More on the riots - restating my previous point
Here's an article that expands on something I said a couple of days ago: people's existing political views will shape what they consider to be the causes of the riots.
Martin Kell, whom I mentioned before, adds: "I've noticed a lot of people declaiming on what they consider to be the obvious causes of the last few days' excitement in the UK, and in reading a lot of the comments I'm wondering exactly how this is being covered in the news in some countries. It's certainly being bent to fit peoples' assumptions - for instance, I get the impression that the story in the US is coming out as "black youths rioting against oppression" despite many of the offenders being neither black nor youthful, which does go a long way to express the mysterious popularity of that Darcus Howe video I mentioned yesterday -- although people getting their punditry just from there are going to end up with some very confused ideas. On the other side of the pond the right-wing press is convinced that these people have been ruined by the tyranny of social welfare, etc, etc...
Here's the best article I've seen so far on the various ways in which "why did this happen?" is being spun by various people. Well worth a read."
I would like to restate what I said then, too: we should be looking in a lot more detail at what is happening on a local level. There are reasons, and they are not likely to be simple, straight-forward, single-cause ones. We should attempt to understand more, and that means not painting the rioters into a corner labelled "them". We should approach this with compassion, taking a leaf out of Norway's book here, not thoughts of revenge or retribution or additional violence. And I'm going to keep saying that until it happens.
Martin Kell, whom I mentioned before, adds: "I've noticed a lot of people declaiming on what they consider to be the obvious causes of the last few days' excitement in the UK, and in reading a lot of the comments I'm wondering exactly how this is being covered in the news in some countries. It's certainly being bent to fit peoples' assumptions - for instance, I get the impression that the story in the US is coming out as "black youths rioting against oppression" despite many of the offenders being neither black nor youthful, which does go a long way to express the mysterious popularity of that Darcus Howe video I mentioned yesterday -- although people getting their punditry just from there are going to end up with some very confused ideas. On the other side of the pond the right-wing press is convinced that these people have been ruined by the tyranny of social welfare, etc, etc...
Here's the best article I've seen so far on the various ways in which "why did this happen?" is being spun by various people. Well worth a read."
I would like to restate what I said then, too: we should be looking in a lot more detail at what is happening on a local level. There are reasons, and they are not likely to be simple, straight-forward, single-cause ones. We should attempt to understand more, and that means not painting the rioters into a corner labelled "them". We should approach this with compassion, taking a leaf out of Norway's book here, not thoughts of revenge or retribution or additional violence. And I'm going to keep saying that until it happens.