The violent opportunist
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Last week, a march to a police station in London in protest over a police shooting of an armed, drug-dealing gang member descended into rioting that went on for several days and flared up in several unconnected towns and cities around England. As I write this, over 1,600 people around the country have been arrested in connection with the violence, with over half of those hailing from London. Millions of pounds worth of damage was done. Shops and even homes were damaged. Some buildings were completely destroyed. Many people (not least the police officers that were trying to protect people) were attacked and/or injured. At least five people died.
I've been trying to figure out in my own head why someone would want to do the things those involved did. While the shooting of the aforementioned drug dealer may well have served as a catalyst, what followed had absolutely nothing to do with that event. I doubt much more than the tiniest fraction of those involved in the rioting even knew who the deceased was. And in any case, it didn't take long at all for the attention of the rioters to shift from the police to any store they could force their way into and loot. Not surprisingly, electrical stores, phone shops and jewellers seemed to take the brunt of it, though the rioters were fairly indiscriminate in terms of their choices; happy to decimate the small, family run businesses just as much as the larger chains.
It leads me to think that it was a combination of opportunism and greed with a liberal dose of rebellious cruelty. This was no protest over the shooting of a peer. There was virtually no political message here. Those involved simply saw an opportunity to run amok. They saw others helping themselves to as much as they could carry and decided they didn't want to miss out. It was a mob mentality where each individual decided that if enough people did it, they'd stand a better chance of getting away with it. Regardless, no act of vandalism, abuse, assault, theft or any other crime committed during these riots can be justified. There is and never will be any excuse for what those responsible did.
While no good can come of such events directly, there were positive side effects nonetheless. In the mornings that followed each of the riots, the real communities that had seen their streets and buildings savaged the night before came together. Dozens, even hundreds, of people joined together not to destroy or steal, but to repair and give back. Armies of people wielding brooms swept away the night's madness and did what they could to piece their communities back together. Crowds applauded and cheered police officers as they went about their duties; grateful for their efforts in defending their city.
The violent opportunist does not represent those communities, regardless of the backgrounds they—and we—may share. The rioters do not stand for the same things we do. Their cravings and desires will not be understood. Their selfishness will not be shared. Their abuse will not be tolerated. The violent opportunist stands apart. He or she may occasionally stand alongside like-minded peers, but they will never know the joys of being part of a community.