The Video Ref wrote:
I am amazed how this has turned into a cause celebre for anyone with a axe to grind with the police or the 'establishment'.
If you are going to pick a standard bearer and look for popular support, Mark Duggan is probably the last person you would choose.
I think you are being quite naïve, there are plenty of people who have a commercial interest in exploiting this situation. Stoking up the flames and then conveniently offering their services as fire fighters. There are plenty of people in this subculture with an ambiguous and amoral view of the sort of violent criminal gangs Duggan at the very least was closely associated with. We have a campaign for “justice” for a dead gangster, the supporters don’t seem to have the same energy for a campaign for the victims of gangsters. In the months to come some of the people (aka community leaders and campaigners) currently wailing about police racism and brutality will be touting for business in the inquires, workshops and community activities they will claim necessary to repair the mistrust they are currently promoting. Of course in suggesting that such cynical, self-perpetuating, reinterpreting of racism and grievance is a commercial activity for some people I am being a shameless racist, which by circular logic proves that funding is required to tackle my racism, so you better not pay any attention to what I’m saying or ask any inconvenient questions or you too will be a racist, and even more money will need to diverted into tackling the racist notion that the perpetuation of grievenance isn’t quite as right-on as the label suggests. In fact I suggest anyone who reads this post, doesn’t.