A Critical Analysis Of The 2011 Riots

August 2011 saw thousands of people in the United Kingdom begin to riot in several boroughs within London and around many people from different cities participating. The London riots had more than 14,000 on the streets across England for three days. Buildings, businesses and neighbourhoods were destroyed in response to the police shooting of Mark Duggan. This was a social event of some enormity, but what the riots signified and the real reason for the uproar is still open to debate. This essay aims to comprehend the riots from the circumstance of the role and behaviour of the police before and during the event. This essay will attempt to examine to what magnitude the 2011 riots might have been motivated by the behaviour of the police. I will also analyse the riots through the perspectives of the media, government and the community, to ensure a fair and balanced analysis.

The first night of rioting took place on 7 August 2011 after a diplomatic protest in Tottenham, following the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police on 4 August 2011. Police failed to inform Duggan’s family of his death and no senior police officer was present to meet the protest, generating anger at supposed disregard. Many refer to this as contentious politics which is collective aggression against the state that leads to revolutions civil war, riots and strikes. (Tarrow, 2011)

The spark for the initial focus was the killing of Mark Duggan by police officials. Statements from the police and the news which followed this unlawful killing were inconsistent and vague leading to a chaos of frustration and antagonism. Marx would propose that the police are an establishment of armed men, who look to apply the totalitarianism of the bourgeoisie. Additionally, he would imply that the media and police are all products of the equivalent tycoons who fund and own such institutes. This combined with the commercial society is what drove people to rebel.

Moreover, he would advocate that the media and police are all products of the same tycoons who fund and own such institutes. This coupled with the consumerist society is what drove individuals to rebel.

Political violence is made up of three essentials, institutional, ideational and individual. Institutional relates to how the state economic and social systems contribute to political violence. The ideational is the consequences of a political, religious idea is initiating political violence such as terrorism. The individual is what encourages individuals to political violence which can occasionally be the necessity to feel wanted. (Wwnorton.com, 2019) The Marxist theory insinuates that the societal judgment of a single person is achieved on the substances of their wallet and apparel as appose to their individualities (Clinnard and Meier, 2008). Marx states that where a ‘ruling class’ organisation is achieved; the people not situated in this group will riot against them who do, consequently generating supremacy relationships between different social groups (Haralambos and Holborn, 2007). Inequality and discrimination are largely power-driven through social deprivation; this creates envy, greed and conflict within societies and in turn, lead to public parades of uprising and rebellion. The London riots of 2011 imply that a society obsessed by consumerism supports anti-social behaviour, combined with the vast amount of material stealing, we can accept that this rebellion was aimed at the upper-class capitalists who place themselves at the top within this hierarchy of wealth and significance. Consumer culture was very apparent during the London riots as the rioters were not attentive on the destruction of property or violent casualties, instead, these riots were focusing on attaining goods free of charge. Footlocker, JD, Carphone Warehouse were just a small amount of the shops in which were targeted by the rioters. This shows what is most desired by young people, highlighting that the riots happened due to an ‘out of control consumerist ethos’ (Hawkes, 2019). Within modern western capitalistic society, social accomplishment is represented through images of ‘must-have-now’ consumer objects such as the newest mobile phone, tablet, high-end trainers, and also recreationally substances such as alcohol. Merton (1938) mentions that when a money-orientated wealth is unable to be attained through socially conventional means, crime and deviance will arise.

According to the discoveries of Riots Communities and Victims Panel (2012), it was assessed that 13,000-15,000 individuals were essentially involved in the riots. The Rioters varied in age from 13 to 57, where a third said they had never been criminally convicted (Thompson and WooCommerce, 2019) The vast majority said ‘gangs’ played little or no part in the uproar. (Thompson and WooCommerce, 2019). Around three-quarters were aged 24 or below and only a minor minority of people were over the age of 40 (Thompson and WooCommerce, 2019). Around 80% of interviewees were male and in terms of ethnicity, 42% of those charged were white, 46% black, 7% Asian and 5% were classified as ‘other’. (BBC News, 2019)

The general achievement levels were subordinate than those of the population as a whole: of the adults, a third had no qualification greater than GCSE, one-fifth of the rioters stated to have no educational qualifications at all, one in 20 said they had a degree. (Thompson and WooCommerce, 2019)

Communication technology is progressively developing and advancing creating a ‘smaller world’ especially through the internet and social media application such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Through the use of the internet, numerous chatrooms are making it easier for groups with violent incentives to form discretely. There are numerous ways that the internet and social media has an influence on political violence, it both promotes peace as well as incites an argument.

The death of Duggan leads to politically driven violence against law enforcement. Social media participated in the intensification of events, where mobile applications and websites such as Blackberry Messenger, Facebook and Twitter acted as a stimulus. A picture of two police cars spread like wildfire through social media and began to attract a large mass of individuals looking to be a part of this pandemonium. What commenced as a moderately diplomatic protest, escalated into a riot involving mass looting. The first declaration to avenge the death of Mark Duggan took place on Facebook, which then received 7,500 responses and within less than 7 hours a double-decker bus has been set alight. BlackBerry Messenger was seen to be the main compound as over one-third of teens owned the smartphone and the messaging application at the time. BBM is encrypted, which meant that it was less likely for youths to be caught for spurring violence. An example of how BBM was used as facilitator is by the broadcasts is this message that was sent: ‘Everyone from all sides of London meet up at the heart of London (central) OXFORD CIRCUS!!, Bare SHOPS are gonna get smashed up so come get some (free stuff!!!) (Halliday, 2019) fuck the feds we will send them back with OUR riot! >:O Dead the ends and colour war for now so if you see a brother… SALUT! if you see a fed… SHOOT!’ ((Wells, 2019) (Halliday, 2019)

Notwithstanding the circumstance that the internet and social media offer up to date and current news and also a platform for individuals to have a chance to voice out their own personal opinions. The development and innovation in technology have meant that the average individual is constantly updated and notified on current affairs at any time, anyplace and on multiple digital devices such as a mobile phone and tablet. This allows it to become much easier to newscast politically motivated events around the world. Nevertheless, this has led to the ‘CNN effect’, the term frequently used to depict the result that the news has on political decision making. This emphasises two main issues of how the internet and social media can be misrepresented to apply political violence.

To conclude, riots seemingly awaken through a fabrication of one or more fundamental rival components of social obstruction through unemployment, (SHEFFIELD MEDICO-CHIRURGICAL SOCIETY., 1922) poverty, Jones, D (1839) hunger, (Thompson, E, P 1971) and racial discrimination, (Lord Scarman 1981) which amplify the impression of discriminations and/or disparity of opportunities of social success. This type of frustration can unavoidably defy social ethical values and norms set by its establishments. The radicalisation is the most predominant way the internet and society are being misused to exert political violence. This is due to how easily reachable these social media are online and on mobile phones with many young individuals using these apps, making them an easy target when it comes to inciting political violence through social media by starting a riot like the London Riots. Traditional Marxism argues that crime is a response to a capitalist system that produces materialism, self-indulgence and egocentrism. The protestors were fundamentally youths living in underprivileged areas and many got unequal punishments for their participation in the riots, while politicians engaging in corruption are more likely to get away unpunished.

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