Riots? What riots?

Our country has gone to the dogs, the government have cocked up, the police are ineffectual, the rich are lining their pockets while 9.9999999999% of the population live in squallor and are unemployed. Our culture has stagnated, everyone is looking out for themselves and the youth of today are the forgotten generation, marginalised by everyone, without a voice.
Apparently!
What a crock
It seems everyman and his dog has a theory as to why the riots happened (see my previous comments above) and what should be done about it. What I would like to say is this - Consumerism. The value of something is very different depending on how it was acquired. If I work hard, save up and then spend my money on an item then I value the item alot more than if the effort involved in acquiring it was less.
Hopefully you're still with me. Now then when I was a kid, very few households had a car, we didn't have a home phone till I was 9, a video recorder when I was 11. These were luxuries that we appreciated (we didn't even own the video recorder, it was rented). Quality of living has increased so much that the value of things has gone down - not their monetary value but their ownership value. Now when people want something (not need something) they just go buy it on credit. Its too easy. It can then be disposed of easily because it has no ownership value, no intrinsic value commensurate with the amount of effort it took to acquire it.
So here's my theory about the riots;

1. The police acted on information regarding a firearm incident
2. During that action an individual was shot and killed. This resulted in questions being asked about the lawfulness of that killing (as it should)
3. Members of the community publicly protested (as they have a right to) BUT......
4. Someone took it a step further and violently protested. This progressed very quickly
5. Mobile phone technology allowed things to be communicated instantly
6. Opportunity arose because the police could not react as quickly and looting began
7. Things escalated.

Now commentators start talking about why it happened, politics get thrown about and the opportunists see that the time has come to act again "this is about the credit crunch/lack of jobs/race/colour/creed" they cry as they happily STEAL. Acquisition of goods because they think they are owed it.

An interesting post from Massive Attack on Facebook about how the past few days criminality has a direct comparison with the Bank Collapse and the global financial crisis with a statement that government was complicit in these (criminal?) acts. Interesting but once again I think they miss the point. The driving force in all this, the common thread that seems to be steering events is GREED. People want things, not need, want. I posted ages ago a piece about Maslows Hierarchy of Needs - well these needs that are driving people are not physical needs (food, water) nor security (safety etc) but ego needs. They want things because it makes them feel good, beacause they see it on TV, because celebrities advertise these products, implying that if you own it you will be beautiful and succesfull and rich.
Cut to the riots,  A BBC reporter spoke with some of the young people — teenage girls standing by on the sidewalk as stores in their neighborhood burned — and asked, “But why are you picking on shops and businesses in your own neighborhood?” A teenage girl replied, “It’s the rich people. They’re the ones who own the shops. We’re showing the rich people that we can do what we want.”

A convenience store looted in London - Yeah thats right, stick it to the INCREDIBLY RICH PERSON that didn't sweat blood to build up this business.

I suppose in retrospect they're right, the rich people do own the shops if you define rich as someone who has more than you. How did they get more......................they worked for it.

My ten penneth