medstar
August 19, 2011, 2:15am
121
blindboyard:
The first duty of government is to restrain it’s own actions. They can’t stop crimes taking place, but they can stop themselves going around massacring people, and so they should.
Policing by consensus means that people should want the police to be around, rather than the police taking the role of an oppressive force whose only legitimacy comes from their superior force. Not that they’re doing that.
Thatcher pissed people off, too. But she gave the police a raise so she’d have the loyalty of the thugs who could put down any riots or other acts of disobedience to her tyranny. The current government have decided to piss off the police too by laying them off and cutting their hours.
We’ve learned some things from these here riots. The rioters have had catre blanche for days and how many deaths? Someone shot maybe, a small group run over “defending” their car wash in Birmingham. If some of the people on this thread had their way the streets would be running with blood. The government are talking about new repressive laws. The opposition want people put in prison for being outside after sundown. I’m getting more and more convinced that these rioters are the nicest guys in the country.
I’ve been reading accounts of unbelievable acts of violence in these riots–one story said that rioters forced some “posh” people to strip naked in the streets, and then stole their clothes and accessories. I didn’t get any other details. Has anyone else seen this story and have further information to share?