London Riots

[Firejack]

Originally Posted by Manitou

Great article/opinion piece on this over at BlackFive.net - check it out:

"Progeny of the Welfare State"

A quote from the piece: "If you train an entire cohort of society to believe that the government doesn't just offer a safety net but a way of life, well you get this- gangs of scum who will take what they want if the free lunch stops showing up."

As an Englishman that is probably one of the most insulting articles I've ever seen online. The author has made some presumptions and is using the unrest to push his own agenda. He has obviously never been this this country or understands the people or our beliefs.


The link he makes between our welfare system and the rioters is simply a lie. The vast majority of those people in the riots were young kids of all backgrounds. Sure some of them are from families receiving some sort of financial support. However if you look again, there are just as many well dressed, healthy youngsters carrying around their iPods and Smartphones. You can't for one moment think there is a link between a welfare system and the riots.

The distraction these kids caused the police allowed criminal gangs to take advantage of the disorder to loot.
This was the main problem for the police. While they were busy trying to collar the kids on bikes, crimes were being committed in large numbers.

The final group of people were the opportunists. There were large numbers of these individuals who took advantage of the situation. The criminal gangs had left with all they could carry so these passers-by thought they could help themselves while the police were busy elsewhere.
These individuals were not poor people being kept in clean clothes by the government. They were Students, Healthcare workers, and other individuals taking advantage of the disorder to commit crimes for nothing other than their own greed. It has nothing to do social problems in this country and it certainly has nothing to do with our welfare system.


I really hate the way this story has been reported in the media. Well hyped out of all proportion. You'd think every street was burning and the Queen had left the country to seek refuge in Australia.

I was in my local City Centre yesterday and there were 4 police having their photo's taken with tourists. That is a much more typical sight then the scenes of chaos being pushed around by the media, hinting that this behaviour is the normal way people behave here.


The hard line the British Police take towards crime of any sort, but especially gun crime, mean we are one of the safest modern societies in the world. The Police Service here is respected worldwide for the way it handles crimes and the professionalism and heroism each Officer displays on the streets.
Over 1 million British people signed up on Facebook to support the Police as soon as any sort criticism was pointed at them. They truly are phenomenal.
Can you name any other Police Service anywhere in the world that dispersed these riots without a single gun being fired? Think about that for a moment. There have been no serious injuries to the police or the rioters, the hospitals aren't pack with wounded, the streets aren't covered in blood. Would such widespread disorder have had such a positive outcome anywhere else. I really doubt it.


Sure our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has some improvements to make to our society. We are a lot closer then that Blackfive article suggests and the tens of thousands of volunteers who turned up to clean the streets in they own time proves that point.

Just because you need a helping hand once in awhile doesn't make you some sort of underclass and it especially doesn't make you a criminal.