Rioting Around the UK

This has to stop.

There is no point to it - what can be achieved by burning things down and hurting people? The only reason things have kicked off is because it gives people a sense of righteous power - and for what? For nothing! These riots aren't in protest about anything - yes, I am aware of what happened to Mr Duggan, but I think it's fairly obvious that this violence has absolutely nothing to do with that and a hell of a lot to do with bored, stupid people wanting to feel good about hitting people.

Anyway.

I kept watching the news reports and reading the live feeds and the phrase from Robert Browning's poem 'Home Thoughts, From Abroad' kept coming to mind. I'm afraid I was moved to my own protest: poetic vandalism.

Home Thoughts, From the Bewildered

Oh, to be in England
Now that Summer's here,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest thugs and basest fools
Round the once quiet towns take up their tools,
And set to raise a riot – and how!
In England - now!

And after London, when others follow,
And chaos reigns, we’re forced to swallow
Bile as our streets and cities burn!
Around our homes and shops the flame
Blossoms and cracks – as our people we spurn
And our children set the pace in their new game,
Lest you should think they never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!

And though the streets look rough with hoary dew,
All will be lost when noontide wakes anew
And people think hate gives them a power, -
Far brighter than this gaudy fire-flower!

Oh, to be in England - Robert Browning (1812-1889)
(Greatly abused by Lauren Hughes, 9th August 2011, in response to the mindless violence across Britain)

I can only apologise.

On a brighter note, thousands of people have begun helping to clear up the mess this miniscule minority of mindless morons have created - largely coordinated through twitter and other networking sites. It's good to know that the spirit that kept us walking over the debris in the Blitz, and sending aid to where it's needed across the world, and lending a helping hand when times are tough has not deserted all of us.

If you're near London (and I hope you're safe) the clean up operation is being co-ordinated from here.

JacAbsolute would like to add:

'The great and admired beauty of the English flowers is their tiny, fragile but resilient drifts. Otherwise, for those getting high on excitement, may an eternal and ineffectual priapism afflict them (Marston, The Malcontent).'

(Images 'looted' from the Guardian news website.)