Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Dogs That Don't Bark

Also on the riots, Alec Salmond was criticised for insisting that the riots weren't UK riots, but English riots.

The criticism is misplaced, Salmond is perfectly correct. The rioting did not spread north of the border, nor did previous bouts of riots such as those in the early 1980s.

In fact rioting in Scotland seems to be very rare, whilst I am no expert I cannot think of any in the 20th or 21st centuries. This is surprising because the most widespread explanations of riots apply at least as much to Glasgow as to London and Birmingham- poverty, ethnic division, haves and have nots, general level of violence- but no riots occurred.

So why have their been no riots in Scotland either this year or much at all in the last century?

6 comments:

JuliaM said...

Their police wouldn't have stood off, worried about their diversity outreach programme?

Ross said...

Maybe but aren't their police run by the same kind of people who run England's police forces?

Anonymous said...

Rain? Maybe it is never dry long enough in Scotland to have a riot

Anonymous said...

I dunno, just an off-the-top-of-the-head, left-field kinda thought, but errmm: am I wrong in thinking that perhaps there aren't the same sort of black population concentrations (with the attendant Starkeyist white Jamaican wannabees) in the big scottish cities similar to those we see in England?

Anonymous said...

As Enoch Powell said, 'They are alienated because they are aliens.' Scots know they are Scottish and Scotland is run by Scots. Rioting is undisciplined and 3rd worldish and not in the traditions of the old labour movement which is so preponderant in Scotland. Am I right Hamish? Aye?

Ross said...

"am I wrong in thinking that perhaps there aren't the same sort of black population concentrations"

The riots in England were multiethnic though. If the Starkeyist idea is correct then I suppose it could work- even then how much contact to gangs need to start imitating other cultures?