- An overview of what caused the riots
Thousands of people rioted in cities across England. The resulting chaos generated looting, arson, and mass deployment of police. But what caused the UK riots?
Once riots erupt, it is easy for tensions and other societal stressors to bubble over and take hold. Pessin suggests that while the riots were initially provoked by the shooting in a poor, north-London neighborhood, the continuation and spread of the riots from London to Birmingham and Manchester was the result of a conflagration of factors. The first issue, Pessin suggests, is that the rioters are grouped by economic class and social status; these people are frustrated due to the economic situation in Britain, and have no real outlet for their frustrations (Pessin). The riots have allowed these individuals to express their frustrations in a manner that will ensure that they are heard, and this is a very enticing prospect for downtrodden or underserved individuals (Pessin). Pessin also suggests that some of these individuals are opportunists, and that their behavior is the behavior of a group of individuals who have seen a situation and tried to take advantage of it. Pessin writes, “Geography Professor Chris Hamnett, of King’s College, lives in North London, not far from some of the worst rioting. ‘Essentially, what we've seen is rioting for fun and profit. This is not people expressing their anger against an oppressive stateThis is people thinking it would be nice to get a slice of the action’” (Pessin). Pessin suggests that while the riots may have begun as a result of the shooting and the subsequent failure of police and investigators to solve the crime, the looting and rioting itself had taken on a life of its own; it had become an opportunity for people who were taking advantage of the situation.
Batmanghelidjh, conversely, suggests that the narrative that Pessin is laying out for the reader is overly simplistic. She suggests that this narrative is common in the aftermath of looting and riots, but that the government and society as a whole cannot overlook what happened to provoke young people into rioting. Batmanghelidjh writes, “My own view is that the police in this country do an impressive job and unjustly carry the consequences of a much wider social dysfunctionFirst, violence and looting can never be justified. Second, for those of us working at street level, we're not surprised by these events Working at street level in London many of us have been concerned about large groups of young adults creating their own parallel antisocial communities with different rules. The individual is responsible for their own survival because the established community is perceived to provide nothing. Acquisition of goods through violence is justified in neighbourhoods where the notion of dog eat dog pervades and the top dog survives the best ” (Batmanghelidjh). This analysis is decidedly different from the Pessin analysis, because it does not shift the blame to the police or to the rioters; instead, Batmanghelidjh suggests that there are larger societal ills and problems at play. Notably, there are pressures in place that force people into situations that are less than mainstream; gangs and gang violence provide protection for individuals, especially when individuals come from socially marginalized and economically disadvantaged areas.
Pessin and Batmanghelidjh have developed different theories on the motivation and impetus for the rioting and looting in the United Kingdom following the shooting in Northern London. In reality, there is probably a grain of truth to both arguments-- that there is an element of opportunism in the crime, but there are also undercurrents of societal, racial, and economic inequalities that exacerbate the situation significantly.
- Tone and style from “The Sun”
The Sun article is an article from a periodical that can easily be considered a tabloid. The paper itself is not known for its fantastic journalistic quality, and the tone and style of “The Fightback” reflects that. The tone can only be referred to as incendiary; it calls for vigilante justice against those individuals participating in the riots. The authors write that they have pictures from the riots, and want their readers to write in with names and personal details of the individuals within those images so that they can ostensibly pursue legal action against these individuals (The Sun). Exactly what kind of legal action The Sun is qualified to pursue is not made clear, but there is a definite call for revenge in The Sun that is not present in any of the other articles examined here. The Sun is very focused on what to do to stop the riots, and how to punish those involved in the looting and rioting.
In addition to pursuing vigilante justice against those involved in the riots, The Sun is making larger calls-- attempting to garner support for more xenophobic policies like cuts in oversea spending and aid, which seems to have little to do with the issue of the riots in the United Kingdom. This article is not so much an article as it is a call to action for individuals who share similar reactionary and xenophobic views; during times like these, it is easy for people to become overwhelmed by the violence that they are seeing and react in more extreme ways than they normally would have. This article reads almost like a speech that should be given at a rally, for the purposes of stirring up a crowd. Finally, the article appeals to Parliament itself, claiming that it hopes that something will actually be accomplished rather than resorting to the typical political point-scoring. This is another tactic that is commonly used to rally people into righteous anger.
- Preventing riots and crimes of opportunity
Once a riot has broken out, it can be very difficult to stop the forward momentum of the violence. However, there are a number of ways that police and other elected individuals can ensure that violence seems like a less appealing option when something does invariably happen that causes social outrage. First, social and economic inequalities should be lessened as much as possible within a society. Next, police and other law enforcement officials should be educated to deal with individuals of different cultures, races, and economic statuses, to ensure that they are not presenting the appearance of unfairness or favoritism. Finally, when riots do break out, they should be addressed quickly and calmly by police and law enforcement, with a minimum of violence; this will ensure that the situation does not escalate past a level where it can be controlled. Once begun, addressing rioters with violence can often lead to further violence and should thus be avoided. If at all possible, riots should be quelled with nonviolent means to ensure that more action on the part of police does not make a bad situation considerably worse or more violent.
References
Batmanghelidjh, Camila. 'Caring Costs – But So Do Riots'. The Independent. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
Pessin, Al. 'Experts Cite Underlying Causes For UK Riots'. Voice of America. N.p., 2014. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
The Sun,. 'The Fightback'. N.p., 2011. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
