New car fires erupt in Gothenburg suburb

I think these people when caught should be sent to care for displaced people in war-torn countries as a community service. Maybe then they'll learn a thing or two about respect for property and limb.

Why are the police doing nothing about this?

what is this thing about burning of cars, is it a cult act?what kind of cars are targeted, the perpetrators when caught should be dealt with. sincerely people are taking the swedish law for granted

i know, right? wheres the police? the should send nato to gothenburg as well

@swedejane

Because if they arrest anyone there will be new riots blaming the police for "racism".

And then the liberal traitors will come out and rant about how it's Sweden's fault these scumbags go out and burn the property of innocent people

And since, in the fantasy of emasculated Swedish multiculturalism, everyone is the same regardless of their ACTUAL beliefs or ACTUAL behavior... the Swedish gov't will go out of its way not to offend the "cultural sensitivities" of these upstanding citizens.

When in reality they are thugs who will ONLY respond to overwhelming force.

I coach a football team from one of these areas.

Car burners are usually male, aged 13-17, and certainly not exclusively immigrants. These are high immigrant areas, but not exclusively so. They like to see themselves as the true defenders of the neighbourhood; that's behind the creation of barriers to form temporary no-go areas and the hostility towards police, fire and ambulance crews. They want to believe they can take care of the neighbourhood themselves. They want the neighbourhood to believe that too. Car burning is purely a right of passage, thrill seeking exercise and is not any form of protest; they are almost completely apolitical. They see it as a "harmless" way of proving their manhood, and sending a message to rival car-burning areas of Göteborg that they are just as tough. Individuals and, and whole areas, are competing with one another to see who can incinerate the most cars, and therefore be the most manly.

Interestingly, absolutely none of them join local sports teams, and reject any opportunity to join with society in any organised youth projects. That would be seen as weakness by their peers. They realise, probably quite rightly, they have no immediate role in Swedish society and feel rejected by society. This is ironic, because they themselves take every opportunity to reject society when it is presented to them, whether it be sport, school, or legitimate employment.

Some turn around and rejoin society, some do not, and progress through the leadership structure of local gangs, happily extracting maximum benefits from the society they rejected, but also driving cars they cannot possibly legitimately afford. For a wannabe gangbanger, car burning is a must-have credential.

I have thought long and hard how to put it all right, but have no idea. Certainly hand-wringing, sandal-wearing, bearded social workers are not the solution. They are obsessed with the idea that there is some kind of revolutionary protest occurring amongst the victims of society, and spend most of their time trying to enrol them in the Social Democrat party youth wing.

Prevention and response by policing is pointless and counter productive. Car burners are highly mobile, on their own territory, with intimate knowledge of every back alley and every potential target. Aggressive policing by way of chases and clashes over barricades, simply reinforces their perception they are protecting and serving their neighbourhoods against an aggressive Babylon, and is also very exciting.

Until someone comes up with a solution that actually works, it's best just to let them get on with it, usually they finally burn the wrong car, or too many cars, and adults in their own neighbourhood put a stop to it.

Exactly. Overwhelming force is what is needed in these neighborhoods as it is really the only language that these particular types of "youth" understand. Deportation should be a considerable option for these rioting "youth" as well.

@RobinHood

"Until someone comes up with a solution that actually works, it's best just to let them get on with it, usually they finally burn the wrong car, or too many cars, and adults in their own neighbourhood put a stop to it."

You're kidding right? I thought your analysis to be fairly well-reasoned, but your conclusion is beyond impotent and feeble. It's callous. How is it acceptable to let anyone continue to burn cars...you know, cars that working people need to get to their jobs, or drive their kids to school. Cars that these same people have invested their hard-earned money into? And how, exactly, do you think the "adults" in the neighborhood are going to put a stop to it when the police are too afraid to even do anything? I've seen these gangs in Backa and they are not 13-17...these were men, and I consider it organized crime and not some "right of passage" as some may hope.

This is a problem that will only get worse, because these perpetrators are going to continue to push the line and will be emboldened by their ability to get away with anything. They aren't "protecting" their neighborhoods: they're terrorizing them in order to control these areas. The next step is to start shaking down businesses and residents for protection money. I can't believe what p*ssies the police are here!

@Swedejane

Er, you have so much to say, but you forgot to tell us the solution. I clearly wrote that I don't have one. Neither do the police nor the social workers, nor anyone else; no one except you, it seems.

Perhaps you might now share your solution with us; we urgently need your wisdom. Because until you do tell us, we are all just stuck with the current plan, "letting them get on with it", whether we like it or not and whether it be "impotent", "feeble", "callous" or not.

We all await your response with desperation. Please hurry!

@Robin Hood-Always re-inventig the wheel in Europe. Don't make a Statement by the Government, don't offer them money or programs, don't do anything for them.

Rioters when caught, will be put in a helecopter taken out to Sea and pushed out. Worked in Argentina. Argentina is a very nice country to visit, even after they cancelled helecopter rides.

@ Robin Hood

Very interesting... But passivity in the face of crime and lawlessness is not a valid option in a civilized society unless you've already given up hope of remaining one...

It's precisely BECAUSE there are no consequences that these wannabe tough guys are willing to do this so non-chalantly.

If they had the threat of getting a rubber bullet in the gut, a policeman's boot up their a$$ along with deportation, juvenile detention and their parents getting stuck with a bill for their night of "fun", you'd probably find all but the most hardened sociopaths would opt for other less dangerous ways to act out.

As of now, why not do it since there is absolutely nothing stopping them?

The Göteborg police should be ashamed of themselves.

@RobinHood

I'll take a wild pass at this...and I'm sure this is going to sound like science-fiction...but how about a solution that requires the police to enforce the laws on the books? I'm sure it must be illegal to burn cars, set up flaming barricades, and in general terrorize a neighborhood, no? The police should, imo, worry more about enforcing law and order and less about what these criminals might think of them. God they are such p*ssies. They should respond, with urgency, when calls are placed. I have personally placed calls when I've seen the same group of 15-20 gathering late at night in my neighborhood; unfortunately, the police never appear until hours later when the fires are dying down.

In short, my "solution" is for the police to do the job they are paid to do and get this garbage off the streets.

They should be thrown into northern Russia´s economically worst hit areas.

We would see how much energy they´d have for car burning and social security, as there is practically no social security.

Maybe a few of these angrybirds could go to Russia and share information on how to build roads back here in north.

Oppsan, more important to burn cars and smoke crack cocaine...

Now everyone should ask this! Who did that? What kind of person does that?

Defending neighbourhood? Thats a tribal mentality from people outside Sweden, because Swedes doing that honestly! I don believe in that. Why? Because Swedes are high educated persons and pacific. By the way this happen because this youth is protesting against new deportation. So! Was Swedes burn cars? I´m not seeing a Swede against a deportation.

This Swede pacific attitude is the reason why the country is like this, everything is allowed in Sweden.

It's attitudes like RobinHood's that have allowed and even encouraged this type of behavior to continue. I agree with you that a long-term solution will be hard to come by and take a lot of effort, but to allow it is not okay. Saying we can't do anything about it so why even try is beyond ridiculous.

For now...

What about upholding the law? What about holding police accountable for showing up in a timely manner when called? What about making sure the ones committing the crimes are caught? (It can't be hard when there's tons of eyewitnesses and it was going on for hours.) What about having real consequences in the form of jail time, repaying the damage and community service?

Like technoviking said, giving up isn't an option if we want to continue to have a civilized society.

It's a North African thing we wouldn't understand - a tradition that the French have also had to get used to. We have to respect their traditions, don't we? I mean, burning cars, gang-rape... it's all part of a vibrant diverse society, isn't it?

What's wrong with you all... are you racists or something?

According to a recent article that I had read, several Nordic and Germanic countries have begun turning to the right, and a few of them are in favor of emulating the Danish immigration model.

Perhaps the tipping point has been reached.

Sweden might become Sweden again sometime after the barns have been cleaned-out .