those reasons, they were doing it purely for the thrill.

 

[Jonno]

But you do get rich kids hanging off the Cenotaph and throwing bins at police escort cars.

That's true, although I'm sure they would claim their knobbishness has an 'intellectual' dimension

 

[bhaexpress]

Actually I think you will find he didn't shoot at the police first.

The IPCC had to issue an apology for this piece of misinformation. Mark Duggan death: IPCC 'may have misled journalists'

Despite this there are undoubtedly some sociological reasons behind all this.

According to the London Evening Standard he did.

 

[bhaexpress]

The looters are making a statement about their place in the wider society. The wider society doesn't want to listen. It just wants to lock the looters up and throw away the key.

And what's wrong with that ?

 

[Hotchilidog]

Surely the correct answer is both. Mindless, greedless, thievery and thuggery underpinned by social and economic and political problems.

Is the correct answer.