Thanks for the extensive quote! Obviously, not from the Guardian which will be filled with sympathy for the rioters.
Part of the problem in Great Britain - I think - is the general amnesia they have towards their former Empire. They continually claim American is an Empire but behave as if they have never had vast control over a large part of the third world.
To show how weird they can be, I was talking with a pal of mine who lives in South London about the joys of Indian food and how wonderful London restaurants are that serve it. He said sarcastically: “Well, that’s ‘cause all of ‘em live here.” And I said: “Actually, I think its the legacy of the British Raj.” I gently pressed him on the British influence in India and he refused to discuss it. It simply hadn’t occurred, as far as he was concerned! Weird!
No, the majority of British people are well aware of their imperial/colonial past. It has been used as a weapon of national self-loathing for 40 years.
What some British want is the US to admit that it has at times in its history behaved like a colonial power, instead of the denial Americans make when America and empire are mentioned.