I live in London. More specifically, I live in North London.
These riots are not about race, class or a police shooting. These riots are about people using the excuse of an shooting to be unlawful and thugs.
When the first riots happened, most people thought typical. Peaceful march and protest turned into a riot by a few out of control people. When the second riots happened, people still believed that people were letting out angry against the police. When the third and fourth night of riots happened, people lost their patience.
My bus ride home from work takes me through the Camden High Street. Yesterday, it was strangely quiet. All the shops were closed and boarded up. Police were everywhere. People were understandably anxious.
The rioters are opportunist that are not interested in social justice. They are interested in robbing and looting. They have been communicating and planning through social networks.
Most neighborhoods have "High Streets". These streets usually contain everything you need to survive. A grocery store, a pub, clothing stores, dry cleaners, banks and food shops. Some of these stores are chains but a lot are mom and pop shops. The type where the owner knows your name. Burning these down isn't "giving it to the man", it's screwing over the middle class. It's causing homelessness because most shops have flats over them.
The police have been very light handed in these cases. Most people think that they need to get tougher and start fighting back.
Rioters are all ages and all colors and both genders.
My diary is inspired by a few other diaries that try to explain away the bad behavior being seen.
There is NO excuse or explanation. There is never a good reason to burn down another's property or steal stuff. In the end, these rioters are hurting themselves. The estimated 100 million dollars to repair everything is money that will no longer be available for social services.
I hope that these are the end of the riots because I fear that the UK public has very little tolerance for anymore. There have been already three deaths from people trying to protect their property.