Sense or an Absolute Anarchy?

For the last 4 days London and other cities of Great Britain have been rocked by riots, lootings and burning downs of buildings. What started off with a demonstration in Tottenham has since turned into a baseless, senseless stream of violence and aggression.

It began by condemning the death of Mark Duggan on Thursday. On Saturday night, about 50 relatives and friends posted outside the Tottenham police station. Local young men, covering their heads with “hoodies” got aggressive and it escalated into a night of hurling rocks, breaking into shops, burning patrol cars, torching buildings and smashing shop windows.

The looting and rioting doesn’t have a lot to do with Mark Duggan. That was merely the catalyst.

As soon as something like this happens, the politicians, media and the people at large need a reason to blame it on. I want to say that media is neutral, but it’s not true. They inevitably opt for the story which is the most sensationalised. Some politicians are suggesting that Twitter and BBM are to be blamed for all this. They should be told, blame the drunk driver, not the alcohol or the car. Blame the person who tweeted, not Twitter (or BBM). A London newspaper went as far as to claim that Grand Theft Auto taught the young lads how to steal. I’m sorry but is it just me or does it sound completely absurd? I have a love hate relationship with media. Sometimes I think that media and the journalists are unethical, greedy (for news) and insensitive. But when I opened the Evening Standard today, I felt happy to see that they had posted the pictures of the ‘rioters’ whose faces were captured on the CCTV. This is where the media’s role really kicks in (of course it also tells us about Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez’s relationship, which we all want to know in detail about).

One theory suggests that it is because of the ‘economic struggle’ they go through in life that has sparked a rebellion. This makes me wonder, if you have enough money to wear a hood jacket, have a flashy Smartphone, equipped with Twitters and BBMs, you can’t be THAT poor can you? This is London, not a tiny village in Switzerland or Norway – we see beggars’ every day. If this was the reason, the beggars should have gone on riots long ago.

Another aspect which has led to this is the leniency on the part of the parents. I’m all for ‘western way of raising kids’. It has worked well for them so far. But in times like this, it is but natural to expect that you should be worried about your son/daughter. My friends from India had the sense to call me up and ask me if I was okay and advised me not to step out at night. If my friends, who’re as young as me can do that, surely the adults CAN and MUST ensure that their kids are home and not out “rebelling”. I was shocked to see 13/14 year olds arrested and charged. If they have to be stupid, it is the parents’ duty to stop them.

And coming back to the story of Twitter, it is Twitter which is responsible for collecting masses of people and aiding in cleaning up of the mess which was created. I respect the Londoner for this.

Another positive which I have seen is the events in Southall (a predominantly Asian society). It is said that Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims united to protect their worshipping homes. Eyewitnesses say that while the Muslims were praying, the other two guarded it from the outside and the same was done for all three. This is commendable, coming from three religions which have had ‘issues’ in the past.

I don’t know if we should blame the ‘rioters’ or we should try and understand their perspective – but one thing is clear, innocent people have been injured, innocent people have died, and innocent people have been robbed of their valuables, properties and their livelihood. This has to stop, and this has to stop now.