http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14460554

i was surprised by this,the 3rd night of riots in the british capitol,london.theyre putting 16,000 police officers on the street to try and stop a 4th night.theyve also arrested over 500 people.
the riot was caused after a man was shot by police and people staged a protest.it'd seem that people have used it as an opportunity to loot everything in sight.
theres been threats of riots in other cities today e.g birmingham,glasgow etc.
personaly i think this is ridiculous.
if you want to loot something head for the primeminister,the queens,or the bankers houses,theyre thiefs anyway.dont burn your own neighbourhood

This might sound kind of rude, but I sure am glad that I don't live in London right now. It's kind of sad how it's all boiled down to this. Now, people that aren't even protesting are looting from each other. I wish people would get that violence doesn't solve violence.

Like I said in another thread like this, I'm shocked at the violence that the people did. But you have to expect that in a riot. In seriousness, I agree with cassu here, I would NOT be one of those guys in London right now. :/

Violence definetly wont stop violence, but this riot is bringing an important topic to news stations globaly. I am 99% sure this case of police brutality wouldn't be headline news around the world. Not trying to justify the riots or more importantly the violence, I am just trying to look at any positives that can come from this.

Also, this is very similar to the riots that took place in LA during the early 90's after Rodney King was beaten by police. Fortunetly Mr.King wasn't killed, unfortunetly the riots were just as bad if not worse.

Here is a good video showing footage from the LA riots with the Sublime's "April 29, 1992" as background music.
http://www.youtube.com/embed/N-LB94Kwlws


I think most people will agree that violence will not stop violence or police brutality, so I am open to any suggestions that could help stop police brutality or violence in general.

yeah i posted a thread liek this im actualyl living close to the riots and they're spreading to all the major cities and toewns now, its spread to lewisham, bromley and whole residential streets have been set alight, hopefully it won't get to mottingham where i live but im right inbetween lewisham and bromley so all ive heard for the past few nights are nothing but sirens.

heres a link to basically whats going on : warning a lot of swearing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3HbhmoDHU4

When the riots were going on Manchester United Soccer player Wayne Rooney tweeted "Stop it you guys your embarrassing England"I really think that's a stupid reason to start a riot and a stupid opportunity for looting. The guy that got shot what did he do anyway.

smotpoker86 : ironicaly i was looking at that about 2 weeks ago,crazy stuff.
That one was basically a race riot.
POKeMAD : i wouldnt fancy being in england right now,the riot in london was quite lastnight(due to 5 times the normal police on the streets)but other english citys were getting worse.3 guys trying to protect there area were run over.
There hasnt been much in scotland,one guy started a page on facebook called lets start a riot in glasgow,but a page saying dont start a riot was created and it drove the other page into the ground.everyone reported it and the teenager that created it opened his door and found the police at it.
Theyve started shiping scottish police down to england to try and stem the riots.

thenumberone : yeah thats good the thign is even thoug htheres more policeman the home secretary is only using the police as a barrier if they see the looters or thugs setting fire to thigns or looting stores all the ycan do is take pictures or record event and not use force the police are simply forming a cordon around the area to keep it specified to one place, in my opinion they should be able to use force because its getting ridiculous even with the more police its still happening

mike345 : im not sure what he did but the police only carry guns if a suspect is armed so i guess he resisted arrest and was shot.the police havent really disclosed the details.
POKeMAD : the thugs need a wack round the head,theyre are ruining innocent peoples lifes.

I Live In Tottenham Where The Riots Started People Are Dieing Now. Its Really Bad!

drago : dam whats it like down there? i guess your staying indoors for the time being, i cant imagine how horrible it must be down there atm whats the area like are people still rioting there? are you close to the actual riots? (sorry for all the questions)

drago : its ironic that the origins were protesting a murder and about 7 people have died now.
POKeMAD : the police are now authorised to use baton rounds(essentialy giant rubber bullets,ud know all about it if one of them hit you)
Theyve also got water canons on standbye,id love to see those gits blasted with it.
mike345 : on the note of football the f.a canceled the england v holand friendly match because there was a risk to fans and players.
Britains reputed as stable,safe and disciplined,these riots really challenge that view.

thenumberone : YESS! finally they're gonna get what they deserve the thugs. There was a girl on tv trying do justify what they were doing and she kept talkign about how young people dont get respect, its just horrifying to see a whole generation just not care about everything and ruining the teenage image for the rest of us, now alot of adults just picture teenagers as thugs :/ Im so glad their brinign in the water canons and rounds though best piece of news ive heard all week thnx man

POKeMAD : i heard that "theyre pure telin us wat to do and wont give us money no more n want us to learn a trade or sumit"
Thats generaly how you earn a living you lazy bums.
I was glad to hear it too,had to share the good news.
I heard people complaining about teens,i was like,hello?!im not rioting...

I was in second or third grade when the Los Angeles Riots broke out, and though my block was never touched by the violence it was very close (that Sublime song mentions Paramount, I lived on the border of the city and went to it's schools). I remember the news footage and the violence, the sounds of the sirens and the police patrols. To know that something similar is going on in England right now is just heartbreaking.

Protesting police brutality is one thing, it is a noble cause... but when it turns into riots, retaliation, and looting... well... you just chucked your cause into the garbage now didn't you? Idiots! I have a feeling this will not be the last riots we see either... the whole darn world is like a tinder box since the economy failed in 2008 and now the slightest thing can just set it alight.

I am glad to know our English members are safe so far, and I hope you stay that way, and also that it does not spread any further than it has.

This really doesn't look good for the Olympics next year now does it?

I can understand trying to stick up for some one when rioting but they're just using as an excuse in order to loot like you said which is wrong and destroying things of your own wont help either

POKeMAD : Its Stopped Where I Live And Its Spread Across All England. I Dont Even Know Why! They Are Destroying Their Own Lives.

Elara : i never even thought about the olympics.that is quite bad.
drago : because they want free stuff,theyre just thugs and thieves.

thenumberone : Yes it is ironic that an anti-murder protest about peace ends up with all kinds of violence and deaths. 

Elara : You said what is wrong with this sort of riot very well. Once a protest becomes immoral and starts to use violence and stealing, it loses most of its credibility. I would say that a riot of this magnitude undermines the original protests intentions and basically has the exact opposite effect of the protest.

I also agree that this wont be the last riot we see, and it even seems to be a growing trend through out the world. There are many recent examples, just look at Lybia, Egypt, Iran, Greece and probably more that I am missing. Ocassionaly riots are reactions to  ridiculously unimportant events, such as the recent riot in Vancouver after their hockey team lost in the finals. Another example is  the riot that took place in Edmonton on Canada Day, which is where I live.(cant remember which year but it was around 7-10 years ago) Those riots didn't even have any excuse or motive, it was just a bunch of drunk people who looted buildings and turned over cars because they could get away with it being in a large crowd.



In my opinion, this video I found does a good job explaining the causes of the London riots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4DUtDMfymI

Basically it says there was a peaceful protest outside of a police station in Tottenham regarding the police killing Mark Dougan. During the protest, a 17 year old woman was beaten with police batons and this sparked a violent reaction. It also attributes years of bad police practices aswell as a large population of unemployed youth on welfare as causes to the violence.

So during a peaceful anti police brutality protest/rally the police brutalize protesters... what outcome did they expect to happen? (which is just as ironic as a protest of peace ending up with deaths)  Do they expect protesters to go home when they are confronted with the exact thing they are protesting? I am not trying to justify the riots in any way, but it is not like this is an unprovoked riot. Sure, there are probably some people that will loot and burn buildings because they think they can get away with it, but the initial protest / riot has significant meaning behind it.

Most of us wont tolerate a violent riot, but we should also not tolerate being mistreated by police, who seem to be above the law. That is the reason for the LA riots, it wasn't because Mr.King was attacked, it was because the police men who attacked him were aquitted, yet King was awarded a 3.8 million dollar payment for his injuries.

I will leave you with this video of police charging peaceful protestors during the 2009 G20 summit in Toronto. Apparently, a large crowd singing their national anthem is enough reason to 'attack' them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkwazCJG0vc