Riots

Aug. 9th, 2011 07:08 pm
redfiona99: (Default)
[personal profile] redfiona99
Just in case TV where you are is being quite as panic-stricken as TV where I am, don't worry, my bit of Brum is perfectly fine, to the point that the first most of our lot heard of the rioting was when we looked at the bbc website this morning.

I'm about an hours walk, if not an hour and a half, away from the trouble, and while I don't underestimate the speed of angry groups, I think it's a bit out of their way.

TV coverage over here has tended towards the hysterical, as have people's responses. A fair few cries for martial law. It's even better when the people calling for it have claimed that the looters are all sub-human morons and then mis-spell it as marshal or marital. There is powerful stupid at work, my friends.

A few people are pulling the 'this is the end of civilisation as we know it' thing. I have pointed out that France goes up like this every few years. For those of you that follow French or European politics, the reason for it all kicking off over here is pretty similar to the most recent set of riots in Paris.

Related to that, and needless to say, looting and violence wrong, but I don't get why people amazed that other people feel disenfranchised when they come from areas that have been neglected for 30 years. There have been a fair few cries of 'bootstraps' going round, as you can imagine. I'm very tempted to respond to those sort of things with 'what do you want, an ice-cream' but mostly I'm behaving.

About the only decent article I've been able to find on the matter is this - http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/camila-batmanghelidjh-caring-costs-ndash-but-so-do-riots-2333991.html

It must be said that Camila Batmanghelidjh knows of what she speaks because she works with disadvantages youths in London, so this is not some ivory tower academic spouting off.

Date: 2011-08-09 08:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] angstbunny.livejournal.com
Good to know you're okay.

Date: 2011-08-10 10:37 am (UTC)

Date: 2011-08-10 08:31 am (UTC)
coneyislandbaby: (Blue Rose by My Utopia)
From: [personal profile] coneyislandbaby
Glad to know you're all right.

Date: 2011-08-10 10:38 am (UTC)

Date: 2011-08-10 05:09 pm (UTC)
ext_15370: Nothing special; just a pixelated rainbow. (Default)
From: [identity profile] awils1.livejournal.com
Glad to know you're okay, too.

Date: 2011-08-11 11:15 am (UTC)

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