The definition of a riot involves the gathering of eleven or more people for the violent pursuit of an unlawful enterprise. The scenes in Manchester, London and elsewhere were certainly riots.
The BBC persistently described these rioters and looters as protestors. BBC television and radio filled their airtime by parading apologists who ascribed the riots to Government cuts, an uncaring society, the neglect of the poor, the MP's expenses scandal and the banker's bonuses.
When the riots were described as criminality, the BBC presenters were scornful and described this view as simplistic.
A BBC producer on Radio4 this afternoon was unapologetic when faced with the suggestion that television coverage had made matters worse. That the presence of the cameras had aggravated the situation and that the BBC had been instrumental in attracting more people to the incidents. She insisted that the BBC's purpose was to report and that it had no other responsibility. It might have been suggested that the worse the riots the better the BBC coverage looked but she was being interviewed on the BBC and the question wasn't asked.
These were not protestors, they were looters. They were not poor, they were bored. They killed people and destroyed livelihoods because they knew that, even if they were caught, nothing much could be done to them. One of them summed it up by saying that all he would get was an ASBO and he could live with that.
So, this is what all the appeasement politics and Human Rights legislation has brought us to. The inability to defend the rights of decent people against a lawless minority.
There were, however, three positive aspects that struck me:
First, the mobilisation of clean up squads. Young and old, sweeping up the debris in a spirit of community.
Secondly, the inspirational behaviour of our Asian communities. They epitomise decent, law abiding, family oriented society. Recognition that they provide a bedrock for Britain and not a threat is long overdue.
Thirdly, the way in which the looters are being condemned by every part of society. I get the impression that anyone offered cheap electronic equipment or designer clothes is now more likely to call the police than grab themselves a bargain. The old myth of victimless crimes, of robbing the rich, has been dramatically exposed.
I am sad about the BBC. It has been telling us its own version of the truth for a long time and now its agenda has been clearly exposed.
We can defend our cities against this threat. We can respect and empower our police force. We can foster a sense of community in our children. We can demonstrate by our own actions that quality of life and happiness are not a function of money and possessions.
Our children will not enjoy the resources and wealth that we have. It doesn't mean they can't lead much happier and rewarding lives.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Interesting that Hazel Blears has been on her soap box condemning the Salford looters as criminals. Perhaps she thinks we have forgotten she was caught stealing £20k per year in second home allowances and had to pay £13k to HMRC for fiddling her tax return!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment. I fail to understand your point. Are you saying that rioting and looting are justified because Hazel Blears did something wrong? Or that any opinion she expresses is always going to be incorrect because of that?
ReplyDeleteExcellent post. I think there is a extremely strong case that the media has fulled the riots, especially the coverage by the BBC. The coverage on sky captured an offender saying, in summary, 'I've come to make some money, start trouble and p**s off the police. I hate the police, and this is our chance to do what we want and they can't do anything about it'. There is little doubt that he is one of the many that saw the coverage, knew some of the police were being sent elsewhere and took advantage of that situation. Thank you for your positive notes. I hope another positive outcome could be more respect for the police and emergency services from the general public and the review of front line police numbers. Scarily, although the incidents that have been occurring were extreme, they are still only an escalation of the type of abuse the police get every single day. For example, pelting bricks at police vans and fire engines happens all the time and most certainly every single bonfire night. It is a very scary hard cold fact that there are frequently nights where (in the area I can speak about) if you dialled 999 with a life threatening emergency there would NOT be anyone available to come to you, and when they finally could it would likely be a single officer, all due to lack of resources. From the sounds of David Cameron I am very doubtful as to whether the issue of front line police numbers will be addressed, but during the incidents over the last few days the general public, in areas where the police are usually disliked, have been giving words of thanks and messages of good luck to passing officers. Something very positive you certainly don't see every day.
ReplyDeleteGood blog, as usual, but I would not be too hard on the BBC. Like the police, they do the best job they can under the circumstances. What would be the alternative, Murduch or McDonald? Heaven forbid.
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