Fess up to it, ladies: the recent riots in Britain are our fault. Or so Irish commentators would have you believe. More specifically, they say the riots and looting are the fault of Afro-Caribbean mothers parenting alone – and protect us please from the burqa-bearing women!
Of course these are ludicrous leaps and lazy lies, but all have been put forward by Irish commentators and professional controvertialists – and even the odd politician.
If we have learned one thing from the riots, it is that the majority of commentary pouring onto our screens and pages is coming from those fearlessly plundering the clichés of their own constituencies, who do not feel the need to learn anything at all.
Before continuing, I would like to express my sympathy and condolences for the death of Mark Duggan, as well as the deaths of five people during the riots that subsequently occurred. Mine joins an array of voices in condemning the violence and looting that took place during the unrest in various cities throughout the UK.
The riots raise a myriad of questions. However, shortcut and sensationalist speculation appeared before those questions had even been identified. Amid a speculative analysis, however, some shocking facts were revealed, few of which have been debated. These include figures relating to the unemployment rate of black youth, which stands at around 50 per cent; the fact that black youth are eight times more likely to be stopped by police; and the far from satisfactory police handling of a spate of deaths of young black men over the summer period, of which the killing of Mark Duggan is only one example.
These serious issues seem to be have been glossed over in favour of superficial arguments, presenting footwear as an indicator of wealth and blaming single mothers. Little attention has been paid to events that we are told sparked off the riots. Rather, the focus has been on the riots themselves. Commentators have conveniently linked the events to their usual hobby-horses of blaming women who are parenting alone or migration, letting racism and misogyny run riot.
There is mounting evidence to suggest that Britain’s Conservative-led government may manipulate the riots to force the introduction of more draconian measures and a zero-tolerance approach that would undo the slightly more social stance they had adopted in the election period. A far too familiar strategy of firefighting and vilifying the less advantaged is imminent; missing are any measures to identify and deal with the root causes of the problem.
This hypothesis is supported by the striking contrast between the rhetoric used by UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and the response by Prime Minister Stoltenberg in Norway after the violent tragedy there in July. Stoltenberg called for “more democracy, more openness and more society” whereas Cameron commented on “phony concerns about human rights”. Likewise, Cameron’s rhetoric conjures up divisive notions of ‘us versus them’ when speaking of the youth involved in the UK riots, evident by comments like: “They are in no way representative of the vast majority of young people in our country who despise them, frankly, just as much as the rest of us do.”
While not assuming the causes of the riots, it is clear that a number of factors are shared in other places where there has recent urban unrest, such as France. These include high levels of youth unemployment, discrimination and distrust between communities and police.
The backdrop to the UK riots is somewhat different from the situation in Ireland, and we should not simply jump to the conclusion similar events are likely to happen here, or that we need to introduce reactive and divisive measures. However, we should not feel complacent at a time where unemployment is on the increase, there is evidence of ethnic profiling which threatens to undermine Garda efforts to develop trust with ethnic minorities, and Irish teenagers of migrant parents report feeling that they may be tolerated but are not accepted.
It is still too early to fully understand the catalysts for the recent protests and riots taking place throughout the UK. However, we need to reflect and analyse the causes of the riots, examine the evident inequalities and consider the impact of political rhetoric and media discourses in fostering divisions in society. It is a time to learn and it is time to lead.
Catherine Lynch is the national co-ordinator for Enar Ireland, the Irish network against racism, which brings together organisations to work collectively to address racism in Ireland and beyond. Enar Ireland is the national co-ordination for the European Network Against Racism.
