Media should focus on Cause not Effect
08 August 2011 by Paul RhoadesI'd like to start by thanking Gary Day for cross posting an article from his blog on the events in London this weekend, and just start by saying that I think this is one subject which social commentators and citizen journalists have got to tread very very carefully with.
I think Gary's article is very good, and presents a compassionate and considered view of those who have been victims of this violence. I was going to put my own piece up about this yesterday but have been waiting until the causes of the riot, not necessarily the effects become clearer as I personally think that this is what any one with compasion for fellow man should be thinking about, not the glorification of violence as is far to often portrayed by the media. So a brief apology to reader's for having two very similar articles next to each other, however they will both hopefully give differing views of the atrocities and allow for some debate if people wish.
Firstly, I'd just like to add my voice to Gary's by echoing the his sentiment that its communities which suffer as the result of a riot. This is a very fair and true observation that he has made but it gives consideration only to the effect of the riot on the community, not the cause.
Just to be clear here, when talking by cause, don't confuse it with excuse. There is no excuse for indiscriminate violence against working class homes, and those idiots which started fires which have robbed people of their homes and livelihoods should be ashamed of them selves.
Having said that, lets try to disect what little we know from the media about the causes and behaviours of those rioting over the weekend.
Firstly was the initial PM statement that the violence was "unacceptable" and this seems to have been the main point on which the press and politicians from all sides have hung their hat. They are quite right, violence against working class households is unacceptable, in all forms. But beyond that statement they have shed little light and given little media coverage about the causes of the troubles, they have just labeled those involved as initially "Gangstas" then "Thugs" "Yobs" and today I see the term "Anarchist" being used out of context as I was always taught that Anarchy was a political ideology not a petrol bomb.
This just goes to show the efforts which government and media will go to direct people away from the root causes of the problem.
Initially we were told that it was because police had a fire fight with a "Gangsta" (Yes the Daily Mail used that term) which had led to the riot on Saturday night. Now obviously this is going to sicken the public and bring universal condemnation of any one attempting to support the actions of these criminal gangs, and quite rightly so. At the time I was reading unofficial media channels stating that this was not true and surprising after the dust has settled we see this:
Personally this article did not come as a shock to me. We've seen coverups in the MET before, for example the death of Ian Tomlinson is one which personally sickens me, more so than the widely reported hacking investigations and bribes paid to the MET by News Of The World.
Regardless, it does show a deep mistrust of the police in the community where the trouble flared, and this terrible when the police and the local community loose touch. Further evidence of this breakdown in trust can bee seen in the accusations printed in the Times about MET operations in Enfield, also affected by the troubles some 2 years ago!
Another issue which came out over a week before was concerns raised by community leaders about how cuts in youth funding where leading to increased crime and gang culture. Now I know that some readers will disagree with me on this, they will say that gun crime and gang culture is "rife" in Tottenham. The details I've managed to acquire claim that with the youth clubs and youth schemes in place 6% of young people are in gangs.
More depressing reading I'm afraid, as in Tottenham you are talking about taking services away from an area of the country which is already seeing extreme poverty. So should we blame the parents from bringing these youths up in a state of poverty for this violence?
Regulars some time ago may recall an article I wrote about Child Poverty in North Lincolnshire :
I was concerned that this would lead to a downward spiral as described in Professor John Pitt's statement in the above article.
Within Tottenham there is a massive 48% level of child poverty.
To me this is the real failing and disaster in Tottenham, and without it being tackled, I worry that the problem continues.
Fortunately here in Scunthorpe we have a different story to tell, I'm glad to say that due to organisations such as the Crosby Community Association, Race Relations Council, Street Smart and the Respect program run by the police, we do still seem to trust our police services and community leaders.
It's also good to see that while funding for Sure Start has been cut, programs do still exist and services are still being delivered. Perhaps most important of these being programs aimed at engaging with teenagers, and keeping them off the streets with organised football and dance classes, and the Operation Lifestyle program through the summer. Another program which is also vitally important (to my mind) in building trust with the police is the respect program which is a very specific way in which Humberside Police tackle first case "soft" crime, which instead of alienating law breakers seeks to address the issues behind their offending through community intervention:
On the flip side there is still 14% child poverty in North Lincolnshire, which to me really is "Unacceptable" but this has been gradually reduced through a cohesive program of improvements and projects implemented by the local council, community groups and the police.
Tottenham is, in my opinion an example of happens when community leaders, government, councils and the police get it wrong, they could perhaps learn something from Scunthorpe, considering is rife unemployment and endemic drug problems in the 1980's which gave the town such a dogma.
If you would like add your own news article to Visit Scunthorpe, Login or sign up, its free and easy and you can start publishing your own content here, straight away.
Comments
I think my article on Child Poverty highlights that successive governments have been trying to tackle this problem for as you say decades
I think your comments about hello and OK magazines and people having an unattainable lifestyle thrust in their faces by the media are very valid points. Thanks for the feedback.
Good article Thoades. I tend also to agree with some of Fans' comments about alienation, commercialisation etc.
Stafford Scott has a good comment piece in todays Grauniad: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/08/tottenham-riots-not-unexpected
Cheers Martin.
Just put another article into admin mode for a min while I check the links in it, written from a very different perspective. I want it on the site to get some one elses views across but also want to be sure its not incitement of any kind. bare with us.
Comment Removed
I've only just seen it, been busy with other stuff, so am just going through the links posted on it to make sure there's no incitement to violence etc etc, and I'll get it put back up with or without the links.
I about the article are objective made about the article content and not a personal attack on the poster.
Cheers Mate> Although the comments were true its probably best not to get myself in any more trouble after the last time with our favouirte union branch sec! ;-)
There's been enough trouble on VS recently, pls don't add to it.
Going to repost the article in a couple of mins, I'll be posting a reply on it am sure plenty of others will too, just please don't be personal in any response, stick to facts etc.
If you would like to leave a comment about this article, Login or sign up now
Please Note
Views expressed on this site are those of individual posters, who by making these posts indemnify Visit Scunthorpe and its operators of any legal responsibility or obligation.
Please respect the privacy of others, if someone gives you infomation that you use in your post, please don't identify them.
Visit Scunthorpe is North Lincolnshire's only truly independent, non commercial, community news web site.
Established in January 2010 we have lots of members with a wide range of views who all contribute
independently with articles of their own.
You won't find dozens of adverts covering our site, or some poor attempt to promote local business services under the guise of offering a community service.
Here on VisitScunthorpe we are interested in just one thing, building an online community which is representative of the people of Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire and the surrounding area.
Paul. Founder Visit Scunthorpe.
How it Works
If you would like to have the ability to add articles and comments to Visit Scunthorpe then all you need to do is sign up with a valid email address for an account. This is free, your email address is confidential and we don't send out spam emails.
Once you've completed the sign up then you are free to post and comment on well... pretty much anything, we just have some basic civilised rules to prevent people from inciting violence, hatred or making individual attacks.
If you have a web site or directory which covers either independent news and blogging, or is related to North Lincolnshire or Scunthorpe then get in touch to set up a reciprocal link.
Reply Report