I am surprised by how much attention they have received, but disturbed at the tone of many of the comments. I was particularly concerned to read Litany Bird’s comment (18 August 2011) headed ‘Selfish, Senseless, Barbaric’. The writer fails to appreciate that, despite the UK’s relative affluence; there are major social and economic inequalities, the impact of which has been exacerbated by the current recession and public service cuts.
Moreover, although the UK is an established democracy, there are many ‘democratic deficits’, including an electoral system that lacks both ‘voice’ and accountability and an increasingly repressive law enforcement system. These conditions have combined to create a sector of the population that is marginalised from the rest of society. These people are frustrated because they see no chance of ever achieving the standard of living that others have and to which they aspire, and they are angry because they have watched politicians, bankers and other members of the political and economic elite apparently looting the country at their expense. Moreover, because they have no involvement in or influence over the local ‘community’, they feel no sense of responsibility to it.
Unfortunately, the reaction to the protests by politicians, the law enforcement agencies and a large part of the general public will merely exacerbate the situation. The Prime Minister has described the rioters as ‘pockets of sickness’ in an otherwise ‘healthy’ society, the courts have imposed excessively harsh sentences on those caught, and many members of the general public have reacted in much the same way as readers of The Zimbabwean. What strikes me – and no doubt many of those involved – most is the hypocrisy. As one of the ‘rioters’ interviewed by the BBC was quick to point out, when people protest in other countries, the British Government applauds and supports them, but when they protest here, it is a very different story.
For example, the government condemns the Mugabe regime for the way it treats those who try to organise political protests, and yet, just as in Zimbabwe, someone was sentenced to prison here simply for trying to organise one of the ‘riots’ on Facebook. In my view, these events should be regarded as protests, not riots. – DIANA CONYERS, Brighton
Post published in: Letters to the Editor