Semi-Coherent Riot Commentary

[thessalian]

I did not get much sleep last night, but I must have dozed off because I woke up with my alarm. And then woke up again five minutes after I was supposed to be out the door. I swear, I just closed my eyes for a second... Anyway, it became clear, between the exhaustion and the brewing headache (which is still there, but a little less nasty than it was at 8ish this morning), there was no way I was making it into work today.

Finally checking the news, I see why there were all the sirens last night. Maybe why there are still sirens today, for all I know (because believe you me, there are still sirens). And the helicopters, which are still buzzing my neighbourhood. You have to sort of aggregate the pictures from the Telegraph, the Guardian and the BBC to get a clear picture, but my end of Southeast London was not exactly a safe place last night. I don't like seeing pictures of places I go shopping sometimes destroyed by looters.

At the end of the day, I don't condone their actions. How can I, who hasn't slept well in two nights because of being kept up by sirens and low-flying helicopters? What I would say, though, is that there is still more to this than mindless thugs. Fine, teenagers are not very articulate (and let's be fair, most of them do appear to be teenagers) but one thing's abundantly clear - they're pissed off. Teenagers act out when they're pissed off. Their future's been taken away a piece at a time. What do they really think they've got to lose? They may not be able to articulate it, but the feeling is certainly there. Keep in mind that I am still blaming them. But I am also blaming the forces that shaped them - parents, society, government - and I don't see why the two directions of blame ought to be mutually exclusive. If we just slap these rioters down without changing anything, all we'll end up with is martial law and yet more people pissed off and ready to explode. If that happens, the vicious cycle continues.

What worries me most is the fact that it's not going to stop unless something big happens. If it was just teens being thugs, they'd probably have got bored by now. But now they're tasting something they never have before - power, of a sort - and they don't want to give it up. The police can't cope and the next step is probably military, because I don't see this stopping on its own. After that ... well, I don't know what happens after that. I do know that it'd be irresponsible to let this run its course because I have no idea where it'd end, but I have no wish to see the army on the streets.

So, the rundown:

- The people who say that these rioters are just mindlessly criminal thugs have a point.
- The people who say that these rioters are politically motivated also have a point.
- Things need to change on both sides to prevent a recurrence.
- Government needs to pay attention to people before the brickbats and firebombs come out.
- People need to stick to kettle-dodging and making the police look stupid in ways that don't destroy their communities.
- I want to go home to Canada.

Ugh. I'd go get more sleep if it wouldn't screw over my sleep patterns entirely...

Comments

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

Why is it that the sane voices - like yours - never get heard? Oh yeah. Politics. If the Tea Party continues bulling through their noxious agenda, I think our cities are going to blow up soon, too. Our world's quite a mess, and I have no idea how to fix it anymore.

[tithenai.livejournal.com]

The people who say that these rioters are politically motivated also have a point.

What I think those people could further say is that rioters don't need to be politically motivated to act out in ways that are symptomatic of political problems.

The footage I've seen makes me ill, not so much because I look at these people and see anger, but because I look at them and see fear -- a fear of the currents in which they're caught up, of the power they possess in the absence of the rule of law, of the escalation of their actions. The more of them there are together, the less agency any individual among them has.

It's just an impression I'm getting from the footage of people mugging the injured and looting homes still on fire. I keep finding myself thinking of what it must be like on those streets thick with looters: what happens when you watch DOZENS of people looting places, not being stopped? More than being robbed, what does the helpless witnessing of that scale of criminality do to a person? How many think, well, that's bad, but as no one's stopping them, may as well help myself while I can? How many others wonder if they'll be next, terrified to draw any kind of attention to themselves?

Anyway it's horrifying me and I hope you stay safe.

[thessalian.livejournal.com]

What I think those people could further say is that rioters don't need to be politically motivated to act out in ways that are symptomatic of political problems.

You've said it better than many in just that sentence. But the problem is that no one wants to hear that. Boris Johnson has actually stricken that entire line of conversation from questions he's going to answer, from the sound.

Also keep in mind that the footage is not entirely representative of anything but the most ... erm, visually striking coverage of this event. I think what worries me more is what I saw when I left my flat to pick up what sundries I could. I didn't anticipate the feeling of 'under siege' in my neighbourhood, even with riot activity so close. Most things were shut before 4pm. Those few things that were still open were not intending to stay that way for long. Everyplace that had steel shutters over their windows had them down, open or not. Everyone trying to clear the streets before 6pm. I don't know what I see of the perpetrators, but this is a city that scoffed at suicide bombers trying to take out the Tube. I've never seen this city afraid before. That's the bit that horrifies and saddens me the most - Londoners locking their doors.

I'm safe and I intend to stay that way - though I can only hope that things don't escalate further than the plans for rubber bullets and an extra 10k cops on the streets. (However, I have a distinct feeling that this won't be enough; whether or not they fear the escalation of their actions, anyone doing this kind of thing isn't going to want to back down.) Thanks for caring; this is a stressful time and it means a lot. *hug*

[jedishadowolf.livejournal.com]

I hate that all this is going on but you have a very good point. Somehow there needs to be a meeting of the minds to try to find a compromise that will settle the tempers of the rioters while not just handing over the keys to the kingdom, as well as seeing those involved in criminal activity punished. It's a terrible thing to watch play out in the news - I can't imagine what it must be like over there right now. Just want you to know we're thinking of you and hope you stay safe.