In what way? That was to point out reasons why the whole thing might have escalated, not defend the behaviour. Is it the fault of the original protesters that things escalated the way they did?
We're slipping away from the issue that is at the heart of the matter, and that issue is the lawlessness of a bunch of rowdy teens, and young adults. None of their actions can logically be construed as stemming from some value or lack of it in their society. THEY are not the poor, they have no lack of creature comforts, all they are doing is throwing a huge temper tantrum because they can, not because of any intent to foster changes or improvements to anyone's life.
Anytime the discussion drifts into the social dynamics of poverty or racism, I feel that we've lost sight of the truth.....which is the criminality of the actions without any redeeming social value. All of what you state, regarding how police behave and why young people are angry and demanding change cannot alter the fact that there are criminals perpetrating criminal acts, that is the substance of this riot, and there are no valid reasons for those actions.
I am not interested in the slightest, in finding ways to justify what is taking place (the riot), otherwise I would find myself agreeing with any type of violence with an "ends justifying the means" argument. That one opens the door to total and irrevocable harm to all of us, not just one group of citizens. It's too easy to excuse this current wrongdoing by focusing on the plight of some people who are not involved in the rioting. With that logic and theory, I can justify killing and stealing anytime I wish to do so - because I feel badly about the starving kids in Africa and I don't think that my next door neighbour cares enough about them. Identical situational logic there, just expanded further.
We might have have different concepts of what anarchism is, since I don't really see it as a bad thing, just something that is most likely impossible to achieve because people aren't so good in general as a civilised anarchist society would demand
There is no such thing, as civilized anarchy. The very definition of the term, -
a state of society without government or law. 2. political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control - precludes civilized interaction or exchange between humans. Without law, there is no basis for safety of individuals. Without law, I have the right to kill you, steal anything I want from you, and no one can stop me unless they transact that same violence upon me. Perhaps you are confusing what anarchy is with some type of political structure that you would like to see. One cannot alter the meaning of a word to suit their ideals.
Again, I'm not defending rioting nor violence.
But yes you certainly seem to be doing that, and please don't say that I have missed your point. Anytime you state that there might be a reason why people are angry enough to riot or commit mayhem, you are de facto defending and excusing their actions.
I cannot help you to understand something you refuse to hear. I've been saying, and still do, that these kind of violent incidents can be prevented by understanding where they derive from if there's political will for it.
Again, that is - in and of itself - a defense of the riot. There was no social or societal reason for this riot,there is no hidden cause to understand; just the decision of rowdy and lawless people to use a manufactured excuse to commit their criminal acts. All of the social science in the world cannot provide any validation for this act of violence. I have never cited any other uprising or social evil in some other time or place, just this riot right here and now in the UK. There cannot be a logical defense of it, with the proof already beginning to surface that the so-called murder of a black youth was a misreporting of facts (he threatened cops with a weapon and they responded as they are trained to do); and that the punks doing the burning and smashing and looting are nothing more than random jerks getting together to take advantage of a situation for their own evil intentions.
Any discussion of social change is irrelevant, as is any rationalization for a 29 yr old school teacher to decide to steal from a store, just because he felt like it (one of the arrested criminals). This ugly episode has nothing to do with a demand for societal improvement. The mob could have seized upon any excuse to riot, that is what these fools were seeking, an excuse to commit crimes and hide under a blanket of well-intentioned but drastically uninformed comment.
stances such as the need for emergency police powers, it is both dangerous and counter-productive to explain why. If a law is enacted, and the police are the official enforcers of that law, then any person who claims the right of citizenship is obligated to presume that the police are doing as ordered. Debate can ensue after the fact, not in the street when police are attempting to restore order and protect the innocent. If a rioting mob needs an explanation of why they are being arrested, then they need more than a stay in jail to fix their lack of common sense.
