[user104658]

Originally Posted by Jack_

Consumerism, opportunism, disengagement.

That pretty much sums it up. People are quick to dismiss it as "just opportunism" but the question is, WHY were these kids so quick to snap up the opportunity? Why the violence and destruction along with the looting?

We live in a country where consumerism is hammered home, where the "goal" in life is to "make money and have stuff". That's "winning at life". That's everything that's fed to us through our teleboxes, celebrity culture, rampant capitalism and consumerism. BUY BUY BUY! Get expensive stuff! Show it off!

But then you have hoards of disaffected youths who have been failed by their families, by their schools, by the entire system, and have little to no hope of ever achieving those shallow "money based" goals legitimately.

The results are 100% unsurprising.