It's just not riot...

  



The Kaiser Chiefs were not far off with their predictions.

So, the supposed trigger of the U.K. riots lies in Tottenham, North London at the shooting and demise of 29 year old - father of four, Mark Duggan. He was shot and killed by officers in London's Scotland Yard and five days later, over 500 people have been arrested, 111 police officers have been injured and a man in Croydon has been killed by a fatal gunshot.

The rioters and looters that have emerged have done so on the back of a peaceful vigil that took place in Tottenham. Mark Duggan; a known affiliate of a gang in London called the Star Gang whose role consisted of being a crack cocaine dealer was one of the older members and seen as a leader. "Starrish Mark’s” death has ignited gangs of youths all over England in opportunistic copy cat criminality. The gang who promoted violence, intimidation and drug-dealing have become a catalyst for en masse violence and intimidation.

Due to the shocking outbursts of criminality that initially began in a handful of boroughs in London has spread to many areas. Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and today Manchester and Nottingham also have witnessed incredible devastation to their city centres and local communities. The use of instant messengers such as BBM (Blackberry Messenger) have been allegedly at the heart of organising the riots and suggestions have been made by U.K BBM that they may suspend their service temporarily. May I add a personal note; those that are complaining about this really need to prioritise.

An investigation into the death of Duggan has been led by the Independent Police Complaints Commission whom revealed today that when Duggan was killed, he likely had never fired on police. Initial reports suggested that Duggan had a loaded handgun which by many sources has been confirmed. Duggan apparently was seeking revenge of the death of his cousin and "Operation Trident" a special operation "dealing with gun crime among black communities, in particular drug-related shootings" were the team that were involved in his death. The IPCC said Duggan was carrying a loaded gun, but it had no evidence that the weapon had been fired. The officer who fired the fatal shots has been removed from firearms duties, which is standard procedure, pending the IPCC investigation. He was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest, and received a second gunshot wound to his right bicep.

After the hearing, the family said they were "distressed" by the rioting in the wake of his death. In a statement on their behalf, Helen Shaw, from the organisation Inquest, said: "The family wants everyone to know that the disorder going on has nothing to do with finding out what has happened to Mark. They also want people to know they are deeply distressed by the disorder affecting communities across the country." Despite these statements the younger generations have managed to epitomise the definition of opportunism. They have used this unrest to justify and get away with the looting of many stores.

Day 5 of rioting and England is witnessing some of the biggest demonstrations of civil unrest in its history. Gangs of "mindless youths" have been protesting(?) against the government, some claiming they are avenging Duggan's death and others, "trying to make some money" - as quoted by a youth in Manchester. The violence has consisted of petrol bombs being thrown at the police, buildings being set alight as well as cars. Youths have been armouring themselves with whatever weapons they can find. Amidst all of this madness their have been attempts to understand why the lost generation are acting in the way they are.

One thing that really has struck the hearts of all is the true recklessness, immorality and lack of respect that the youths of today are now portraying. Majority of youths today have not been involved in the riots but have in fact strongly condemned them and are looking for ways to fight back; including groups of vigilantes forming. It is fair to say that the entire non-looting society is truly hurt and angered by the destruction that has been inflicted upon their beloved cities. Strong efforts have been made to orchestrate a clean up of those areas that have been affected highlighting the unbreakable ties of pride within communities.

The rioters, "thugs" if you will; have been defended by many as victims of social deprivation and are fed up with "the system". The root of the blame can be traced back potentially due to the state-paternalistic society that the U.K. have managed to create and subsequently get used to. Although, I do to an extent believe in the importance of a welfare state I do also believe that those who do not appreciate infrastructures that are in place to support them do not deserve them. Those who have been rioting have no pride in their country, their community and particularly unnerving is the fact they have no respect for humanity.

The inserted image will forever now be infamous with the August 2011 England Riots. Reeves furniture store in Croydon, set ablaze by a gang of youths for no apparent reason was completely destroyed. It would be interesting to hear from these people how committing arson on a building that is a family business that has been around since the 1800's and kept in the family for five generations makes sense. This very building survived the Blitz which just highlights the true monstrosity of the actions of these rioters. A business that has been around for over a hundred years, a family earning an honest living for generations; wiped out in one night for no cause whatsoever. The apparent randomness of the attacks echoes a Lord of the Flies feel. Gang mentality has truly hit the masses and this anarchy has been causing panic amongst the public.

The police and fire services have been heavily criticised over these past few days and under a great amount of scrutiny. They have been a fantastic representation of what callous budget cuts induce. Due to the cuts the first thing to go were our front line services, community police officers were radically reduced in numbers so when riots unexpectedly hit the other cities the response teams were operating under many restrictions. Many are openly criticising the police for not being able to be everywhere at once... I think that highlights the flaw in the arguments.

The nuclear family that once existed is now a fairytale and separation of families is now a norm. In addition to this social mobility has been significantly reduced as the gap between social classes widens. Disenchantment in politics is rife and the uneducated and ignorant believe that attacking retailers and independent/family businesses will be a way to wake the government up. The system is fundamentally flawed this is undeniable however there are absolutely no excuses for the behaviour that has been witnessed in the past few days. It is shocking to see that in Tottenham in particular there were 11 year old's spotted emulating older children. Many solutions have been posed to the public as a means to deal with the violence. However, it is clear that even the head of the Metropolitan police is bewildered as to why these children are not accounted for by their parents and how they can be allowed to walk the streets and cause such chaos.

Many Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims as of last night 08/08/11 took to the streets to protect their places of worship and surrounding communities. Smethwick, Southall and Handsworth Gudwara's in particular are being guarded by many people from the surrounding communities; Hindu Mandir's and other places of worship are also being protected. Where is the patriotism? Perhaps there is something in the strap lines of the EDL (English Defence League) and BNP (British National Party), has political correctness gone mad led to resentment from ethnic minorities and working classes? A lot of social stigma has been placed with youths over the last decade in particular, and they have done a fantastic job in proving this right and tarnishing those who do not deserve the stigma at all.

Meanwhile, an independent Sikh TV channel; Sangat TV have had two reporters, a driver and a reporter who speaks both Punjabi and English who have been courageously driving around the streets of Birmingham to show the viewers at home live coverage of the current situation of the riots. The channel is free on sky #847 and is now even trending worldwide on twitter as major news stations such as CNN, BBC and ITV are requesting them for their incredible footage. These heroes even gave a West Midlands police officer a lift down the road to catch some looters; and were successful in doing so. They have also successfully managed to ease minds of those that have been panicked by rumours on social networking sites such as twitter and facebook.

If you missed the Sangat TV action or do not believe me, here it is, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bdY6EzvrnA.

The latest events from Prime Minister David Cameron resulted in him ending his summer holiday in Italy short by a week to fly back to England. He called an emergency meeting this morning and he released a statement,

"You are not only wrecking the lives of others, you’re not only wrecking your communities, you are potentially wrecking your own life too.”

 “We will do everything necessary to restore order to Britain’s streets and make them safe for the law-abiding,”

More than five times the usual number of officers for a Tuesday are patrolling London. All this came while later Scotland Yard confirmed a 26 year-old man that was found shot in a car in Croydon due to rioting in the town, has died in hospital today.  David Cameron told rioters:

“You will feel the full force of the law. And if you are old enough to commit these crimes, you are old enough to face the punishment.”

The Met Police have confirmed that the events of the past few days has resulted in 525 arrests and more than 100 people being charged. After talking to the speaker of the House of Commons Mr. Cameron confirmed that Parliament will be re-called for one day on Thursday so he can make a statement and have a debate. The leadership of David Cameron is most certainly in question at the moment and Nick Clegg as most of this premiership thus far seems...non existant. The executive need to realise that the demographic are not moved by the fact he has confirmed that a debate is going to take place in parliament on Thursday 11th August.

Less talk, more do.

Thanks.

I have the feeling that there is much yet to follow these events.