Riots in Manchester city centre (not Salford)

[schoey71]

There was a post way back in this thread saying the riots were the result of 30 years of liberalism and political correctness but that couldn't be further from the truth, if anything its the result of 30 years of neo-liberalism, the conscious efforts of a section of British society to re-write the social contract for the benefit of the wealthy few and the promotion of the mindset that "there is no such thing as society."

I don't condone the rioters, who are for the most part only succeeding in damaging their own communities, but blaming this on opportunism and the criminality of "lazy scrotes" is completely missing the bigger picture and the questions this raises about the state of western consumer society in general (remember this happened in France too 5 or 6 years ago).

Empty violence in response to a vacuous system and meaningless future.

Bollocks! These "scum" have access to opportunities that millions of kids around the world would give their right arm for. They have free homes, more benefits now than ever before and access to a free education system that opens doors to whatever kind of life they want, if they're willing to work hard enough for it. What we're seeing now, is the kind of life that the lazy scrotes actually want and the reason they get away with it is people like you making excuses for them.

Correct

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

here you go jase

Eye for an eye. Set fire to the fucker on Market Street and let him burn.

 

[tueartsboots]

There was a post way back in this thread saying the riots were the result of 30 years of liberalism and political correctness but that couldn't be further from the truth, if anything its the result of 30 years of neo-liberalism, the conscious efforts of a section of British society to re-write the social contract for the benefit of the wealthy few and the promotion of the mindset that "there is no such thing as society."

I don't condone the rioters, who are for the most part only succeeding in damaging their own communities, but blaming this on opportunism and the criminality of "lazy scrotes" is completely missing the bigger picture and the questions this raises about the state of western consumer society in general (remember this happened in France too 5 or 6 years ago).

Empty violence in response to a vacuous system and meaningless future.

Bollocks. the poor in this country have never been so wealthy! Stop making excuses or trying to find reasons, there are none

fuck off, I live in Peckham and ONLY have PS2- you know nuffin bout poverty innit

 

[1.618034]

Not funny. Not today.

 

[mackenzie]

Just after 5 o’clock the boss told the two of us who were left to go home. The rumours of impending lawlessness were turning into something more a bit more substantial. Our fears for our city soon became reality.

Walking up Cross Street a few women came running down. Something was happening on St Mary’s Gate. A 100-strong masked mob went running towards Market Street: all youths, not a man amongst them, with the obligatory mountain bike following up the rear.

Others, with the kind of pastey-faces you can only gain by playing one too many Xbox game, trickled up Corporation Street squinting into a rarely seen City Centre sunlight. Clearly, the potential of a free iPad was too much of a lure… even for those who struggle to read and write.
Once described by Chief Superintendent David Baines as “feral youths” they continued to arrive into our great city on foot and on their mountain bikes as the great moral majority poured out en masse in the opposite direction. Or tried to. First Bus was true to form and appeared to have scrapped many of its services; only the 135 appeared to be running towards Bury. Their claimed every-10-minutes-service had reverted to the more familiar wait-for-half-an-hour-and-three-come-at-once service. When the inevitable trio finally arrived it looked like a peace convoy and felt more like the last chopper out of Saigon.

Save for the odd distant siren and a small pocket of police in summer dress, they were nowhere to be seen. Not in numbers anyway, and they certainly weren’t giving chase to the mob. Where were the boys in blue who can kettle students, trade unionists and beatniks in the blink of an eye, I wondered. Indeed, where were the tough guys from the TAG team, three of whom thought nothing of giving me a good hiding all those years ago?

Manchester has taken many long years to rebuild itself after the bomb. Now, we find that Mancunians and Salfordonians are only too happy to trash our city in a few short hours - for a pair of trainers, a telly or an easily traceable mobile phone. I never thought I’d see the like of the bomb again... until Glasgow Rangers came to town. But at least those two outrages were caused by out-of-towners, not our own. God knows what we’ll find tomorrow morning, but it’ll be left to those of us in the public sector to put it all back together again.

When the questions are asked they will all start with one word: Why?

Why have the GMP have been found lacking here as well, despite an afternoon of rumours? Why did the GMP send 100 officers to London when they would be better deployed here? (After all, we pay for them – not Londoners.) Why did it take so long for Lord Snooty and his chums to get back from their holidays and attempt to take control? Why have so many young people been abandoned to their respective fates, in a vacuous existence with no way out other than a life of crime? Why have the mamby-pamby liberals won the day for so long? Why can anarchy break out so easily and so readily in what is supposedly a civilised country? Why? Why? Why?

There will be more questions than answers, but tonight I weep for both my city and my country, neither of which I recognise any longer.

Having been quick to criticise you last night for your unnecessary attempt to play politics I have to say that's much more worthy of you and I support most of that. I would take issue with one thing though when you ask why some young people have been abandoned to their fate.

I'd suggest that many of the people doing this have chosen a certain path in life quite deliberately, based upon the role models they see, be it vacuous celebrities, footballers who think it's OK to park in disabled spaces or drug dealers falunting their ill-gotten gains.

When my oldest was born, my car was broken into at NMGH while I was at the hospital. The kid (15 or 16) was caught red-handed and the case went to the Youth court. It turned out his father had been taking him to the hospital, clearly with the express intention of breaking into cars. That's not a political issue. That's a choice a father has made for his family.

So it is a not a path that they have chosen 'deliberately' then. More
That they have not the wherewithal to escape their lives.
I know I'll get slated for that comment and I just want to add that these are 'feral' youth. Not excusing the actions just trying to say that this is the result of many factors.

 

[MCFC-alan88]

Here's the **** who set Miss Selfridges on fire.

The one on the right?

 

[glen quagmire]

Not funny. Not today Not even Manchester.

 

[MCFC BOB]

There's mass hysteria on my Facebook feed that Edgeley and Stockport have been attacked.

I drove past Edgeley's high street around 25 minutes ago and nobody was there - nobody at all.

Stockport is completely deserted too.

 

[blueinsa]

Last time I went to Blackburn we got stopped two miles away by the squad,told to get off and our coach searched.And that was an official supporters club bus,with most people in their 30s and above.they found fuck all,we got short shrift,and were warned in no uncertain terms to "watch what you're doing in our town."

I'm now watching people chasing riot police all over town,wrecking shops,businesses and livelihoods,doing basically whatever they want...with seeming impunity.
I'm confused.
It's like "retro policing"....let them do whatever,then try and get them later on CCTV....meanwhile,people's life work,homes and jobs lie in ruins.

Somethings wrong.Very,very wrong.and it's not going to work.

Been mentioned a few times mate and its baffling!

I also thought i heard earlier that West Mids Police are adopting a policy of allowing the crowd to "tire themselves out" and thus just going home.

I hope i miss heard as if not, heads need to fucking roll!

 

[Rushton121]

Anyone confirm whether it's kicking off at crown point Denton?

Sister lives near there...