Starting
Aug. 6, the people in the poorest and most oppressed communities of
England fought back. The youth in these communities
have been unleashing the pent-up anger and frustration of a people
besieged by unbearable austerity and brutal police repression. As we
go to press, it appears that the massive repression unleashed by the
British state has been effective in restoring surface level calm to
the streets of London and other cities.
As
the global capitalist economy continues to sputter after it was
brought to its knees by criminal actions of the financial oligarchy
and the “Great Recession” of 2007-2009, the poor and working
masses of the world continue to feel the effects and now face even
greater hardship.
The
last year has seen Downing Street ramp up its attacks on the English
masses through brutal service cuts amidst high and chronic
unemployment. In concert with government actions, British police
have been systematically brutalizing people in poor and nationally oppressed
communities. Triggered by the police killing of Mark Duggan,
oppressed youth took to the street to combat government austerity and
police repression.
The
Aug. 4 killing of Duggan, a 29-year-old Black man and father of four,
occurred in the context of many deaths in police custody. Nina Power,
writing in the Aug. 8 Guardian, reports that there have been at least
333 such deaths since 1998 “and not a single conviction of any
police officer for any of
them.”
The
capitalist media for the most part have attempted to marginalize the
unrest. The language in media reports attempts to characterize the
situation as sporadic, smatterings of kids looking to loot and
destroy as a matter of enjoyment. However, one unnamed youth
described the true nature of the rebellion: “It’s us versus them, the
police, the system. They call it looting and criminality. It is not
that. There’s a real hatred against the system.”
Despite
solid evidence that the uprisings are rooted in social and economic
unrest, capitalist politicians remain defiant. London Mayor Boris
Johnson blatantly dismissed “economic and social justifications”
and vowed that those responsible would “face punishment they will
bitterly, bitterly regret.”
Prime
Minister David Cameron repeated the mass media narrative by
condemning the “sickening scenes of people looting, vandalizing,
thieving, robbing.” Furthermore, Cameron asserted, “This is
criminality pure and simple and it has to be confronted and
defeated.”
The
entire working class and poor of England need to view this situation
in the proper context. Rather than allowing the recent events to be
marginalized, the masses of England need to forge a united fight-back
against austerity and police repression.
There
is indeed a criminality that must be “confronted and defeated,”
and that is the capitalist system.
