Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
I fired up my web browser this morning, only to to find another instant classic in the annals of news reporting from our beloved wire service Reuters. And by "instant classic," I mean hang-your-head-in-your-hands depressing. Here's the actual headline -- "London rioters resent media image of hooded teen thug." So now we have rioters that are looting television sets and sneakers, but pausing to tell earnest news reporters that they shouldn't be judged or stereotyped in the process. Some choice bits, and note how the reporter seems obdurately unaware of the irony of quoting rioters defending their conduct anonymously:
"I was on the train today in my work clothes and shoes. All different types took part in the riot. The man next to me was saying everyone who rioted should be gassed. He would never have guessed that I was there, that I took part," he said. ...
"They were not your typical hoodlums out there. There were working people, angry people. They've raised rates, cut child benefit. Everyone just used it as a chance to vent," L said, referring to government austerity measures the poor say have hit them hardest. ...
"It's like the old days. It's bringing the community spirit back. Even though it's a sad way to do it, it's bringing the community together," Ariom said.As the sun set, the men at the estate said they would hang out on a typical evening, play football or visit girlfriends.
"But if the riots kick off again, I'm going. It's history, it's a revolution," Ariom said."I loved Hackney during the riot. I loved every minute of it. It was great to see the people coming together to show the authorities that they cannot just come out here bullying."
On a related note, the Telegraph's Toby Young, former celebrity journalist, playwright and food critic, seems to be growing nicely into his latest incarnation as a political columnist (my husband informs me that our own Rob Long is a significant character in his second memoir The Sound of One Hand Clapping). Today, Young's column is on how left-wing moral relativism is responsible for the riots:
It creates a general reluctance to promote any values other than procedural ones. The result is far too many people cast adrift, black and white alike, imagining they believe in something only to discover, when social order breaks down, that they believe in nothing.
I think the Reuters article is pretty dramatic proof that Young is on to something here.
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Jun '10
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
Melanie Phillips argues that on her blog that the rioting is the result of the breakdown of the family:
"For most of these children come from lone-mother households. And the single most crucial factor behind all this mayhem is the willed removal of the most important thing that socialises children and turns them from feral savages into civilised citizens: a father who is a fully committed member of the family unit.
Of course there are many lone parents who do a tremendous job. But we’re talking here about widespread social collapse. And there are whole areas of Britain, white as well as black, where committed fathers are a wholly unknown phenomenon.
. . .
The result is fatherless boys who are consumed by an existential rage and desperate emotional need . . . .
Such children inhabit . . . a world without any boundaries or rules. A world of emotional and physical chaos."
Harriett Harman (former leader in the Labour government) "was one of the principal forces in the Labour government behind the promotion of lone parenthood." The "breaking of the family, . . . was further condoned, rewarded and encouraged by the Welfare State, which conceives of need solely in terms of absence of money . . . ."
Read the whole thing.
Edited on Aug 12, 2011 at 9:03amSep '10
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
I have to admit to being confused by the current situation in Britain. I was always under the impression growing up that someone's de facto presence in a rioting mob meant you were now a declared threat to the common good and a legitimate target for a 30 cal machine gun on top of a tank turret to restore public order.
Am I misunderstanding something?
Aug '11
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
Not only is this "L" bloke a two-faced thief, a self-destructive vandal, and a hypocritical bully himself, but proud of it (when interviewed,) nevertheless too much of a coward to stand up for what he believed on the train. I'm not sure which is worse, to be proud of it, or to not have anything to say when your beliefs are challenged, (or lack thereof.)
The current violence is inexplicable, only in the sense that it truly HAS NO basis. It is the lack of basis, the chaos that useful idiots make when reaching their intended end.
It is the opposite of a revolution, the hollow triumph of decades of moral relativism being force fed to us in the halls of education, and in our entertainment, which is always sure to vilify the ones who actually stand for something.
These lootings only bring together the 'community' in the sense that now, the only thing that they have in common is their lack of society and culture, because "when everything hurts, nothing hurts." When anything goes, nothing goes.
So, there is no society anymore, despite being globally and socially networked, when millionaires' kids turn to arson for fun.
Jul '11
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.:
It creates a general reluctance to promote any values other than procedural ones. The result is far too many people cast adrift, black and white alike, imagining they believe in something only to discover, when social order breaks down, that they believe in nothing.
When social order breaks down I believe in my gun. It is why I have one. It is why the Founding Fathers recognized our Creator’s given right to protect ourselves. In times of chaos it is every “man of good will” sacred duty to man the barricades and push back the insanity of chaos and lawlessness. I see that there are examples that the Turkish community in Britain understands this. Why the rest of the British do not is beyond me.
Jul '11
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
One of my favorite quotes is Vaclav Havel's:
"As soon as man began considering himself the source of the highest meaning in the world and the measure of everything, the world began to lose its human dimension, and man began to lose control of it."
We're seeing that loss of control. It is the tragically predictable result of generations of people becoming increasingly removed from the moral underpinnings of their own society. The absolute lack of any moral compass for these people, as exemplified by "L", is downright frightening. "L" is a privileged revolutionary wannabe who will not have to live with the destruction he so romanticizes - it's taking place in someone else's neighborhood. Other rioters are the stereotypical bored kids. What they have in common is their inability to see any value in things that don't benefit them directly. They are resentful, narcissistic, and have been raised to think that their comfort and entertainment should be explicit goal of their society - a horrifyingly infantile worldview that is promoted by an ever-expanding "caring" state.
Edited on Aug 12, 2011 at 9:55amApr '11
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
Would L be saying the same thing if some of the rioters had stolen his stuff or torched his home or car? I doubt it.
Just because L was one of the rioters doesn't mean that his property is necessarily protected from the ravages of other rioters. It would be delicious irony if some young hoodlum had his own car torched while he was off doing likewise.
Edited on Aug 12, 2011 at 10:53amOct '10
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
Smells of a twisted Community Organizing think from the Left. Agree that if this fellow had been vandalized the noises from him would be profound.
The comment about this action was to prove they could not be Bullied by the police reveals a truly deep disrespect and speaks volumes.
Sep '10
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
These rioters sound amazingly politically aware. I especially like the direct connection to the "coalition". Coaching anyone?
This story is truly vomitous.
Apr '11
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
These people are very aware of their social status, but have no sense of personal dignity based upon personal behavior. The rot first became evident 40 years ago when the New Left muddied "lady" and "gentleman". In good leftist getcha-going-or-coming fashion, they either scorned them as terms of oppression, or insisted that they deserved the honor without their having to uphold a standard of behavior. The New Left came from privileged ranks. These "respectable" middling yobbos show the same sense of entitlement, without even feeling a need to articulate the theoretical rationale. The New Left knew it was smashing things. For these people, it's a given.
I have heard similar stories of professional criminals who adopt societal standards, but cannot see themselves or their own acts within that context. For instance, the mugger who became highly indignant that a victim would hand him an empty wallet while hiding his cash in his sock. How devious! How...how..dishonest! How dare he?!?!
Jan '11
Re: Rioters To Reuters: Don't Judge Us
Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke,
You gotta understand,
It's just our bringin' up-ke
That gets us out of hand.
Our mothers all are junkies,
Our fathers all are drunks.
Golly Moses, natcherly we're punks!