keep calm and carry on

I've been wanting to blog about the rioting in London for a few days now but have held off. Partly to gather my thoughts and gain some perspective and partly because a lot of what I've been thinking has already been said before. The papers have been full of articles about the lootings, the trials and the political ramifications but perhaps more importantly about the individuals and communities who've been affected.


I was so shocked last Monday night when the riots in Tottenham spread, seemingly without rhyme or reason, throughout London. But it was when the BBC's website reported that stores in Clapham Junction were being looted that it really hit home. I used to live two minutes round the corner from the Northcote Road and loads of my friends are still based around there. I could hardly believe that their comments on facebook; about fires, gangs and men in balaclavas were about the place I lived, and felt totally safe, for two years.


Then the shock and incredulity turned to anger. How dare these people act this way? It doesn't take a genius to realise it wasn't about politics or policies, about class or race. It was about greed and opportunism. They could, so they did, without a second thought for the consequences or the ramifications for the lives they were impacting upon. It's that simple. Yes it is worrying that there's a segment of our society who feel so disenfranchised from it that they behaved this way and this disparity does need addressing. Yes those involved should be published promptly as a message that such behaviour won't be tolerated. But do I believe jail terms and police records will solve either of these things? No, not for a second. At the risk of sounding like my Grandma, what we really need to do is find a way to instil some values in those involved, to ensure they have a sense of pride in themselves and their communities so that they will strive to do better, not the burn and steal. I know it's impractical and unlikely to happen, but I wish the punishment of anyone involved could be to go and fix the damage they caused, to work alongside the people whose lives they've changed. That way they could learn first hand why what they've done is selfish and utterly wrong.


The flip side of the riots is that communities have banded together, working side by side to tidy up their streets and people are consciously supporting local shops. For all those parents who didn't question where their kids were last week, there are those that turned their children in when they saw photos in the news. Then there's the increased police presence, I've never seen so many police in London. It's not that they're all in one place, but each town seems to have a couple and I've even seen some on the tube. I like it actually, it makes me feel safe. Despite the fact that they face cuts and are overstretched and under resourced, I think the police have done a great job this last week. 


There is never a good time for riots to happen and just a year before the Olympics is particularly bad. But the the British are famed for our 'keep clam and carry on' blitz war spirit. Like most of my friends, I'll be dammed if I let a tiny minority of London's population make me feel anything other than proud to call London home.