Rioting... It’s a gender thing...

By Alex Bailey, Chair Elect: A Band of Brothers (www.abandofbrothers.org.uk) (13/10/11)

“If the young men are not initiated into the tribe they will burn down the village….just to feel the heat. “       

- Old African Proverb

The rioting and civil disturbances on the streets of British cities in August 2011 unsurprisingly led to a rash of rapid assessments of causes, attributions of responsibility and suggestions of how to tackle the underlying social issues. In the immediate wake politicians had a proper role in providing assurance to traumatised communities and clearly stating what is acceptable in peaceful democratic society. Whilst some were well thought through and provided clarity  others fell into the category of “noise” and “knee jerk” responses which, whilst originating from an understandable position of outrage or fear, added little to understanding causes and crafting practical solutions. At times those expressions of outrage only exacerbated the very tensions and fractures in communities that may lie at the heart of the disturbance.

In early October, some of the dust of public discourse has now settled. To condense the various arguments dramatically …there appears to be a growing consensus that the underlying causes in any given area may include:

• Major structural change in the global economy (the demise of large number of “hands on” manufacturing jobs and personal debt levels)
• Welfare dependency
• Consumerism (“shopping with violence”)
• Social exclusion
• Absence of fathers or positive male role models
• Impact of public expenditure cuts (youth services etc.)
• Criminal opportunism
• Class, race and generational divisions and inter-community tension
• “Gangsta” culture and Gangs (alternative social capital and resilience)
• Technology and social networking platforms.

A number of academic institutions are shortly to publish useful intelligence for policy makers at the national and local level. This article does not seek to downplay the importance of well-considered policy activity and social investment. These will however take time, too much time for some young people’s futures and so I seek to focus on practical steps that can and are being taken now by some communities in today’s civil society.

This is not a good time to be a young person particularly in working class communities. With unemployment rising disproportionately, too few real apprenticeship opportunities, the abolition of Connexions (without a seemingly viable replacement), the removal of EMA , the prevalence of drugs and alcohol misuse and cutbacks in good youth services and effective community policing all contributing to a sense for some of a “lost generation “.  And yet despite the uncertainties many young people are achieving extraordinary things, show no signs of being daunted by uncertainty and provide real examples to the adult population of how to create futures for themselves and their communities. So what is it that can make the difference between those who are thriving independently and those who aren’t?

When the Ministry of Justice published in mid-September the detailed breakdown of those charged with offences arising from the riots the message was clear and stark. They were a hard core of repeat offenders drawing in others (particularly young people) who had no prior criminal record. Perhaps most tellingly 90% of those before the courts are male and over half were under the age of 20. Despite some high profile reporting of individuals in professional jobs being involved these are tiny in number, the vast majority are young men from working (or non-working) class communities spread across a wide breadth of racial origins.

So what do some of our young men get from rioting? Apart from the opportunity for material gain, their stories so far suggest there is also a strong sense of:

• being part of, and contributing to, a community (the gang or the mob)
• empowerment, feeling in control
• purposeful and focused activity
• clear “pecking orders;“ people knowing where they stand and perhaps what it would take for them to rise to the next level
• clear shared norms within the group (even though these norms not shared by society at large)

Whilst we would not seek to condone the behaviour, we would cite the above as being key elements that all young men transitioning to adulthood need. Not only do they need them at their current stage of life but they need to understand and experience them in order to become grown men and healthy contributors to their families and communities.

In industrial communities the factory or mine (and in agrarian communities the farm or market) provided opportunity for younger men to associate with older men, be “apprenticed” not just in the craft or trade but learn by immersion and role modelling how men take responsibility for themselves and their families; how clean hierarchy works; gain opportunity to build mastery in a craft; experience learning for non-academic minds and learn how to operate healthily in community.

For thousands of years the successful transition to adulthood has been facilitated for young men through a rites of passage experience.  Whether formally designed as part of village life, or informally by association with older men in tasks or work. For many of our young men in “post-industrial “Britain this opportunity simply does not exist. The absence can be compounded by a lack of appropriate male role models in the family (or even in their community) and a lack of any meaningful engagement with older men at all.

When I grew up in East London in the 70’s many of the traditional forms of community activity and intergenerational contact (e.g. football clubs, scouts, church groups, mosque, Boys Brigade etc.) were present though in decline and provided for my generation some of the “ initiation” experiences frequently missing today.  

With the absence of good initiation experiences it is unsurprising that young men’s role modelling may be drawn from the vacuous and “unreal” celebrity culture (or worse “Gangsta” culture). Despite the façade of swagger and bravado many young men experience this as a deep and real absence. The impact can stay with them throughout their lives having profound impacts on them, their families and their communities.

So in a “post-industrial” Britain how should these opportunities be provided? It has never been the role of the state to “deliver “them. There are some extraordinary male youth workers, teachers, sports coaches and police officers who (as an adjunct of the day job) make significant difference in the way they model being a man in community. They are too few to meet the need, are probably reducing in number and are unable individually to provide the broader sense of male community that young men need. It is perhaps interesting to notice that for the majority of middle class young men it is assumed their family social capital will provide the transition support required for adulthood. Whilst this is not always the case, there is often an opposite assumption that for working calls boys and young men it should be for the state to provide.  Being realistic, the state has neither the legitimacy, the resource nor the competence to take on this task directly. It is one for civil society in all its facets to provide.

Finally… one of the Young men we support (no angel by his own very honest self-assessment) was asked via Facebook in August why he was not joining in the rioting.  His response was “No….it’s the wrong kind of revolution. Too much hate and not enough love.” There is therefore real potential (even in our current economic, social and environmental recessions) to change minds and lives. A Band of Brothers is continuing to grow, understand what works and what doesn’t and have lasting impact on lives and communities. The future of the next generations of men is too important to stand back and not take up the challenge.

For information on A Band of Brothers see our website or contact our Operations Director:  nathan.roberts@abandofbrothers.org.uk