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> First, most of the serious arson and crime in these riots seems to be committed by adults. That's contrary to every single image and video published. > Seco

> First, most of the serious arson and crime in these riots seems to be committed by adults. That's contrary to every single image and video published. > Second, if that's the case then why aren't 14-18 year olds smashing things daily in California? And Tokyo? And all over the world? The question is why England? Why right now? Why not two weeks ago? Why would they? No one is claiming that all 14-18 year olds do this... Only a sub-group that have nothing better to do, that have no supervision, that blame everyone for everything, that think this is all LOLs and fun, that want to take rather than work, that want to destroy rather than create, etc. Events occur that develop criticality (group size, slow response of police, etc) all the time. It's simple: # of punks + no police response = looting and burning. Just take a look at the videos on the right... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14461431 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14461431

angdis 15y ago
It absolutely is NOT SIMPLE. I agree that mob mentality can reach "criticality" and cause crazy stuff to happen over one night. The thing that makes this different from a football riot (or the WTO riots), however, is that the activity is sustained and spreading. I feel it demonstrates an intense hate on the part of the rioters. This kind of violence indicates a core problem which cannot be addressed in the long term by police swinging billy clubs and shooting water cannons. I expect that this will get ugly at some point in the future even if the police manage to quell the immediate problem.