# No-one pitted the fuckers burning London down yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 8, 2011, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998 "2011-08-08T21:56:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/181 "2011-08-10T04:20:13Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > +1, except for the bullets being rubber. If people want to behave like murderous animals, we should treat them the same way we treat rabid dogs. Too right, no need for any of this ‘arrest, trial and justice’ rot, eh? Mow down teenagers like dandelions, surely that would be universally applauded by the good citizens of the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/182 "2011-08-10T04:29:53Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Ah, yes, nothing says that you have the moral high ground like slaughtering tens of thousands of poor people. You have a truly fucked up sense of right and wrong. Being poor does not mean someone’s not a sociopathic piece of shit, and being rich does not mean it is just to murder them in cold blood to get what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/183 "2011-08-10T04:33:04Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > You have a truly fucked up sense of right and wrong. Being poor does not mean someone’s not a sociopathic piece of shit, and being rich does not mean it is just to murder them in cold blood to get what you want. Ah, so you think the moral and just way to deal with riots is to open up with the machine guns and stack up the bodies. Then what? Mass graves, or burn the heaps of bodies on the spot? And should we do what Syria does and kill people for mourning at the graves? ---
**Author:** ![humanafterall](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/humanafterall/32/19654_2.png) [@humanafterall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/humanafterall)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/184 "2011-08-10T04:33:17Z")
_“London City’s burning down, burning down, burning down! London City’s burning down, my Fair Lady!”_ ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/185 "2011-08-10T04:44:59Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > There have been dozens if not hundreds of peaceful anti-cuts protests over the past year, to no effect. I don’t exactly blame the kids for figuring out that that kind of protest doesn’t get results. > > Clearly many of them are burning and looting for the hell of it, but the rest of them didn’t get this angry and this hopeless in a vacuum. > > ETA: I thoroughly agree that destroying independent, local-owned shops and local homes is really shitty and abhorrent. This just in. Statistically speaking, [budget cuts tend to be related to civil unrest](http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2011/08/austerity-and-anarchy.html), with higher budget cuts generally leading to more unrest. Controlling for economic downturns doesn’t matter. And just to pre-empt, no, people are not responsible for their actions. **Grumman** is responsible for everyone’s actions. I feel for you man, shouldering that great responsibility. Chart here: [http://wm55.inbox.com/thumbs/4a\_130b74\_14e27745\_oP.png.thumb](http://wm55.inbox.com/thumbs/4a_130b74_14e27745_oP.png.thumb) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/186 "2011-08-10T05:15:02Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > LOL. Some people are so plain thick it’s difficult to imagine how they get through life. White people go to school, where they teach you how to be thick. All the power’s in the hands of the people rich enough to buy it. While we walk the street, too chicken to even try it. Everybody’s doing just what they’re told to, nobody wants to go to jail. White riot, I wanna riot, White riot, a riot of my own! CMC fnord! Sounds like not much has changed since Joe [wrote that](http://lyrics.wikia.com/The_Clash:White_Riot) . . . [over thirty years ago](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Riot). ☹ ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/187 "2011-08-10T05:39:25Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Too right, no need for any of this ‘arrest, trial and justice’ rot, eh? Mow down teenagers like dandelions, surely that would be universally applauded by the good citizens of the UK. I’d actually prefer they arrest them and throw them in jail for fifty years. But if the numbers get to the point of mass rioting, you have nobody but your self to blame if civilized society decides to save innocent people by putting a bullet in your brain. ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/188 "2011-08-10T05:42:59Z")
Strangeways, here we come! You know, though, I’m not sure I agree with this blanket characterization of rioters as sociopaths. Not that there isn’t a certain lack of consideration for others being shown by their actions, but reprehensible and unjustifiable as it all is I don’t think it’s productive to decry all involved as malicious. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/189 "2011-08-10T05:43:52Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I’d actually prefer they arrest them and throw them in jail for fifty years. But if the numbers get to the point of mass rioting, you have nobody but your self to blame if civilized society decides to save innocent people by putting a bullet in your brain. If it gets to the point of “mass rioting” the elected party has lost its mandate and needs to call for a fresh mandate from the people - it is, after all, the people who have temporariliy given them powers to make the decisions. That’s the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/190 "2011-08-10T05:56:42Z")
> [@PrettyVacant](#): > > If it gets to the point of “mass rioting” the elected party has lost its mandate and needs to call for a fresh mandate from the people - it is, after all, the people who have temporariliy given them powers to make the decisions. That’s the difference between a democracy and a dictatorship. No, it’s not. As bad as the riots are, we’re not talking about half the fucking population going round burning and pillaging. You’re proposing _literal_ mob rule - where whoever throws the biggest tantrum gets to call the shots. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/191 "2011-08-10T06:19:55Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > +1, except for the bullets being rubber. If people want to behave like murderous animals, we should treat them the same way we treat rabid dogs. “Murderous?” Correct me if I’m wrong, but in three days of rioting, there’s only been one death, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/192 "2011-08-10T06:27:36Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Fixing all those broken windows… [ISWYDT](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_broken_window) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/193 "2011-08-10T06:31:38Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > You have a truly fucked up sense of right and wrong. Says the man supporting crowd control with live rounds. You know, it is possible to be appalled by rioting without supporting a massacre. If nothing else, I don’t want to give Bono an excuse to release an updated version of Sunday, Bloody Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![PrettyVacant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/49beb7/32.png) [@PrettyVacant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PrettyVacant)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/194 "2011-08-10T07:04:53Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > No, it’s not. As bad as the riots are, we’re not talking about half the fucking population going round burning and pillaging. You’re proposing _literal_ mob rule - where whoever throws the biggest tantrum gets to call the shots. I support democracy and goverancce through consent. There is no mandate for the poor - whether old or young - or other disadvantaged in this society to pay the brunt of the cost for the looting by bankers and corporate tax avoiders. Within 15 months, this Gov has broken almost every election promise - inc. not to diminsih the NHS - consequently its legitimacy is increasingly diminished. ---
**Author:** ![Canyon\_Surfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Canyon\_Surfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canyon_Surfer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/195 "2011-08-10T10:53:50Z")
I have been following the riots on the local news and yesterday they showed [this](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20090089-503543.html) A young person has been injured. Others gather round and appear to be helping him. One person helps him stand, then several go through his backpack, removing whatever takes their fancy. The injured person is obviously dazed and has been bleeding (blood on the ground where he had been sitting). Then they leave him. Words fail me. ---
**Author:** ![Canyon\_Surfer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Canyon\_Surfer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canyon_Surfer)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/196 "2011-08-10T11:25:08Z")
Just realised someone else already linked to this. I still hope they catch these assholes. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/197 "2011-08-10T11:31:06Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Yeah, my last experience of JSA was over three years ago and it was derisory compared not only to what I’d been earning but what I’d been paying into the system for 27 years without a break. Still’n’all, let’s not assume that the long-term claimants are just on JSA. Precisely, you think JSA is all they are getting? How many people are on disability benefit thanks to overpressed doctors signing them off for a quiet life? What about housing benefit, what about child benefit? Clue to the pricks above, being a liberal does not mean you have to believe the welfare system is perfect. PS **villa** , the LibDems in the last election. After Clegg sold his soul, though, God knows who next time round. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/198 "2011-08-10T11:32:08Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Murderous?” Correct me if I’m wrong, but in three days of rioting, there’s only been one death, correct? [Incorrect, sadly.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-14471405) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/199 "2011-08-10T11:36:11Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Murderous?” Correct me if I’m wrong, but in three days of rioting, there’s only been one death, correct? As of last night it’s up to 4. A man in a car mowed down three people on a sidewalk that were part of a group protecting a neighborhood. He has been apprehended and is charged with murder. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/200 "2011-08-10T11:38:35Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > “Murderous?” Correct me if I’m wrong, but in three days of rioting, there’s only been one death, correct? Their actions, e.g., the burning of buildings, beatings, could have easily resulted in more deaths. But if I gave you the impression that deaths are necessary for the government to do what it has to to restore order, my apologies. You go around creating havoc—attacking people indiscriminately, destroying people’s property willy-nilly, etc.—then you’ve put a target on your chest. Their behavior in unacceptable. Period. Now, if their actions were directed against the government itself, I’d be much more tolerant (assuming their mayhem put no ives at risk). But given what we have, my rabid dogs analogy is perfect. Rid society of those animals one bullet to the brain at a time. By the way, if one death isn’t enough for you to act, is four? Ten? Twenty? One hundred? What is the number that would cause you to take control of the situation by force, lethal if necessary? Is there any number? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998.md?page=11)