British historian David Starkey outraged many with his racially charged comments. The historian claimed that popularised black culture has severely affected the mindsets of many white British youths. He claimed that white working class children have now become black; he made reference to them using Jamaican slang as a common language. Mr Starkey made some bold statements which infuriated many, but none the less he stood his ground and seemed to firmly believe in his speech.
I think the riots which took place all over London were sad and unfortunate; realistically many used the death of Mark Duggan a black man whom was shot dead by police, as a reason to steal and riot.Don‘t get me wrong there were some people rioting in outrage of his death, but a significant proportion of people used the mayhem as an opportunity to steal. One of the riots took place very close to my home I actually saw some of the madness unfold; I observed many using the chaos as a chance to steal plasma TVs, trainers, practically anything worth money.
Police brutality and racial profiling seem to be common in both the US and UK. To an extent both the police and society, criminalize blacks this leaves many young black males feeling isolated. However being a realist I cannot leave black males completely unaccountable, movies and music have lead to many young black males trying to imamate gangster profiles. These gangster profiles actively glorify drug dealing, having a gun and being thug like.
I think Mr. Starkey’s comments were to an extent ignorant as he practically equated black culture with criminality. I think There were many reasons why people all across the country began to riot. In Tottenham where the riots began I think rioters were genuinely upset by Mr. Duggan’s death and wanted to fight back against the police. However in other parts of the country I think rioters were less concerned with Mr Duggan’s death and used the rioting as an opportunity to loot goods.
Black culture is truly diverse, from Africa the mother land, to the Caribbean. From North America to South America black culture is so diversified. The media is a poisoning tool; it aims to make us narrow mined. In order to understand black culture you actually have to live it, something I don’t think Mr Starkey has done.
Mark Duggan (Below)
