COULD THE London
riots happen here?
I struggle to see how.
An amateur sociologist
might say that a large part of
the disaffection experienced by
youth in large cities comes
from the frustration of being
hemmed in, from living in high-
density populations, from
being just another rat in the
human race.
There is
another ``dis'' at
play here _ disengaged.
Disengagement tends to
engender a sense that one is
owed something, which leads
to anger at the establishment.
The establishment is grey
and faceless, so it's very easy to
a) hate and b) justify rioting.
It's a valid reaction to what is
ultimately a perception of
being poorly treated.
Ripping off the establishment
though overrides the fact that
you're actually ripping off your
fellow man who has learned how to
work with or even exploit the
establishment. In effect, the rioters
are simply ripping off people who
are smarter than they are.
Summer heat and boredom also
appear to be factors that can
contribute to a riot. Again, could it
happen here? Nah.
Hot and bored youths in New
Zealand hit the beach, not the
streets.
Our disaffected youth would
struggle to drag themselves off the
couch away from their Xboxes and
big-screen televisions long enough
to assemble.
In the early 1990s my wife and I
wandered along to the Notting Hill
Carnival in London, much to the
bemusement of the Londoners we
knew.
The carnival was first held in
1976 and was a semi-regular
rioting hotbed.
The year before we went,
someone was stabbed.
We weren't too fussed, plus we
were going with a group of
interesting people.
The carnival is a celebration
of the West Indian community
in London.
``What are you going there
for? It's full of blacks,'' was
another common response
from locals. So much for
multicultural tolerance.
We had a great time,
soaking up the atmosphere, the
music and some warm,
overpriced cans of Holsten Pils
purchased through someone's
front window.
We saw some small-scale
disorder, when groups of men
charged through the crowd,
grabbing at jewellery around
people's necks.
But aside from that, it was
fun. We had a riot.
