The US is paralyzed by vitriolic party politics, the world economy is circling the drain and gangs of thugs have set London aflame. The fourth horseman should be on his way any day now.
As is often the case I was out of town when shit started getting real. My dingy hotel room in Copenhagen had no Internet so I was forced to glean what little information I could from the microscopic screen on my Blackberry. Even at such a reduced size it was readily apparent from the outset that the mob was ruling. Cops in riot gear were being routed by hoddies hurling rocks, terrified shoppers were barricading themselves into toilets and black smoke rose high above burning shops, homes and police cars.
At first I was somewhat amused and even sympathetic. After all, like big cities everywhere London has a large number of disenfranchised residents living on the margins and one of their own was blown away by a bunch of armed cops. Maybe it’s payback time. However it quickly became clear that this unrest wasn’t politically motivated. Yes, the spark that set it off came from a small demonstration against the killing but what has followed has lacked any clear rational except avarice and blind greed.
One must only look at the types of shops being targeted and the clear organization behind the looting to see that what we are experiencing is a systematic smash and grab operation perpetrated by opportunistic thugs. London gangs, the same ones that hold entire boroughs hostage with their omnipresent turf wars, set aside their differences for a free-for-all of ultra-violence organized, ironically, using the preferred tool of white-collar criminals, the Blackberry.
Take for example one participant interviewed by The International Herald Tribune. 19 years old, lives on a council estate, only learned to read three years ago, never had a job, doesn’t go to school, lives on Job-Seeker’s allowance, and spends each and every day at home watching telly. He saw what was happening and thought he best go and “...get my penny's worth!” and joined the mob. He feels somewhat morally superior to his compatriots because he “only” stole a £120 jumper. He says he wants a job and then whines that, “No one will give me a chance.” Yeah, funny that.
Did society fail this kid? Probably, but he has equally failed society.
A friend of mine equated the rioters with Palestinians being brutalized by Israel and felt that what is happening in London is just the beginning of a larger upheaval. She spoke of the frustrations of being trapped in poverty while surrounded by wealth and urged me to revisit Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. While I love my friend dearly and hold her opinions in high regard I am disinclined to agree with her assessment.
Firstly, there is an ocean of difference between a nation of people being deliberately deprived of liberty by an oppressive regime and London street gangs. Last time I checked the UK is still nominally a liberal democracy, albeit one with low social mobility and there is still a huge social safety net of programs available to move people out of poverty and protect the most vulnerable. Sure the systems are far from perfect but income disparity in and of itself is no justification for burning the local news agent's shop.
I would like to know exactly where on Maslow's ladder you would have to be in order for your desires for mobile phones and televisions to outweigh your needs for food and shelter. Those fuckers weren't stealing to feed their families, they were stealing because they are greedy yobs with feelings of entitlement.
Nor were they taking to the streets to overthrow an evil dictatorship or stop a war or save public access to higher education. There are causes so dear that the only Right and Good option is to man the barricades. If I saw even a hint of that, or sensed that there was something deeper at work here other than mindless wanton carnage, then I would grab my arm-band and gas mask and be out there too.
Lacking any evidence to the contrary, I am compelled to agree with the assessment of this shop owner that these savages are nothing more than feral rats- an appropriate and wonderfully evocative phrase that I am already over using.
I may be turning into a misanthrope but at least I am a selective one.
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