# Why are they rioting in London?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-rioting-in-london/592096>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [August 9, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-rioting-in-london/592096 "2011-08-09T16:38:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 10

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2011, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-rioting-in-london/592096/181 "2011-08-14T11:35:38Z")

</div>

> [@Kobal2](#):
>
> True to a point, but do you think grounding him or whupping his arse is going to make him respect you ? Respect is earned. You can’t take it or force someone to give it to you.  
> And if your metaphorical son doesn’t respect you because you’re never home, could give a shit about his schoolwork and toss him on his ear on his 18th birthday, all the while telling him over and over what a piece of shit he is, I don’t think giving him the belt is going to improve his opinion of you none.

To bring the metaphor back into the realm of reality, the rioters were not protesting their harsh parenting, they were simply misbehaving. The idea that these riots had any political or social impetus remains a purely self-serving speculation.

Despite the fact that these riots took place in the full sunlight of modern cities, no evidence has yet emerged that any of the participants of the riots were even remotely aware of the motives that apologists have attributed to them.

We are asked to accept as self-evident truth that these riots are an eruption of discontent and the inevitable consequence of structural social injustice. If so, where was the anger? Where were the slogans? Over and over again, the images and accounts just reveal gleeful and random mayhem.

Even if we were to accept that structural social injustice is somehow to blame, that does not excuse random mayhem. It doesn’t even mollify it.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-they-rioting-in-london/592096.md?page=9)