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Shareby Zoe Williams
The Guardian (9 August 2011)
“The shocking acts of looting may not be political, but they nevertheless say something about the beaten-down lives of the rioters…. Leaving Baudrillard aside, just because there is no political agenda on the part of the rioters doesn’t mean the answer isn’t rooted in politics. Theresa May – indeed most politicians, not just Conservatives – are keen to stress that this is “pure criminality”, untainted by higher purpose; the phrase is a gesture of reassurance rather than information, because we all know it’s illegal to smash shop windows and steal things. “We’re not going to be diverted by sophistry,” is the tacit message. “As soon as things have calmed down, these criminals are going to prison, where criminals belong.””
