Looters are Good for One Thing. Target Practice!

As I muse on the spectacle of the British riots, I find it absolutely fascinating that so many pundits are tugging at their beards as they sip their port and fret over the "root causes" of the violence, as though any sense could be found in what is going on. To these wags I say, go find something else to write about--you'd be better off trying to understand the motivations of a rabid dog. The rioters are scum and nothing more.

It's disheartening to see a photo like the one in this post, where the shopkeeper has a look of resignation as he surveys his burned out cutlery store. Ah, but the rioters claim that they're fighting against the wealthy and powerful! This Mr. Mohamed is clearly some rich plutocrat, who just recently took off his monocle and top hat, and was foiled in using his cutlery empire to enslave the masses! Social justice clearly achieved!

Sadly, the British government is only talking about "rubber bullets" and water cannons to fight the rioters. Here's the problem with that--right now, rioters think such things are only mildly convenient, and certainly worth the risk of robbing stores and burning cars and doing whatever else they think might help them get over their sexual frustration (and considering these are mostly school-aged "men", that's obviously what's at work here, let's not deny it). And, if the rioters are just wounded, they end up sucking at the government's teat for who knows how long, thanks to British national health care. Yet, if we tried my solution--shoot to kill, and quickly--we'd see some wonderful effects for all of society:

1) Dead rioters.

2) A lot more rioters deciding they have something better to do.

3) More lives saved as a whole.

See, my approach sounds brutal--and surely the bleeding hearts who think every life is precious would blanch at such a simplistic sounding course--but sometimes sharp, decisive brutality can save far more lives by putting a quick end to the chaos. Consider why during the L.A. riots of '92 the storefronts that were amazingly spared by looters were the ones with heavily armed Koreans on the rooftops taking shots at anyone who approaches. Looters may be a lot of things, but suicidal isn't one of them.

And don't give me this "the British are far too civilized to do something like this". If they could firebomb innocent civilians in Hamburg, they can pop a few looters.