Tuesday 9 August 2011

"Flying back to riots"

I am flying back to London late tonight. Poor planning and a calculated risk over the first game of the season meant I was expecing to miss two home matches. However, this evening's match against Reading has been postponed to allow more police officers to be available to contain the wave of looting sweeping London. Not such bad thing for me obviously and perhaps it will be better to play Championsip Reading after another league match or two when confidence may be higher still.

I have been watching the disorder on BBC and Sky News. It's very sad to see, especially as the beleaguered Old Bill appear to have orders to contain the looting rather than confront the looters, that or they are stretched so thin they have no option. I suspect it's the former and a result of recent history where senior officers fear humiliating sackings and humble PC's worry about being caught on camera dishing out a bit of old-fashioned policing.

I am amazed by the current media coverage. Everyone wants to know how it's started and why? Are macro economic policies to blame? Is it chronic under-investment in the inner cities? Is it a lack of jobs? Local Authority budget cuts? Poor schooling? Perhaps a direct link to the shooting of the local hero in Tottenham? A form of social network rioting? Why doesn't someone just come out and say that it's opportunist and copy-cat. The Summer's here. Less rainfall than normal and warmer to stay out at night. When you have next to nothing to lose, why not the excitement of a running battle with the local constabulary and the opportunity to help yourself to Mr Patel's over-priced booze and perhaps upgrade your telly?

What annoys me nearly as much as the rioting is the Doom-mongers who revel in it. I was up early this morning cleaning the pool and had to endure the neighbours conversation over the fence. They are from Croydon originally (probably Palace fans) and how they are loving it. This is why they moved out here, six years ago. They wouldn't go back for all the money in the world. The whole city will burn down etc. I retreated inside to book my taxi and the lady on the desk at the local firm was very perky and delighted to inform me that I would be "flying back to riots." "What, in Charlton" I asked? No, but in Lewisham, Peckham and Deptford. I know there has been trouble in Lewisham and Peckham but I think Deptford might be old-hat. What I want to know is why Woolwich is dragging it's feet? It will be a laughing stock forever if it can't get it's act together. That new screen in the square must be a talking point amongst the local Yoot although it would take a lot of them to remove it and no-one has a socket big enough to run it. Still, it would look good wouldn't it?

At least Dave C and Boris are also returning today, so they will have to "do something." I expect Plod will be given a bit of licence to do some looter-battering to restore confidence and set an example for a copy-cat end to it. The politicians will then get their photo opportunity by a burnt-out car and have to endure a conversation with a local youth who they will not be able to understand, whilst his mates all crowd the camera saying "innit" and showing their Staffs off. The Enquiry will follow and in a year or so there will be some relatively well-paid soft-soap jobs set-up for "community leaders" and a few million quid wasted updating the local swings for the dealers.

I just hope the battering and mass arrests start quickly so we can move on. None of us want to see league games being postponed.

10 comments:

  1. At last some sense!

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  2. The funniest thing about all of this is watching all the 'talking heads' proclaiming "these people will be caught and punished"
    While i shout at the screen "they won't be caught, you know they won't be caught and if by some miracle you did catch one or two. You know they won't be punished"

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  3. Excellent post. You've got the ability to write what we are all thinking...

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  4. Selfishly I am majorly pissed off about tonight, but you have hit the nail on the head there Dave. Safe flight home.

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  5. Looks like I was premature. Woolwich doesn't want to be left out.....http://853blog.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/the-night-the-looters-stole-from-us-all/#entry

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  6. Nicely put, Dave.

    This does seem to be a bit of a wake-up call. I think we've tried to have the best of both worlds ie. liberal economic policy (low taxes, tolerance for high inequality etc.) AND liberal social policy (generous welfare, 'soft' justice system etc.) It doesn't work.

    As unpalatable as it might be, we are stuck in the middle and we have no choice but to move closer to what I would call the 'US model', and not say the 'Swedish model', because frankly we can't afford the latter even if we wanted it.

    It makes you wonder whether London will end up like an American city - a super-rich commercial core, surrounded by rings of sink estates as anyone with the means to chooses to move out. I suspect the well-to-do residents of Clapham and Ealing are somewhat shocked to learn who their neighbours are.

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  7. NYA - couldn't agree more. I've always thought it would take us another 20 years to reach NY levels (and maybe it will). By then I won't be here. I reckon the police will clamp down hard tonight and then face any rioters down this weekend. That should be it? Then we can have months and months of seeing the idiots being hunted down and prosecuted.

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  8. As someone who works in Woolwich, I saw the results of this mindless action first hand today. A local pub & clothes shop gutted by fire, numerous shops smashed in & looted.

    Then on the drive home I listen to various do-gooders trying to explain & even justify the action.

    It was good to read what a lot of us law abiding citizens are thinking.

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  9. Good read Dave.
    I would imagine you won't have to look too far for some of the electrical goods from Currys/PC World.
    Rang home and spoke to my father (who lives over the crossing), he informed me that it was local people taking full advantage.
    Asked him how he was, but felt a little distraught not being able to get a wait and return cab to pick him up at 01:30 (joke).
    Should you bump into Des, ask him to bring the lime green Capri to Stansted. I may be able to have a calming influence within the war zones littered along the A12 whilst on the way home.

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  10. Hong Kong Addick10 August 2011 at 09:44

    We're not all Nigels in Croydon! I left the place 17 years ago to come to HK and no doubt I've been harping on about the same things as your neighbours ever since. The country is now reaping what it's been sowing with its demented PC policies and emasculation of the Police over the past 30 years. DI Regan and DCI Hunt would never have stood for this!

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Go on, you know you want to....