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Having recently returned from Oslo in which I was privileged to have conversations with diverse people including a manager of a hip hop band, a pub landlord, shop workers, students, members of academia and those who are currently in advisory positions to the Government in relation to the incidents there, with whom I and a colleague had a long conversation about restorative justice for the parents of the children who were murdered, I cannot help but notice the stark contrast between their Prime Ministers response and those which we are currently witnessing including the talk by the current Prime Minister in the UK of rubber bullets and water cannons. (Whilst not forgetting the sweeping racist statements that I was informed were prolific on facebook and other social networking sites immediately following the murders.) Is there any hope that some compassion could be injected into the whole "Whose fault is it?" debate do you think? Jacx Jacqui Lovell Project Lead developing partners cic Yarm Rd Methodist Church Yarm Rd Stockton on Tees TS18 3NW Tel: 07505 221036 Email: [log in to unmask] www.developingpartners.org.uk From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of richard pemberton Sent: 11 August 2011 07:53 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Why the riots? This does feel like an important political moment are we going to be trapped in a hang them flog them and fill up more prisons blind alley yet again or actually look at what it going on here? Does the special interest group have anything to say? Mark is right it is complicated but some simple clear messages need to be injected into the national debate? Richard On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 7:01 AM, Jacqui Lovell <[log in to unmask]> wrote: The people participating will however be criminalised, unlike the bankers, and the ramifications of their actions will carry over into their lives for some time to come... Jacqui Lovell Project Lead developing partners cic Yarm Rd Methodist Church Yarm Rd Stockton on Tees TS18 3NW Tel: 07505 221036 Email: [log in to unmask] www.developingpartners.org.uk <http://www.developingpartners.org.uk/> From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sue Roffey Sent: 11 August 2011 05:28 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Why the riots? Yes, exactly. Think I might print out some copies of this to take round with me to counter the simplistic blame narratives that are springing up. When greed is acceptable in obscene bankers bonuses it puts sports shoes in a different context Pleased, however, to see some more thoughtful commentary in the Guardian. The violence towards ordinary people has been distressing on several counts, including clouding the issues that Mark has raised. Sue Roffey On 11/08/2011, at 7:56 AM, Mark Burton wrote: Appalled by the standard of debate bout these events....here's my take on it:- Why the riots? The neoliberal capitalism of Thatcher, Murdoch, Blair, Bush, Obama, China, the banks, Jonathan Ross, Richard Branson, has... Taught us that what is important is material possessions Made whole sections of the population superfluous Funded the gaining of possessions through high levels of personal and household debt Destroyed traditional communities based on workplace, destroying the sources of self worth and responsibility Ridiculed collective values, privatised and marginalised social provision Commercialised childhood Forced many working people into unemployment, underemployment or insecure, casual low wage work, stressing and undermining family life Fetishised the trivial, the celebrity, cheapening culture and celebrating selfishness and boorishness Encouraged rocketing inequality Shown that exotic levels of violence against people and their towns and cities is just fine Encouraged the import of cheap labour and thereby sown distrust and division among working people Crashed, increasing poverty, inequality, precariousness, resentment and further weakened collective, social, cultural resources. So why the surprise? The riots are not a protest The riots are not caused by public spending cuts The riots are not a result of criminality The riots are not riots The riots are not class action The riots are not a result of bad parenting The riots are not the politics of envy The riots are all these things and none of them The riots are a result of a coming together of forces and processes. There is no simple explanation and no explanation in the behaviour of the individual looter. To understand the riots requires an understanding of how economy, politics, ideology, belief, motivation, morality, socialisation and the dynamics of belonging and alienation work together as system and systems. Don't tell me that is an excuse, and don't tell me how tough you are going to be. Tell me you see that this is complicated and it requires a completely different way of living our society. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. The harvest of neoliberal capitalism is well and truly home. -- <http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4304478> From: Mark Burton 37 Chandos Rd South Chorlton Manchester M21 0TH Telephone: h 0161 881 6887 out now: Critical Community Psychology <http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP001542.html?filter=TE XTBOOK> <http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-EHEP001542.html?filter=TE XTBOOK> <EHEP001542.jpg> http:www.compsy.org.uk <http://www.compsy.org.uk/> also available: A Green Deal for the Manchester-Mersey Bioregion <http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4304478> <http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=4304478> and The Replacement Economy. http://greendealmanchester.wordpress.com/ ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK ___________________________________ There is a twitter feed: http://twitter.com/CommPsychUK (to post contact Grant [log in to unmask] To unsubscribe or to change your details on this COMMUNITYPSYCHUK list, visit the website: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=COMMUNITYPSYCHUK