rioting rioteers - who were the baddies?

Hello again dear picnic'ers~~today we're sitting in a cooler spot.

It feels like autumn is nearing, as the sky is overcast and grey, and the clouds are rainheavy and droopy. Picnic season is coming to a close. But don't worry, dears. HulaMama will host indoors picnics. Just bring paintbrushes and birdsongs on tape, and we will have our meadow, some fluffy clouds and a picnic under a rainbow in no time.

It's been a little while since our last gathering on this lovely spot. My daughter's birthday and other such things happened. But I actually did not get to host my annual birthday picnic in the park this year. It is a LOT of work and I just couldn't muster up the energy. On the day when we'd normally have it, it rained bucketloads here in New York. BUCKETLOADS!! Flooded basements and gutters and streets all over the place. It was all a wet mess out there, so I felt kinda lucky that I didn't set a picnic plan this year, as previous years have been just lovely and sunny and perfect for picnics. 

Even though it's been a couple of weeks since the riots in London and other cities in England, and I didn't write anything then about it, I have to wrote something now. I have read various articles and pieces of writings on the riots both in UK publications and in US ones. I couldn't stop reading about it when the riots were going on as the UK has a certain place to my heart. It has been a while since I lived there, but I lived in London for three years, three formative years of my life. I attended London Contemporary Dance School which is situated near King's Cross (of Harry Potter fame - train platform 9 3/4 for those of you who have read and/or watched the series). 

Just as Harry Potter is consistently fighting strong, adult forces that are designed to not only weaken him, but to destroy him entirely, so are the governmental powers today designed not to help and build up youth, but to weaken and destroy character, morale, hope and enthusiasm for life and living in the young'ems of today. 

In our society, imbued by values and ideals that is a perfect fit in some strata and a poor fit for others, it indiscriminately and across the board forces people to live in certain conditions within certain frameworks whether or not this is suitable for all. Yes, you say, but without societal frameworks total chaos will surely ensue. You can say that because you have a washer and dryer. You have a job, or at least job prospects. You have an education. You conform. You fit in to the framework. Or at least you try hard to fit in because you have learned that it is the right way to live. Not only is it the right way, but it is the only way to live according to those who are in power. And you believe it. 

Who are those in power that decide such things for you? Well, let's break this down. Western societies are still striving for fulfillment of Euro-centric patriarchal values. So those in charge would be those who benefit from seeing such values fulfilled. 

Ok, so we got that out of the way. We understand that politicians, ie. those in power as mentioned above, are elected by some of us - by those of us that benefit from having such people elected so they can do our bidding. Those of us who have no say are those who do not vote the politicians in because we know from a longstanding tradition that the aforementioned politicians in power will NEVER, or rarely, speak up for some of us. 

During the riots, condemnation and disgust at such behavior by the depraved city youth was the popular stance in mainstream media. Yes, I too became angry and misty eyed when I saw shop owners crying at having lost everything they had ever worked for, and I felt so bad for the home owners who lost their homes and everything in it (including washers and dryers) due to senseless burning. 

I wasn't angry at the youth though. Not a chance! We know kids emulate grown ups' behavior. 

For example, this is what some grown ups have been up to lately: a small group of "big guys", sharks and financial scoundrels, singlehandedly created the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The persons involved in letting the the major financial institutions go down the toilet did not get a single hour in jail. An official reprimand maybe, but NO ONE paid for the consequences of their actions. We all know the consequences of their actions resulted in a worldwide financial disaster. That coupled with the Housing Bubble that burst in 2007 (also caused by large financial companies' greed and unsound lending practices) made loads of lower and middle class people already struggling to get by lose retirement savings, homes, lives, jobs, hope, everything.... NO ONE went to jail for these crimes that pretty much rocked our financial climate on global scale!!! 
After the US government decided to bailout large corporations on the verge of bankruptcy with the little guys' hard-earned tax money, we saw images of CEOs of these same large corporations on corporate conferences in luxury resorts, flying around in private jets, and giving themselves a high five by pocketing millions in year-end bonuses. You all know this already, so no need to regurgitate (but I just did, for the sake of it!).

Darcus Howe said it the best when he exclaimed in a BBC TV interview that the riots were "an insurrection of the masses". The numbers gave voice to the little people, those with normally no say. In however misguided ways they "spoke up" because they had been taught to think of themselves as not worthy, not equal. How many of you think it will happen here in the States soon?

One of the wackjobs that blame the young people, Ann Coulter, is a right-wing conservative figure here in the States. She is blaming the riots on liberal politics. I was chuckling at how she describes the situation.


Well, that was surprising. I didn't think I was going to get political on my little patch of sun and flowers, but it happened... Ooops. ;-)
I will write again really soon from my next destination spot. I am heading to Sweden via Iceland for a little dose of healthy socialism. Hehe... 
A bientot (which is neither Icelandic nor Swedish, but French for "have a glass of wine". Actually, I'm lying...).