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Riots Across Britain: Perhaps More than Meets the Eye - by Stephen Lendman
A previous article said the following:
On August 6, rioting began in Tottenham, North London after police shot and killed Mark Duggan, a 29-year old father of four. It triggered other outbreaks on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Brixton, Enfield, Walthamstow, Islington, Hackney, Croydon, Lewisham, Peckham, Clapham, Ealing, central London, and Birmingham, Britain's second largest city.
They also spread to Liverpool, Manchester, and elsewhere as raging anger set Britain ablaze.
Observers attribute public anger to unemployment, poverty, inequality, and overall social injustice, but perhaps more is also involved. More on that below.
In response, Prime Minister David Cameron responded arrogantly, saying riots were unconnected to police shooting Mark Duggan on August 4, despite evidence of a pre-planned operation, more sinister perhaps than just killing another Black youth.
Addressing Parliament on August 11, Cameron said:
Riots are "criminality pure and simple. And there is absolutely no excuse for it....We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets. And we will do whatever it takes to restore law and order and to rebuild our communities."
"It is completely wrong to say there is any justifiable causal link" between Duggan's killing and street riots. "It is simply preposterous for anyone to suggest" it relates to him. "(I)t was about theft," not outrage, he claimed.
"As I have made clear, nothing should be off the table. Every contingency is being looked at. The police are already authorized to use baton rounds." Water cannons, rubber bullets, and other harsh measures were approved.
Consideration is also being given to deploying military forces and shutting down social media. In short, police will be given full discretion to do whatever it takes to restore order. "(T)here will be no complacency."
Cameron, of course, avoided culpability by blaming victims, the usual tactic used to shift debate away from where it belongs. Instead blame:
-- decades of destructive neoliberalism;
-- an unacceptable new normal;
-- appalling wealth disparities;
-- a corrupt political/corporate nexus;
