London Goes Rodney King

Back in 1992 Los Angeles broke out into all kinds of rioting after a police were acquitted in the beating of a local low-life named Rodney King who had been driving drunk and resisting arrest.  King was certainly no heroic figure, but he gave other low-lifes a reason to go on the rampage.

I think the same thing is now happening in London:

Two nights of rioting in London's Tottenham neighborhood erupted following protests over the shooting death by police of a local man, Mark Duggan. Police were arresting him when the shooting occurred. Over 170 people were arrested over the two nights of rioting, and fires gutted several stores, buildings, and cars. The disorder spread to other neighborhoods as well, with shops being looted in the chaos.

There are some pretty incredible pictures at the link. This could go on for awhile.

The individual shot in London is reportedly a gangster with a significant criminal history.  Again, he's no heroic figure, but he gives everybody else an excuse to riot.

What I've never understood is the video I've seen of a police line standing there while some yahoo stands 20 or 30 yards away throwing stuff at them. Everything from rocks to fire bombs. That kind of behavior is pretty easily stopped if the cops would simply do it - one shot from a sniper rifle, and then leave the body where the other low-lifes can see it. Your rock throwing problem will be pretty much over.

But instead I see endless video of cops just standing there letting these guys do this stuff.  They're just asking for more trouble by not taking a hard line with that stuff.