Riot police
Avoid looking like you are afraid of accusations of racism by actually attempting to quell civil unrest, no matter the target demographic and thus demonstrate your impartial stance on civil disorder.
(Beaverman Opulence, I has it., Mon 8 Aug 2011, 21:34, 18 replies, latest was 13 years ago)

I think the police are making a pretty good fist of it considering the hand they've been dealt (yes).
This is where we need police brutality - this isn't "civil unrest", this is kids stealing the lastest trainers, because they can, because they know they can't be touched for it, because some fucking hippy will go "O noes! Think of the children!"
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 9:16, Reply)

Yeah, let's brutalise the underclass.
That'll make it all better.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 9:28, Reply)

Fucking right it would.
This is about scum being scum - nothing more. As fashionable and right-on as it might be to be sympathetic to the disenfranchised yute, people in Syria are fighting for basic human rights, while these scrotes are simply out to get the latest mobile 'phone for free. This is a million miles from being about politics.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 9:51, Reply)

Didn't this all kick off due the the police being seen as unduly harsh
when they shot someone in the head? Having them wade in, cracking skulls left and right is more likely to inflame the situation, than to calm it down. Afterall, it's not working in Syria, is it?
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:01, Reply)

Some poseur, wannabe "gangsta" gets shot - boo hoo hoo.
What happened last night was nothing to do with Mark Duggan.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:11, Reply)

I agree, the riots are not a protest against the death or Mr. Duggan.
But civil unrest always has a spark point, and his death was just that. Adding a few more bodies isn't going to make things any better.

tThe whole, "oh, he's just some wannabe gangsta, so who cares if he's dead" attitude, is part of the problem, not the solution - why should those branded as worthless scum behave as anything other than worthless scum? Besides, I'd imagine that his family are upset about his death, regardless of whether or not he brought it upon himself.

Y'know, I'm not sure this is the right forum for this debate - we've wandered somewhat off topic from Top Tips!
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:32, Reply)

If he brought it upon himself, then no sympathy.
and judging by the pictures of him pullinng his "gun" sign, he brought it on himself, or at least aspired to a lifestyle whereby he might bring it on himself.

Boo hoo hoo. He got deaded, so let's burn Tottenham. And Croydon. And Lewisham. And Clapham. By the way, can you get me a new iPod? This one's six months old now.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:37, Reply)

Waving a gun at the police is stupid, and will get you shot (rightly so).
Doesn't make it any less tragic. Doesn't excuse rioting, either.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 11:18, Reply)

I disagree. I think it makes it significantly less tragic.
But you're right - it doesn't excuse the rioting at all.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 11:41, Reply)

We agree? Hurrah, a happy ending!
Unless you count the guy who got shot in the head.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 11:50, Reply)

Fuck him
If he didn't carry a gun and didn't fire it at the police he would still be alive. Who knows, he might have shot a couple of kids in a botched drug deal a few weeks later and people would say "Oh the police knew about him but did nothing"
( Peej, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 16:38, Reply)

Just to be clear:
I have no problem with the police shooting dead an armed man. An armed man is a danger to the police and public alike; a dead man is no threat to anyone. I'm also very happy that the PCC thoroughly investigates every discharge of a police firearm (it's important to hold the police to a high standard).
None of this should detract from the fact that the death of said man is a tragedy for his family, and it is a shame that they feel that they were not kept fully informed after his shooting.

None of the above excuses wanton destruction/looting, but if you're going to assume "da yoof" are a bunch of scumbags, no one should be surprised when they act like scumbags. Not only should those involved be held to account for their actions, but we, as a societ should seek to understand why so many young people are apparently so detatched from wider society, that they have no problem with trashing the areas that they live in (and, by extension, we should take the appropriate measures to guard against this happening in the future).

"Scumbags" is a massive oversimplification that benefits no one.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 19:44, Reply)

I believe he fired the gun at the police and hit one of them in his radio
therefore the police shot back and killed him and rightly so. If someone is firing a gun at you they deserve to be shot. I'm also hearing a lot of bollocks about the police apparently being trained to shoot to injure or shoot to wound. This is bollocks if someone has a gun and is injured or wounded they can still fire that gun. The police are trained to shoot to kill but only pull the trigger when totally necessary, if someone is firing a gun at you it becomes necessary to fire back.
( Peej, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 16:37, Reply)

Yeah!
Except that he didn't. The bullet in the radio was a police bullet. The one that tore through his body.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 17:08, Reply)

Like they did with the Countryside Alliance you mean?
Ah, different demographic then though wasn't it?
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:28, Reply)

What happened to the Countryside Alliance?
Police brutality is always unacceptable, regardless of my personal feelings about the victims.
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:34, Reply)

Nothing, because they didn't kick off.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:38, Reply)

Eh? I'm talking about 2004 when the police were busting skulls open left right and centre.
What's changed now?
(oneinthepink is at your cervix m'lady, Tue 9 Aug 2011, 10:44, Reply)