We hoped and prayed it would not happen here, but the contagion could not be kept away from our two cities.
Manchester and Salford woke up today to count the cost of rioting in broken glass, plundered goods and torched property.
But this is more than just a large insurance claim, more than just an assault on the cities we love. It is a fearful wake-up call. For the people who sought to destroy this place must also live here or hereabouts. This is the enemy within, bent on sabotage, and this enemy is, very often, far younger than we may have imagined.
The first question is "Why?". Why did these young people think it right to take to the streets with damage, arson and theft in mind? What slight have they suffered that justifies pulling their hoods up and heading for the city centre with civil disobedience in mind?
Surely they are not influenced by the incident in London in which 29-year-old Mark Duggan was shot dead by police as they tried to arrest him. What do they know of this man? Nothing. No, they rioted because they had seen riots elsewhere, across London, in Birmingham and Liverpool. As well as being evil and witless, this riot was woefully lacking in imagination.
The second question is "How?". How did so many young people converge on Manchester and Salford in this joint enterprise? Surely parents up and down the land, seeing the news unfolding in the capital, would have told their sons and daughters to stay at home. What a depressing failure of discipline that so many parents were unable, or too uncaring, to stop their offspring joining a riot.
Many will be casting their minds back to another day when Manchester woke up to meaningless vandalism on a grand scale. They will think of June 15 1996, when the IRA bomb destroyed the heart of Manchester.
Like the aftermath of the bomb, this rioting will bring out the best in Mancunians. Even as the wrecking was ongoing, some were, through our website, trying to galvanise volunteers for a clean-up.
Unlike the bomb, people will be called to account for last night’s sins. Greater Manchester has captured many images of rioters. What was done in the heat of the moment will be pored over by police in the cold light of day.
With GMP’s help, we would hope to publish images that would help bring the wreckers and looters to justice. That, and the knowledge that these horrors are deplored by the vast majority of Mancunians, will help us come to terms with these terrible events.
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Just shows what scum we are living amonst! They steal from their own, Take what is not paid for and think they have achieved something great!! Get a job and buy these Items for yourself! Just a shame to our beautiful country and disrespect to all the good, hard working people we have in England!! Shmae on all of you who were involved in these riots and thefts!!
J KHAN
Well what a disgrace, Watching these events on holiday and what an embaressment for our wonderful coutry! You thieves and vandals should be locked up for a long time to teach people never to try this crap again! You are showing that we british are thieves and violent to the world! Hope your proud of what disrespect you have brought upon our historical nation!! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!! get a job and stop acting like you have an hard life!
These scumbags must be brought to justice. They are not rioting, they are just vandalising and looting because they can. How any of them can call themselves a "MANCUNIAN" is beyond me - the ontly title they deserve is scum.
Anybody recognising these people, come on do the right thing and contact the Police with information.
I WAS a proud mancunian before yesterday working in a foriegn country and fiercly proud of where I am from!!!! That all changed yesterday when you can see the absolute drains on society that we live amongst not only in the manchester area but throughout the country!! What we need to do as a country is take a leaf out of other countries books!! If your determined to waste your life being a lowlife down and out scumbag then you should be forced male or female to do national service!! Do all your rioting and running around on a battlefield in Afghanistan where people are dying in honour of our country!!! They all need to sort their lives out!!!
Sarah.
I'm so ashamed of the thieving scum causing such mayhem in Manchester, but also so proud of the wonderful people cleaning the mess up.
Isn't it about time water cannons were deployed using a dye, so that the lawless could be identified for many months to come ?
With all best wishes to the good people of Manchester, I have tears in my eyes
Pat from Portugal
There's a lot of talk about these poor kids having nothing to do nothing to look forward to, no jobs, no future and no one listens to them.......... well were listening now but I doubt they've won many friends or allies with their violent, criminal mob rule behaviour. I'd be very interested to know how many of the rioters have been raised by 'living off the state' career choice parents. These "feral rats" appear to be the product of a society that that pays young women to be single mothers, that gives the 'benefits career choice' parents a pay rise for every baby they have. How many working parents have a pay rise every time they have a baby?
In your analysis you make one fatal assumption. That is the parents of these people are capable of caring what their children do. The people are probably third generation benefit recipients. Some would claim it is because they have single parents. This is clearly untrue because after both World Wars their were thousands of single parents without mass riots.
In the 1980's we allowed the the pendulum to swing to ridiculous extremes away from common sense. Thatcher announced the death of society and the chattering classes put profit before their fellow citizens.
When you have a child at aged 14, you are only a child yourself. How can these 'parents' possibly bring up a child? The professionals said we should avoid judging these people. Problem - these 'professionals' were only just out of University and relied on theoretical models of parenting. Never mind the fact people had been raising children for 1,000's of years - this new wave new better.
Whose to blame? We all are because we all allow ourselves to be scared by children - how messed up is that?
The Bard of Burnage
The news here in New Zealand mentioned some criticism of police brutality. Serves the scum right if they did get hurt by the police. Now really hurt them - go to their homes and take their possessions from them. And for the younger ones - make their parents pay!! The PC brigade have a lot to answer for - bring back school discipline - the fear of the cane worked in my day!
Absolutely disgusted ex-Mancunian
David, New Zealand
I am so ashamed to say I was born in Salford, Salford was a great place to grow up, the Salford people are good people and they dont deserve this.
These kids dont have any political voice they are stupid scum of the earth and they are just jumping on the band waggon to cause damage. They need to be taught a lesson. People with a brain work had to make something of them selves in this life. Its only these idiots that have thems selves to blame for the situation they are in nobody else is to blame. Not the government only themselves. We could all be scum if we wanted thats the easy option in life. Where is the Salford Maffia I am sure they would sort it out.... Bring in the Army shoot them with plastic bullets and tear gas. Stop pussy footing around with these idiots. Thats the only way to stop them.....
Prayed???? It amuses me how all the atheists suddenly believe in God when some anarchy or natural disaster erupts...LOL
incomprehension - yes I'm sure most people watching this voilence ensue simply do not comprehend what is happening here. The reason for this is actually very simple. This is not a part of there lives. They do not deal with yobs/thugs on there streets on a day to day basis . In short they live in ivory towers and untill this moment had no idea about whats goes on in some of the more deprived neighbourhoods in and around manchester.
I hope that maybe this is a reality check.
So let me put these people straight on a few things.
Yobs / Thugs / anti social behavour / gangs / feral youths are the norm in some neighbourhoods.
Most people are to scared to go outside of there homes in these places
The streets are owned / ruled by the yobs.
These teenages.have no fear of any adult , any law , or anything else
They are a law unto themselves.
If you confront them you get your car smashed , or your window smashed.
People in these places have given up on the police to do anything.
The police do not do anything about them, I suspect the police do not see them as a threat and have little or no time to go chasing after them.
What the police dont see is the intimidation and vandalism and fear that theses youths instill in these neighbourhoods.
The police have for too long buried there heads in the sand.
The adults in these places have now no confidense in the police and even see them as making situations worse.
In short , these yobs have been there for quite some time now. But the police (or anyone else) has never bothered to do anything.
So why has niether us as adults or the police bothered to tackle this.
Well there are numerous reasons - but leaving aside the usual suspects of no jobs , no aspiration etc etc...
maybe it comes down to a few very simple issues:-
1) politically correctness - nobody can touch them without ending up in court
2) goverment statistics - the police are so hell bent on meeting them they forget to do what we want / need of them
3) local policing - where are the local bobbies on the beat - we need local police on our streets. They centralised the police force and it was a massive mistake.
4) Maybe some good old fashioned discapline - in our schools and homes..
5) parental responsability - they should be held to account aswell not just the kids.
I'm almost glad this has happned - It was a wake up call to the poepl in charge that never listen because they never understand whats being said. Now maybe they will.
Its been coming. Now I only hope we see sense and start to put adults back in charge of our streets and homes and neighbouhoods - but we can only do that with the backing of the police and ministers in charge
"The first question is "Why?". Why did these young people think it right to take to the streets with damage, arson and theft in mind?"
Not that tricky, they are doing what young men have always done, trying to improve their status amongst their peer group and have fun.
If status is measured as having the right trainers or jeans, then, given the opportunity they try and get them.
If status is having a reputation gained during violent behaviour then they will be bragging about what part they played for months to come.
Your article mentions that it's not "just a large insurance claim".
Please be aware that all fire and property insurance specifically exempts cover due to rioting, looting, arson and general civil unrest.
This means that the torched corner shop owner faces financial ruin, unless the government steps in and helps him.