"It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Rob Long ·
Aug 9, 2011 at 8:48am
The End of Western Civilization has been televised on the BBC.
Take a look at this BBC video. It's here. Listen carefully to the girls who were interviewed. What are these riots about? they are asked.
It's the "government," it's the "conservatives," it's the "police," it's people who own "businesses."
But it really isn't about any one thing. It's about a nation that allowed a huge portion of its population to wallow in handouts, self-pity, entitlements, and cultural indulgence.
Sound familiar?
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Dec '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
And to think that the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was the shooting of a drug dealer...
Jul '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
But what the US needs is a huge increase in services and a good wallow in a debt mire. The Economist could do for us what they've done for the UK, if only we would listen.
Dec '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
It's the Left's fault. Period. End of issue.
Sep '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
They can turn Tottenham into a place where the people get what they want, like Detroit and East LA...that'll show 'em.
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
It's the 1980s all over again: Mrs. Fatcher took my job!
The brilliant Daniel Hannan has been doing his best to rally the English against the sclerotic state, but, boy, it's a tall order.
Jun '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Remember the good old days when the friendly neighborhood Bobbie (weaponless, of course) walked his beat in a country with one of the lowest crime rates in the developed world. Now the police are an arm of the PC movement, crime has soared (the UK is one of the most crime-ridden societies in the world), nannyism is rampant, and they blame it all on greedy bankers.
There are no so blind as those who will not see.
Edited on Aug 9, 2011 at 9:16amMar '11
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
I'd even go a step further than you, Rob.
I'd say a generation of leaders a couple generations ago largely abrogated their responsibility and abandoned their posts in England.
The result was a decadent class that squandered itself, and brought disgrace upon the shadows of old institutions in Britain, from the Commons right up through the Royal Family. It allowed a hollowing out of English society.
The legacy of this kind of thing isn't a tyrannical state--though, that may still come--but, instead, the inability to either lead or follow. It left anarchy in the souls of its citizens, and now the violence that has broken is merely an outward expression of this deep nihilism.
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Adam Freedman: It's the 1980s all over again: Mrs. Fatcher took my job!
The brilliant Daniel Hannan has been doing his best to rally the English against the sclerotic state, but, boy, it's a tall order. · Aug 9 at 9:13am
Adam, you know Britain well. Please help me here: why can't this happen here? Or can it?
Mar '11
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Hmm, when our turn comes which will be first? Philadelphia, Detroit, Los Angeles; the usual suspects or perhaps a surprise breakout performance by St. Louis? Maybe perennial fan favorite Oakland is due for another moment in the spotlight. Unfortunately too many candidates the more one considers the idea.
A grim month appears to be forming up.
May '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Ah, Envy! Thy name is Tottenham.
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Jolly sporting of the British hooligans to time their riots to promote the release of Mark Steyn's new book. Who says professional courtesy is dead?
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Rob Long
Adam Freedman: It's the 1980s all over again: Mrs. Fatcher took my job!
The brilliant Daniel Hannan has been doing his best to rally the English against the sclerotic state, but, boy, it's a tall order. · Aug 9 at 9:13am
Adam, you know Britain well. Please help me here: why can't this happen here? Or can it? · Aug 9 at 9:20am
I don't think it can happen here - not yet, anyway. To me, the big cultural difference is that most Britons, like most Continentals, have accepted the idea that the economy is a zero-sum game. Which is why - as you know - private enterprise is viewed with suspicion or downright hatred (although I think it's worse in France than Britain). In America, people still love success. Even (especially?) people who have never studied economics intuitively know that wealth can be created, and not just divvied up.
I think that's also why immigrant-bashing works in Europe, but not here. Lots of Americans are rightfully upset about illegal immigration, but we cheer on legal immigrants - we don't rant about how they're coming to take our jobs.
May '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
So glad the previous UK Government stopped Dutch MP Geert Wilders from coming into Old Blighty, after all he might have stirred up some trouble on London streets.
(No I do not agree with all of Wilders' opinions, but his banning was an affront to free speech)
Going off to listen to Kate Bush singing O England My Lionheart, and feel depressed.
Apr '11
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
I'm with you, Rob. I've been asking myself "How many of these rioters have ever held a job?" I think once someone has been a productive member of society, you're more likely to respect other people's property. But if all you've ever owned has been given to you, what is the value of property?
Regarding the question of "Could it happen here?", it depends on which "here" you mean. In a city with strict gun control, yes. I think if some hooligan tries to pull a cowboy out of his pickup (or even a mom from a minivan) in El Paso to administer a beating, he's going to regret it. I think if some rioters try to burn down Main Street in Butte, Montana, the results will be quite different than in London.
May '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Rob Long
Please help me here: why can't this happen here?
Guns.
As AmishDude so aptly put it:
Mob violence and vandalism is already occurring in America. But it's not common where the lowlifes know police are not the only ones willing to stop and punish them.
Sep '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
In the UK (and most of Europe) the voters overwhelmingly believe that it is the government's job to make things better. So if their lives are going badly, they wait for the forces of government to fix them; and if things continue to go badly, they blame the government. When the Conservatives came into power, they saw that government spending had to be reduced; and when the cutbacks came the average UK voter was enraged.
Unfortunately many US citizens have the same attitude. If the economy isn't doing well, they think the solution must be government action (i.e. spending), and any cutbacks are unforgivable. If you think things are bad now, wait until the GOP wins the White House and announces cut backs. The Left will react with riots and violence--remember the rioters at the Republican Convention?
Yes, it could happen here. Prepare to defend yourselves and your property.
Apr '11
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
This is what gets me from that 50s clip.
"It's the rich people...we are just showing them we can do what we want" and
'It's the police...we are just showing them we can do what we want"....
What I find fascinating is not who they blame: conservatives, the government, the rich, the police... I mean they are just blaming authority or what I presume they view as authority. The rioting that they do is to show those in power that they (the rioters) can "do what they want" the fact that they are so brazen also implies that they fear no reprisals. "We do what we want and you can't do anything about it".
I wonder how they would feel if those in power were less judicious and upright then they are. If the police just decided to beat these two women and rape them, or just kill them (as happens in countries such as Syria, Lybia or Iran). Would they accept the rational of "we can do what we want"?
How do these rioters not marvel at the fact that they can walk away unharmed by the government? They just take it for granted....
Dec '10
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Adam Freedman
To me, the big cultural difference is that most Britons, like most Continentals, have accepted the idea that the economy is a zero-sum game. · Aug 9 at 9:48am
The biggest problem with viewing the economy as a zero-sum game isn't the dangerous idea that wealth can't be created and so all wealth is stolen.
It's the idea that wealth can't be destroyed either.
May '11
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
It is a very different scale but the flash mobs that are developing in cities throughout the US which are apparently coordinated through the social media are a troubling parallel to the British riots. When I was in Chicago a few weeks ago the flash mobs were talked about by the cab drivers and other locals but there was nothing about them in the paper.
Feb '11
Re: "It's the Guvverment's Fault....I Dunno....."
Rob, just as disturbing is the video clip under yours showing mobsters first appearing to help an injured person, then robbing him. Where is the humanity here? I hope these clips are seen far and wide; we can all stand a little revival of spirit, humanity, and civilization. As horrible as this is, inspiration might be a happy silver lining.
Edited on Aug 9, 2011 at 10:54am