For our British Head-Fi brethren (and sisters)
Aug 9, 2011 at 4:23 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17

Digital-Pride

Headphoneus Supremus
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How are you guys and gals doing?  I ask because the riots that have been happening around England(with London apparently as the epicenter) has me very concerned.
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 4:33 PM Post #2 of 17
Thanks for thinking of us.
 
It's cool, all a bit mental though. I live in Hackney so it was pretty close by. Went for a little wander to see what was happening then stayed in doors all night once I realised it was getting serious. Saw smoke, heard helicopters and sirens but wasn't really affected by any of it. Place is a mess.
 
It's nothing to do with protest, that's how the ones in Tottenham started but this is just kids smashing things up and stealing things, burning innocent people's cars and shops who've done nothing to them. You could probably write ten essays on the sociological factors that led to this state of affairs but it's nothing recent.
 
It doesn't seem to be staying in any one area for too long, it's almost like a fashion - none of them want to come back from summer holidays without a video of them breaking a window to say "they were there". Idiots.
 
 
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 4:41 PM Post #3 of 17
I'm glad you've been sparred of this nonsense.  The thing that get's me is(correct me if I'm wrong) they have the right to protest.  A large peaceful demonstration, telling the general public and in turn the government at large what their grievances are, would've been much more effective to getting their point across instead of this needless destruction.  You're not going to get the public to sympathize with your plight this way.
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 4:59 PM Post #4 of 17
Absolutely I support the right to protest and protest myself when I believe in the cause (I've been quite prolific in that area in the past and had my fair share of experience of the thuggish side of British policing) ... but this is not protest. Not what's happening now. 
 
What started in Tottenham was a peaceful protest that got out of hand, the rest of it is un-realated copycat thuggery.
 
This is kids smashing things, stealing things and burning things because they think it's cool.
 
A shop that has been family owned for five generations in my home town Croydon was burned to the ground last night - I saw burnt out cars in Hackney just belonging to normal people, the neighbors of the people who were doing the burning. There's no political point, I doubt any of them could tell you Mark Duggan's name.
 
Yeah there are a thousand sociological problems that led us to the point where kids were ready to lash out like this is not a political protest.
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 5:15 PM Post #5 of 17
You're right, I'm sure there is a much larger underlining cause for this unrest, but those images are just horrifying.  It amazes me just how cruel human beings can be to each other.  Like you said, those family shop and business owners are innocent and have nothing to do with their plight.  Now they're livelihoods and property are destroyed and for what? 
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 6:54 PM Post #6 of 17
It has been a quiet night in London.
We are in Muswell Hill, north London which is not far from Tottenham. My wife was told by a policeman in the afternoon that the rioters are planning to start something in Crouch End and Muswell Hill, which is a bit worrying. So far nothing has happened. The trouble seems to be up north only today. We'll see.
I did pick a good time to return to London from Sunny California, didn't I?
redface.gif

 
Aug 9, 2011 at 7:30 PM Post #7 of 17
You sure did.
wink.gif
  I'm happy to read that your area of London is quiet.  Let's hope we've seen the last of this nonsense.
 
Aug 9, 2011 at 8:48 PM Post #8 of 17
I've seen enough rioting around here to know that it's not pleasant, so hopefully you brits will be able to continue avoiding the worst of it. The closest I've ever come to a riot personally is that a police car was overturned and burned a few streets away during one of the Cedar Village riots we used to have.
 
Aug 10, 2011 at 7:11 AM Post #10 of 17
It really is sickening.  Hopefully the situation has quieted down quite a bit.
 
Aug 12, 2011 at 6:40 PM Post #11 of 17
Cameron (the ******) [edit: really, you censor the word ******?] has been quoted as saying:
 
"Free flow of information can sometimes be a problem"
 
and
 
"We are looking at the possibilities with ristricting social media during times of unrest"
 
Quite a different tune to their attitude on it during the middle east riots.
 
Mindless criminality or not ... a riot is a riot.
 
/rages/
 
Aug 12, 2011 at 8:02 PM Post #12 of 17
Those words uttered by the British prime minister are almost as unsettling as the riot themselves.  That line of thinking is a very dangerous and very slippery slope. 
 
Aug 13, 2011 at 5:54 AM Post #15 of 17
To be fair, our riots consist of pregnant teens stealing Adidas trainers and trashing their own streets
 
Not that i'm downplaying the impact on people ... but British riots do have their own ... character.
 
Quote:
So sorry to hear about the riots over there. I lived through the LA riots and have nothing but empathy.



 
 

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