The Hyperbole of Mob Mentality and a Good Week for the Cameron Narrative
In the land of tea and scones, the world has been shocked at the recent riots on the streets of the UK. Indeed, nobody was more shocked than the British themselves. After a perceived social harmony in the UK throughout the New Labour years (a view held primarily by the middle class and the establishment) the riots came as a bitter reminder of the lack of satisfaction with British society amongst some of its members. More worringly still, it highlighted the lack of morality within elements of British society, as the horror of the Malaysian student mugged by his helpers demonstrated ably. However, just as the perception of Britain’s social harmony before the riots was over-dramatized, so is the current prevailing view of the significant mob detached from society. Instead, these riots represent a minor section of British society – part of which can be cured – and a vindication for David Cameron in the shaping of the medium-term political narrative.
Anybody who lives outside of the cities in which violence occurred will understand how close their communities were to being invaded by BBC news teams. People in Oxford will have seen the surprising number of hooded people hanging around the crossroads in the centre of town whilst the residents of Cambridge will have seen a similar situation on Midsummer Common. The same will be true for the residents of dozens of towns and cities across the UK. Yet very few witnessed images of smashed windows and riot police that London, Manchester and Liverpool did. The reason is simple and can help us explain how we tackle this problem in the medium to long term: the immorality of most looters is passive and can be altered whilst only a small minority of them are hardened to the immorality of the past week.
The unusually high number of people in towns and cities across the country were there, without question, in expectation that disorder may take over their communities. However, they were never going to be the ones to start it. They lacked the courage of their opportunism and were simply waiting for someone else to start the fire from which they could claim themselves a plasma screen TV or pair of trainers. The passive group, masked in shame of their opportunistic criminality, are not the big threat – their immorality could be remedied. It is those who led and instigated the riots who are the greater threat and those whom government and society will always fail to engage. This realisation must help mediate the potency for knee-jerk reactions in the aftermath of the chaos. Similarly, whilst some looters can be reintegrated into society, we must not be overly optimistic about all looters as the debate shifts.
When the debate does shift, these riots represent a broad vindication of David Cameron’s narrative which should pay dividends in the future. Whilst his stance on the police risks losing him the current political battle, these riots have given credence to his claim of a “broken” society that previously received little traction outside of the Daily Mail readership. This hardening of the public attitude is good for the Conservative agenda for society going forward – and like any crisis, this gives Cameron significant opportunity to act. Conversely, Cameron has been vindicated on his Big Society narrative. The only actions that matched in magnitude the evils of the muggings, lootings and murders were the inspirational acts of the people who tried to peacefully stand-up for their communities, or the incredible sales figures of brooms in Camden as a community came together to reclaim their streets. Whilst the state will play its role in rebuilding the communities affected, the first and most significant actions came from the residents themselves. The Broken and Big Societies are alive and the riots have helped form a narrative to realise Cameron’s objectives for them both.
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