Race Riots in Britain

[theheretic]

Wanna know why there are race riots in Britain? Here's why.

And why the violent reaction? It has happened before. The Guns of Brixton say it all, don't they?

Comments

[evilref]

Well, the more interesting thing is that the fellow killed last Thursday, that triggered it all off, was some kind of big man in the Broadwater Farm estate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadwater_Farm_Estate#The_Broadwater_Farm_Estate

If you follow the link away to the "Broadwater Farm Riot" you'll find it's not this riot, it's the last riot -- the one where a policeman was hacked to death with a machete.

The Metropolitan Police shot the fellow before he drew a gun, and the police radio that was mentioned in the news turns out to have taken a bullet from a Met gun. Now this fellow was some sort of gangster, it seems (or should that be "gangsta"?) but the Met have a long and dark history of shooting citizens, then being exonerated in the subsequent years of inquiry.

Perhaps the most famous case was a Brazilian electrician -- back when I still lived close to London -- and within 24 hours street traders were selling T-shirts with the motto "don't shoot -- I'm not Brazilian." The inquest jury were forbidden by the judge from calling it "unlawful killing", so they didn't return a meaningful verdict.

Then there's kettling, which has caused even more anger among citizens, especially young citizens in London.

Add to that the recent cuts in benefits for the young unemployable unemployed, and you have a situation that should not really be surprising.

We decided a few years ago that we didn't want to live in the London suburbs anymore. Now we live in rural Ireland.

Good Info, if Depressing

[theheretic]

Yikes. Britain is pretty awful isn't it? My ancestors left there centuries ago, though I suspect I still have lots of blood relatives left behind, just none I know of personally. Britain has a long history of civil wars and appalling violence condoned by authority, including torture. Kettling is mild compared to burning Protestants when my family fled for America. Considering just how easy it is to get from Wales or Scotland to Ireland, I really hope your border guards are firm about "Kettling" the English so they can resolve their own problems internally. It seems, from this side of the Atlantic, that Britain and Europe have barely been holding back their racism below the surface and now that the economics is unravelling, the Race Card Blame Game is being played. We've done that in the USA, of course, not blameless here. Its just the typical superiority nonsense that cultural incompatibility and unwelcome attitudes that prevent folks really getting along. It is amazing to me that riots are far more common in "superior" Europe than the wild USA. I suppose if they aren't careful about their food supply things will get much worse because if EU currencies aren't worth something, my people won't be selling them dinner. And it's MUCH harder to become a US citizen these days. Even marrying in takes a minimum of 8 months before proper approval to move in. Friend of mine is going through that with a British wife. Things would sure go a lot easier with combined efficiency solar panels (all 4 major solar patents on one panel for a reasonable price) and thermite (Aluminum-Iron gel battery, doesn't exist yet) batteries for storage and vehicle use. Get that, you've solved the scalability problem and can maintain travel-based economies. Without it, well you've got a farm so you're prepared for worst (reasonable) case. Keep in touch and post when time allows.

Re: Good Info, if Depressing

[evilref]

Kettling is mild compared to burning Protestants when my family fled for America.

As I remember my history, the last Protestant-burnings stopped in 1588, some four decades before the Mayflower sailed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Persecutions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower

The last Catholic monarch was Mary, and since then the State-sanctioned religious persecutions have all been in the other direction.

On the other hand, two of my ancestors fled Waterford in the 1880s because he was Protestant and she was Catholic, they weren't married, and there was a baby on the way. They moved to Sussex.

History tends to be full of this sort of stuff. It comes and goes. Right now in Britain it's in full flow, but there have been times of peace and prosperity in the past, and there will be in the future.

It seems, from this side of the Atlantic, that Britain and Europe have barely been holding back their racism below the surface and now that the economics is unravelling, the Race Card Blame Game is being played.

Race tends to come to the surface when people are under pressure. The "us and them" mentality comes to the fore when people are struggling for scarce resources. It's the same the world over.

I suppose if they aren't careful about their food supply things will get much worse because if EU currencies aren't worth something, my people won't be selling them dinner.

Actually, there is enough food grown in Europe to feed Europe. Ireland, for example, is a net exporter of food. Places like Britain and Holland have unsustainable population densities, (as has New Jersey) but most of Europe is fine.

The problems for the euro and the dollar are different, but neither is exactly a safe haven. Unpayable debts in fiat currencies all around the world mean either they're going to have to devalue or default. The problem is to coordinate it between the major currency blocs so the marketeers don't try to take advantage.

Which is why we have the latest round of financial unrest: the analysts have identified that there has been no meaningful growth since 2008. If growth + inflation is less than interest, debts grow in real terms. Once they grow beyond the debtor's capacity to repay, something's got to give.

Hence quantitiative easing. And hence the synchronised shocks in the marketplace: the US credit rating downgrade the same week as they talk about Italy defaulting.

And it's MUCH harder to become a US citizen these days. Even marrying in takes a minimum of 8 months before proper approval to move in. Friend of mine is going through that with a British wife.

My brother married a Texan lady, and he had to go through it. He had it easier because he already had a job in Houston, so he had reason to live there.

Things would sure go a lot easier with combined efficiency solar panels (all 4 major solar patents on one panel for a reasonable price) and thermite (Aluminum-Iron gel battery, doesn't exist yet) batteries for storage and vehicle use.

I think nickel-iron batteries and the monocrystalline solar panels we have will be fine. It means having to reduce demand a little (mainly by heating using other fuels than electricity; and not leaving things on when we don't need them) but we're living a pretty normal life with less than 2kWh per day.

As energy gets more expensive, lots of people will have to reduce consumption. Reducing consumption without giving up our creature comforts is the name of the game.