i-Looters

As I watch the images of London Riots (2011 edition)  pass through my television screen and computer monitor, I can’t help but feel horrified and disappointed at how badly humans can behave.

Of course, today’s global riots are not new and are no more violent than those that our world experienced during the French Revolution of 1848, Russian Revolution of 1917, Iranian Revolution of 1979, American Revolution, etc. From the recent uprising in the Middle East to Northern Africa, from North America to Europe,  and everywhere else in between, groups are formalizing and resisting what they see as improper treatment of the general public by those very governments that have sworn to protect them. Unfortunately, during this process, the good men and women of security forces are viewed as the violent “arm” of those governments and therefore receive the most criticism.

However, what is horrifying about recent riots are that although the protests start with a legitimate cause, they quickly turn violent. The end result of these riots have been looting of stores and stealing of high-end tech gadgets, clothing, shoes, sporting goods, etc. It has then evolved into absolute disregard for human lives, where people are mugged after being severely beaten, or are beaten (or even killed as was the case in London) as they try to protect their property.

Unfortunately, I hear from many “experts" that our societies are broken; others say that “Anarchists” are at work; many blame the “suburbanites” of the mishaps in major cities; anti-consumerists put all the blame on marketers and advertisers; rich blame the poor and vice-versa. Banks blame the unemployed and job-less blame the big corporations for down-sizing. And it goes on and on. How sad!!!

As I stated in my previous blog, 1994 Riots, nothing will be accomplished by pointing fingers at different groups or organizations. Nor, is it fair to think that our societies are broken.

My point of view: There’s a tear in our societal fabric and it simply needs a skilled tailor to fix it all up. Perhaps, it’s time to revisit the one thing that has helped us reach this point in life: Humanity. Therefore, I propose the following steps in reaching the objective called Humanity!

We need to recognize that:

• Children are important and that they are not simply a financial or social burden.
• School teachers, soccer coaches, governments and police departments are not “god-parents” or guardians of our children.
• Belief in a higher power (whatever that is: God or Gods, Evolution or Creation, Spirits or Conscience) is just as valuable and important as education and financial stability.
• Societies’ collective rights and freedoms are just as important as individual rights and freedoms… we have to step away from our “I” point of view and begin to understand how our actions and decisions impact our network and society as a whole. Perhaps it’s time to replace the “I” with “We” and “You”.
• Pre-university education should be mandatory and governments from around the world should stop looking at schools as a “Cost”. Rather, governments of all levels should consider schools as an investment in our future.
• Employment and poverty have been a driving force behind most civic unrests. Each member of society wants to be considered valuable and not a burden. I refuse to accept that most people want to be on government support.
• It’s time to stop the finger pointing and take responsibility for our actions and mismanagement of our resources.
• Perhaps it’s time to stop measuring beauty based on how a person looks, what kind of make-up he or she uses and which salon she is seen at. At the same time, perhaps we should stop placing value on materials that are replaceable (automobiles are a good example of that).
• Perhaps it’s time to stop measuring success and status based on who has an i-Pod, an i-Phone, an i-Touch, and an i-Book, and begin celebrating those that have truly made a difference in the lives of others: Teachers, Emergency Response Teams, Volunteers, Red Cross members, Doctors Without Borders, etc. Maybe this will stop people from turning to i-Looters.

Thanks for reading,

Armin