"It was 30 years ago, but I felt the same way the rioters did" - Tony Evans
Speech given by Tony Evans, football editor for the Times, about the lack of discourse during the riots and how journalists and media were culpable.
The presenter turned to Kelvin Mackenzie and said to him, "don't you think we should try to understand these riots?" He said, "no I don't think we should". And there we have it. The lack of understanding; the wilful ignorance.
The feral underclass hits the streets: On the English riots and other ordeals
Greek left communists Blaumachen on the 2011 August riots in the UK.
Like a summer with a thousand Augusts?
'The summer riots of ‘81 were the foretaste of the future for us. One day sooner or later the roof is going to blow off the UK. Faced with an assertion like this most people in pubs, streets, supermarkets or at work tend to nod their heads. The old phlegmatic reassurances that ‘it can’t happen here’ has finally gone – let it be forever.’[1]
Anatomy of a riot - radio interview with Bristol Radical History Group
In August 2011, riots erupted in the UK following the police killing of a black man in North London. Four days of looting and battles with the authorities ensued.
Many conclusions were hastily drawn by the media, politicians, and the left about who rioted, who was targeted, and the nature of the riots. The Bristol Radical History Group did a postmortem of the unrest based on empirical data, which as Roger Wilson explains, sheds light on more than just the events of last year. He discusses the underlying politics of riots and rioting.
Detest and survive: Self-deregulation and asset reallocation in the UK, August 2011
German libertarian communists Wildcat on the rioting which swept the UK in August 2011.
They are the culturally deprived of our time, and it would be unfair to mock them for their disabilities.
E.P. Thompson on the Association of Chief Police Officers, judges, Crown prosecutors etc.
A 2012 New Year Resolution: against the politics of abstraction and charity, for the real movement in our interests!
Submitted by Caiman del Barrio on Jan 7 2012 17:16
A critical - if somewhat rough - evaluation of the events of 2011 and the anti-cuts movement's relevance to them. The ideas here are ones which I've been mulling for a while, but I've found difficult to articulate, so please be fair in your responses!
As we career headfirst into 2012, and the now customary cycle of ‘actions’ and demonstrations continue to sustain the British activist movement, I would like to use the commencement of a new year as an opportunity for a moment of self-reflection.
Intakes: Communities, commodities and class in the August 2011 riots
An article from Aufheben's Intakes series providing detailed analysis of the August 2011 UK riots.
The following article was written in the immediate wake of the August ‘riots’ of 2011 in Britain and is an attempt to provide an empirical base to an analysis of the unrest. Commentators across the political spectrum have spewed out speculative explanations for the disturbances.
Rebellion in Tottenham, 2011
Video of raw footage and interviews with Tottenham locals about the reality of the community before, during and after the riots of 2011.
The tendency of state legitimacy to fall
Submitted by Joseph Kay on Nov 12 2011 17:27
This blog has been planned for ages, but has somewhat been superseded by the shift to ‘technocratic’ rule in Greece and Italy. Nonetheless, hopefully it’s a useful hypothesis on state legitimacy.
London burns - causes and consequences of the riots - an anarchist perspective
An analysis of the August riots by the Workers' Solidarity Movement, an Irish anarchist organisation.
The police killing of Mark Duggan resulted in four nights of rioting across England. The immediate trigger was the killing itself, and the disrespect shown by the police to Mark’s family and friends. But the riots rapidly broadened to expressions of a more general anger and alienation; an anger that was all too often unfocused and striking out at the nearest target of opportunity.
The animals and children took to the streets
Submitted by Ramona on Oct 25 2011 15:10
A review of the play by 1927, who knew the UK riots were going to happen before everyone else did
One: I am not a regular theatre goer, and in no position to be any kind of actual critic. Two: I am going to give away the plot, so if you are wanting to see the show at some point, don't read this! Three: I wrote this in August and forgot to post it.
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