anyone gonna riot tomorrow?

[southeast]

i think i'll rob the local tesco as most of the police will be in london

mayorquimby - the media were egging on those people, they were surrounded by cameras clicking and recording their every move. The media are jostling for position atm, pushing and shoving. They want a story, they want sensationalism. How boring it would be for them if nothing happened and everything was peaceful.

Have you never seen 'Drop the Dead Donkey'?

It's the media that makes you think these protests are organised by tofu-eating thickos at one end and violent BNP following thugs on the other. In reality the protests are organised by everyday people, students, mothers, fathers, pensioners etc. All wanting the governments to hear their voice. All wanting to convey their anger about the current economic climate.

But as you will get with any crowd, there will be the minority who are just out to cause trouble. And the media will love it.

"mayorquimby - the media were egging on those people, they were surrounded by cameras clicking and recording their every move. The media are jostling for position atm, pushing and shoving. They want a story, they want sensationalism. How boring it would be for them if nothing happened and everything was peaceful."

i understand that but it's absolutely no excuse. no matter how much someone with a camera told me to break a window in so they could print it, it wouldn't make me do it.
the media didn't force anyone to commit these crimes, they did it on their own back.
i understand it's a minority,i doubt anyone would claim otherwise, but to blame the media simply excuses the minority of thugs set on disruption.

I agree, it does. It's just a shame that the media are intent on reporting this as a violent scrum when nothing could be further from the truth.

People - There has been some objection on this and other threads about how the media has simplified the issues surrounding the financial meltdown and has demonised bankers.

The two issues are connected; we have a media that is story and picture-driven and that has a quick turn over and very little interest in prolonged analysis of issues. So they do tend to go for headline-grabbing, simple ideas: "Meltdown" "Bankers are criminals".

I agree with posters who have objected that things are not that simple.

So ... is it not impossible to see that the same thing happens when it comes to protests such as this?

The same simplifying, picture-driven, headline-grabbing, story-based media, whose main terror is reader ennui, is out there today looking for the most simplistic angle and the most "arresting" pictures.

I do think that the people who have experienced their own demonisation in the press should have learned a little cynicism from the experience and be casting a jaundiced eye on the coverage.

Let's face it, we have our policywonk (yay!) inside the G20, who will no doubt be posting us exciting stories about long talks and meetings, but I'll bet the idea of that just makes the newspaper editors want to go to sleep. Far better a few "violent" images their readers can lick off the page.

And maybe someone should offer link to a tweet from "inside" the protest?

Just seen BBC news.

Showing protesters v police.

"frontline" of protesters liberally scattered with press pushing and shoving to get snap of the one person looking a bit lairy.

Ridiculous.

Here's one from the climate camp if that's any help.
Also there's a guardian blog from inside the protests.
I agree re. the media - whenever I have known anything about anything reported in the papers it has always been at least 80% wrong, if not more . . . so not sure if these are any help anyway.

Not quite sure if anyone can win tbh - not like many protests where there is a very short & sweet message, 'get rid of the poll tax' or whatever whether you agree with it or not.
I'm sure plenty of people there could give you a good and coherent explanation of what they think should be happening, but its not going to be reducible into a slogan (perhaps "contraction and convergence mixed with a partially tradable carbon rationing programme and a change of taxation strategies away from regressive purchase taxes towards a more progressive regime" anyone?)
But if the peaceful people who have complex but potentially interesting answers all stay home, leaving the streets to the violent minority, then it looks like everyone agrees with the current situation apart from a handful of nutters . . .
what to do
[at this point must confess to being at home in Wales having spent the day planting potatoes ]

I did ROFL at some BBC coverage earlier, where some person stole the presenters mic and there were a bunch of teenagers behind him posing. The reporter looked well peeved.

I'm sure RBS is VERY happy that it was that building (which is a bit rubbish anyway) and not the great big whopping glass building that they took over from ABN Amro on Bishopsgate.

Thanks Takver - will look.

Agree about complexity too.