I just wanted to check that 365ers in areas of the riots are all ok.
Riots have started in 3 areas of Coventry, none are near me at the moment although one is a few minutes walk from where I work so I shall learn more tomorrow.
If you're in an area affected I hope you and those you care about are safe.
Here here Emma, I live a few miles from Croydon and I am absolutely shocked by the pictures I can see on the telly. My thoughts are with those caught in the middle of this, unable to return home after work or barricaded and scared in their own homes, horrifying.
Having spent my childhood years in and around London I am shocked at what I've seen tonight. The fire in Croydon is unbelieveable and now riots spreading to other cities...what's that all about? Just an excuse for outrageous behaviour by thoughtless youths. Who wants to come here for the Olympics? Not a good advert for our country.
Snappers I know are working tonight.. and this was a post that just came up on a forum where I keep in touch with them.
"Just got back From, Hackney, saw three snappers get set upon one bottled, 50 yards ahead, all three came screaming past myself and ******, one with a bloody head, hope he's ok. Needless to say we kept out toys in our bags and made a swift retreat. It's total mayhem out there, and not a cop in sight."
There has been many attacks on photographers and tv over the last few days, awful busines and its just a shock that nobody has died - all those poor people's homes on fire. I just hope this stupidity ends soon and the rioters rot. This isnt London, London is one of the best cities in the world.
@judithdeacon it all started with the police shooting dead a black guy in north London last week... (facts of this not out yet, enquiry happening).. then on Sat there was a protest which got hijacked by twats, waste of space aresholes who have no respect for law, order, and are basically taking advantage of the lawlessness that is happening to riot, steal etc... Now nothing to do with anger over the shooting, but just opportunist idiots out to nick stuff, smash up where they live, then no doubt sit back and blame the police, govt etc because they are under educated, socially deprieved, drug users, unemployed blah blah blah...
While I don't condone violence, I think the protests in Europe are good. People are seeing that "austerity measures" means austerity for the poor, who must pay for the mistakes that wealthy (particularly those in the financial sector) have made. The wealthy and the politicians are keeping their jobs, their bonuses, their vacation time, while the government cuts more and more jobs in education and elsewhere. There students have a right to be angry.
Here in the U.S. serious slashes in medicaid and social security have just been made and very few have even batted an eye. Additionally, the power of the entire congress has been handed over to a twelve person super congress who will decide on severe slashes. The other congressmen will have no say in financial measures that will affect the people for decades. Republicans here have said that no one who supports taxing the rich or decreasing military spending will be allowed on the committee. Therefore, those on the committee will focus on slashing programs that help most Americans (like public education, medicaid and social security).
Again, the poor pay the mistakes of the rich who took huge risks, but who got bailed out and rewarded with bonuses when those risks resulted in failure.
It is this type of inequality that is unacceptable.
People in the U.K should be angry. So should people in the U.S, for similar reasons.
Again, I don't believe in violence. However, public unrest is necessary.
@Cherrill People should not remain complacent just so a country can have a pleasant Olympics. There is more at stake here than a sporting event.
@blightygal it's nuts isn't it... one of those days when I'm glued to BBC news (No sky in my household)... now happening in other places (Woolwich,Ealing)...
can't believe it's happening in Coventry and B'ham too - just too crazy. @rich57 stay safe man - you with your funny accent and all!! @andycoleborn agree tw@ts @ssh0les blah blah - London used to be a safe as houses place to go any time!
@moonpig Oh this has NOTHING to do with cuts (and ours are a hell of a lot worse than Europe and the States)... maybe the May Day riots were, but these aren't.
What you may have seen from Greece is not what's happening here.. this started off ala LA riots similar to when police beat up and killed that guy a few years back... now it's just copycat youth looting and joining in the 'game'...
I doubt they have a political thought between any of them....
@moonpig You are wrong sorry, these are scumbags that think the world owes them a living, this is not political, not even slightly. This was sparked by the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, I bet very few of these scumbags even know his name...
@moonpig Sorry, but you are totally wrong. These are little hooligans and criminals smashing shop windows to get hold of phones, booze, tv's and trainers. They couldn't give a toss about the cuts as it probably won't affect their cushy little benefits lifestyle.
Whilst you can attribute the sparking of the Tottenham riots on Mark Duggan's shooting, the rest of the trouble has been about greed and idiocy.
@iandec It's a shameful day to be British...that so many people see the opportunity to commit theft, arson and criminal damage. Something is rotten to the core in this country for this to happen :(
@andycoleborn@minxymissk@iandec Thanks for the information you guys. What I read here (on Democracy Now, which is a very reliable news source) is that the local residents were reporting that the riots "were sparked in part by high unemployment and cuts in social services" in addition to the Mark Duggan shooting. I'm curious to know more about this and will keep reading.
@moonpig High unemployment - how funny, these people have never worked in their life - due to choice and laziness. These people do not need an excuse they want something for nothing and tonight they are getting it by any means.
@iandec I'm a public school teacher, and trust me I've had students that I thought were lazy to the core..students who skip school to get high, have sex and get girls pregnant intentionally. Believe me, I've been angry. Generally speaking, however, when I've made home visits I realized that the lazy students came from homes where parents were either unemployed due to being unable to find work, or whose parents were working two or three jobs just to survive and still not able to provide kids things that kids need to fit in socially. So kids grow up thinking "You try hard and that gets you nowhere"
None of this excuses violence. However, high unemployment has consequences that you might not expect. I don't know precisely what's going on the U.K. though, that's why I said I wanted to find out more.
Surely there are lazy rich kids? Are they rioting? Probably not because they already get the things they want. No, I'm not excusing stealing. I'm saying that where there is desperation, shit happens.
@moonpig I'm really not sure where this "Democracy Now" are getting their information, but purely from their name it sounds to me like they have a narrative they want to push, and are seeing in these events just what they expect to.
Talking of narratives, the big media outlets always like to have them, but of all the several hours of coverage I've seen, nobody on the front line has made any convincing argument for this being anything other than vandals and hooligans seeing an excuse to go crazy.
Nobody's had banners, nobody's been yelling slogans, nobody's made any demands, nobody's got megaphones trying to get a message across. It's just wanton violence. Are there socio-economic issues underlying it? Perhaps, but there's no sign of awareness of any such issues in the perpetrators. Are they too retarded to realise they're rioting as an extension of protest about... I don't know, about MPs expenses? About car insurance price hikes? About changes to the welfare system? Hard story to sell, that, when there's only footage and stories of vandalism, looting, muggings, beatings, threats of murder and general criminal behaviour pouring out of the areas.
I'm all for a bigger picture, but only when there's evidence of it :)
I'm just speechless over all of this, it's unbelivable watching the news and wondering and worrying how far it will travel and just when will it stop. Scum, that's what these people are.
@moonpig I'm speechless over your opinions that you think, I quote; "I think the protests in Europe are good".
What world are you from, you're as bad the people on the streets carrying out the rioting if you're to condone it!! They're not protesters, they're mindless scumbags.
@mjkthorpe Hmmm that may not actually be the case... there are reports in papers saying the bullet has been tested and was police issue giving rise to arguement that one copper accidently shot his colleague who then shot this guy Duggan in error...
This is unproven at the moment and like they say... Don't believe everything you read..!!
@moonpig
I’m thoroughly depressed at the rioting in London and Birmingham (my home town) last night. And it is reasonable to say that there are lots of overlapping factors at play, it’s not just a matter of either wanton criminals or disaffected youth.
However it's also very easy to make political statements about the benefits of rioting bringing a voice to the dispossessed , but you may feel a little differently if it was your neighbourhood being looted, burned out and friends and colleagues fearing for their lives.
Speaking about Birmingham’s riots of 1981, 1985, 1991 and again last night, historically the process looting, burning and rioting is not in itself the catalyst for change. One of Birmingham city’s boroughs that is always a flashpoint for this kind of behaviour ( Handsworth) has had *literally millions upon millions* of government funding poured into it for the last 30 years. Through a quirk of historical geography Handsworth also has access to two of the best (free) grammar schools in the UK - should anyone care to study hard enough to pass the entrance exam, and every do-gooder arts and culture project hasn’t earned its stripes until it has done a stint analysing opinions on Handworth’s streets.. . and let’s not forget that access to the best available healthcare is free to anyone in this country regardless of their socio economic status or where they live. Despite all of this, Handsworth is still a hot point for gang violence and drugs, the streets are filthy, and at given any opportunity for violence, Handsworth is always first in the queue.
The point is, these people may have had cause to complain in the past, but now *do* have access to education, healthcare, funding and a voice (some might say, even more than others) yet they *choose* another path. Other social factors are to blame.
The riots in Birmingham and elsewhere in the country are more of a reflection of the morally vacant ‘something for nothing’ culture that we are living in today, rather than sadly, anyone making any kind of valid political point. At any time if any one of these rioters chooses to carry a banner about government policies or the death of Mark Duggan, I will change my mind, but I won’t be holding my breath for that to happen.
A guy was shot in the face in Chapletown, Leeds yesterday which was an unrelated incident, but now pockets of violence are popping up over Leeds -.- They've also hit Bristol, Nottingham, Birmingham and Liverpool... It's just completely out of control. It's mindless destructions. It's so pointless and such a waste. I just don't understand it!
@mjkthorpe@andycoleborn It's also the case that the gun he had was a replica and not even capable of fireing bullets at all...again, not confirmed though.... the plot thickens.
After living through the time of the 1960s riots in my country, my heart goes out to people in London. I still remember too much about these riots. I remember how people were threatened if they did not join in the riots. I remember that some people were even paid to participate in the riots. The 1960s riots were based upon improving inequality, but rapidly the riots took on a life of their own. I pray for all in London.
lets be honest, the whole situation has gone from what it really was about to people just looting and going crazy because they're thugs and want to just rumble. Also, alot of these are young kids, parenting anyone?
@moonpig sorry if you're copping a battering over this one but the media stuff you heard is rubbish and they're spinning things for sensationalism. Also, I wouldnt be throwing around the "its the rich bankers fault and the poor are paying for it" too much. Especially when alot was caused by housing defaults... People taking loans for places that they KNEW they couldnt afford... being able to "self certify" their income etc. Everyone had a hand in that particular problem
Manchester is thankfully ok no one is jumping on the bandwagon yet ,hopefully it will stay that way..
Sad thing is that we all know nothing will happen to these scumbags the do-gooders will come out of the woodwork in the next few days with all the excuses they can find to explain why these feral youths behave like they do.. The courts will fine 'any the have before them' with a miniscule amount, "as we all know happens" and they will all be walking down the same streets they are smashing up knowing they have got off scott free, leaving the poor people who have lost homes and livelihoods will nothing & no help to recover the losses.
It makes me ashamed to be English when i see these scene on TV knowing our solders are fighting in far off lands to help free people from terror and oppression.
I just wish the truth about who is doing all this would come out , lets put there faces on billboards up and down the country & lets see the faces behind the scarfs & hoods & then punish these people with the full weight of the law.
I truly believe we need to go back to basics in our schools , we have so got this wrong !
Stay safe everyone
Can I give a mention to the #RiotWombles and @RiotCleanup (on Twitter)? Social Media being used to mobalise teams of people clearing up the streets. Haven't seen it reported on mainstream news sites (possibly the Guardian), but a far better news story.
lol fantastic. My mate is a volunteer special constable and he's been called in to work tonight... hope its all ok with him. As an aside though, all this mess has highlighted to me that i've let my "go" bag fall by the wayside. Time to update the various perishables in the med kit, rations, water and I also ordered to kids baseball bats ;)
@steveh Well said again Steve. @andycoleborn I just saw that clip...my jaw is still hanging open...what is it with these boys??? Quite unbelievable...I'm not an angry or violent person but that made me so mad!!! As Steve says....how many of this yobs will ever see any kind of punishment.........I wonder how they would react to be mugged, burned out or their families made homeless....I am lost for words........a strange thing for me.......lol
@emmar84 I'm in the middle of it all, we have riot police everywhere, i feel like a prisoner in my own home, I can't believe what people are doing to my City and I'm major pissed off about. I want some kind of normality back in mine and my little boys life. I haven't posted for a few day because I'm just not in the mood for it..
I'm ashamed to be a human, everything locally has shut down early and boarded up in case something happens here. I've seen really sickening footage today.....
@moonpig had to say something about your last comment about where lazy students come from. yes kids learn by example but everyone knows right from wrong. its knowledge we are born with it isn't circumstances you grow up in that makes you who you are its the choices you make. I can say this because my father is in construction which means we were always the first to be hit hard by the bad economy. Growing up I have lived with barely anything to my Father being out of work but it was the character my parents have and the choices they made and they taught to me that i have chosen to make my own that helped to form the decisions i made in response to my situations. Blaming it on your circumstances and the people around you and yes even on the parents of the rotten kids is just refusing to take responsibility for the choices you make.
@Cherrill Please don’t think that those of us in other countries are looking at this like you’re all animals over there. Unfortunately, we all have this element of people in our society. We’re all just hoping that for your sake it ends soon and more innocent people aren’t hurt. And yes, we’re still looking forward to seeing London host the olympics.
@frontporchview You have two responsible parents who have good characters, who have made good choices and who have been there to teach you to make good choices and to take responsibility for your actions. Many kids grow up without any of that. I'm reading more this evening about what is going on in London, and I see that these are ignorant kids acting savagely, taking their raw and uninformed anger out in the wrong way and on the wrong people. But it's not clear what lead to the outbreak. Many people are saying different things, and there might be a variety of reasons.
Years from now historians and sociologists are not going to write "The riots of London in 2011 were committed by a bunch on ignorant thugs who wanted something for nothing and ignored the sense of right and wrong everyone on this earth is born with." They will look at the bigger social, cultural and economic picture.
This doesn't mean you should excuse violence or not hold people accountable for what they do. I know kids who have supportive hard-working parents and sufficient resources at home, but who have a crappy attitude and make bad decisions. However, I know many more students who are dumpster diving for food, who get teased everyday for not having name-brand shoes or clothes, who live with two other families in a one bedroom apartment where they get little sleep because they hear babies crying and people arguing all night. These conditions make people crazy! If angered, these people might not be rational. They might not save their nickels and dimes to buy poster board and markers to make protest signs to protest in a sane responsible way. They should, but they probably won't.
As I said, I'm continuing to understand this problem, as many others are. Many more questions need to be asked.
Wow, the whole thing is just unfathomable. As mentioned above, there are a few theories as to why this is happening, but it's just craziness! I feel for you guys and hope that this is over soon, It's very scary to think that people can behave so badly and affect a whole society in this way. I don't know what else to say except to stay safe. I worry about you guys.
Well manchester was hit last night. Highly impressive to see all the clean up efforts going on today - a real community spirit. Here are some shots of the aftermath
@trude Oh god I just realised I posted my pic of Manchester straight after your comment about coming to Manchester next week! Sorry, I didn't mean to do that! It has been kicking off in Manchester last night and today but I'm pretty sure it will calm down by Monday! Yesterday the riots weren't expected which is why I think it was so bad last night, today there was quite a big police presence so I think they will get it under control sooner rather than later. So don't worry, I'm sure it will be fine by then!! xx
@emmar84 my high dtreet and two others near me all looted the shops were bording up today...im sick of these low lifes they need to bring bacl corpral punishment in schools and for parents and anyone who see one of these thugs doing something wrong..the good old days have gone..its discusting
@mngirl its the uk not just london im in essex and it happend here in manchester bristol nottingham laods of place the country is gone to hell..its like living in mad max times
I made a few more comments about the riots today under this photo. THIS is how our kids should be playing and enjoying life! Sad that alot of kids and young adults don't get the same upbringing tho, right? ;-/ #riots
@moonpig As a bit of a socialist at heart I commend your feelings, the rich are making a mess and the poor are picking up the pieces. But these riots were just dickheads. The lowest strata of British society, They aren't in touch with economic fluctuations, they wake up, get their benefits, get a drug fix, get high, go to bed. Their situation won't have changed much during their lives so economic hardship isn't an issue here. The poor citizens who are having a tough time were taking days off work the next day to clean up the cities.
Believe me, I would be last to condone the violence that's been happening in the last few days. Footage of young men attacking police made me want to cry and the damage that was done locally and in streets and boroughs where I have friends and family disturbed me more than any horror film I've ever seen. I love this city, I was born here and it's become a friend as I've grown up and grown into it. So please don't think I don't have a heart when I talk about this.
For everybody calling the looters 'scum' and 'inhuman' I really don't blame you. But I would advise you to think twice. We're all made up of the things that happen to us, and the choices we make in consequence. I don't believe there is any way to make a long lasting and true change in society, or in individuals, without humanity. You have to put aside your anger and shock to try your hardest to understand why people do the things they do. If you can't do that then you're not thinking hard enough.
Life is really, really hard for some people. Even in affluent, democratic countries like the UK suffering is widespread and you cannot expect people - especially young people, many of whom have grown up without being set the good example the lucky ones among us have - to magically understand their responsibility to behave well towards others. As a friend of mine put it, if society is constantly mocking, alienating and disillusioning these people, why shouldn't they behave in a way that proves to society they don't need its help?
You want the rioters to be locked away, to have to learn their lessons the hard way. Lessons learnt the hard way don't last. A woman on TV yesterday at the riot cleanup said that "there is fundamental good in humanity". We need to find it and bring it out in people because it's the only way true change happens. In the words of Martin Luther King, "darkness cannot drive out darkness - only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate - only love can do that"
Seriously. I know they've done terrible things, I really do. But slagging off your fellow human beings is not going to get us anyway, together or as individuals. so I think we should all just think twice about how we talk about them :)
And thank you for all the well-wishing, it's been really appreciated and London is pretty calm now :) Hope it ends soon for everywhere else. x
Ed - just as an afterthought, I thought I would add that no, the cuts are not the main reason for the rioting. but anyone who thinks they're not a factor is kidding themselves.
@izzymathie Thank you for saying that. I work with disenfranchised teenagers, just outside London. Some of those I've worked with I suspect will have been involved in some of the rioting and looting. They have nothing to lose, they've got nothing, including no hope. We can and do move some of these teenagers on, and turn enough of them around for it to be worth doing, but it's getting harder and harder to hold out reasons to continue studying to go to college (no EMA, parents want money coming in) or university (really £30k plus debt before you start?), apprenticeships - what are they? There are huge problems with their situations and their moral codes, but taking away even more and dehumanising them even further is really going to make them feel angrier and more like striking back, not stop them.
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"Just got back From, Hackney, saw three snappers get set upon one bottled, 50 yards ahead, all three came screaming past myself and ******, one with a bloody head, hope he's ok. Needless to say we kept out toys in our bags and made a swift retreat. It's total mayhem out there, and not a cop in sight."
There has been many attacks on photographers and tv over the last few days, awful busines and its just a shock that nobody has died - all those poor people's homes on fire. I just hope this stupidity ends soon and the rioters rot. This isnt London, London is one of the best cities in the world.
Here in the U.S. serious slashes in medicaid and social security have just been made and very few have even batted an eye. Additionally, the power of the entire congress has been handed over to a twelve person super congress who will decide on severe slashes. The other congressmen will have no say in financial measures that will affect the people for decades. Republicans here have said that no one who supports taxing the rich or decreasing military spending will be allowed on the committee. Therefore, those on the committee will focus on slashing programs that help most Americans (like public education, medicaid and social security).
Again, the poor pay the mistakes of the rich who took huge risks, but who got bailed out and rewarded with bonuses when those risks resulted in failure.
It is this type of inequality that is unacceptable.
People in the U.K should be angry. So should people in the U.S, for similar reasons.
Again, I don't believe in violence. However, public unrest is necessary.
@Cherrill People should not remain complacent just so a country can have a pleasant Olympics. There is more at stake here than a sporting event.
@rich57 stay safe man - you with your funny accent and all!!
@andycoleborn agree tw@ts @ssh0les blah blah - London used to be a safe as houses place to go any time!
What you may have seen from Greece is not what's happening here.. this started off ala LA riots similar to when police beat up and killed that guy a few years back... now it's just copycat youth looting and joining in the 'game'...
I doubt they have a political thought between any of them....
Whilst you can attribute the sparking of the Tottenham riots on Mark Duggan's shooting, the rest of the trouble has been about greed and idiocy.
@iandec I'm a public school teacher, and trust me I've had students that I thought were lazy to the core..students who skip school to get high, have sex and get girls pregnant intentionally. Believe me, I've been angry. Generally speaking, however, when I've made home visits I realized that the lazy students came from homes where parents were either unemployed due to being unable to find work, or whose parents were working two or three jobs just to survive and still not able to provide kids things that kids need to fit in socially. So kids grow up thinking "You try hard and that gets you nowhere"
None of this excuses violence. However, high unemployment has consequences that you might not expect. I don't know precisely what's going on the U.K. though, that's why I said I wanted to find out more.
Surely there are lazy rich kids? Are they rioting? Probably not because they already get the things they want. No, I'm not excusing stealing. I'm saying that where there is desperation, shit happens.
Talking of narratives, the big media outlets always like to have them, but of all the several hours of coverage I've seen, nobody on the front line has made any convincing argument for this being anything other than vandals and hooligans seeing an excuse to go crazy.
Nobody's had banners, nobody's been yelling slogans, nobody's made any demands, nobody's got megaphones trying to get a message across. It's just wanton violence. Are there socio-economic issues underlying it? Perhaps, but there's no sign of awareness of any such issues in the perpetrators. Are they too retarded to realise they're rioting as an extension of protest about... I don't know, about MPs expenses? About car insurance price hikes? About changes to the welfare system? Hard story to sell, that, when there's only footage and stories of vandalism, looting, muggings, beatings, threats of murder and general criminal behaviour pouring out of the areas.
I'm all for a bigger picture, but only when there's evidence of it :)
What world are you from, you're as bad the people on the streets carrying out the rioting if you're to condone it!! They're not protesters, they're mindless scumbags.
this is awful i cant believe the idiots- and its not just the "youths" i hate it when everyone blames youngsters must off us think this is horrible.
there is no real reason for this and if they are trying to "honour the dead man" then they should do it in peace.
This is unproven at the moment and like they say... Don't believe everything you read..!!
@azza_l and that from a teacher as well..!!!
@rich57 trouble in Leeds last night (chapelside area)..!!
I’m thoroughly depressed at the rioting in London and Birmingham (my home town) last night. And it is reasonable to say that there are lots of overlapping factors at play, it’s not just a matter of either wanton criminals or disaffected youth.
However it's also very easy to make political statements about the benefits of rioting bringing a voice to the dispossessed , but you may feel a little differently if it was your neighbourhood being looted, burned out and friends and colleagues fearing for their lives.
Speaking about Birmingham’s riots of 1981, 1985, 1991 and again last night, historically the process looting, burning and rioting is not in itself the catalyst for change. One of Birmingham city’s boroughs that is always a flashpoint for this kind of behaviour ( Handsworth) has had *literally millions upon millions* of government funding poured into it for the last 30 years. Through a quirk of historical geography Handsworth also has access to two of the best (free) grammar schools in the UK - should anyone care to study hard enough to pass the entrance exam, and every do-gooder arts and culture project hasn’t earned its stripes until it has done a stint analysing opinions on Handworth’s streets.. . and let’s not forget that access to the best available healthcare is free to anyone in this country regardless of their socio economic status or where they live. Despite all of this, Handsworth is still a hot point for gang violence and drugs, the streets are filthy, and at given any opportunity for violence, Handsworth is always first in the queue.
The point is, these people may have had cause to complain in the past, but now *do* have access to education, healthcare, funding and a voice (some might say, even more than others) yet they *choose* another path. Other social factors are to blame.
The riots in Birmingham and elsewhere in the country are more of a reflection of the morally vacant ‘something for nothing’ culture that we are living in today, rather than sadly, anyone making any kind of valid political point. At any time if any one of these rioters chooses to carry a banner about government policies or the death of Mark Duggan, I will change my mind, but I won’t be holding my breath for that to happen.
this is ridiculus .
what on earth was the guy waving a replica around for
regardless this behaviour makes us all look stupid
@moonpig sorry if you're copping a battering over this one but the media stuff you heard is rubbish and they're spinning things for sensationalism. Also, I wouldnt be throwing around the "its the rich bankers fault and the poor are paying for it" too much. Especially when alot was caused by housing defaults... People taking loans for places that they KNEW they couldnt afford... being able to "self certify" their income etc. Everyone had a hand in that particular problem
Sad thing is that we all know nothing will happen to these scumbags the do-gooders will come out of the woodwork in the next few days with all the excuses they can find to explain why these feral youths behave like they do.. The courts will fine 'any the have before them' with a miniscule amount, "as we all know happens" and they will all be walking down the same streets they are smashing up knowing they have got off scott free, leaving the poor people who have lost homes and livelihoods will nothing & no help to recover the losses.
It makes me ashamed to be English when i see these scene on TV knowing our solders are fighting in far off lands to help free people from terror and oppression.
I just wish the truth about who is doing all this would come out , lets put there faces on billboards up and down the country & lets see the faces behind the scarfs & hoods & then punish these people with the full weight of the law.
I truly believe we need to go back to basics in our schools , we have so got this wrong !
Stay safe everyone
Plus the hashtag is genuis.
(edit - the BBC is now covering this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14456857)
How unbelievable is this..!! An injured boy is helped to his feet, then mugged..!!
What a great society..!!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14456065
@andycoleborn I just saw that clip...my jaw is still hanging open...what is it with these boys??? Quite unbelievable...I'm not an angry or violent person but that made me so mad!!! As Steve says....how many of this yobs will ever see any kind of punishment.........I wonder how they would react to be mugged, burned out or their families made homeless....I am lost for words........a strange thing for me.......lol
Years from now historians and sociologists are not going to write "The riots of London in 2011 were committed by a bunch on ignorant thugs who wanted something for nothing and ignored the sense of right and wrong everyone on this earth is born with." They will look at the bigger social, cultural and economic picture.
This doesn't mean you should excuse violence or not hold people accountable for what they do. I know kids who have supportive hard-working parents and sufficient resources at home, but who have a crappy attitude and make bad decisions. However, I know many more students who are dumpster diving for food, who get teased everyday for not having name-brand shoes or clothes, who live with two other families in a one bedroom apartment where they get little sleep because they hear babies crying and people arguing all night. These conditions make people crazy! If angered, these people might not be rational. They might not save their nickels and dimes to buy poster board and markers to make protest signs to protest in a sane responsible way. They should, but they probably won't.
As I said, I'm continuing to understand this problem, as many others are. Many more questions need to be asked.
As We Sleep
Hope everyone else is safe and well xx
thanks
We need order, and FAST !
I made a few more comments about the riots today under this photo. THIS is how our kids should be playing and enjoying life! Sad that alot of kids and young adults don't get the same upbringing tho, right? ;-/ #riots
Believe me, I would be last to condone the violence that's been happening in the last few days. Footage of young men attacking police made me want to cry and the damage that was done locally and in streets and boroughs where I have friends and family disturbed me more than any horror film I've ever seen. I love this city, I was born here and it's become a friend as I've grown up and grown into it. So please don't think I don't have a heart when I talk about this.
For everybody calling the looters 'scum' and 'inhuman' I really don't blame you. But I would advise you to think twice. We're all made up of the things that happen to us, and the choices we make in consequence. I don't believe there is any way to make a long lasting and true change in society, or in individuals, without humanity. You have to put aside your anger and shock to try your hardest to understand why people do the things they do. If you can't do that then you're not thinking hard enough.
Life is really, really hard for some people. Even in affluent, democratic countries like the UK suffering is widespread and you cannot expect people - especially young people, many of whom have grown up without being set the good example the lucky ones among us have - to magically understand their responsibility to behave well towards others. As a friend of mine put it, if society is constantly mocking, alienating and disillusioning these people, why shouldn't they behave in a way that proves to society they don't need its help?
You want the rioters to be locked away, to have to learn their lessons the hard way. Lessons learnt the hard way don't last. A woman on TV yesterday at the riot cleanup said that "there is fundamental good in humanity". We need to find it and bring it out in people because it's the only way true change happens. In the words of Martin Luther King, "darkness cannot drive out darkness - only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate - only love can do that"
Seriously. I know they've done terrible things, I really do. But slagging off your fellow human beings is not going to get us anyway, together or as individuals. so I think we should all just think twice about how we talk about them :)
And thank you for all the well-wishing, it's been really appreciated and London is pretty calm now :) Hope it ends soon for everywhere else. x
Ed - just as an afterthought, I thought I would add that no, the cuts are not the main reason for the rioting. but anyone who thinks they're not a factor is kidding themselves.
not involved (yet) it is solely an English problem.