How're The Londoners Here?

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 2:47 pm

Emvee, Brend, etc, you guys staying safe?

Hound · Post by **Hound** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 3:28 pm

Aye. All OK here so far.

Sent home from work in Croydon early as more trouble is anticipated.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:40 pm

I'm a safe distance from London so am all good, cheers. Well, assuming nobody decides to smash up the Total garage round the corner in search of free Ginsters and Haribo.

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:24 pm

I've just heard about these here goings-on, myself.

A local fella' was shot in a Police-sting, and this has gotten the Tottenham-peeps up in arms, and into "Anarchy in the UK" -mode?

Seems a bit strange that the riots are spreading to other cities and parts of the UK tho'...

Anybody of you British peeps with a greater understanding of the culture and current tidings in the UK, mind explaining a bit more why there be rioting and such?

It all seems a bit... UN-British to me, the outside observer.

saysadie · Post by **saysadie** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:30 pm

You don't need to be British to recognise when some people are just looking for an excuse.

Keep safe, guys!

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:38 pm

It's surreal. We took in a couple of 'fugees from Hackney last night and watched their street going mental on the news. They left this morning and went back but the shop they live above has had the windows smashed in and they had to leave again this afternoon when things flared up again. They may call later.

All our local shops have been closed down and boarded, but thankfully we seem to have escaped the worst of it so far. The local Blockbusters was done over on Sunday night but we're speculating that was either an inside insurance job for a failing business or simply natural justice. Most of the local Turkish shop owners are outside their stores with baseball bats and the looters are giving them a wide berth. I'm kinda concerned about the petrol station about 300 yards away but it had police cars at it last night and I think we'll be okay tonight.

Gutted that I didn't seize on the opportunity to loot Wood Green Games Workshop when I had the chance

FWIW I think London will be quiet tonight - there's already news of stuff going down in Birmingham, West Brom, Wolverhampton and Manchester...small wonder as Camden is full of Greater Manchester police right now. The looters are going to hit soft targets and I think all the police on the streets of London tonight will (hopefully) prove sufficient deterrent. All the looters really need is a retail park with a PC World or Carphone Warehouse and there are plenty of those around, so I think the smaller shops should escape further damage.

I dunno, it's all still very weird. I was heartened by the spontaneous clean-up crews though. If I hadn't been at work I'd have been cleaning up Camden today.

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:50 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote:I dunno, it's all still very weird. I was heartened by the spontaneous clean-up crews though. If I hadn't been at work I'd have been cleaning up Camden today.

Yeah, was watching the feed on Twitter. Inspiring stuff. Especially as the BBC seemed determined to scapegoat the site for the organisation of the riots, whilst wilfully ignoring the BBM angle.

Metal Vendetta · Post by **Metal Vendetta** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 6:54 pm

I think Biff's all right - he was on fb earlier - but it seems like it's properly kicking off in Manchester tonight. Lots on the BBC at the moment. London's almost eerily quiet - apart from some trouble on the Isle of Dogs as far as I can glean from Twitter.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 7:56 pm

Yeah, looked at Paul's FB when I first heard of it, simply b/c of the Duggan connection, but I suppose that name is pretty common over there.

To me, it seems a lot like the LA riots: police action, race, and violence are at the heart of the original matter along with justifiable complaints. But it was a spark that set off some simmering tensions (around economics and class, but maybe that's just the Marxism talking), and now there are MANY opportunists who are looking to just cause trouble or get some material goods on the ol' five finger discount.

Also, to MV's post: You guys still have Blockbusters? Crazy.

Post by **Kaylee** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:01 pm

I was amused at the number of people at work today who think, without any sense of irony, the rioters should be "shot" or "hanged" because violence is bad, mmkay?

I'm glad to hear everyone seems to be in one bit. These are strange times.

At least Cameron is home now to deal with it. If there's one thing large gangs of violent people will fear it is a stern Etonian. Possibly one sipping chardonnay.

Keep safe everyone. x.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 9:42 pm

So what's causing all of this? Rich getting richer and poor getting poorer? Or something more political?

Post by **Kaylee** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 10:05 pm

Yaya wrote:So what's causing all of this? Rich getting richer and poor getting poorer? Or something more political?

Well the media and politicians are spinning it as a small amount of thugs being monstrous criminals. Whilst I utterly abhore what the rioters are doing, I think the actual reasons are far more complicated.

Years breeding a social underclass without jobs, a future or a real education - just an empty life and a welfare cheque.

A police force that has... struggled, shall we say, in dealing with the ethnic communities in our major cities.

Politicians who are knee-jerk quick-fix merchants who don't want to engage with the long term, complicated social issues.

Then the leaders decided welfare was too expensive and have been threatening to cut it, whilst the police at the same time shot a guy who ( whilst he sounds like an utter douchebag) did not fire first. It all sort of exploded from there.

Certain papers/media are portraying this as the result of 'mass immigration' (too many blacks! Think of the children!)

As I imply, I think the reasons are far more complicated than that: http://bit.ly/rdg0re this person makes some interesting points.

Post by **snarl** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:07 pm

I'm fine - I find it all a bit odd, it's had very little effect on me personally. The only thing I've experienced is I had to call off a football match because two of my mates live near Mare St in Hackney and didn't fancy coming out.

I called them twats.

Nothing has happened where I work, nothing has happened where I live. Some people are a bit spooked, bit on edge, I think that's a lot to do with them hoovering up any and every update they can find on twitter, because they're bored and enjoy the drama of it all.

The beeb and sky constantly showing the same footage over and over again, talking like it's the end of days, over sensationalising it and giving the impression everything is going to ****, when imo, even though it's bad, even kind of unprecedented, it certainly isn't going to **** isn't helping.

There have been 600 odd arrests and more will follow. This is being reported on as an afterthought, with the main angle being that the police are being 100% ineffective. Not true.

To me, it's just chancer ***** going on the rob, attacking easy targets in their own areas.

Post by **snarl** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 11:11 pm

This might interest some of ya:

http://magictv.co/

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 1:42 pm

Karl wrote: Then the leaders decided welfare was too expensive and have been threatening to cut it...

Bingo. There you go.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 2:32 pm

Yaya wrote:
Karl wrote: Then the leaders decided welfare was too expensive and have been threatening to cut it...
Bingo. There you go.

The cause may indeed be that everybody in the hood has had it up to here; it's getting harder and harder and harder each and every year.

Manchester too, eh? Be safe, Karl and Besters.

Post by **Kaylee** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:12 pm

who's been spreading around that I live in Manchester?

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 4:25 pm

Karl wrote:who's been spreading around that I live in Manchester?

Vicious rumormongers.

Post by **Kaylee** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:58 pm

bumblemusprime wrote:
Karl wrote:who's been spreading around that I live in Manchester?
Vicious rumormongers.

Nah I'm down in the South East - things are relatively sensible here. A few opportunists arrested for being numbskulls and that's about it

Predabot · Post by **Predabot** » Wed Aug 10, 2011 7:25 pm

Metal Vendetta wrote: I dunno, it's all still very weird. I was heartened by the spontaneous clean-up crews though. If I hadn't been at work I'd have been cleaning up Camden today.

Good man! =) I would have joined, you I says!

No seriously, I would have. A right proper group of peeps, good spirits, good cause, absolutely.

I wonder if they'll do any sociopolitical essays and papers on these here riots? I do believe you had some rioting in the mid-80's of similar nature, aye? Would be interesting to compare the two instances, and see what sparked them, how the sequence of events parallel or deviate from each other, etc.

Some good science to be done here, so as to create some simple, and logical, stop-gaps to keep it from happening again.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 6:28 am

Seems to me what all the rioters have in common is that they're bored, poor and stupid.

If the powers that be spent more time looking into the reasons why instead of demonising the entirety of our nation's youth we might get somewhere.

Seriously, they just need a good hobby. Collecting TFs perhaps?

Hot Shot · Post by **Hot Shot** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 6:40 am

spiderfrommars wrote:Seriously, they just need a good hobby. Collecting TFs perhaps?

Wouldn't work. Then they'd loot stores for TFs. At least, that's what I might do...

...

Hey, guys! Glad to see everyone's alright!

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:06 am

spiderfrommars wrote:Seems to me what all the rioters have in common is that they're bored, poor and stupid.

I wish me and my mates were poor enough to all have Blackberries.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:39 am

Brendocon wrote:
spiderfrommars wrote:Seems to me what all the rioters have in common is that they're bored, poor and stupid.
I wish me and my mates were poor enough to all have Blackberries.

Is this how we define whether someone is poor? Shouldn't we have a closer look at how and where these people live?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:43 am

Not exclusively, but generally speaking I know loads of people who I don't define as "poor" who can't afford a smartphone.

Maybe I'm missing some cultural thing, though. Maybe they get given out free in urban London to underprivelaged kids as some form of recompense for shutting down all the youth centres.

Or maybe they're all poor because their parents are tied into massive phone contracts for their entire family.

My main point being that "being poor" isn't something that all the rioters have in common. Of course some of them are, but generally speaking we can't generalise and say that any specific criteria applies to all of them. Generally.

Post by **spiderfrommars** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:17 am

Brendocon wrote:Not exclusively, but generally speaking I know loads of people who I don't define as "poor" who can't afford a smartphone.

Maybe I'm missing some cultural thing, though. Maybe they get given out free in urban London to underprivelaged kids as some form of recompense for shutting down all the youth centres.

Or maybe they're all poor because their parents are tied into massive phone contracts for their entire family.

My main point being that "being poor" isn't something that all the rioters have in common. Of course some of them are, but generally speaking we can't generalise and say that any specific criteria applies to all of them. Generally.

I'm pretty sure the kind of idiot who thinks smashing a shop window and nicking a plasma is perfectly acceptable is unlikely to have paid full whack for their smartphone.

Can we at least agree that they're all stupid?

Brendocon · Post by **Brendocon** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 9:43 am

Yes. Yes we can.

Post by **Kaylee** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 5:51 pm

Brendocon wrote:generally speaking we can't generalise... Generally.

This contest is over, give that man the $10,000

Post by **Best First** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 8:29 pm

spiderfrommars wrote: Seriously, they just need a good hobby. Collecting TFs perhaps?

I suspect it was mostly Siebertron posters anyway.

All cool here - cheers kids.

Aaron Hong · Post by **Aaron Hong** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:44 am

Try to stay indoors, and loot food if you have to.