(no subject)
Aug. 9th, 2011 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hellisonVery glad to see friends in London safe today, let's hope it stays that way - last night was unbelievable.
I'm not going to even try to compare it to what happens here because it was totally different in character - here rioters are trying to get at *each other* or the police - there isn't looting or even the arson/property destruction here any more.
Also the police have adopted a controversial new tactic of containing them, letting them get on with it while they take photos then turning on the water cannon. Arrests are then made at their leisure a few weeks later, because apparently arrests at the time can 'antagonise them' and make things worse... I can in a way see logic in this but its still pretty WTF.
It does tho make Teresa May's statement this morning somewhat baffling -
The way we police in Britain is not with water cannon. The way we police in Britain is on the streets and with the communities.
er...
That's from LAST MONTH.
On a brighter note the #riotcleanup on twitter has gathered momentum amazingly quickly and together with endless tweets urging people to check on elderly/disabled neighbours is truly inspirational and hopefully a sign that you won't end up like here, where riots are just a regular part of life that people shrug and get on with.
I'm not going to even try to compare it to what happens here because it was totally different in character - here rioters are trying to get at *each other* or the police - there isn't looting or even the arson/property destruction here any more.
Also the police have adopted a controversial new tactic of containing them, letting them get on with it while they take photos then turning on the water cannon. Arrests are then made at their leisure a few weeks later, because apparently arrests at the time can 'antagonise them' and make things worse... I can in a way see logic in this but its still pretty WTF.
It does tho make Teresa May's statement this morning somewhat baffling -
The way we police in Britain is not with water cannon. The way we police in Britain is on the streets and with the communities.
er...
That's from LAST MONTH.
On a brighter note the #riotcleanup on twitter has gathered momentum amazingly quickly and together with endless tweets urging people to check on elderly/disabled neighbours is truly inspirational and hopefully a sign that you won't end up like here, where riots are just a regular part of life that people shrug and get on with.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-08-09 11:57 pm (UTC)I definitely agree about the rubber bullets - just bad, full stop!
I'm hoping that things haven't kicked off over there - either in response, or just for the hell of it.
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 08:40 am (UTC)and as I said above, riots here are very different in character - more sort of street brawls at 'interface areas' between opposite sides and the police, not the looting and burning you got, a different kind of chaos!
no subject
Date: 2011-08-10 07:19 pm (UTC)more sort of street brawls at 'interface areas' between opposite sides and the police
From what I was hearing earlier about Eltham's response to an approaching mob last night, there may be some of that starting to happen - locals (&/inc Millwall fans) a smattering of EDL, who repelled rioters and were talking about moving on to Lewisham (African and Caribbean population).