If there is a riot, it is always good to know the actual cause. In this year of many riots, there have been reasons both good and bad for the actions. In some cases, particularly in Egypt and Libya, it was political unrest and a desire to get rid of a dictator. That is a good reason for unrest, and overall one can sympathize with the actions in that case. In other cases, specifically Vancouver, it was because there was a hockey game, which is not a good reason. So it's clear that there are all manner of reasons why riots occur, some good, some fairly ridiculous.
Still, knowing the reason is some comfort, since it helps understand the motivations of the people involved. In the case of the people with an excuse for their civil unrest, they're trying whatever they can to get political action. In the case of the post-sports drunken morons, it at least lets you know what places to avoid at the end of a season. It gives an understanding of why they're taking place and an idea of what you can do to avoid getting caught up in a riot. If there's a reason for the violence, then you can understand better how to deal with it.
This makes the riots that are spreading across the UK quite frightening, as there is no indication of why they are happening, or what is sustaining them for several days. The initial spark was a disputed shooting of a man by London police, reports say. That there was a protest of some kind is understandable, an underlying distrust of the police force in the city could cause something to erupt, and it did. However, that doesn't explain why the riots have been sustained for several days, and have since spread to other cities.
It does not condone the actions to say we have to understand why they take place. Whatever the reason, there is no excuse for the mass looting and arson that is taking place, and it is affecting people who have nothing at all to do with the original trigger. The reason why we need to understand is that you can't stop something if you have no idea of what started it in the first place, and no idea of how it keeps going. In order to win any battle, you must know your enemy and know yourself, and nobody seems to know the enemy here. It doesn't even appear that people want to know the enemy, since most comments have just labeled them as hooligans, rather than trying to figure out why the riots keep happening. Yes, there can be an increased police presence in the cities and a crackdown on those perpetrating the violence, but unless you figure out the cause it's going to keep springing up.
More worrying than that is the idea that such a thing could happen for no obvious reason in other countries as well. If we don't understand why riots are occurring in these areas, who is to say that the same conditions that lead to the problem in the UK won't happen somewhere in Canada? And unlike the previous night of drunken idiots, this could be sustained with no clear idea of how or why it's continuing.
Whether the reason is good or bad is irrelevant, we have to understand that reason. That reason dictates your approach to the problem, the possible solutions, and how the rest of the world can prevent similar riots in their countries. A meaningless riot is the scariest riot you can find.
