The Riots: There must be punishment but not division

By David Hodges

As the dust settles, with London returning to relative normality, the commentary has begun dissecting both why people felt it acceptable to cause such wanton destruction and how they should be punished for their actions.

It’s disgraceful that people of all ages, but strongly represented by the young, think it acceptable to resort to theft, thuggery and arson. Their actions are an assault on local communities, the values the vast majority live by and in particular the hard graft of local business-owners. Businesses large and small, working hard to drive our economy out of the doldrums, have been undeservedly targeted. The rioters should and will suffer the consequences of their actions through the legal system, including prison for those deserving.

But we must be careful not to transfer angry and emotional responses into futile excessive punishment and division. Responses must tackle root causes whilst underlining the unacceptability of their actions. I want to live in a socially inclusive society, a community where all feel part of and proud. These are my fellow citizens attacking shops and property. It’s not us and them, punishments will fall, but alienation won’t restore order. When reckless, immoral behaviour saw the collapse of the economic system, we were ‘all in this together’. When reckless, immoral behaviour causes the collapse of social order we must not resort to the politics of schism.

Moreover, the disturbing reactions of both politicos and the media to the fast moving events highlighted worrying structural problems that could encourage alienation and division. The unfolding arguments of who holds the moral high ground and where political blames lies continues to portray how out of touch the political elite have become. Did Harriet Harman or Michael Gove win on Newsnight was the major battleground for some politicos from both ends of the spectrum. Arguing over who started the fire whilst the flames rage is symptomatic of the current political narrative. How do we involve and engage the many disillusioned in the political system needs to be urgently reviewed.

Furthermore, the media often resort to the simplicity of encouraging the voice of extremes to be heard above the mainstream majority. Roger Helmer MEP tweets idiotically (at best) that rioters should ‘be shot on sight’ and instead of his arrest for inciting violence he’s given an interview slot on the BBC. You can’t breathe for hearing what Kelvin ‘the voice of the people’ McKenzie has to say on all things topical and leftist loons like Jody McIntyre are too often extreme misrepresentations that get underserved coverage. Why do we pander to these moronic cartoon characters of left and right to bring some excitable reactions to debates? It’s off-putting and self-defeating.

If we are to succeed at combating the problems our society faces we must consider the way the media and politicians engage with society. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we must not divide but accept as we did with the adverse economic situation that ‘we are all in this together’.