PDA

View Full Version : England riots: Rioters used terms derived from the inner cities of the US




moderate libertarian
08-14-2011, 02:38 PM
BBC report makes a strange US connection to recently deadly riots in England.



12 August 2011

England riots: What's the meaning of the words behind the chaos?

By Jon Kelly
BBC News Magazine


From shot 29-year-old Mark Duggan referring to the police as "feds" to the nuanced use of the word "community", the language of the riots and the response can tell us something.

It may have been England that was shaken by violence, looting and disorder.

But many of the terms used by its perpetrators came from a very different place altogether - and, due to coverage of the rioting, they have found a wider audience than ever before.

"If you see a fed... SHOOT!" read one message circulated on BlackBerry Messenger, imploring readers to riot.

Another, widely reported in the aftermath of the chaos, urged everyone to "up and roll to Tottenham [expletive] the 5-0". There were myriad references as well to the "po po".

Mark Duggan, whose fatal shooting by police sparked the violence, himself sent a text message shortly before his death which read: "The feds are following me."

All these terms used to express antipathy towards the police share a common feature - all are derived from the inner cities of the US, not of the UK.

To outsiders, it appeared incongruous that these terms were commonly used by youngsters who were straight out of comprehensive, not Compton.

But when politicians and pundits used such terms to argue that the pernicious influence of hip hop and rap was responsible for fuelling the riots, they themselves ended up using vernacular gleaned from their box sets of The Wire.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14506159

Aratus
08-14-2011, 03:59 PM
mr. bratton, who once wuz the top cop in nyc,
boston and los angeles is now going to the u.k

bluesc
08-14-2011, 04:02 PM
mr. bratton, who once wuz the top cop in nyc,
boston and los angeles is now going to the u.k

Yep, to personally advise David Cameron. British police are NOT happy with that. If the riots were actually about a gang problem and not a lack of consequences for actions, it would make sense.

nobody's_hero
08-14-2011, 04:12 PM
Bloody hell! We can't have those limeys using our lingo!

Get your own damned English language . . . uh, England!!!