Sagnir - 01.06.2016, Blaðsíða 118

For many riots symbolize a totality of chaos and destruction. Nevertheless,
riots and other forms of social unrest are an integral part of urban life
Even though they might be rare in some cities, they are still an important
part of urban history. They challenge societal norms and threaten established povv-
er structures. Riots are reoccurring, but they are not seen as an acceptable form oí
expression. Often the state and media reacts with great astonishment and shock
when riots break out. The very foundations of civilization and its normalcy seetn
to be threatened and many hurry to defend law and order. In the same process the
faceless agents of upheaval need to be conceptualized and their behaviour needs to
be explained. The vilification of the participants creates an otherness, characteris-
tics are ascribed to them that makes them stand out from the rest of society. These
are processes that shape the discourse during and after the riots. Post-structuralisR1 2
can help us in understanding these excluding processes of discourse. While at thc
same time a deeper critique of authority' and society can help us batde them.
The 2011 Riots in England were some of the worst riots of the 21 th centurv
Following the police killing of a young black man, several English cities, especialh’
London, experienced extensive loodng and destrucdon. During these riots differ'
ent terms and categories were used to describe and identify those perceived guiiT
of the riots. How were the riots reptesented, and what idenddes and descripd°oS
were constructed? In some cases a language of class was used, the term underclasS
is an example of this. How is the term used in context with the 2011 England riots-
Who are the underclass and what is the history of the term? Is it different frot°
the working class, and if so how? If it is only an indicator of poverty why is it nor
sufficient to talk about the poor or lower working class?
The Riots
On the 4* of August 2011 Mark Duggan a 29 year old black man was shot de^
by the police in Tottenham, London.1 There have been many conflicting repottS
of what actually happened. The police’s own invesdgation into the matter, claimeCl
that Duggan was armed and that the police were only defending themselves.'
official inquest into Mark Duggan’s death delivered their verdict in 2014. In it the
jury found that although Duggan had a gun with him, he was unarmed at the tii°e
when he was shot and killed. Nevertheless, the killing was deemed lawful and the
officers were cleared of wrongdoing. The controversy of the case condnues tod;ti
as it turns out that the police had the opportunity of getting the firearm of
streets before it fell into Duggan’s hands.3 The case of Duggan is not unique, the
1 Sandra Laville, “Man shot dead by police”, http://www.theguardian.com/
world/2011/aug/05/man-shot-police-london-arrest. Retrieved 16. August 2015.
2 Vikram Dodd, “Mark Duggan police shooting”, http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news
/2013/aug/02/mark-duggan-shooting-inquiry-evidence. Retrieved 16. August 2015.
3 Diane Taylor, “Mark Duggan: mother of man shot dead by police in 2011 calls for urgent inquiry”,
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/04/mark-duggan-mother-of-man-
shot-dead-by-police-in-2011-calls-for-urgent-inquiry. Retrieved 5. August 2015.
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