Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Violence, A Way of Life for the Wealthy of Britain. . . . .

Ok, I have to say it. It must be said and no one else seems ready to say it so the responsibility falls upon me.

I have an important message to all those stuffy, self-righteous, hypocritical English MPs and commentators concerning their continual condemnation of the rioters in Britain - You have to shut up now! How weary I grow of representatives of the British Government telling us that "nothing justifies the violence." It would sound great if it was not so monumentally steeped in utter hypocrisy! The British authorities, governments, and aristocrats have been perpetrating excessive violence at home and abroad for centuries. Millions have died in the British pursuit of wealth and power. Most recently the British government was involved in the illegal invasion of Iraq where tens of thousands (some sources say hundreds of thousands) died in the pursuit of British wealth and power.

Let us be honest, it is not violence that the British government objects to, it is violence that is not committed by them in the interest of the corporations and the capitalist class that bothers them. The simple proof is in their long history of unadulterated and mass violence.

The French Aristocracy insisted that those who stormed the Bastille were simple criminals and terrorists. But for centuries the working-class of Britain (and particularly those who are not 'white') have been left in desperation, without decent educations, without real opportunities, without hope, that is violence! And every once in a while the simmering anger and desperation will burst into flames - much to the chagrin of the rich and powerful. The sad thing is that these poor saps are simply looting stores and setting fire to a few buildings and many of them will end up in prison. It is amateur hour really. While these rioters are looting stores, the upper-class of Britain has been looting entire continents!! And while the racialized minority rioters will either end up in jail or going back to a life of unfulfilled desperation, those who have been looting whole countries live long lives of prosperity.

Of course, some people who absolutely don't deserve it, will be victims of these riots. But centuries of violent treatment, inequality, and oppression, never results in anything good. Meanwhile the real perpetrators of massive and universal violence go happily on.

3 comments:

Steve said...

Case in point, Dr David Kelly vs Tony Blair.

Anonymous said...

"Most recently the British government was involved in the illegal invasion of Iraq where tens of thousands (some sources say hundreds of thousands) died in the pursuit of British wealth and power."

Wrong, wrong, a thousand times wrong. The Iraq invasion furthered no American, let alone British interests, whatsoever. Not even those of the defence contractors, who would have got their lavish welfare cheques regardless. It was nothing more than a temper tantrum thrown by highly emotional idealogues who happened to have an army at their disposal, aided an abetted by their fellow traveller, Tony Blair.

Kirbycairo said...

I think you are wrong about that Anonymous. If you look at the shift in the US budget between, say, 1997 to 2007 there was a muti-fold increase in defence spending as well as a significant shift towards various large corporations that could be seen as supporting the military cause. Furthermore, whether it worked or not, the US and British establishment genuinely thought that the long term advantages of a Middle-Eastern invasion would be great in terms of ideological supremacy and international dominance.

There was certainly a "temper tantrum" element to it, but in the big, long-term picture it was part of a concerted effort at neo-colonial extension.