Britain Burns as Rioting by Underprivileged Youths Spreads

Unless you live in the middle of the Amazon rain forest, or on some forgotten Pacific atoll, you will have seen the British rioting on TV, or in the newspapers. You will have been suitable shocked, tut-tut-tutting over the behaviour of hundreds of people - kids, really, who have been damaging property, initiating conflagrations, looting and generally making a bloody nuisance of themselves.

You will have seen jowelled politicos and police chiefs condemning their actions and threatening to come down with the full force of the law during or after the events, having captured many on security cameras.

Approaching 20,000 police officers patrolled the streets in London last (Tuesday) night, after the fires and practically uncontrolled rioting of Monday night. The perps sensibly stayed away while their mates in Manchester, Salford, Birmingham and other midland areas took up the cudgels and rioted themselves in what police described as copycat crimes.

Some 1000 youngsters have been arrested to date and capture continues. We have heard repeatedly from police, the prime minister (rudely recalled from Tuscany), the mayor, likewise, outraged citizens, shop owners and even the poor old octogenarian who owned the furniture store burned to the ground in Croydon on the first night. "Cobra" (“Cabinet Office Briefing Room A”) meetings are taking place daily to hatch plans in case the rioting continues tonight and henceforth.

The only segment of the population practically unheard from is the rioters themselves (most are probably hiding anyway) or those who might offer an explanation in defence.

Britain has seen many riots over the last several hundred years. They have never really succeeded. This is because their central theme: “we are tired of being downtrodden without opportunities,” flies in the face of those who have traditionally denied them betterment, because, as having been born of privilege, the cream of all that is worth having in the nation belongs to them by birth and education. The two public preparatory schools, Eton and Harrow, and the powerhouse Unis., Oxford and Cambridge, are the molds which foster and finesse this attitude of superiority and entitlement. Graduates are bonded for life in the manner of Freemasons - but more so - they will never admit it, but the buddy system guarantees assistance and employment for life at some level or other, even for the most hopeless of those who attended. It is quite amazing to look at the British government, Conservative AND Labour! You find they are nearly all Oxbridge graduates today!

Even a brief study of British social history will reveal the swinish way the "master-class" has treated the "common people." I can't obviously list all this disturbing behaviour here without making the hub into a book, but I suggest Bill Bryson's "At Home, A Short History of Private Life." (Discusses the US and the UK). Well, Bill might have intended a short history at the outset, but he finished with a mini-tome of nearly 700 pages plus indices! Another eminently readable and magisterial accomplishment from this unique writer.

If you hubbers are anything like me, you will be grinding your teeth at the arrogance and bestiality of the British aristocracy and various ruling classes and wishing you could jump aboard the Tardis (Dr Who), go back in time and horsewhip some of them.

One of the problems of privilege is you can never admit you have it, even to yourself. To do that would mean you might have to do something about it to assuage the inequality and give your brother a hand-up in life. Another problem has been the pitiful servitude, acquiescence and cowardice of the downtrodden to the extent they were brain-washed and inured by habit into thinking they deserved their miserable lot, as their "betters" deserved all the rewards.

You might think this article is addressing a social state which only existed in the Dark Ages. Not so, these superior souls are with us in 2011, conferring titles on one another, "Lord and Lady Muck-Muck," "Baron Buttswipe," "Duke and Duchess Dumbstruck." make up some yourself. Even the real titles are hilarious, we have a peer, "Lord Adonis!" for example. And he takes himself very seriously. We have a whole collection of ageing relics all with titles like this. It's called the House of Lords. They collect there at the tax payers expense and do absolutely nothing except "haw-haw" at each other in plumy, Oxbridge accents. It's sickening.

All this is amusing when found in a Lewis Carroll novel. But in real life these human appendages aren't just doddling, they are dangerous in a Britain that has run out of resources and time.

All the hangover of Empire is unaffordable these days. The Monarchy itself, Foreign adventure that end in full-out wars; Bailing out debtor EU nations; Sending vast sums in relief where it is pocketed by despots. And all the goodies accorded to rank and privilege at the expense of those who have just about nothing: no education, no decent job prospects, many with no real homes or parents; what little community infrastructure they were allowed, shrinking in the budget cuts, (but not banker's bonuses!).

Isn't it just disgusting and so short-sighted of Cameron and his advisors to be closing youth centres, swimming pools, libraries, school sports fields (to sell the land), tripling education costs, and more when this is just about all these kids from deprived areas have to look forward to?

And this is why they are on the streets, Mr. Cameron, not because they primarily want to loot a lot of rubbish they don't need.

These underprivileged youngsters don't have Oxbridge educations. Many don't even attend secondary school. They couldn't lucidly discuss their woes even if they wanted to (many do want to, as it happens). The State has to take these broken winged birds in hand and nurture them back into the society they feel has abandoned them. Before it's far too late and we are confronted with real mayhem on the streets of this torn nation.

Added on August 19.

Now the prison governers and others, where they have been stuffing these young offenders, have said on the news today that they fear rioting in the prisons, which are full to the brim. Another riot on the streets of any size will strain Britain's institutions beyond their capacity to function. We are truly on the brink of a catastrophe here.

Important!

Please read hubber, CJStone's brilliant hub, "The Empire of Things: On the Social Psychology of Looting" on the riots and the conditions in Britain which has fostered the riots by Cameron perpertrating the same social unrest we found under Thatcher. This article is a MUST READ, believe me! Bob