London Burns

There will be plenty of discussion about the riots in the UK. I remember vividly being harangued
by UK lefties about race in America in the early 80's. If the mindless moonbat Gay Dane from London were here he would make a point about the football team in the area calls itself the Yid Army and make a twisted claim about this being a reaction to Zionism. In the wake of the 7-7 bombings the police in the UK were on edge and made an error. 167 blamed the error on zionist policing. No doubt he will be talking about the UK's version of stop and frisk borrowed from NYC.

Long term unemployment does create fertile grounds for riots. We have learned from previous experience that very few of the LA or Crown Heights rioters were employed. The discussions about race missed the point and in reality the specifics are just an excuse for riots.

Police need to act quickly and firmly when riots occur. Riots do not burn themselves out as David Dinkins of NYC learned the hard way. Ultimately, some of the blame did rest with community leaders like Al Sharpton who incited the crowds with talk of Diamond Merchants. The only responsible message from community leaders is do not trash and burn your home. You do not fight injustice with looting and arson.

Given the long term unemployment issue and the perception that Obama is aloof I am surprised we do not see this in the USA. No doubt when one does happen here there will be much discussion about the specifics and local politics but it all misses the point.

Plenty of good people are out of work and unlike the past we do not have Reagan saying it is morning in America. We have a clueless clown with a knock off Pepsi logo droning on incoherently about hope and change. Obama claims to have heard the American people screaming jobs but has no concrete plans to do anything. I never thought that any President could be worse than Jimmy Carter, but Obama has done the unthinkable.

In reading the accounts there is a gem about the rioters stopping off in McDonalds and making their own food. No doubt in these hard times someone in advertising is likely thinking of a way to cash in. Obviously these rioters were not making Happy Meals. One wonders if the vandals who trashed McDonalds were influenced by the idiocy of Jose Bove,

The media is somewhat hesitant to note the racial complexion of the rioters. This is unusual considering we were immediately told that Brevik was a fundamentalist Christian in seconds. The rioters appear to be mostly African and Caribbean. There does appear to be a racial component of this disturbance but those of you who were looking for a Islam angle will be disappointed.

I have pointed out earlier the oddity of Caribeans leaving London and emigrating to Brooklyn. I had assumed the talk of crime and difficulty getting a job were exaggerations. The areas they are moving into are not exactly white picket fence and Beaver Cleaver areas. Yet the perception is that crime is out of control and there is more racism in employment in the UK than in the USA.
No doubt the folks at the Europhile sites like Harry's Place would seem to think that there is more bigotry in the USA because we have talk radio, no labor party and Marxists need to hide their views.

There is an erroneous perception that gangster culture is American. The worst criminal gangs were frequently immigrants from your classic La Cosa Nostra, Irish and the very real Jewish gangs to the more modern Jamaican and Russian mobs. How much of the crime is old world stuff brought here or raised to new levels is a debate we will skip. West Indian Drug gangs are well known since the 80's when a loser executed officer Byrne not far from where I hang my hat. On a recent trip to Guyana the locals would not let me go anywhere because the crime was so bad.
If the elite lefties venture too far from the tourist areas in the Caribbean they might become a crime statistic.

Of course the rioting problem was solved by community policing in the Giuliani years. The concept is go into areas and let cops do their jobs. Local activists like Al Sharpton, C Vernon Mason and so forth fought this idea. However, when crime was reduced it made the city liveable for everyone. When I walked the streets of Downtown LA at night what I saw reminded me of the failed Dinkins administration.

Will Londoners support a more hands on type of policing? Not likely, as it has to get much worse before the folks in the UK will resort to the tried and proven.