London on fire.. How long till it happens here?

[Ridgerunner]

I personally don't think it had much of anything to do with the "police brutality" thing. That was more of an excuse, not a reason. Unenployment is high, especially in the age group that is causing all the trouble. The government has recently taken severe measures to balance the budget and this age group is feeling a heavy share of those austerity measures. Look at Greece and their riots.

England has had their "Football Hooligans" for decades where some people go on a rampage just for fun to the point they have been banned fron attending many games outside the country. So they have a group of people that think rioting is more of a game, or maybe a rite of passage to live up to the stories about their fathers and the fun they had destroying things. I think Boyd mentioned Devil's Night. What could be more fun that throwing rocks at the police (or worse) and destroying things. Think of the adrenaline rush. Now it is a tradition.

I think the biggest part of it is that people are feeling the hard times and feel pretty helpless. I think the history of this type of behavior helps a little bit to sow the seeds, but probably is not that much of a contributor. The adrenaline rush is probably getting a lot of them out there though once it starts so it sort of feeds on itself. I can remember quite personally some of the protests of the 60's and early 70's. Not the riots, the protests. I did not personally experience the riots. Many were there for the fun more than the cause. Can it happen here? Well, it has. There is the fun of a Devil's night or when someone wins or loses a ball game, but the more serious riots like Watts have happened and at some point will happen again. Like A. T., I have no idea what the trigger will be.

 

[sourland]

Quote:
X 2 This is a cold and harsh reality.

 

[chickened]

Remember "Can't we all just get along"?
Quote:
Rodney king?!

 

[chickened]

I believe the parliament cut a huge chunk from the social programs and the interview I seen they were mad at "white wealthy conservatives".

I foresee it happening here when our government turns off the tap.

 

[darkmatter]

Pearl S. Buck said something in one of her novels about when the rich get too rich and the poor get too poor.

Yes, it can and will happen here if conditions continue to deteriorate. The "Arab Spring" is similar when a self appointed few hold too much power and money.

 

[Stacykins]

When people feel like they have no control or options in their lives, and there are other people feeling the same way around them, they get together. At the moment, Americans are so apathetic that it won't yet happen. But the feelings are there, just not the unity and desire to change things. I don't think it will be too terribly long until Molotov cocktails fly here in the States. People are getting angry, people are getting tired of the repeated bullspit the government spews.

 

[Whispering Winds]

It's coming. People are losing their homes in record amounts, and Fannie Mae won't tell, because it will cause a nation wide panic. Where are these people going to go, when there are NO rentals available. We will have tent towns in a lot more places than just DC. I work in the Real Estate office every week, and if I could sell listings like I pass out rental sheets, I would be on easy street. I work in a mom and pop grocery and every week when we restock, something will go up maybe just a nickel, but to a lot of people who are not on LINK, its a nickel they don't have. I don't know if it will get to the point like the ones in London are right now, but people are tired, scared and some don't know where their next meal is coming from, and something is gonna give. Isn't it a shame this great nation of ours is headed for the sewer? This is definitely the time to stock up on food, water, fuel and anything else you might need to last for a few months and for your animals as well. I think 2013 is going to be the deal breaker for a lot of things. I feel bad for London, but this just shows how people REALLY feel if they let something that affected ONE family get so out of control. I think we are living in scary times.

One thing that makes me think people are "skittish" is last week about 30 miles from the small town I work at in the store, some utility worker was digging and cut thru a huge cable, which in turn made a HUGE area of Bond/Fayette counties lose their cells, landlines, internet and in some cases TVs. I cannot tell you how many people came into the store freaking out because they thought it was either Obama taking over their cells phones

or it was the end of the world. I don't get too excited over anything, and the fact that no one had a phone for a day was actually, in my book, sort of a blessing in disguise. BUT, the fact that these people didn't even think to ASK one of the local phone guys who are always in town because their main power source is located here, what the deal was. They just assumed it was the end of the world. So, we need to take things more seriously when something like this happens, because a lot of good smart, educated people are just not thinking too clear right now. We have a LOT of Americans running scared right now.

 

[Ferrret]

Could it happen? Sure.
Will it happen all across the US in one fell swoop? Probably not, the nation is simply too large and each area is experiencing hardships at different points.
Will every State get hit? I don't think so, some States won't reach that much hardship, others may get close then recover before frayed ends set fire.
Is it going to happen soon? That all depends on what the trigger is. Some States are running recalls on politicians, and those recalls failing could be a tipping point. Other States are losing money, gaining unemployment and people are simply getting fed up. As it's been seen, all it takes is a small group of people getting rowdy to attract more and turn the area upside down.

From all the reasons I have read about for the riots it has been everything from a few drunks throwing bottles at police during the peaceful protest, to punks thinking it's fun to burn down their neighborhood. People have cited unhappiness with the welfare cuts, and other political moves, as well as simply wanting things they can't regularly afford. Everyone from those doing well in life to the homeless have been looting and rioting.

I don't think riots like what's happening in London will happen here in this year, there's potential for them next year during the elections, and US citizens may not reach a point of frustration for it to happen for 10 years.
On the other hand it may have already started in it's own way. All summer there have been reports across the nation of kids running amok, attacking people and property blindly in 'flash mobs'. A few recent incidents were in Philadelphia and at the Milwaukee State Fair. All it would take is for those events to escalate to turn into a riot.


The riots in London don't make much sense to me. Burning down your own neighborhood because you're outraged just seems counter productive.

 

[serendipity22]

to me, it sounds like a bunch of hoodlum kids breaking into stores to steal clothes... Or wreaking havoc just for something to do.

 

[Boyd]

Quote:
They had a riot when Vancouver lost the playoffs. Makes no sense. Take peoples rights away everyday and nothing. Lose a hockey game and look out!

soccer games turn ugly like that too!!!