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London riots

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  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    RE more poverty- hence me saying it's shortsighted rioting.

    Re, why now? Takes a catalyst.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Imagine being this thick:

    enfield141.jpg?w=271&h=300
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think now would be a good time to put out a happiness survey, don't you?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This is what Cameron meant by Big Society, right?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    He's so assured we'll all pitch in together, he can lounge about comfortably on holiday.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Near where I live there's lots of community spirit with people hanging around calling the rioters selfish fuckwits and planning a lynch mob for any leftie agitators who show up in Walthamstow.

    Not sure why David Cameron should return - what's he going to do? organise the police response? take over the council's involved? do a kneejerk politicians response because 'something must be done'?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well, if he's so ineffectual that we don't want him here when the country's rioting, do we want him at all?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    Well, if he's so ineffectual that we don't want him here when the country's rioting, do we want him at all?

    Again I ask, to do what?

    He's the PM, not an operational police commander. His job is to decide the broad strategy, not oversee every detail.

    Given that whether you like him or not, being PM is an exhausting and stressful job its probably better we allow them breaks and only call them back if they can actually do something, rather than just because an old Deputy Prime Minister tweets it (and neglects to mention that when Blair was PM he left Prescott to deal with things whilst he was on holiday)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not sure why David Cameron should return - what's he going to do? organise the police response? take over the council's involved? do a kneejerk politicians response because 'something must be done'?

    You don't think that the dissaffection which people on poor areas feel right now just exacerbates when the PM, Home Sec, Dep PM and London Mayor [apparently] couldn't give a shit when they riot?

    These people have watched the bankers get richer whilst all their services are cut, they've listened to the demonisation of them whilst the politicians cosy up to the big bussinesses happily making huge profits and using the credit issues as an excuse to increase prices further. Now add in police brutality and racism followed by the murder to yet another innocent man.

    Whilst that may not be an accurate account of "the truth", it's a perception. To them that's *is* the truth.

    Sure, many are using that death as a cover for basic looting but why should they care about a society that doesn't care about them?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm too cool for twitter. Seriously though, if community centre managers respond to security calls on their honeymoons and come back and deal with the issues, which they do (spoke to one who did just that today), why can't our leader come back and at least show that he's taking seriously what people rightly view as a threat to ordinary life?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote: »
    I'm too cool for twitter. Seriously though, if community centre managers respond to security calls on their honeymoons and come back and deal with the issues, which they do (spoke to one who did just that today), why can't our leader come back and at least show that he's taking seriously what people rightly view as a threat to ordinary life?

    me too. But frankly when I go on leave they can go whistle unless its an absolute emergency and I can actually do something - if the community centre manager didn't leave someone who can deputise he's either someone too important to go on holiday or more likely someone who thinks he is.

    But again what is the PM going to do?

    Though even as I type I hear he's on a plane and coming home (more fool him and I hope Sam Cam gives him the cold arse treatment when she returns)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    News reporting that it's spreading around the capital and to Birmingham. Like some sort of cuntish plague.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Whowhere wrote: »
    News reporting that it's spreading around the capital and to Birmingham. Like some sort of cuntish plague.

    It spreads very easily - I can see how young people can get swept up up in it, it's exciting for them.

    Time for a curfew and some water cannons I think. Just a good couple of days of classic British weather would sort it. Bring the rain.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Or a rubber bullet to the knackers.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Whowhere wrote: »
    Or a rubber bullet to the knackers.

    I hope they dont start using rubber bullets. Doesn't take much for one of those to kill. Considering a large number of these cunts are still in school, dead and seriously injured kids will not bring an end to this.

    Water cannons. People tend to go home when wet and cold.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Rain might just do it...
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    katralla wrote: »
    Rain might just do it...

    Not often I pray for rain but we could do with a bit now.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    It all sounds very familiar...
    My bad luck that I picked this time to be in London. I'm staying in Ealing and there was stuff happening here too. I didn't find out what exactly but when I returned many stores were closed, there were police and groups of people in different spots (some of the latter had their heads completely covered, and not with any religious garment) and other shops were closing just then. I heard about a riot of 200 people starting.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Oh no, Indrid! What bad timing. I feel a bit embarrassed- odd feeling for me to be having but I won't investigate it, cba with self-reflection or the llikes.
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Indrid's obviously the mastermind. Having started it in Greece, he's exported it here.
    Weekender Offender 
  • Indrid ColdIndrid Cold Posts: 16,688 Skive's The Limit
    Skive wrote: »
    Indrid's obviously the mastermind. Having started it in Greece, he's exported it here.
    Curses, you found me. Now I have to tell my associates to shut down thesite so that nobody will see your message.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru

    My friend told me about this happening, I didn't really believe her.. i mean.. Ealing??
  • SkiveSkive Posts: 15,282 Skive's The Limit
    Whowhere wrote: »
    They already have done. They attempted to arrest a suspect. The suspect shot a cop, the suspect got shot in return.

    Suprise suprise this has turnt out to be false. Apparently the police 'have never claimed the suspect fired at the police'
    Weekender Offender 
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I'm currently sat in the Youthnet offices doing some small scale volunteering for them this week, and what I saw of the news last night and London with my own eyes; it is a bit scary!
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Anyone still making excuses for the rioters?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Why are people thanking the Met (as a single entity) for their decisions over the riots? I don't think they really deserve a thanks, perhaps a few officers on individual basis, but medical/fire emergency services defiantly need thanks. Have people already forgot about the corruption? How OTT the police have gotten in relation to smaller, peaceful protests in the past few months? At least Theresa May has refused to deploy the Army or water cannons on the street. That is the last thing we need.

    I'm not surprised this happened and neither are the police. They even had warnings prior to this and they simply didn't act upon them, if they did, it clearly wasn't fast enough. All of it's been building for a long time. People just reached their limit and they found their catalyst. I think we we'll be seeing more of it.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    ~
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I actually found that quite an interesting read jamelia, thank you for that!

    For anyone following this on twitter, there are #Londonriots to follow events. But for those who are in London as we speak, there are massive online community based efforts being made by citizens to clean up the streets after this violence #riotcleanup
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    jamelia wrote: »
    I wouldn't make excuses for the rioters in any way, and I don't think you can condone this behaviour or blame it on any single factor like poverty or the cuts; it's a very complex issue. But I thought this comment on the guardian has got it spot on:

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/08/context-london-riots?commentpage=1#comment-11892254

    While I agree with commenter's premise that "collective acceptance of mutual goals" is fundamental to maintaining a state of law and order, what follows, seems to me at least, an extremely liberal tunnel vision of human motivation and subsequent action. Now, I'm not doubting that disaffection can be brought on by being ostracised or a sense of being forgotten, it would be silly to do so. However, what I suspect is more pertinent in this case is a that wave of crystallisation has happened: a subset of people have suddenly understood that it is possible to step outside of the contract and not adhere to the rules. And not only that, but that there's a very real chance that doing so could be consequence free. The fact that it's predominantly younger people caught up in the rioting also speaks to a naive angle: these are people who haven't invested in society yet (as all young people haven't to a degree) and the adrenaline rush is more real and immediate to them than the fact that what they're setting fire to is forty years of hard graft and mortgage payments.

    The Twitter video of the black woman with the walking stick sums up my thoughts, broadly speaking:

    "We're not all gathering together and fighting for a cause; we're running down Footlocker and t'ieving shoe"
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Does anyone recognise any of these people?

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/metropolitanpolice/
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