Explain to me like I’m 5!

[MyOtherHusbandIsAWash]

Why are people in Hartlepool and London rioting following the horrific Southport stabbings? I understand it seems to be the far right but what are they actually rioting about? I genuinely don’t understand-the news doesn’t seem to say an actual agenda. What do they want?

If it's anything like the riots in Dublin in November, there will be quite a few looters, looking to help themselves to some new runners (trainers).

They’ve just assumed it’s a Muslim non-white person who did the stabbing.
They’re using that as an excuse to flout their racist, nationalist, xenophobic agenda, fronted as ‘protect in our streets’.

Not quite. They were told by shit-stirring grifters of the alt-right that it was a muslim illegal immigrant. And they believed it. Stoking people's fears brings a lot of money in for the likes of Tommy Robinson, Laurence Fox and Katy Hopkins.

Because they’re are imbeciles who will use anything as an excuse to cause damage and hurt police officers.

That's what I thought straight away, when I saw how young the guy is, and that he is black. Statistically more likely to suffer from mental illness and less likely to get treatment (see Mind/NHS research below). I'm sure this ties in with living in a society where racism explicit and implicit is still sadly very prevalent (pretty sure the research backs that up).

What the thugs are doing is making this worse, what an irony. Of course, this wouldn't fit with their narrative.

https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-strategy/becoming-a-truly-anti-racist-organisation/facts-and-figures-about-racism-and-mental-health/

Worryingly (and I know police have said this incident is not a terrorist attack) counter terrorism police say potential/actual attackers now tend not to have one fixed ideological focus, but might drift between extremist materials from different perspectives but that they all have a fascination with violence. Was on BBC, will post link if I can find.

Reminded be of Brianna's tragic case.

How can we mend this broken world?

I have to keep reminding myself that there are lots of good, kind people out there and the rioting thugs are a small, obnoxious, noisy minority. The character of the people of Southport shines through, such a lot of community spirit and compassion - puts that rent a mob to shame.

Technically speaking, you would be whatever passports your parents have, so British unless they applied and were granted Italian citizenship.

if the 17 year old's parents have Rwandan passports, he's Rwandan, regardless of where he was born and how long he has lived in Wales.

Agreed
Even if every reason that was mentioned, (which it's not) then its still no excuse to riot and terrify people
In southport, one minute the police are having to deal with the stabbing and murder of kids, next they are hospitalised themselves by mindless thugs

I think those middle aged angry men who rove around London are often the same people who were engaged in football violence and skinhead violence. It's an addiction with sone of them. I also think that difficult lives and poverty can be background factors, plus ignorance of facts around immigration. Looking for someone to blame.

The Farages of this world, with their pretend names and pretend pints, are just using them

I think they also want to see themselves as heroes.

He was born in Wales, and a percentage consider themselves Welsh not British. The same go's for Scotland. Some I assume will blame his parents because they moved over here. Its terrible that they started damaging property, and Muslim places of worship.

@Lifeomars sorry for your troubles. Here if you need to talk x please direct message if it would helpx

@marmaladeandpeanutbutter there's definitely something to what you say. Part of the reason they get involved in that kind of idiocy is that they can then go back to their favourite flat-roofed pub and talk up how they gave someone a good kicking and how alpha-male they are for doing so.

I know lots of people who get privately angry/frustrated about old British culture being eroded. Watch even the main news and almost every presenter is not white. You would be forgiven for thinking that non white made up the majority of the country yet it doesn't so why are they disproprotionally represented? You can guarantee any advert now shows a black family/Muslim family. I'm just watching the news now and haven't seen a white person yet. Of course, we're doing the same with lesbian/gay/transgender too at the moment. It's almost as if you're not allowed to be white and heterosexual anymore. In my last job I was told I had to recruit the person with an ethnic background - I said, I was going to recruit the best person for the job - no, you will recruit that person as we have a diversity box to tick. Why so much positivity discrimination against whites?

Why are primary schools not allowed to be Christian anymore? Why can't they sing Christian hymms? Why has the traditional Xmas play for kids disappeared in case we offend someone? Why do they not say prayers anymore?

Why has yet another huge mosque been built in my town yet my local Christian church can't get the funding to replace the beautiful stained glass windows?

Add in hotels being taken over by immigrant men who no one knows the background of yet they seemingly are given higher priority than our own in poverty...

Can people really not see how all this is boiling over? Seriously?

So many people on MN living in places where their idea of multiculturalism is the fact a highly paid Doctor lives next door. Try living in a place where being white is now the minority as white British Christian culture is eroded (Dewsbury, Bradford, Bury for example) but of course so long as it's not happening in your back yard. People I know ask why immigrants can't simply integrate - why do they insist on building communities and all 'sticking together' in one place, buying more and more properties as more and more of their relatives arrive. Why do we allow arranged marriages for eg and why do women who want to live in Britain and be British walk around covered head to toe in black, why move somewhere to be 'free' and then carry on as you were..

I'm not saying these are my views btw. I'm saying what I hear regularly. I know a lot of very racist people, mainly an age thing too, older people. Someone on my FB shared a video from Youtube on Tommy Robinson. Quite shocking to listen to but we can't just ignore that it's a small minority who feel this way. I was shocked by the video but more shocked that I was the only person who commented he doesnt' speak for me.The government does need to listen for everyone's sake. I don't know what the solution is. FWIW the Muslims I know are just lovely brilliant people.

@Soukmyfalafel how right you are. They've never had much use for education or trying to better themselves, they thought being a white, British man would be enough. Now they see all those foreign people who have professional careers, or run businesses, whilst the traditional manual labour jobs die off, and they put 2 and 2 together and make 6 _ it must be the fault of all those immigrants.
It's nothing to do with dead children, it's to do with their anger at falling behind and becoming irrelevant

The EDL are angry, because they perceive that people from other countries, particularly those with very different cultures than our own, are a danger to our society. They are angry that they are allowed to live here, and that they don't assimilate well into our country. They feel attacks such as the one in Southport are proof that non-British people shouldn't live here. In their minds, it's a really obvious fact, and they don't understand why other white, British people don't agree with them.

As such, they want to show their frustration with the status quo, as well as make people from ethnic minorities and other cultures feel unwelcome here, and either "go back home", if they are already home, or be dissuaded from moving here if they are considering it. Hence the riots.

The fact the stabber was born in Wales is a bit of a red herring, because his parents were from Rwanda. As such, in the eyes of the EDL, he is "other". In fact, Tommy Robinson argued that it is actually WORSE that he was born over here, as he has grown up in our society, educated here, had known people from here since he was a baby, and enjoyed all the benefits our society has to offer. But despite this, he remained "other" and proved to be dangerous.

The fact he is Christian, is also a red herring, as the EDL would tar anyone they deem a threat to our values, to be bad and in need of removing. So presumably Muslim people are "as bad" as people from Rwanda.

I don't agree with this ideology btw, but think that's the reason for the rioting. Took me a while to understand it too, as a lot of it isn't explained in the mainstream media, it just says "A Welsh Christian committed a crime, now mosques are being attacked". But that doesn't really explain it.

@Lifeomars I know you know but just to say it outloud - It's OK to switch off. I check BBC news once a day - don't watch any broadcasts or even radio news if I'm feeling a bit vulnerable and overwhelmed by life.

We are bombarded with too much. More than humans are really designed to take on board I think. I mean It's good to know what's going on, but honestly there isn't anything we can do to go back in time and stop a bad thing happening so give your self permission to notice all that is good, and to step away from media/sm to get a bit of head space.

Absolutely yes.

brightyellowflower

I'm just watching the news now and haven't seen a white person yet”

I’m watching the news too. Alll of the presenters I’ve seen so far are British. (Other than that stalwart white man, Huw Edwards) Are you seriously suggesting that only white skinned people are British?

Our culture is a wonderful amalgam of all of those brought here by wave after wave of immigration, for thousands of years.

Well the op asked why rioters are attacking mosques in relation to the Southport attack when it's nothing to do with Muslims so I'm not sure wtf any of what you've mentioned above has to do with anything?

Also "it's almost like we're not allowed to be white/heterosexuals anymore" - please give it a rest. The reality is that people from other cultures, of other orientations, are now being given the same rights that white heterosexuals have always had and still have.

I hear a lot of middle aged white people moaning about how there are more mosques than churches etc but oddly, hardly any of them ever bother to attend church and look genuinely confused when ask them when they last went, as if they can't see any correlation between their rant and my question. It appears they just get selectively annoyed by things. Funny that, isn't it??

I've never understood this @brightyellowflower - how is having more brown people around eroding British values? No primary schools 'ban' Christian prayer - it's a requirement - and most still have traditional nativity plays.

Black and 'Muslim' people presenting the news or being in adverts - well a) they can be British and black/Asian and b - advertising is aimed at a wide demographic so they are going to use a wide range of people.

As to 'building communities' why not - Birmingham has a huge Irish centre, and an annual parade. Hard to 'integrate' when 'proud British people' hurl abuse and bricks at you and your places of worship

and women are free to wear what they like

I know they aren't your views but they are still not views I understand - and I have worked in Birmingham since 1996 so I don't live in a nice MC 'white' area

I know the feeling. I’m sorry you’re in a bad place. The news has been full on since the pandemic. I think avoidance is best sometimes. Sending you a hug.

@brightyellowflower are the people saying these things that you've heard really so dim that they can't understand that a mosque is built because people want it and are funding it. The church windows aren't being funded because no one goes to church regularly and no one wants to pay for it?

And schools do still do Xmas nativity plays. I can't think of a single school where they don't. And they don't sing Christian hymns any more or say prayers because the numbers who go to church are dwindling to nothing and most children are from families with no religion.

It's just wilful ignorance and lack of personal responsibility.

All schools are required to have acts of broadly Christian worship and loads of schools are explicitly Christian and exclude non-practising Christians.
Christian schools say prayers
And loads of infant schools do traditional nativities - most don't after Reception age because it's boring, not offensive.

Where's the London riots?

Outside Downing Street

It's always people who aren't actually Christian and who never go to church who are bothered about the lack of Christians
Go to church and send your kids to a church school if you're that bothered!