I'll have a stab

I would do whatever it takes and would not worry about whats within reason at that given point in time. If it turns out others think its unreasonable after the event then thats just tough.

I suspect most people would.

You clearly don't understand the meaning of the word 'majority', never mind 'causation'.

It's been explained clearly enough by plenty of people. If you don't understand where you're going wrong by now I doubt you ever will.

All Duggans death did was cause a protest march

no one in Tottenham was thinking lets riot, lets loot and steal.

The 'rumour' of the assault of a protester caused a little anger among the towns folk

again though no one was thinking of looting or stealing but some wanted physical and actual retribution against the police so started pelting them with missiles

As this was happening it was being locally reported by BBM messenger and text messages that police were not reacting to provocation so more local undesirable joined in and set fire to vehicles too.

The news cameras came down and were filming (at the time) people burning a couple of cars and a bus and a shop as the police protected their station.

Then it turned into 'look the police are not moving and letting us do what we want'

Then every idiot, criminal, gang member, one parent child, opportunist in the area took that as a sign to loot and steal and burn with impunity, free from consequence as the police were not getting involved and vastly outnumbered.

People saw this on the media and copy catted, it was only when the police started heavy handed, zero tolerance, proactive policing that it stopped.

Regarding the riots, have you ever thought that events can run unconnected in parallel?
Or that there can be strands in events, like rope laid out in series on the ground in a time line, but they may not all be connected up. Pull one end and you see that it doesn't affect the extreme other end.
That's how things can happen, yet appear to have some loose connection.
People in London to a large degree and certainly people in other cities didn't come into the fray because of Duggan, they looked via the media and saw unchecked rioting and thought chavishly, we'll have some of that. So for them alone that was the cause.

Right. The thread has been cleaned.

Continue the discussion by all means – but if it goes off topic in the same manner again, then I will hand out bans.

I'll add ...

I locked this thread overnight a few days ago because of bickering but was persuaded to re-open. I asked for it to be kept civil at that point. I have read the posts which have been removed and have to say as well as being disappointed by them, had I have been around last night or first thing this morning the thread would have been locked.

Final warning on this topic ... Keep it civil or the thread goes.

I'm tempted to suggest that you need to grow up and get some.

But okay – I'm going to be more subtle, even in closing this thread.

Strange as it may seem, we – that's the mods – do not conspire against anyone else. We do not sit down and discuss who we 'like' and who we do not 'like'. We do not discuss what threads we 'like' and do not.

I am getting pretty ed off with the paranoid brigade, who appear to believe in conspiracy theories, regardless of the facts.

Now – that's a personal thing. So deal with it or not.

But hey - feel proud: you've finished off this thread.