decades of (neo)liberal globalism is largely to blame for these riots imo. communities upended, exploited, smeared as ‘backwards’. inequality, poverty. no sense of identity. nothing much to live for. due to the religious focus on profits for global corporations, and so-called growth, above all else. people are lost, nihilistic. vulnerable to radicalisation
mass immigration is surely a legit concern; multiculturalism has worked in some places and not in others. and impacted the poorest the most. and sadly a huge percentage of British Muslims - who we definitely have a duty of care towards having waged wars on their countries - have medieval values; criminalise gays, wives belong to their husbands, etc. aren’t they ‘far-right’ too? is it really totally irrational to have some concerns about them and their future influence, given that they are having far more kids than non-Muslim Brits?
the immigration is a symptom of the neoliberal globalism; the globalising wars creating refugees, the corporations seeking cheap labor, the increasing difficultly for people to have families due to high costs - which makes immigration necessary to prevent the impending depopulation crisis and keep the economy running. all sides of the political spectrum - except perhaps the ‘liberals’ who remain in denial - should surely be able to agree on this point. let’s find common ground! and work from there
prosecute those guilty of violence, sure, but they’re a minority. screaming ‘fascist!’ at all who peacefully attend or who sympathise with these protests probably isn’t going to work. imo we have to accept the merits to their arguments - the uncomfortable truths - and find solutions. they need to feel heard. if they continue to get shunned, demonised and insulted, I fear the violence will only get worse
we need dialogue, debate. and good leadership. vision, hope, investment, decentralization, an end to neoliberal dogma. instead we have keir starmer, who will likely just use this situation to roll out more totalitarian surveillance, online censorship etc