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Uk Riots 2011

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UK RIOTS 2011

Between the 6th and 11th of August 2011 thousands of people rioted in cities across England participating in looting, arson and vandalism. The rioting occurred after a peaceful demonstration on the 4th of August in Tottenham over the death of local 29-year-old father of four Mark Duggan who was a victim of a still-unresolved shooting by the police.

1. Text 1 “Experts Cite Underlying Causes for UK Riots” is a news report by Al Pessin published on Voice of America website the 10th of August 2011. The report consists of people giving an estimate of the causes for the UK riots. The inhabitants of London believe at first sight the riots are a response in reaction to lack of jobs and cuts in government services following a feeling of despondency and hopelessness. First hand witnesses reports that such is not the case. Chris Hamnett works as a geography professor at King’s College London. He explains the hectic restlessness in London by saying the inhabitants of African and Caribbean origin are more likely to participate in demonstrations than other Britons judged by their economic -, social – and cultural capital. He points out the connection between these ethnic groups and their criminal records. Hamnett partly agrees with Basani Mabyalane neighboring and Erika Lopez, who is a member of HYPE. They are convinced, that the looting is a result of boredom and poor empowering of young people. Prime Minister David Cameron blames the involved and cites the schools and parents share the responsibility.

Text 2 “Caring costs – but so do riots” is an article by Camila Batmanghelidjh brought by The Independent website the 9th of August 2011. Camila points the finger at Twitter and Facebook for being contributing factors to the unrest, as these platforms transmit invitations among users and creates dangerous communities online. She finds people’s actions carried out with disregard and with no presence of moral justified by the community failing. She explains the young people’s manners by stating: “It’s not one occasional attack on dignity, it’s a repeated humiliation, being continuously dispossessed in a society rich with possession” (text 2 l. 43-44). The ignored underclass forms a community and seeks to savagery for survival.

2. Text 3 “The Fightback” is an editorial from The Sun website from the 10th of August 2011. The sender is strongly subjective, because the text is characterized by a personal and biased view of riots. A negative and gloomy atmosphere dominates the text. “Rioting morons must be put behind bars, and the nastier the conditions the better” (text 3. l. 14) expresses his attitude towards them. He wants them to suffer. There is only a ray of positivity, when talking about how Facebook and Twitter strengthened the cleanup operation and the support of police. The tone is predominantly cold and dramatic. The sender makes sure to bring a little humor by stating: “If the cells are full, deport foreign criminals. Too bad about human rights laws.” (text 3. l. 12-13) and “Surely a thug is a thug, whether in London or Londonderry” (text 3. l. 24). The words are almost entirely negative loaded. The sender describes the rioters with terms of abuse like “morons”, “thugs” and “mobs”. The positive loaded word “brave” is connected to the police, who aren’t to blame for the unrest. The text consists of short sentences. The level of difficulty and formality is medium, as there is used technical language in areas such as crime. The text starts with the question “what should it do?” after which he lists his demands, repeatedly with the word “must” at the start of the sentence. He doesn’t argue for these drafts of punishment and prevention. The form of appeal is mostly ethos and in a mild degree logos.

3. There are some conflicting elements, when discussing how society can prevent similar problems in the future. Cameron expresses in text 1 that he wishes better parenting. Parents have to set boundaries with the purpose of children knowing the difference between right and wrong. His promised harsher consequences involving a higher fixing of sentence and tougher police tactics will maybe have a frightening effect on young people, but will not change their minds, if they are determined to participate in riots. Prevention costs less than punishment and is both the most humanitarian and the only sensible solution. It can be very stressful being a teenager with a cut in youth service spending by the government and increasing expectations and demands by the society. We need to invest in young people to create a feeling of stability and hope. Through interventions young people will be motivated and open their eyes to new opportunities. The government can take inspiration from Denmark, where we demand that young people are occupied with either school or work. If a person doesn’t have a high enough average or miss subjects in order to attend the dream university, the student counsellor needs to get them going and make plans involving courses. Areas where immigrant families live e.g. ghettoes needs more focus. Parents, who don’t speak the language of the new country, shall be offered an interpreter, so they are able to communicate with the teachers of the school and learn, what the society expects from them and their children. This will benefit their children in the future. More groups like HYPE are needed to involve young people in decisions, so they feel their words and opinions are valued. To prevent riots and similar problems in the future the government can demand that recipients of cash benefits have to work to keep them busy. If a person dreams of being a teacher, he or she can work as a trainee at a school or kindergarten. The government has to be willing to enter into a dialogue with these young people, who have been crying in silence for a long time. Compromises must be made in order to find a solution, which benefits both young people and society.

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