"I am clear that they are in no way representative of the vast majority of young people in our country who despise them frankly as much as the rest of us do. But there are pockets of our society that are not just broken, but frankly sick."
Much has been said of Prime Minister David Cameron's speech condemning the UK wide violence over the last few nights. His choice of phrase is accurate for the terrible crimes committed and savage behaviour exhibited. These sections are also “sick” because they have been left to rot by larger society who have sat passively in denial for years.
On the 31st of July, the Guardian reported on the closure of eight of Haringey's thirteen youth clubs. It went on to state that teenage boredom in one of London's most deprived areas, could manifest in criminal behaviour and gang-related violence. This along with the shooting of Mark Duggan by Police less than a week later has been cited as the catalyst for the riots. They are also being used as scapegoats.
Teacher and writer Katherine Birbalsingh made an interesting point during a debate featured on the Channel 4 news last night. She saw the lack of education as a contributing factor to the violence seen. She said:
“They are not able to look at a building an appreciate it's beauty or listen to a piece of music and enjoy it. They get bored easily because there's nothing to enjoy because they haven't been educated.”
Are young people not responsible for their own thoughts and ultimately their actions? Well, what if their thoughts are limited? If there is little exposure to new and different ideas, does this not suggest the actions will be limited too? Could it be that if people do not learn what it is to “enjoy” and appreciate, they cannot respect it and may as well burn it down? For at least two generations, years, Music, Arts and Sports have been the first subjects to be cut from underfunded schools. Parks have been left ill-maintained or closed. Youth clubs are shut down. State-funded projects like Connexions and New Deal are scrapped and larger Society made little argument.
Cameron went on to say:
“For me the root cause of this mindless selfishness is the same thing I have spoken about for years: it is a complete lack of responsibility in parts of our society.
People allowed to feel that the world owes them something, that their rights outweigh their responsibilities and that their actions do not have consequences. Well they do have consequences.”
The UK nodded vigorously in agreement here ignoring the fact this also accurately described the behaviour of the MPs with their expenses and that of the City Bankers. In the aftermath of the riots, we must once again acknowledge the consequences of having allowed the “sick” areas of Society to infect the whole and take responsibility to cure it.
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