Dear London,
You were my home for almost two years. I loved taking my A-Z and getting off the tube and just wandering aimlessly. I loved the London atmosphere. I loved the safe feeling I had, pretty much everywhere I went. I loved that the three times I've been back to visit since I moved home ten years ago, I felt at home the moment I stepped out of the underground and onto the cobbles.
I have some good friends in London still. I heard from one on Sunday and she expressed sorrow over the riots on Saturday night. Little did either of us expect that today would mark the third day of rioting...dear London, can you please keep my friends safe. And the other 7,820,293 people who live in London who are not rioting. And the police officers and paramedics and fire fighters and other emergency personnel. And maybe in all your London-ness you can convince the rioters to stop. Vancouver had its own riot in June. Its origins were suspect, but it only lasted one frightening, disgusting evening.
So dear London, I hope for you and your inhabitants that tonight is the last night of this disruptive, horrifying unrest. I hope that you keep those people safe, that they again feel the same security on your street I felt ten years ago. I will be back to visit you and perpetuate my crush on you in the (hopefully) near future...so stay safe and rioters, go home...please. Just go home.
xo
Its really starting to piss me off how little the government have done so far!! They need to send in the army don't you think? or perhaps shout on loud hailers to all the scumbags that their benefits will be stopped!!
ReplyDeleteIts really starting to piss me off how little the government have done so far!! They need to send in the army don't you think? or perhaps shout on loud hailers to all the scumbags that their benefits will be stopped!!
ReplyDeleteIt made me so sad this morning when I got up and saw the pictures on the news from last night. London looks like a war zone (I haven't seen any photos yet of Birmingham, Leeds etc)...some of the images today remind me of photos of the bombing in World War II...ugh...I hope it stops. Soon. Like now.
ReplyDeleteI can understand being justifiably upset about the original shooting but there are ways to express that anger that don't involve destroying the property of innocent people. I saw a picture of a man who was easily in his 70's checking out the damage to his barber shop and I just teared up. He had probably worked hard his whole life and this was his reward: a bunch of angry twats destroy his livelihood.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree...I feel like this was similar to the Vancouver Riot in the way it started - people doing something innocent but a few rowdies caused it turn into mayhem. I saw that picture of the man in the barber shop - here (guessing it's the same one) - the caption says he's 89...that picture totally made me cry...I have had to stop looking at the coverage because it's making me so sad/mad that I can't see straight....
ReplyDeleteThat's him. Eighty-nine?!? Wow. *sigh* Heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty heartbreaking. Even today it's still going...what a disaster. I saw some coverage on the news this morning of a poor guy getting beat up and then "helped" up to his feet to only be robbed by the people that helped him. They rummaged through his backpack when he was disoriented... it's such a shame.
ReplyDeleteI guess we weren't the only ones who were upset about the elderly barber...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/barber-whose-shop-was-looted-is-cut-a-break-with-donations-2336316.html