London Riots: Beyond the Logic of Racial Discrimination

Violence as the worst form of human attribute is the last resort of socially and economically suppressed people across the world. In the history of social evolution, whenever there has been a severe violence while protesting for civil rights, the intensity of violence only unearths the fact that how an otherwise neglected society was simmering under the exploitation of powerful and mighty for ages together and now that they have a legitimate chance to vent their anger, the situation has turned ugliest. No one questions those ruling class as why a particular section of society has been neglected for long and why their concerns have never been heard. In the most rhetoric form, it can be compared with the a high-magnitude earthquake that many would think an improptu reflex of earth structure, but the reality is that many decades of push and pull that controls the tectonic plate movements is only a reflection of extreme restraint that was building up a gigantic devastation below the surface. And the recent London riots only subscribe to this principle in socio-economic tectonic reactions which are often invisible on the surface but they are quite active underneath.

London is burning. Buildings and plazas are set ablaze; shops and stores are looted; rioters are engaged in running skirmishes with police; and the prime minister of UK, David Cameron, is on his most disturbing political phase of life. Everything is happening in sequence as it's scripted by the most creative black force of nature. The violence is spreading from city to city. London is seized. The worst fear is that whether it would jeopardize the security of Olympic Games scheduled for the next year.

Now that the riots have been transformed from a racial stand point to economic concerns, the Britons are in an absolute fix to understand the genesis – whether the riots are truly emotive explosion of a particular race against which police acted partisan or there is something deep inside the entire socio-economic structure that UK has adopted for centuries is finally hitting them back hard.

In the recent history of London, this is the most extensive, gruesome riot that has surpassed the boundary of racial logic and has expanded to other cities. As many television channels and newspapers paint this incident as the outcome of racial discrimination, the truth seems otherwise.

What's more intriguing is that rioters are not limited to a specific race or social group. While PM Cameron is squarely blaming on the parentage of rioters, he completely forgot the logic that how a neglected section of society for ages together was facing the brunt of bad governance and once given a chance the suppressed anger took an uncontrollable trajectory where the privileged section had to pay for the faux pas of political decisions.

Every society has its own narratives. Undermining their ethos and concerns is a dangerous proposition that the British government is facing today. A deprived society when exploited for years together, the consequence becomes dangerously devastating. And to suffice this argument sample this: According to one EU study, 17 per cent of Britain’s youth are classified as NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Trainings), and there are over 600,000 people under 25 in Britain who have never had experienced a day of work. Can the other nations learn from the mistakes of Britain?

Next is what, Mr Murdoch?

After the logical demise of the News of the World (NOTW), the scandals of phone-hacking that once tapped the private conversations of the most powerful figures of Britain, including the royal families and former prime minister Gordon Brown, have again erupted fresh tremors in the political circle of Britain. Regardless of Rupert Murdoch's fire-fighting damage control exercise, the British press has started attacking the modus operandi of NOTW journalists that how these shoddy reporters could able to hack into phones of all and sundry without the knowledge of law and enforcement agencies. Although the last editorial of the tabloid that candidly expressed the concerns of public: "Phones were hacked, and for that this newspaper is truly sorry... There is no justification for this appalling wrong-doing. No justification for the pain caused to victims, nor for the deep stain it has left on a great history," the ghost of reporters' wrong-doings is haunting Murdoch's media empire.

What's more damaging to the current turbulent situation that Scotland Yards, the premier intelligence agency of UK, has come out with fresh allegations that some unidentified people were deliberately trying to sabotage its huge investigation process by plotting distracting reports in the press. Now the big question of the moment is whether Murdoch could be able to manage the crisis and instill confidence in the British government to realize his biggest ever dream – taking full control of British Sky Broadcasting from a 39% stake? Even British prime minister David Cameron, a pro-Murdoch, has openly demanded the resignation of Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of News International. If this happens, it could be a huge blow to Murdoch's ego. As the Sunday Telegraph reports, Rebekah, who is a protegee of Murdoch, could know about the illegal hacking and bribing to police since she was the editor of the tabloid from 2000 to 2003, it could be a difficult proposition for Murdoch to have the cake and eat it too.

As British media have vociferously started exposing NOTW's scams, the Opposition Leader Ed Miliband has demanded that the government's decision on the News Corporation's proposal to take full control of BSkyB to be referred to the Competition Commission. This will seriously affect Murdoch's BSkyB expansion plan.