Archived material Access restricted Article
Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Sun 08/14/2011 View Sat 08/13/2011 View Fri 08/12/2011 View Thu 08/11/2011 View Wed 08/10/2011 View Tue 08/09/2011 View Mon 08/08/2011
1
2011-08-14 Britain
New Scientist analyses why middle classes joined UK riots
Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.
Posted by anon1 2011-08-14 09:36|| || Front Page|| [11132 views ]  Top

#1 nb: new scientist is touchy about copyright, hence link-only post.

However it's quite interesting: a lifeguard, a teaching assistant and a millionaire's daughter all joined the looting.

still i think their conclusions are wrong.

they did it because:

1) the social contract between middle class and government is fraying in the long recession

2) the opportunity presented

3) they were sh*theads. Pure and simple.
Posted by anon1 2011-08-14 09:40||   2011-08-14 09:40|| Front Page Top

#2 Not sure about 1), but definitely agree with 2) and 3). And I like how the author excuses it as some sort of psy. grouping thing a la that prison experiment in the 1970s. All I can say is that I am CERTAIN that I wouldn't have joined in, call me crazee...there is no excuse for this crap at any time for any reason...
Posted by Shakey Steve 2011-08-14 09:53||   2011-08-14 09:53|| Front Page Top

#3 ..reminds me of the vids of the cops in New Orleans among the looters in a Walmart store, pushing a cart of goods towards the door. However, let's not forget the real looting that took place when the market started to tumble in 2008 and the people with influence got the Administration and Congress to loot the public treasury to cover their loses investments in financial institutions. Now there was some serious looting, though done with style rather than crass trailer park abandoned.
Posted by Procopius2k 2011-08-14 09:58||   2011-08-14 09:58|| Front Page Top

#4 So what drives privileged or seemingly virtuous people to do bad things?

Good lord! Station in life is not an indicator of virtue or ethics. Mob mentality...blah..blah...blah. Every year we witness sports fans go on destructive rampages after the big game. (And that's after their team wins!) Now contrast that with the orderly behavior of the Japanese after the earthquake, tsunami, and nuke disaster. Stealing the proverbial loaf of bread to feed your family is one thing. Stealing a big screen TV cause everyone else is...well that's something quite different altogether.
Posted by DepotGuy 2011-08-14 11:43||   2011-08-14 11:43|| Front Page Top

#5 Since the writer mentions the Sanford Experiment to push her explaination I figure I'll link to the Skeptoid transcript about said experiment:
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4102
Jump down to the bullet points for the rebutting and analysis.
Posted by rjschwarz 2011-08-14 11:47||   2011-08-14 11:47|| Front Page Top

#6 That's Stanford experiment. Sanford collected garbage, Stanford disseminates it.
Posted by Nimble Spemble 2011-08-14 11:50||   2011-08-14 11:50|| Front Page Top

#7 "Sanford collected garbage, Stanford disseminates it."

You go, NS! :-D
Posted by Barbara 2011-08-14 12:25||   2011-08-14 12:25|| Front Page Top

#8 Realized the typo a second late.
Posted by Rjschwarz 2011-08-14 12:29||   2011-08-14 12:29|| Front Page Top

#9 Rioting is quite the adrenaline rush.

Which is why nice middle class kids join in.
Posted by phil_b 2011-08-14 18:37||   2011-08-14 18:37|| Front Page Top

#10 And free...stuff!
Posted by tu3031 2011-08-14 19:42||   2011-08-14 19:42|| Front Page Top

#11 See also CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [UK Historian-Radio Broadcaster] DAVE STARKEY CLAIMS THAT "THE WHITES HAVE BECOME BLACKS". HISTORIAN PROVOKES WAVES OF CRITICISM AFTER [alleged Racist] REMARKS SURING TELEVISED DISCUSSION ABOUT THE RIOTS ON BBC2'S NEWSNIGHT.

[Ex-POTUS BILL "FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT OF THE US" CLINTON here].

and

* SAME > UK PM DAVID CAMERON CONSIDERING
"COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT" FOR RIOTERS' FAMILIES' MEMBERS, i.e. forced expulsion = ban from low-cost Public Flats = Public Housing???
Posted by JosephMendiola 2011-08-14 22:10||   2011-08-14 22:10|| Front Page Top

23:59 swksvolFF
23:58 swksvolFF
23:55 trailing wife
23:51 Eohippus Phater7165
23:50 trailing wife
23:50 tu3031
23:48 trailing wife
23:43 SteveS
23:39 trailing wife
23:37 tu3031
23:15 Shakey Steve
23:11 Eohippus Phater7165
22:53 Silentbrick - Halliburton Lost Drill Bit Division
22:43 JosephMendiola
22:41 tu3031
22:41 JosephMendiola
22:36 Shakey Steve
22:34 badanov
22:30 JosephMendiola
22:29 Shakey Steve
22:24 Shakey Steve
22:20 Eohippus Phater7165
22:19 Shakey Steve
22:19 tu3031









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com