The shocking violence that rocked some of the U.K.’s biggest cities has ebbed, but the country is still counting the costs of the destruction — not only in lives (so far, five), but to property, tourism, and the difficult work of repairing the country’s reputation. The riots came at a wretched moment for the British—plunged in the …
london riots
From the Magazine: London’s Long Burn
The youth riots and disturbances in the U.K. may have calmed, but important questions still smolder in the wreckage left behind. Britain’s leaders pin the violence and looting on “sheer criminality”; the word “feral” was conspicuous in some coverage of the disturbances. But criminal opportunism is not a sufficient explanation. TIME …
London Rioters Vs. Stock Market Traders: Who’s More Destructive?
Spreading chaos stokes rising fear. People rush to secure or otherwise protect valuables suddenly exposed to threat. Every 24 hours or so, mobs of faceless people converge anew to form an unpredictable, menacingly amorphous force whose destructive power strikes terror throughout society. Distraught citizens look on at the frenzy with the …
Dispatch from Tottenham: Where the U.K. Riots First Started
As the crow flies Tottenham is eight miles from the center of London. As the traffic creeps, that translates to 45 minutes by car. The route takes one through the boroughs of Islington and Hackney—the latter still largely poor, but streaked by pockets of growing gentrification. To the right for much of the route one can see a mass …