Sunday 14 August 2011

Retrospective excuses and how the cracks begin to show

My first post in a very long time, mostly because I've been plain lazy and just kept thoughts in my head rather than write them down, hopefully it won't happen again.

The August riots, along with the 'Hacking scandal' and home-bred Norwegian terrorism have ignited the social networking scene, turning each and every member into an automatic socio-political expert.
One need only refresh their 'News Feed' to see the point of view of their online friends and the ensuing debates which take place. Most of which are very sensationalist, inaccurate and founded on hearsay, I spend enough time reading the news, absorbing and arguing with contributors from around the world, when I click on facebook I'd much rather be confronted with the mundane occurrences of someone's day, not their stab in the dark as to why this, that or the other happened!

That rant aside, lets look at the recent spate of British anti-social hooliganism that has gripped the world and ignited trans-generational debate since its inception.

'They say are going to help us but I don't see any of it, there has to be more opportunities and jobs.'

'Everything we wanted we could get.'

'It was Comet - they didn't reply to me emailing my CV, or going up there so this was payback man, payback' (1)


Do either of the above quotations resound with the death of Mark Duggan at the hands of police? Do either of them relate in anyway to the IPCC investigation surrounding his death?
Do either of them have any link whatsoever to the candlelit vigil held in his honour?

A rather emphatic 'NO' seems to leap from the page doesn't it.

Violence erupts due to police handling of the situation at the aforementioned vigil and all of a sudden a storm of messages are sent round to people in local vicinities to take to the streets and cause some carnage. Shopfronts are smashed in and fires started, this continues through the night.
The world then wakes up to find that this has carried on and more and more people are piling onto the streets, looting high-end electrical goods, designer clothes and sports wear.

If anyone can draw a logical link between the shooting of a man and the need to trespass and steal a pair of trainers, please show me how.
Even better, if someone could show me how the shooting of a man in London leads to copycat vandalism and wanton destruction in Birmingham, Liverpool and other UK cities, then please, please let me know.

The three quotes given above are from a SkyNews special on 'The Riots' and why they happened, taking those three quotes each in turn, lets see what is trying to be said.

'They say are going to help us but I don't see any of it, there has to be more opportunities and jobs.'

'They', presumably the government, say they are going to help 'us', presumably the rioters. First and foremost, what role did the government play in the catalyst for this series of events?
Did the government shoot Mark Duggan?
It's very easy once you've committed a crime or done something wrong to turn around and point the finger of blame at the first thing that comes to mind. The government is of course a very easy target because the media and opposition (regardless of party) can pick up on it and try to seam a link but when the perpetrators of the majority of the damage turn out to be very young (11 being the youngest cited age), one has to wonder firstly whether they know who or what the government is and then question what they themselves have put into society to deserve said 'opportunities' and 'jobs'.

'Everything we wanted we could get.'

Imagine that. Everything that you wanted was right in front of you and you could freely take it at will.
Brilliant.
So who stopped these people from getting what they wanted?
Everyone has dreams and things that they'd like but most rational people I know have to go out and work for them, how did the rioters arrive at a situation whereby they could have everything they wanted?
The exact opposite. Rather than go out and work, they grouped up with friends, smashed a few doors down and tore a couple of televisions from walls, grabbed the latest playstation game on the way out for good measure and of course a DVD player for the fun of it.
It goes without saying that if that was the way of the world then 'nice things' and 'luxuries' wouldn't exist.
What kind of person brings a child into the world and lets them believe that is the right thing to do?
What kind of person destroys someone else's livelihood because they don't have the same things as them?

A very dark picture is painted when we sit back and reflect on these factors. The family unit and set of values is well and truly dead in the areas worst-hit by the riots. Blame government cuts all you like, blame 'social mobility', blame 'racism', blame any invented excuse under the sun but it all boils down to the values of our society today.
People have become far too reliant on the state (this is not a party political swipe) and now that the cost of this reliance has come to light and some belt-tightening has been suggested, people aren't happy... They're losing what they didn't do anything to earn; other than be born that is.
So the government takes away what they don't deserve, what happens? They take something they truly don't deserve BUT, herein lies the crux.
If they truly felt deep down that they did deserve what was taken away, why did they have to wait until a man was killed to jump on the back of his death? Why were they not in the streets and burning down buildings?
Because that isn't the reason at all. The reasons pure and simple are greed, laziness and lack of respect.

'It was Comet - they didn't reply to me emailing my CV, or going up there so this was payback man, payback'

I best forewarn the London School of Economics or one of the other 5 Universities that rejected me first time round, they turned me down without a reply so I'm going to go and torch them. That makes sense doesn't it? Then again I best wait until a policeman arrests somebody because then I'll have a great excuse... I hope they're prepared!

There you have it. Someone used to being given everything doesn't get given a response, therefore they must get pay back for the callous injustice carried out upon them.

That is THE problem with British society, everyone wants something but not everyone is prepared to work hard or make the sacrifices for it.
These events had no connection to the original death and violent breakouts but they soon become related by their own central locus, the disease of a welfare state and benefit culture.
It's not the police, it's not David Cameron, it's not the kids that did it. It's their parents and to some extent parents parents.

If we bring up children with no respect for authority, why does it surprise people when they act as such?

If we spend our whole lives out of work and getting what we want all the time, why is it a surprise when our children follow suit?

If we constantly blame someone else for all of our own shortcomings and never think of pointing the finger at ourselves, how will we ever get out of our own little rut?

It's easy to do something wrong and then think of who you can blame to quickly get out of it but when you've only got yourself the blame, the truth will always get you.

(1) http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16048584


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