THE SMITHS: Panic

 

RELATED: Between 6 and 10 August 2011, thousands of people took to the streets in several London boroughs and in cities and towns across England. The resulting chaos generated looting, arson, and mass deployment of police. Authorities and mass media referred to these events as riots, while sympathisers described them as protest,[13] insurrection,[14][15] revolution[16] or “English Spring”[17] (to parallel the Arab Spring). The events were also called “BlackBerry riots” because people used mobile devices and social media to organize.[18][19] Disturbances began on 6 August 2011 after a protest in Tottenham, following the death of Mark Duggan, a local who was shot dead by police on 4 August 2011.[20] Protestors became angry after police attacked a sixteen-year old who provoked them. Several violent clashes with police, along with the destruction of police vehicles, magistrates’ court, a double-decker bus, many civilian homes and businesses, began gaining attention from the media. Overnight, looting took place in Tottenham Hale Retail Park and nearby Wood Green. The following days saw similar scenes in other parts of London, with the most rioting taking place in Hackney, Brixton, Chingford, Peckham, Enfield, Battersea, Croydon, Ealing, and East Ham, Oxford Circus. From 8 until 10 August, other cities in England including Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool, and Manchester, along with several towns, saw what was described by the media as “copycat violence”. MORE