Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber: UK Turns To U.S. To Solve Unrest

Several news media reported yesterday that British Prime Minister David Cameron wants Britain to look to the United States for solutions to gang violence after nights of riots and looting.

The first problem with this, of course, is that the rioting was not caused by gangs and the destruction bore no similarity to gang violence. There are substantial differences in both quality and quantity between drive by shootings, assassinations of competitors and street brawls on the one hand, and looting, arson and vandalism on the other. There are also significant differences in motive.

But let’s ignore all that, since the politicians have and they will do what they wish anyway. What they want is class harmony or, more accurately, class servility. Workers and their children must accept graciously the conditions imposed by the ruling class and be grateful they are permitted any luxuries or freedoms at all. Anyone who threatens private property, regardless of their motivations, is a dangerous thug and must be dealt with harshly.

Britain has already labeled large portions of its immigrant and minority underclasses terrorists or potential terrorists, justifying a sharp curtailing of civil liberties and protection from search and seizures. By now calling them gangsters and equating them with Crips, Bloods, Mara Salvatrucha, Nortenos and Surenos, and calling for  a U.S.-style response, they must surely also be calling for the massive buildup of new prisons, three- (and two-) strikes laws, and mass incarceration of youth of color. In the U.S., this policy has led to incarceration rates higher than any other country in the world and a society in which nearly 12% of young black men are incarcerated.

Perhaps they are also calling for the imposition of youth curfews and injunctions that would allow the police to round up any juveniles who are dressed in inappropriate colors or styles or who happen to be hanging out publicly with more than two friends.

It might also include giving the police greater fire power and the green light to use it against unarmed people of color who talk back to police on the tube and do not shuffle and bow to them on the streets.

We do know that Cameron is considering allowing police to evict troublemakers from subsidized housing and temporarily disabling cell phone instant messaging services, Twitter and Facebook, as the SF Chronicle reported today.

The use of the term “troublemakers” rather than “convicts” implies that innocent people could lose their homes merely for being suspects, or that they might evict people for thought crimes or even free speech. It is entirely possible to make heaps of trouble for the authorities and the bosses of the world without breaking any laws at all. Going on strike, advocating strikes, picketing corporations or even private homes, writing scathing articles, boycotts, even nasty letters could all be considered troublemaking, particularly by those affected by the tactics. If fully enforced, England could be creating a homeless problem far worse than in the U.S.

The disabling of cell phone instant messaging services and social networking sounds eerily like Iran or China. Even so, they are pretty naïve if they think that will stop future riots, protests or even insurrections. For large masses of unemployed, frustrated and angry people, world of mouth can go a long way. People still have access to printed pamphlets, fliers and posters. There is also the ever useful tactic of one-on-one organizing, which is far more powerful than any digital communication as it allows face to face interaction, feedback, give and take. And for every person that gets organized in this way, there are potentially many others who they will reach.

Watch Out Richie, Poor Man’s Gonna Get Your Mama

Burning car, Manchester City, 8/9/11 (Image by NightFall404)

The press has been portraying the riots in Britain as common thuggery, apolitical and criminal. Yet the riots come in the wake of severe austerity measures and the worst economic conditions in a generation. Furthermore, the riots began after the police murder of an unarmed black man, in a poor community that has been racked with police violence and harassment of people of color.

Protest Near Oxford Circus 3/26/11 (Image by mastermaq)

 Britain has also seen numerous organized political protests against university fee hikes and austerity measures over the past year, as have Spain, Germany and other European countries. Similarly, there have been uprisings in many Middle Eastern and North African countries, not only against brutal dictatorships, but also against declining economic conditions. Even Israel is seeing its largest demonstrations in generations, with 300,000 in Tel Aviv protesting dire economic conditions, according to the Washington Blog, and thousands of others in Jerusalem and other cities. Protests over poverty and living conditions have also erupted in China and the Philippines.

As the world’s wealthy continue to exploit an economic crisis caused by their own greed to impose austerity on the rest of us and grab as much as they can as quickly as possible, they are acutely aware that they are making their own safety and security more tenuous. People will only take so much before fighting back. Contrary to the authorities and pundits, it seems like this is what has been happening in Britain.

(From Washington’s Blog)

Worst British Unrest in 30 Years

The protests in England spread out of London yesterday, with mobs firebombing police stations and torching shops in London, Manchester, Salford, Liverpool, Nottingham and Birmingham. Protests also spread to Wales. London deployed 16,000 police, the largest police presence in the city’s history, reports Democracy Now. Scotland Yard said it would use water cannons and plastic bullets, if necessary, weapons routinely used in Northern Ireland, but never before in London.

Police Cover Up

The riots erupted over the police shooting of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black man. The police claim that Duggan fired at them first. However, according to Democracy Now, the Independent Police Complains Commission (IPCC) found that the bullet fired was a police-issued bullet and could not have been fired by Duggan. Furthermore, rather than informing Duggan’s family of the mistake and apologizing, the family only found about Duggan’s exoneration through the media.

Provoked by the Government?

The riots began in Britain’s poor communities of color in response to the police murder of a black man. To suggest that people were simply taking advantage of the situation to run amok and loot is not only stupid, but dismissive of legitimate grievances of Britain’s minority communities.

Democracy Now reports that anti-terror legislation has made it much easier for the police to search and interrogate people without just cause. As a consequence, police harassment and violence in black and South Indian communities in England has escalated. At the same time, corporate greed and austerity measures have intensified the gap between the rich and poor. In this context, it should not be surprising that simmering anger and frustration might blow up into rioting.

Random Apolitical Thuggery?

While the media and politicians would like us to believe that recent events in Britain were random, disorganized and criminal, they began with an organized protest led by local community activists seeking answers and dialogue with the police, according to Democracy Now. The protest escalated into a riot after the police not only blew them off, but assaulted a 16-year-old girl who was shouting at them and demanding answers, beating her with batons and riot shields.

Proof of Concept?

British soccer star Wayne Rooney, who is well-known for his own violent rampages on (and off) the soccer pitch, called for calm, perhaps out of fear that he might lose property in the unrest. (Rooney earned $20 million over the past year). “Why would people want to do this to there [sic] own country?” he was quoted in the SF Chronicle, perhaps highlighting exactly why: better quality education, especially for the poor and working class, from where Rooney hails.

According to the New York Times one million British youth from the ages of 16 to 24 are officially unemployed, the most since the deep recession of the mid-1980s. In June and November, there were ongoing youth and student protests against skyrocketing costs for college, which cut off higher education to virtually all but the affluent. Over 750,000 people took part in these demonstrations, including three of the country’s teachers unions.

While it may be the dream of large percentages of Britain’s teenage boys and girls to someday attain the success Wayne Rooney, it is increasingly becoming a dream to achieve something much more humble, like a career that pays the bills.