[ChuckMcM]

Hmm, no offense but that looks a bit staged (or perhaps its just near the end of the cleanup) a few people sweeping with brooms, most people milling about and watching them.

A sad thing for me is when I start to tell a young person about a riot that I experienced and they think its 'cool.' There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, 'cool' about a riot. You can read about mob dynamics, you can imagine heroic acts of protest or defense, but nobody seems to capture the pure evil that seems to permeate the air when rule of law loses its grip for a moment.

The veil of civilized behavior, and the relative safety that brings with it, is quickly dropped by a few. Those few cause pain quite disproportionally to their number.

[petenixey]

It wasn't staged, it was happening all over London - people were out in Clapham, Peckham and Tottenham too. There were a lot of people out making a lot of difference both literally and psychologically

[SandB0x]

I was in Clapham all morning with the cleanup crowd. There was nothing to do and the police wouldn't let anyone through to the damaged areas, which were full of forensics squads, firemen and surveyors. The last thing they want is the general public trampling over the crime scenes (i.e. the damaged properties,) The council had already cleaned up most of the other debris. I went home at about 13:30.

At some point they probably let the crowd in for the photo op, but all the real work had already been done.

[gburt]

> rule of law loses its grip for a moment.

Really? You're a non-violent, non-rioting good person because of the law? I think you meant "civility loses its grip for a moment."

[hugh3]

Really? You're a non-violent, non-rioting good person because of the law? I think you meant "civility loses its grip for a moment."

I'm not a non-violent non-rioting good person because of the law, and I'm prepared to give the grandparent the benefit of the doubt and assume that doesn't apply to him either. However...

Most people, I think, are fairly good, and are restrained from rioting and looting by their own consciences. But some people are just arseholes, and are only restrained from crime by the thought of punishment.

Civility doesn't have a "grip". Either you've got it in you or you haven't.

[rgraham]

I think the 'grip' is referring to the power of social proof. People are capable of both good and evil. You take a lot of cues from what you see around you.

[ChuckMcM]

I think it is a bit more nuanced than that. Some people, myself included, don't take stuff that isn't ours or destroy property even when we know that there would be few if any repurcussions for doing that. Call it a moral compass, a sense of right and wrong, whatever, we just don't.

There are people who, given the opportunity to do so without consequence, engage in such activities for the 'thrills' (or the lulz I suppose if that vernacular applies to meatspace vandalism). When the Rodney King verdict was handed down in LA there were a lot of people who were very angry and lashed out. However there were also some people who could care less, but were clearly exhilirated at the opportunity to be 'bad.' There were looters in New Orleans who took some supplies to use while they evacuated, there were looters who destroyed televisons and stole knick knacks.

The bottom line is that when you shut down the legal system, effectively removing the rule of law for a time, whether by latent rage against injustice, or by disaster. There are some deeply, truly, evil people out there and they come out and they do their evil and it is not 'cool' and it is not 'fun' and it overwhelms the people who are trying to survive.

I thing gburt was just trolling here, perhaps there is some subtlety I missed in the phrasing.

[srgseg]

I think it's the result of people wanting to do something to show that the community cares, and realising that actually the local councils had already done a good cleanup job overnight.

Nevertheless, I thought it was a heart warming gesture.