British government criticized over 'disproportionate' response to riots

"Mindless destruction" committed by a "feral underclass" seeking to "gratify their bestial and selfish urges", that is how Edward Turnham, Chair-elect of Cambridge University Conservative Association, described the recent riots which swept Britain.
   
Mr. Turnham's words serve only to highlight the social bigotry which is rampant throughout the British establishment. At every opportunity British politicians have sought to relegate the fundamental causes of the riots to nothing more than opportunistic criminality, and we have seen terms such as 'mindless hooliganism' and 'disgraceful yobbery' plastered across the media in an attempt to de-legitimize and de-politicize the cause of the "feral underclass".

That the rioters lack leaders to articulate their grievances is certainly true, and perhaps that is an inditement of British left wing politics which have failed to engage the impoverished communities from which these riots have emanated, but to dismiss the legitimacy of their grievances will only further exacerbate the class division and further isolate communities which already feel as though they are on the very fringe of British society.

The incident which sparked the riots was the shooting dead of 29 year old father of four, Mark Duggan, by British police. Although it had originally been claimed that Mr. Duggan had opened fire on police, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has now said that there is no evidence Mr. Duggan opened fire at police before being shot dead by a firearms officer.

While this incident provided the spark, it can not be doubted that the violence which unfolded in cities and towns throughout Britain was the direct result of the marginalization of a generation by capitalism and it's inevitable crises.

The mainstream media have opted to focus on incidents of looting, and like the British political establishment, have made no attempt to understand the position of those involved. We would do well to ask ourselves, why do those involved feel as though they have nothing to lose?

The communities from which these riots spread are those worst affected by chronic unemployment, and cuts to public service spending. Community centers have been shut and community funding has been slashed, the vast majority of youths involved in the rioting are essentially excluded from third level education in the face of astronomical tuition fee's, and are facing a future with no real prospects for employment.

All the while, the needs and well-being of the "feral underclass", as Mr. Turnham puts it, are sacrificed by British politicians to pay for the greed of an extremely wealthy Banking elite, and as impoverished communities across Britain continue to deteriorate into a state of hyperghettoization, the British Government continue to pump hundreds of millions of pounds into sustaining the British war machine in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The response by the British government in the wake of the riots has been telling, they have opted to grant themselves sweeping new powers to shut down social media websites such as Twitter in times of social unrest, in this regard finally bringing Britain in line with countries such as Syria. Hefty prison sentences have also been handed down to youth's who attempted to use Facebook to co-ordinate rioting.

Many defence lawyers and civil rights groups have expressed deep alarm about the 'disproportionate' punishments being handed down to those involved, for example one student has been jailed for six months for stealing a bottle of water from a supermarket.

The fact magistrates were advised by justices' clerks to disregard normal sentencing guidelines when dealing with riot-related cases is cause for great concern.

At this point over 1000 rioters have been charged, and in some cases the British government have decided to evict the parents of rioters from social housing schemes, and are mulling over plans to cut any remaining benefits being claimed by those involved.

The heavy handed response of the British government runs the risk of not only further isolating these impoverished communities, but fueling an already growing sense of genuine oppression.

There is something deeply wrong in a country where a Member of Parliament who steals thousands of pounds of public taxpayers money receives nothing more than a slap on the wrist, but you may be sent to jail for stealing a bottle of water or setting up a Facebook page.