THE LONDON RIOTS

  The riots took place in the last four days in London were quite abrupt and unique in nature. There were no particular burning issues to trigger the unrest. On July 4th the riots began on some flimsy grounds. Actually it was an ordinary Police action taking place in any city. The Police found a drug dealer, Mark Duggan, armed with illegal weapon and as he was trying to escape Police shot him and when he turned, the Officer thought that he was about to fire and the Police fired a 2nd shot which killed him.  Those who knew him never believed the story as he was considered a straight guy.


 In the event of his death his drug customers and some others who knew him  protested in front of the Police Station and the protest spread out absurdly from there far and wide like wild fire.

Interestingly, the riot in 1985 also started In Tottenham where this riot  began. Many riots took place in U.K. since then.  However the present one is different from them in that teenagers from both middle class and lower class were on the road looting, burning vehicles and shops and attacking police. They freely used foul language which otherwise they would not use them in their daily life. They had no qualms to take home costly designer goods and preferred consumer items and in some cases their parents helped carry goods home. It was such a melee in the streets of London. The teenagers were hooded and none could be recognized which gave them added confidence to go any length  Within the crowd and behind the hood they became barbarians unleashing a looting festival. Most of them never knew what triggered the riots. They joined the crowd and started helping themselves from the shops. The Police had issued an appeal to the parents to keep the children at home. Poor Police, the parents were also there in the background to help, in case the children needed assistance to shift heavy articles from the shop.

There is a general presumption that the riots were masterminded by the disgruntled sections of society like Afro-Caribbean minorities against Government move to take away subsidies and cut social service expenses as an austerity measure to tide over financial problems facing the nation. It is only partly true, for,  the whites had also been active in looting and burning vehicles. It was proving how people would behave if let off from the hooks of law. Boredom’ was one honest reply when a youth was asked the reason for his presence in the riot.  The unemployment rate is high in U.K.now,  though  it only partly answer the problems for the riots.

Perhaps the riots too serve some purpose in a perverse way to bring down the pressure built up in the minds of disgruntled people in the society which might in turn give relative calm for some period.