London's Burning, Who's Next

It seems that the writing is on the wall, and that is not a good thing. Last night London erupted with scenes not seen for many years. Fires were started and shops were looted by frustrated youth. I am reminded of the great reggae song Handsworth Riots by Pato Banton and the Reggae Revolution.

The first Handsworth riot was in 1981 (85, 91) and on the surface it was tension between Black British and Asian immigrant business owners. Many have argued that the real reasons for the riots are the usual suspects of unemployment, poverty and housing. The Devil finds work for idol hands, and there was no shortage of idol hands, then or now (In Hackney unemployment for 16-24 is 33%).

Recently Mark Duggan was gunned down by police and, of course, that outraged people. The following protest may have started peacefully, but long simmering tensions and frustration boiled over and last night...London burns again. What has changed since the 80's? How has institutionalized racism been combated and how has the lives of the "underclass" been changed for the better? It has not.

The only change that I can see, not just in Europe or the Middle East, but here in America, is that the rich have gotten richer. If when I was growing up the rich held X% of the wealth and now they hold even more. In the meantime the middle class has shrank tremendously while the numbers of poor and uneducated become inflated year after year. Banks and financial institutions got bailouts (and it didn't work), but what of the people. Nothing. Crickets.

Cuts in social spending, along with all the other recession traits, has hurt London'ers that were already hurting. American, this is our warning. The GOP has had social security, welfare and medi-care/cal on the chopping block ever since President Obama has taken office (I'm still waiting to hear from Medi-Cal. It's been, like, two months). Should we count how many revolutions are happening in the Middle East right now, or should we see that and the burning of London as...the writing on the wall.

* Salon Why London Exploded Last Night

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zPNSDOaxq4w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>