. . . And to everyone saying the rioters have nothing to complain about and should be grateful for what they get, I have spent five years -most of my adult life- unemployed, through a mixture of bad judgement calls as a teenager and bad luck in my twenties. My standard of living wasn't actually the problem; Jobseeker's Allowance and the various other benefits one can apply for are sufficient for groceries, rent and utilities (including Internet access), replacement clothing when absolutely necessary and even an occasional luxury like a couple of beers or a new paperback once in a while.
No, the problem I had to contend with was having absolutely nothing whatsoever to do. Even in the early days, when you're still secretly viewing it as an opportunity to relax for a little while, it's exceptionally hard to make the task of looking for work fill a whole day. Skimming the various jobsites and firing off a resume and cover letter to any you've got the right skills for takes between maybe one and three hours depending on where you live and what you're qualified for. The local paper puts out a Situations Vacant section once a week, and you might stroll around the town centre or a nearby industrial park looking for Help Wanted signs every once in a while, but that still leaves you with more free time than you know what to do with. I cannot begin to describe the sheer, crushing, unrelenting boredom that sets in after about six months out of work.
People find ways to cope. Many enroll in their local college, trying to pick up extra skills and qualifications to make them more attractive to employers. Others do volunteer work for local charities, their church or a political party. Some people find a hobby that doesn't cost too much and throw all their time and energy into that for a while. And for a while, it helps.
But go much longer, and feelings much worse than boredom start to set in. You start to find the rejection letters -or the lack of them; most places don't even bother writing to say thanks but no thanks these days- emotionally hurtful, and wonder what's wrong with you that nobody will give you a job. You start to feel guilty about taking benefits out and not putting taxes in, even if you're trying as hard as you can. Then you stop trying as hard as you can, frankly; after the hundredth rejection letter, spending another morning sending out application after application all seems like a waste of effort. Depression takes hold. A lot of people attempt suicide, or find some slower way of killing themselves like alcohol or substance abuse to numb the pain for a while.
If you get through that phase, and a lot of people probably never do find their way out of it, you start to get angry. What have you done to deserve this constant, humiliating rejection? You look for a scapegoat; the government, the wealthy, God. You stew in impotent rage and frustration for weeks or months or years until finally, something snaps. That's the point when people start turning to petty crime, or knocking their wives about or starting barfights. And that's not the worst; when I hit that stage I started shopping around for a gun, and I'm still not sure if I was planning to commit armed robbery or suicide by cop.