The Riots

The last week in London and around major cities in England has seen some of the worst rioting and looting that I have ever seen. Not even the rioting in Tottenham and Brixton in the 80s during my childhood compare. Events were sparked off by the shooting dead by police officers of Mark Duggan in Tottenham. This is still part of a police enquiry but the days after his death saw local businesses trashed, homes burnt to the ground, shops vandalised and looted and the murder of 3 men in Birmingham, a man in Croydon, and a man in Ealing.

Even while I am writing these words I feel a sense of bewilderment, shock, sadness, anger...a mix of emotions that I cannot succinctly put my finger on. What is so different to these riots to the ones that have occurred in the past..the level of violence?..the sense of complete loss of control? The images of London these last few days will linger in my mind for a very long time to come. This is my city, the city I was born and bred in and the city I continue to live in. The words of Tariq Jahan the father of one of the boys mowed down by a car whilst trying to protect his street, brought tears to my eyes... Here was a man who had lost his son and yet was able to appeal for calm in his community. Would I be so dignified? I don't know and I don't ever want to find out.

I, like many people am trying to make sense of what has happened..a bit of soul searching..looking for reasons as to why this has happened..poverty? deprivation? greed? consumerism? societal breakdown? bad parenting? racism? Maybe it's a bit of everything..

As I end this post, I just want to mention the comments I have come across that have blamed multi culturalism and some comments that have blamed this on black people. It is easy to blame black people when it comes to riots because you will see their faces...we don't yet know what the numbers are in terms of race if that's what is being looked at...but in the same breath as blaming black people, should we start looking at the racial make up of the bankers who have systematically brought the world's economy to its knees...or the MPs who fiddled their expenses?..'fiddled' is such a nice word to use instead of stealing. If we have leaders who are morally corrupt, what hope is there for the rest of us?