Smith: What societal problems have the London riots exposed?

By: /
14 August, 2011
By: Gordon Smith
Executive Director of the Centre for Global Studies and CIGI Distinguished Fellow

There clearly are “societal problems”. We know most of them well – the growing gap between rich and poor, a lack of economic opportunity for youth and immigrants failure to integrate. But there is something more, something we know less about. That is the readiness of too many of today’s male youth to engage in violent destruction as a thrill and the sense of entitlement of people that it is OK to steal electronic goodies and clothing. Many of these are not the poor and oppressed – indeed they co-ordinate activity on their BlackBerrys and wear, and steal more, high end sneakers. Prime Minister David Cameron is right to take a tough line on criminality. Somebody also tell me why people are charged within hours in London, but not in Vancouver. Finally I have sympathy for the police – they are damned if they don’t and damned if they do. Talk about Monday morning quarterbacking!

Before you click away, we’d like to ask you for a favour … 

 

Journalism in Canada has suffered a devastating decline over the last two decades. Dozens of newspapers and outlets have shuttered. Remaining newsrooms are smaller. Nowhere is this erosion more acute than in the coverage of foreign policy and international news. It’s expensive, and Canadians, oceans away from most international upheavals, pay the outside world comparatively little attention.

At Open Canada, we believe this must change. If anything, the pandemic has taught us we can’t afford to ignore the changing world. What’s more, we believe, most Canadians don’t want to. Many of us, after all, come from somewhere else and have connections that reach around the world.

Our mission is to build a conversation that involves everyone — not just politicians, academics and policy makers. We need your help to do so. Your support helps us find stories and pay writers to tell them. It helps us grow that conversation. It helps us encourage more Canadians to play an active role in shaping our country’s place in the world.

Become a Supporter