By Dave Woodhall.
Spring used to be heralded by the first cuckoo, followed by a letter to the Times. You know summer’s drawing to a close these days when you see the first Christmas adverts. I thought of this last week when I saw a couple of posters for Christmas lunches.
We’ll soon be inundated with invitations to spend money we can’t afford on items we don’t need, because it’s Christmas. I don’t know what the birth of Our Lord has to do with cheap turkey and paper hats, not to mention tinsel, plastic tat and cheap lager. I don’t know why the run-up to Christmas on the continent is about tradition and restraint while in Britain it appears to be a competition to see which shops can host the gaudiest, tackiest, celebration of the festive season. However, I do think this obvious contrast gives us an insight into the reasons behind the other, more newsworthy, events of last week.
Many words have been written about the riots and many theories have been put forward. Sometimes, though, the simplest ideas are the best, or in this case the closest to the truth.
In understanding why the disturbances took place, it’s important to distinguish between the protests which followed the death of Mark Duggan and the follow-up looting which took place around the country during the days which followed. It may be that the community in Tottenham have justified grievances with the police and other authorities. I don’t live there, so I don’t know. However, I do believe that what happened elsewhere, particularly in Birmingham, was predominantly down to the naked greed and consumerism that runs through modern society.
Looking back at the riots of the eighties, there were genuine problems in society. Unemployment, racism and victimisation of minority groups were endemic and many of those who suffered chose to hit back in the only way they could, with bricks, bottles and petrol bombs. Their targets were the police and other figures of authority.
This time, the looters were a wider cross-section of society, they didn’t hang around and cause problems on their own doorstep and there were no claims that their actions were in any way motivated by any ulterior motive. They went into the most obvious temples of consumerism and took what we’re all into desiring. Sports shops were looted for trainers, stores such as Louis Vuitton and Armani because of their aspirational status. Phone shops were also badly hit. Santa Claus had come to town, and there was no need to check whether you’d been naughty or nice.
In the aftermath of the riots, right-wing commentators were falling over themselves to blame their usual suspects – immigration, multi-culturalism, liberalism and political correctness. I wonder how many of them thought for even one second that at the heart of the problem was our country’s obsession with that most capitalistic of concepts; consumerism and sheer, naked greed? All that matters is what you possess, and that’s down to what we say you want. Don’t worry about the cost, grab it any way you can. You’ve got to have it – life won’t be the same if you don’t. And for two or three nights last week it was all free. The key to a happy life, yours for the price of a bus ticket into town.
Maybe I’m being overly simplistic, but if so, perhaps someone can explain why this time round police stations were left virtually unscathed while the Bullring was under siege?
