A Tale of Opportunism: protestors, hooligans, and a looming lockdown
November 25, 2021 — HANNAH RICHTER & JORDY NIJENHUIS
OPINION - As riots break out across Europe over new COVID-19 measures, the media have reported on the frenzied anti-lockdown protestors who are taking part in them. With 65.8% of the EU already vaccinated, it is surely an incredibly small part of the non-vaccinated that are involved. We have to question then, are these riots really an anti-vaxxer problem, or is it merely a group of opportunists who have jumped on the bandwagon, spurred on by the media's reporting of them?
Opportunistic rioting often occurs when protests grow and become violent due to individuals partaking, despite bearing no resemblance to the cause. This was seen in the London 2011 riots and during the George Floyd protests in 2020. It can involve looting and destruction of property, and as such, results in the initial protesters being branded criminals.
In Rotterdam, the city with the most violent protests across Europe, football hooligans were at the forefront of the riots. What originated as a small ‘anti 2G’ protest turned grim, with youths who were frustrated by the New Year’s Eve fireworks ban joining in, as well as those who were merely bored. 51 people were arrested, roughly half of whom were under 18. There weren’t only arrests made though. The violence became so extreme the police were forced to fire shots, something that hadn’t happened in Rotterdam since 1999. The police shots injured five people, with an additional three injured in other ways.
According to the Minister of Justice in the Netherlands, Ferd Grapperhaus, some of the rioters were youths who were throwing fireworks at the police. Another group he claimed used the demonstration as a cover for orchestrated violence, carried out by people with links to organised crime. This violent mix of bored kids and football hooligans, who found each other on the streets of Rotterdam, were worlds away from an activist demonstration. This seems to be in line with the statements of the first convicted rioters, who claimed: ‘I got carried away’. The reality behind the headlines about Rotterdam burning due to anti-lockdown protesters is more nuanced than it initially sounds.
These rioters are never as notorious as the media makes them out to be, but the problem arises when they are labeled in such a way. The media makes it seem as though they are more powerful and more structured in their organisation, fighting for a clear cause, when in reality, they are not. The reasoning behind a protest is irrelevant for opportunistic rioters, most only join in after they see an opportunity, not because they are fiercely fighting for their ideology. It becomes dangerous to label them as anti-lockdown protesters, as the media is only amplifying and spreading this message. Over 70% of people in the Netherlands support the different measures, but with these riots slapped across news sites all over the world, one could be led to believe this statistic is far lower.
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