# 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:** 11
**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, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/201 "2011-08-10T11:45:46Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Rid society of those animals one bullet to the brain at a time. I assume this isn’t a serious suggestion, but you cannot give police the power to shoot to kill rioters. Decent people - not those out for a free laptop - need to preserve the right to protest in the streets. Once police and/or the army are able to use lethal force, then it’s a short step to the sort of massacre that we’ve seen in recent days in Syria. And how do you define a rioter? Somebody that happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Thanks to my working hours, I travel on foot or by bike through London at 11pm. If I find myself on a street where trouble is taking place, do I now have a target on my head? ---
**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, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/202 "2011-08-10T11:48:06Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > 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. And you think that killing thousands of people won’t cause more unrest? And what makes your position so morally superior to theirs when you are calling for more brutal and ruthless behavior than the rioters are indulging in? If they were as ruthless to to others as you are saying the government should be to them, there’d already be thousands dead. ---
**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, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/203 "2011-08-10T12:02:04Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > If they were as ruthless to to others as you are saying the government should be to them, there’d already be thousands dead. Quite. And people were calling _me_ right-wing? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/204 "2011-08-10T12:08:08Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And you think that killing thousands of people won’t cause more unrest? And what makes your position so morally superior to theirs when you are calling for more brutal and ruthless behavior than the rioters are indulging in? If they were as ruthless to to others as you are saying the government should be to them, there’d already be thousands dead. You do realise that no-one’s advocating mass slaughter, right? There is talk of using _plastic_ bullets and _water_ cannons. I know that you’re off on an “OMG GUNS CANNONS FASCISTS MUREDERERS OMGOMG!!!11!!!” tangent now, but that’s not what anyone’s talking about. What people are talking about is the police ending this rioting **now** , and using whatever force _necessary_\* to do it. If that results in deaths, that would be sad, but as long as there’s adequate warning that the police will do this, anyone still out a-riotin’ is out there choosing to take that risk. \*To make this absolutely clear, if the police try and fail to control this with standard riot tactics, it becomes necessary to use more force. This will hopefully still be the minimum force possible, but if the minimum necessary force happens to be lethal, so be it. I’m not prepared to watch my fucking country burn because someone’s whining that some chav scum might get hurt :rolleyes: ---
**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, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/205 "2011-08-10T12:12:23Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > You do realise that no-one’s advocating mass slaughter, right? Ahem: > [@magellan01](#): > > Rid society of those animals one bullet to the brain at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/206 "2011-08-10T12:16:32Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Ahem: Ok, I actually meant no-one who has any control over the policing of this riot. You seem to be of the opinion that we will be going in and machine-gunning people imminently. That’s not going to happen. ---
**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, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/207 "2011-08-10T12:22:27Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Ok, I actually meant no-one who has any control over the policing of this riot. You seem to be of the opinion that we will be going in and machine-gunning people imminently. No; I’m just of the opinion that certain people on this board and elsewhere want the police to go in there and start machine-gunning people. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/208 "2011-08-10T12:25:26Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > [Incorrect, sadly.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-14471405) Aw, hell. Hadn’t heard about that. ☹ Bad business. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/209 "2011-08-10T12:32:05Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Where would you say is “important”? Carlisle? Alloa? Lerwick? Alloa! I’m a season ticket holder. Mind you, you could stage a pretty decent riot in Alloa, and it wouldn’t be much different from the average Saturday night. ---
**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, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/210 "2011-08-10T12:47:29Z")
Some of the folks posting to this thread, intentionally or not, seem to giving the impression that there is no practical police reaction to the rioting between standing idly by and going full Syria on their asses. As usual, things are a bit more subtle than that. One may remember all the news articles of recent years naming the UK as one of the most heavily surveilled (via remote cameras) countries on earth. Well, those cameras are being used to identify rioters, and, from widespread news reports, this morning, they are being picked up and charged in the hundreds for the crimes observed. I guess this isn’t as satisfying to some here as a bullet to the head would be, but in the end the net effect is that the most egregious violaters will be in the dock, and explaining why they are clearly seen burning down a pensioner’s house or walking out of a shop with a TV they hadn’t paid for. A greater police presence and continuing arrest of persons identified as committing riot-related crimes mean the whole thing will almost certainly run out of steam in the next few days, and probably with very few deaths on either side. That’s a desirable outcome, right? ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/211 "2011-08-10T12:54:28Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Alloa! I’m a season ticket holder. Mind you, you could stage a pretty decent riot in Alloa, and it wouldn’t be much different from the average Saturday night. Cool. My first ever football match was Alloa v Hamilton Accies at the Rec in about 1982 or thereabouts. 4-2 to Alloa ☹ Hamilton’s the same, actually - plenty of opportunities for a riot. A friend in Paisley told me the neds were huddled together in County Square for their own protection, because anytime anyone sees more than three teenagers together they start arming themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/212 "2011-08-10T13:00:53Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Cool. My first ever football match was Alloa v Hamilton Accies at the Rec in about 1982 or thereabouts. 4-2 to Alloa ☹ I was almost certainly at that game, at that time I rarely missed one. Small world. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/213 "2011-08-10T13:12:41Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > 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? [MPs Slam “Fit To Work Tests” As Flawed And Criticises Atos Healthcare For Poor Service](http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/43001) [Benefits assessment firm spreads fear and anxiety](http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Benefits-assessment-firm-spreads-fear.6807591.jp) [Fit-to-work tests a ‘flawed process’](http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/26/fit-to-work-tests-flawed) Disabled people don’t get “signed off for a quite life”. I admire and respect many US Americans on the board, but I have never been happier to live in a country without that kind of gun culture. Fatalities would be so much higher, by several orders of magnitude. Property can be rebuilt or recovered. I don’t comprehend this hatred of human life that some people in this thread are expressing. ---
**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, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/214 "2011-08-10T13:19:24Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > And what makes your position so morally superior to theirs when you are calling for more brutal and ruthless behavior than the rioters are indulging in? The fact that the government’s victims would be arsonists, looters and murderers, while the rioter’s victims are innocent civilians who are just trying to go about their lives. Even you can’t be so stupid as to be incapable of telling the difference. ---
**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, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/215 "2011-08-10T13:29:40Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > The fact that the government’s victims would be arsonists, looters and murderers, while the rioter’s victims are innocent civilians who are just trying to go about their lives. Even you can’t be so stupid as to be incapable of telling the difference. Ha! Sounds like you haven’t read much of his posts/idiocy. The boy’s simply not all there. One cannot underestimate his fruit-loop nuttiness. I don’t know if he’s all nuts. Seems like he’s got a bit of asshole thrown in there , too. He gives credence to Michael Savage’s hyperbolic claim that “liberalism is a mental disease”. Engage in rational argument with him at your own risk. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/216 "2011-08-10T13:33:40Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > The fact that the government’s victims would be arsonists, looters and murderers, while the rioter’s victims are innocent civilians who are just trying to go about their lives. Even you can’t be so stupid as to be incapable of telling the difference. There’s been one hit and run. I am unconvinced that the rioters are “murderers”. I am also unconvinced based on, for example, the student protests earlier this year that the police are capable of telling the difference between troublemakers and innocent civilians trying to go about their lives, either. ---
**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, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/217 "2011-08-10T13:47:54Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > I don’t comprehend this hatred of human life that some people in this thread are expressing. It is not a hatred of human life that shapes my feelings on this subject, it is a hatred of anyone who would prey on the innocent for their own pleasure. As an Australian, I view arsonists the same way I view rapists: as self-made enemies of all mankind. > [@SecondJudith](#): > > I am also unconvinced based on, for example, the student protests earlier this year that the police are capable of telling the difference between troublemakers and innocent civilians trying to go about their lives, either. Here’s an easy guide: Is he currently throwing rocks or molotov cocktails? If so, he’s a troublemaker; shoot him. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/218 "2011-08-10T14:04:17Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > As an Australian, I view arsonists the same way I view rapists: as self-made enemies of all mankind. Well, good for you. I’m glad that so far more sensible and ethical heads have been prevailing among the authorities. Human life is more important than property. No matter the human, no matter the property. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/219 "2011-08-10T14:09:10Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > As an Australian, I view arsonists the same way I view rapists: as self-made enemies of all mankind. Yes, well, your country gave the world _Neighbours_ and Paul Hogan. Physician, heal thyself! ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2011, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998/220 "2011-08-10T14:12:24Z")
> [@SecondJudith](#): > > . Human life is more important than property. No matter the human, no matter the property. If Hitler was in your front yard molesting your yard gnomes you’d feel a bit differently I suspect. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-one-pitted-the-fuckers-burning-london-down-yet/591998.md?page=12)