Thankfully last night passed off comparatively quietly, with the notable exception of the 'hit and run' deaths of three guys in Birmingham.The events in Manchester and other cities were copycat looting and it appears that the tsunami has passed over us.
However, now we must begin to analyse why the riots occurred.
Firstly ,aside from the initial disorders in Tottenham, they had nothing to do with the death of Mark Duggan.Most of the rioters were teenagers and opportunists.
What I think occurred is the result of a counter culture that has grown up amongst an under-class of teenagers, that rejects contemporary society in favour of a micro society that exists on the council estates which values selfishness, narcissism and nihilism.For them life is dog eat dog, and this justifies violence,theft and general hatred to keep above water.
It is no wonder then that the main things looted were trainers, mobile phones, plasma TV's and bling. These are the signs of social acceptability in their world. It is what the mass media tells them they should have, and if they cannot get them by fair means foul one's are perfectly acceptable.
They reject all conventional notions of authority or of achievement and live in an underworld that has its own values.
How has this happened you may ask ?.
The answer goes back (as with many things) to 1979 and the election of Thatcher.She said that 'There is no such thing as society, only individual and families'. What this means is that the state withdraws and basically lets people get on with it.The moral example of the state (and its safety net) was taken away. Coupled with the decline of established institutions, such as the church, the family and virtually everything else in civil society, the result is feral children.
The violence of the last few days is clearly a result of social policy, things like this happen for a reason.The reason is the abdication of responsibility and, until we resurrect notions of society we will never get to grip with issues like this.
There were positive signs though, I liked the way a Twitter campaign brought out scores of people to clean up Clapham High Street. This is what community engagement should be about. However, I reiterate if the state gives up (as it has in the last 30 years) then you get disenfranchised, dysfunctional people and you get disorder crime and an unhappy population.
Solutions ?, difficult to see.Probably intensive youth work, counselling, training, compulsory work schemes.For the rioter offenders exemplary sentences (though since the prisons are full maybe transportation somewhere !!!).
One must as usual touch on abysmal parenting skills as a key source of the problem especially around single parent families and poor role models.Additionally it is likely that low aspirations are endemic with low opportunities its dire partner.
