I was surprised by this summer's riots in London, but not shocked by them. I'd been through this before, when I lived in Brixton, a cosmopolitan area with a history of social unrest. During my ten year residency there were regular mini-riots against alleged police brutality; a far larger, more spectacular riot against Margaret Thatcher's Poll Tax.
I recall much shouting, brick hurling, torched cars and smashed windows, but not a great deal of looting. This was 1990. Few people had satellite TV. There were four terrestrial TV channels. Nobody was online. In other words, teenagers from poor families were not exposed to advertising for sports shoes and games consoles 24 hours a day.
I'm not condoning the riots in London, but I understand them. If you're constantly told you must have something, and you don't have the means, when the circumstances are right you will go out and take it. Especially if you are encouraged by those who are simply greedy and destructive.
The London rioters did not march on, say, Louis Vuitton and burn it down. That would have been a powerful statement, but it was too big and too political. Looters, like bullies, are essentially cowards. They run in packs and pick on easy targets. They want booze, sportswear and mobile phones. These riots weren't idealistic - they were materialistic. But perhaps every era gets the rioters it deserves.
