London's Burning

I don't really know how to express what I am feeling right now. I sat up until 1am this morning, watching BBC News 24 and witnessing what has been happening over the capital - gangs in their hundreds, torching and looting the city. It made me angry and upset. In the end, I had to turn it off. Watching the blatant disrespect for people's homes, businesses, lives, and our country made my blood boil.

Some say that this has been a political statement or a response to the shooting of Mark Duggan, but from what I can see, it is simply an opportunity for thuggery, violence, and the chance to smash and grab. One looter was shown on the BBC news, chatting with his friend about how he was going to go into the Debenhams store in Clapham and get himself some Nike trainers. With no police on the scene for an hour, it was a looters paradise. Can you believe that people were outside of their homes and businesses, trying their best to protect themselves and what they own with pots and pans? Is this really the United Kingdom in 2011?



I have the news on live stream as I write here and have just been listening to a spokesperson for the police. Despite people suggesting they bring the military in to avoid a fourth night of riots, they have suggested working with the community and going over CCTV footage to identify those responsible. This is all very well, but I am not sure this message delivers the quick and firm blow around the head that is needed. The response seems almost passive. With this kind of crime organised via Twitter and mobile phones, which other community of yobs will fancy going on a shopping spree tonight? From what they have seen so far, you can walk into Curry's quite easily and pick yourself up a telly without any resistance. For the kind of people who feel no real personal value in society and have nothing to lose, this might seem attractive. Last night, the riots flared up mainly in London, but also spread to Birmingham, which is where we were near to a week ago. Might they breath life into somewhere closer to home this evening? I doubt I am the only one who finds this loss of control and unpredictability scary. My dad just said how upsetting the whole thing is.

In the light of what has happened and may continue to happen, the King of Flowers creeps me out a little today. He could very well be the face of a too passive and understanding government or the police, but my first response to him was the shielded face of a looter - his face masked from the camera's to avoid identification. The storm behind him looks like the smoke from the decaying city I watched on my computer screen this morning.


Despite the darkness I feel from today's card, the sun is shining. I woke up with pains in my neck and hands. Sometimes, I find it uncomfortable to sit up because of the strain on my neck, which I guess is just another symptom of my fatigue. It is often hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in and all of the bones in my fingers ache. I have things I want to get on with today, but as I sit here at the moment, it is difficult to motivate myself out of the shock of what is happening in my country. My blogging friend, who I met with a couple of weeks ago, has had to move out of his flat, after losing his electricity and route to work to the initial riots, and stay with a friend of his boss in another part of London. When he told me about his experience of being in the city this week, I was ashamed to say that this is the country we welcomed him into.





Illustration from The Favole Tarot by Victoria Frances