UK Riots - Your Opinions?

[Epik]

So I'm pretty sure most of you have heard about the riots in the UK. All this because one man was shot by the police. It's day 4 of the riots and frankly I've had enough :/ it's just barbaric what is going on right now. I mean like 80% of the rioters don't even know about the mans death, they're just rioting for the lolz :/
What are some of your opinions on this?

[Meph]

Personally, I think there's no point in the riots. When someone's been unlawfully shot by a policeman, the government will slam the book at the perpetrator anyway. The riots aren't going to accomplish anything. It's like their only purpose was to invoke something that's going to happen anyway.

But riots are pointless in general (at least in Britain). Peaceful protests get the job done fine, whereas riots just encourage the people's voices to be ignored, because it shows that the opinions are from people with a lack of sense.

Plus, you've seen the people in these riots. Most of them seem like stereotypical chavs. They're just using the incident as an excuse for them to try to cause trouble for excitement, not to actually protest against something. When the initial riots started, there probably was a genuine want, by the rioters, to have "justice" for a guy that they most likely don't know, but it's just escalated.

[gotMLK7]

This is awful. My condolences to anybody in Britain that's near this chaos. I can't believe how idiotic these people are! I understand the original reason for the protest, the police shooting and killing a suspected gangster, but this is awful. Thugs have overtaken the entire thing. Seriously, my dad told me a clip was shown on the news of a boy with a backpack being hit with a car, and a couple of the rioters, instead of helping him, rummaged through his backpack and stole some stuff. I didn't realize that thievery was a part of protesting. Seriously, these guys have destroyed BBY CLOTHES STORES. What, are they protesting against babies now?! These people are just trouble-making thrill-seekers who don't have an ethical bone in their body!

Sorry if I sound harsh, but when a riot like this causes tons of deaths, then I think it's necessary anger.

[Blackrune]

So they protest against the police shooting a potentially innocent man by attacking and destroying the property of (mostly) innocent citizens?
The police is just doing their job, things like this are bound to happen from time to time. And even without riots there'd probably be some measure to try to prevent this from ever happening again. (but obviously it's only a matter of enough time. Things like this can and will happen no matter how hard you're trying to prevent them.)
It would make sense if there were obvious sign of the police abusing their power to forcefully oppress the citizens or something.
There's no way that's the case in the UK.

I'm speechless.
This just shows how little of an actual reason it takes for all those idiots to come out and cause trouble...
And I really feel sorry for the victims of this...

[Wackyman]

I haven't seen too many of the reports, but if it's true that this whole thing started because of one shooting I have to say this is pretty stupid. >_> Yeah, someone get shot. Happens all the time. The fact that it was a police officer doesn't change the severity of it. This probably isn't the first time an officer did something like that. Everyone is just being barbaric over pretty much nothing.

[Reyson]

Is it worse than Egypt?

[Gombarry]

As far as I know, no. Only 2 people have died in the riots so far from what the news tell me. However tons of people are getting arrested, obviously. But some of the arrests are just insane! They arrested an 11 year-old just yesterday!

[Epik]

As far as I know, no. Only 2 people have died in the riots so far from what the news tell me. However tons of people are getting arrested, obviously. But some of the arrests are just insane! They arrested an 11 year-old just yesterday!

The arrests arent insane. The fact that a 11 year old is walking around at 3 AM looting places without his parents giving a damn where he is is insane!

[Hodou Okappa]

I hadn't even heard of the riots until yesterday. Damn you American news media.

[Epik]

All you do is step outside and it REEKS of smoke! But my house is a good say 6km from the flaming building In Croydon! The ozone layer is disintergrating because of these riots! :U

[Epik]

The death toll's risen to 4 :/
3 guys killed in a hit and run

[Singidava]

Well, well~ Nothing happens without a reason~
However, the death of Mark Duggan served merely as an excuse. Ultimately, usually these kind of riots can be tracked down to bad living conditions and gone-wrong politics. There is a reason for why the riots started from low-income areas, right~? And by bad living conditions I don't mean anything dramatic like famine, but unemployement and bad social examples such as many of those on the internet. Personally, I think after these riots are over they should rethink their social politics.

China and Iran are laughing at you btw.

[Meph]

Is it worse than Egypt?

Definitely not. They have justifiable political motivations. The Egyptians were being oppressed by their leader and he was ordering his troops to kill them, whereas the riots here are completely pointless and the rioters are not being killed by police. Even if the rioters try to kill the police, any policeman that attempted to even hurt them would be arrested himself.

And by bad living conditions I don't mean anything dramatic like famine, but unemployment and bad social examples such as many of those on the internet. Personally, I think after these riots are over they should rethink their social politics.

The government are always looking into ways of helping the more low-income families in the estates, but it's not an easy problem to tackle. You can't change these people very easily.

Some of the international press are getting this all wrong. Pakistan are saying that this is because of rioting unemployment. Most of these kids are too young to work! They've got no reason to be angered by unemployment!

It's things like this that make me embarrassed by be British!

[Epik]

It's things like this that make me embarrassed by be British!

It's not your fault is it? Or any other Brits (except the rioters and looters ._. )
There's a quote going around saying "This is what happens when you leave nick clegg in charge" xD

I screwed up the quote marks xP

[Singidava]

Of course I know that the most of the rioters are still in their teens. However, by unemployment I meant their parents because no one can deny that parents' worry influences to their children as well (eg. in divorces). And from what I've gathered these riots are not "political" but more like people robbing stores, right? Why would they do that? There must be a reason or reasons behind it. Just saying they do it because they're deliquents would be ignorant. Why is there so many deliquents in the first place? That's the relevant question.

The government are always looking into ways of helping the more low-income families in the estates, but it's not an easy problem to tackle. You can't change these people very easily.

Now you're making the assumption they've "bad" in the first place. As said previously the most of the rioters are still young, it's not like they have had a long life of crime already. Anyway, another question that we should take into consideration is why are these riots occuring now? Is it because of the goverment issued cuts to the budget? How can we aim these cuts better so they don't make life too difficult for those with low-income? Another thing is immigration as I've heard those low-income areas have high percentage of immigrants. Does racism relate to the issue? Do the police and general public treat immigrants injustly? Should they change their attitudes? Is there discrimination? And no, I'm not saying that the goverment is not trying. I'm just saying that this shows how much they still have to improve.