Let me start like most of the politicians have today: there is no excuse for the violence that has been perpetrated on the streets around this country and the wanton destruction and theft that have been committed by the rioters and looters. They should be pursued by the law, arrested and prosecuted. OK?
But what next? Are we to believe that the riots were a one off? That these were the spontaneous acts of hundreds of individuals who just fancied smashing up their own neighbourhoods? That they are just ‘thugs’ and ‘evil’, as they have been described? That they just need a good long stretch inside to sort them out?
I don’t buy it. On any number of levels.
For a start, this isn’t the way humans behave. If people did this without reason and provocation then we simply wouldn’t have a society. There are a number of theories as to why (such as those posited in The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins), but whichever theory you subscribe to our recorded history shows a propensity for people to act within social norms.
“But these are different people. Not like us. They are ‘evil’ people,” the tabloids say. Bollocks. I’m afraid I don’t believe in evil people. Mad people? Yes. But these people weren’t mad. They were angry, desperate, and disconnected from the society whose rules they so clearly violated.
So yes, we should respond to their crimes in the way that our society has agreed. Protect our streets, arrest and prosecute. But we need to do a lot more than that if this is not to be a common occurrence.
For a start we need to talk to these kids – and the adults backing them up for that matter – and find out what brought them to this point. We need to make sure that when they leave prison they are not in the same situation they were when they went in. Then we need to make sure that the generations behind them do not ever reach that situation.
Whatever the reasons I doubt the solutions will be simple, or quick. But I know for sure that no simple, quick solution – like just locking them up – can possibly solve the problem.
4 Responses to “The Unselfish Organism: Why the Rioters Aren’t Evil”
I disagree (and it’s been bothering me all day)
Sorry Tom – talking and listening to “these kids” is probably the worst thing that can be done
The right to be heard should be a RIGHT not a privilege.
* School children don’t get to dictate the curriculum
* Privates in the army don’t get to pick which wars the fight
* etc…
Before these “kids” / “rioters” (take your pick of noun) earn the right to be heard then I’m afraid they need to demonstrate that it’s worth it – otherwise I’m afraid I’m with tough on crime – tough on the causes of crime brigade
Then you might as well give up on large portions of society Tim and watch as we accelerate apart into completely separate nations: the rich and educated, and the poor and deprived. You’re expecting people who have never had your education – social or academic – to make rational, moral actions when they don’t even have the same frames of reference as you. People who don’t even feel like they live in the same world as you to respect its rules. Doesn’t work I’m afraid. The onus is on us to use some of our privilege to help others. Only when we all have a common set of opportunities can we condemn those who fail to follow our common set of rules.
It mihg tnot be a one off, but it *is* what societies do. Or so says Peter Ackroyd, which is quite interesting:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/peter-ackroyd-rioting-has-been-a-london-tradition-for-centuries-2341673.html
I like his fairly blunt response to Starkey. I like this man.