Here's what they told us:
Free
for all as middle aged women grab some swag
Lawlessness
calls as the blaze rages
Chaos
goes national but was it all a game of chess?
Kweku
Aacht
Fight
with the voice not with your hands. Shame on you for violence, shame
on you for arson, shame on you for destruction and putting fear in
your community. Come together to reason, you cannot defend your
actions nor will I hear your excuse.
Anonymous
For
all the condemnation of the rioters, nobody looks at themselves to
see what they did/didn't do. I'm not agreeing with the
rioters/looters, but please remember they come from our communities,
they are us.
If
we condemn and punish without forgiving and moving forward at the
same time they will return just as angry, just as outcast and we will
repeat the pattern.
Anonymous
Fight
for against oppression doesn't mean you have endanger someone else's
life.
There
are other ways tell your voice be heard.
Violence
shows ignorance and weakness and let your oppressor think they show
the world who you really are.
macbern
They
burn down shops cos they wanna break out of their box,
they
ignite fires but they can't yet feel the fires within themselves,
do
we dare delve, to the deepest places where this all started?
Stu
Unity
of the people at last Black, White, Asian, Jew, chav, rudeboy,
Mother, Father, doctor, lawyer, student, shoulder to shoulder.
But
for what Greed, Chaos, Anger, Frustration?
Why
can't we The People come together for a positive PURPOSE in our
millions instead?
Lisa
Djembe
They
were from various social and economic settings. They were not looting
basic resources such as food and water. Maybe the events of the past
few days are proof that the social conditioning of this nation has
been very effective. Consumers will do just about anything to achieve
self gratification and get shiny new goods! (Good Consumers?)
Anonymous
“A
riot is at the bottom the language of the unheard”
“Get
up, stand up”, speak up and be heard
One
community voice, one choir, one harmony that echoes for our time
Sheila
Suso-Runge
"The
youth of this era
need
to be disciplined accordingly.
No
excuses!!! "
Budums
If
this is about our young people, guess what? It's about us.
If
it's about the breakdown of law & order, materialism and greed,
guess what? It's about us.
And
even if it's about the politicians, the so-called powers that be,
guess what? It's about us. It's about us.
a22bf88c-c73f-11e0-b177-000bcdcb5194
Out
of this Chaos let there be Clarity
Out
of this violence let there be Peace
Out
of this Destruction let there be Positivity
FB
group - Riot Cleanup Tottenham
fast
paced emotions, too high, too loud, too unreal
centrifugal
power, ever faster, the only choice being drawn in or catapulted out
fast
paced moving-on, too thin, too loud, too unreal
petra
hilgers
too
fast to focus on behaviour...you can't change behaviour without
changing thoughts and feelings. you can't engage with people if you
don't talk from / empathise with their point of view. the
disenfranchised will speak and act with THEIR language. close your
mouth - you're not shocked - you're disgusted with yourself for
thinking they'd remain unheard and unseen. poor judgement call for
you - what you gonna do?
Spirited
Strength
devoid
of love - divide us and rule us
looting
and destroying?
look
who got there first
Val
Archer
political
faces, bullys in dark places, grief from the street taking on the
institutions and the beat, hurt and pain crying what does it take to
be human again,
Joseph
D
Imagine
not caring about the consequences
Nothing
could be worse than now
Of
course, I don’t care, I have nothing to lose
Natalie
Young
people with no future criminalised on mass
Greedy
politicians call for them to be hung
Its
time for people with a heart to speak out.
Anonymous
Don't
try to put this fire out!
It's
bigger than you it's bigger than me and I know what I'm talking
about.
Warming
the cold lighting the dark and like every roaring blaze it grew from
a little spark
Tom
Currie
There
is true injustice in our broken society, which remains invisible,
unless
you scratch beneath the surface.
Join
hands, work together and mend these broken hearts.
Dx
glossed
by TV, she couldn't miss her opportunity,
to
be famous for a few mins and smash windows with disused bins,
her
angered face on government CCTV - all and sundry were there to see,
her
guilt and shame absent for she says she was hungry.
her
life is now a media feast afraid of those who acted like beasts,
a
lesson she will never really learn, because her world was already a
fire to burn.
Beverley
A
country heated by the fires of youth;
Without
hope, justice or success, in truth.
Their
failures and despondency transmitted across the globe for the world
to see,
teenagers
- black and white - rushing for plasma TVs.
Strive
for a better place, strive for better futures, but I beg you please,
don't lose our community strength for a pair of Footlocker sneakers.
Beverley
Fists
jerk, knee-jerk. Privileged voices with no understanding call for
less understanding and more condemnation. Slam shut the cell door and
slap on the plaster; but the wound still festers.
Nick
The
Riots in London that quickly spread to other parts of the Uk
Are
a sign of our uneasy times,
Young
people should be listened to, recognised and supported.
The
Riots are more than just 'mindless violence' but are collective
expression in the form of anger and destruction.
Let's
try to give them some hope back.
Martha
McAlpine
There
is a riotous tenderness in my heart
It
is not allowed out, it is unwanted
It
is swallowed
Underneath,
hiding its beauty
Causing
ripples and Obfuscations
Just
a flash in the pan
Because
to be really seen
Is
just too scary, man
So
get out of my face
Get
it
Edward
Nelson
The
London riots shed some of light to some of the economic problems
faced by young people in UK. The question now is what will happen
next? In the words of Malcolm X "Truth is on the side of the
oppressed".
Farah
Like
a scorpion in a ring of fire,
Stabbing
at itself with poisonous venom
Confused
and frightened
Heat
and bright lights make a pretty prison
But
who started the fire?
Smothering
smoke clouds all thought and reason
Rita
Walters
Outraged
we were to find our own lawmakers
there
in the sack with hacks who hack, connivin with cold-blooded
lawbreakers
yay
these are the people now to put our house in order
“such
pleasant well-dressed criminals - not like those lawless marauders!”
BeeGirl
Oh
No
Oh
God
Why?
Irene
Grindell
What
happens to us
parents
if our kids
know
no fear?
Ruth
Riot!
sick and tired of the piece and quiet,
we're
hungry, tired of being drip fed, no leaders no followers are we the
living dead?
lied
to with no right to, and no light to what our voice said...
so
we going out to the venue called mob rule,
Where
Cocktails are molitoff its old school! Thats free on the house
too!...
and
if you on the same strip that's 3 more to your house fool! Coming
through your shop windows, taking whatever goes then smiling for the
camera with a cute pose!
Street
beefs the main dish
Lootings
the 3rd course
any
signs of weakness,
geeza
your mine gowg!
Yo
but hear what, you think your big in diss dont you know da bwoy dem
were ordered to let it riff!
Its
Organized confusion...
What's
that called problem reaction solution, they create the problem we
react and then they shoot them? them is us, us is we, and we rebuke
them! Send them back to the caves where they come from either that or
continue with the serfdom are you a real man or a straw man what's
real dan? Guns, gold and a get away plan!
Stephen
Thornhill
Speak
to me on the telephone
Listen
to me on the microphone
Make
sure I’m not home alone
When
change is going on
Catch
me up on the street
Step
up with me in a heartbeat
Make
sure it’s a rhythmic treat
When
change is going on
When
the moon shines down and its night
When
the sun rises up and its bright
people
get ready, get right
when
a change is going on
Sheila
Suso-Runge
From
Envision UK – We Are London 16 November 2011
How
do I feel about the riots?
It
caused chaos and attraction to liars
The
terrifying triumph of taking from retails and shops
Young
people (youth) showing a negative side
Releasing
anger against new rules – law – and benefits
Making
the government react and think twice about choices
What
makes you think you could destroy
livelihoods
like that?
Homes,
businesses & memories
Ah
my shop is on fire!
My
livelihood is burning
Noooooooooooooooooo!!!
Homes
destroyed
Families
falling apart
NO
RESPECT!!
Gangs
need to come to an end
Place
a stop to it all
Emma
Brickwood, Sajeela Habib, Ionela Bulgia from Haggerston School
We
can only go on
So
long before
The
blistering rage boils up inside us
From
riot:lyrics live, 19 January 2012 at Rich Mix
Making
you feel untrusting of your safe neighbourhood
Making
you feel for the lone misguided souls
Making
you feel something.
About
being different:
Today
I was with Rose, 4 years old, and as she asked me about a man with
strange manners close to us, I just told her: he is just a little bit
different, he has a disease called Down syndrom.
And
Rose answered: yes, he is brown-haired, I'm blond-haired.
Disbelief
Alien
Hope
complex
causal
process!
I
found the riots interesting and quite stimulating.
Something
different in the air and not knowing where it would go.
Also
concerning.
line
1: thieving rabble
line
2: police men
line
3: policemen with helmets
Riot
fraud.
Nothing
to be seen.
Safe
in leafy North London.
The
Earth moved to cinder below my window, cans and rubbish lit up.
Cats
and dogs ran with the petrol can,
But
I wasn't there.
Gratuitous
violence leads to emptiness
What
unites us there is meaningless.
What
started as a case of police brutality led to a cry for attention by
the youth.
Very
easy to blame the kids for being opportunitists,
but
it is vital to review and consider the deeper rooted problems of a
capitalist, money-hungry culture.
My
first thought was that we have produced a disconnected society.
For
the well being of these kids, we need to reconnect.
How?
This is a very good and open quest.
What
if conflict brings the worst of God's gift. Rebellion.
Rebellion
through desperation and youth unemployment.
What
a sense of shame, London up in flames our mind still chained
Even
we try to claim
The
people need to come to this realisation.
Police
brutality, aggression, victimisation and criminalisation
Caused
the uprising in Tottenham, solidarity made it spread!
Crazy
chaos, anger sets the night on fire
Eyes
have gone mad, but they've been mad for a while
After
this whirlwind I pray things will change.
can't
take
heat
Riots.
Disgusting. Deprived. Depressing.
What
a sense of shame.
They
burnt down my favourite building.
A
society where priorities are wrong
Youth
in perdition
Greed,
wants & individualism
Watching
on TV
Buildings
up in flames
What
have the police done now?
riots
a
mirror of the big business of politics
but
more desperate
1
Society is what we make it; we can choose civil unrest and chaos or
normal day.
2
Send them to jail.
3
Set them free it's what happens.
If
I was younger I'd have joined in; that part of me wanted to make me
feel guilty.
At
fist I thought is was stupid hooliganism but then I got it: it was so
much more than that.
I'm
still angry that so many didn't try to look below the surface fo try
& understand.
Power
is addictive, especially the first hit; "this little light of
mine, I gonna let it shine".
Raise
the bar, educate yourself in positivity.
You
can blame others till you're blue in the face!
once
upon a time
there
was a time when all rules were off
it
began to show what could be possible...
Asian
student mugged by 'Samaritans'
TV
Hype
Only
2 views in the media – bad kids + economic woe
Where
were you when the night got turned inside out
And
home became an invisible space
with
no boundaries
chaos
madness
greed
Why
didn't I get up in time to wash my hair this morning?
Now
I'm caught on the news.
And
wearing shitty shoes...
Talk
to me about the family run barbers in Peckham.
Ladies,
are you sure you should be walking on the streets tonight? It's not
safe, you know. Then we do. And the streets are dead!
I'm
fixed on the TV thinking 'God I hope I don't see any of my boys'; but
then I wonder what they'd be saying if I did.
Misunderstanding
Angry
Unjustice
Sirens
all night long no sleep
Endless
live coverage
Pembury
burning
I
am sat in the dark in the van my brother drives, my chest feels like
it is going to burst under the beating of the drum inside. I hit the
side of the van as we spin round the corner, this is the closest we
have felt as we approach the carphone warehouse we will hit.
if
we'd all started wising up, we'd all be rising up
but
now the 1% finding powers & guns to crush all righteous dissent
so
who stood most to gain from London's pain? I ask myself
greedy
me
– me – me
shopping
what
happened is not black or white, and wrong will never make right
but
we all have to fight.
with
hearts not fists please.
Is
it OK to fight fire with fear? A political dispute, no excuse – but
time for someone to lend more than an ear...
What
is it exactly that has changed since that night? An evening of
fright, mob rule –
a sense of community in the morning. After an evening call
to awaken – what?
Where
is our future heading?
Furrowed
little faces like Mama Fratelli
Clawing
at the streets like an empty belly
I
was stranded in Pinner, on to a winner
You
should count your blessings rather than focus on what you don't have.
You
shouldn't expect for this to be given to you in life so the
justification that the rioters have never been given seems wrong.
There
is clearly a problem in society that needs to be fixed but it isn't
up to people who live thier life with respect for others to make
things better for those that don't.
Everyone
is fighting for something
Crowd
control let free
Your
cocoon is my prison
Frustration
– desperation – alienation
Sabotage,
destruction, uprising.
Recognition,
someone listen - - - lock them away.
Poundland
in Peckham
Sticky
notes, angry faces
emptiness
and hope
Secret
excitement at people power
Relief,
explelling frustrationgs
It
is not about sweeping debris under the carpet.
disappointment
anger
void
chaos
desperation
opportunism
Eyes
glued to the helicopter; camera coverage on News 24
The
sensationalist Sky news reporting was better than the BBC
I
sat on the sofa with friends watching their home town going up in
flames.
It's
dispiriting to think that people can attack their own communities in
this way.
Where
does such a state of mind come from?
Start
to look for the answer in the materialisation and deregulation of the
Thatcherite + New Labour
Hopefully
from chaos, confusion and Anarchy will emerge order
Can
Authorities Please compensate the Victims of these RIOTS, without
delay. Give them sufficient resources and financial help to re-start
their businesses, and return to better homes.
If
you have no money you will not succeed in life If You "RIOT"
I
haven't met anyone from the 'Lost Generation'!
"Love
is a snapback and chinos"
Where
do we need to go to find the At Risk Kids? These guys all want to be
doctors
The
converted
Preachin'.
Preachin'. Preachin'. Preachin'. Preachin'. Preachin'. Preachin'.
Guilty.
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.
Guilty. Guilty.
Money.
Money. Money. Money. Money. Money.
English.
English. English. English.
Shattered
shops with people in them
Shattered
glass like diamonds
Panic
& hysteria end of the world style
I
was on a beach in Greece
and
they told me "London is burning"
and
I believed them...
Watching
the BBC footage from above
The
female reporter is told "if you feel uncomforable, just stop"
She
starts to report 'they're coming fast' she says, 'I'm scared'. She
stops.
My
streets were no longer mine.
So
strange to have to run, afraid, home
A
closeness of safety, much closer than normal
Realism
and truth in what paraded as protest but was wrapped up in greed!
Depth
of the problems that have been bubbling for centuries.
You
keep taking from people and eventually they'll wake up and bite the
hand that feeds them.
Fear
Concern
Worry
A
lot of chaos
A
lot of anarchism
A
lot of suppressed frustration
The
local pub boarded up
"They've
looted Tescos, set fire to Londis'
All
hype! Creating anxiety.
Tonight
somebody said 'it was good that the youths realised their own
powers'
But
the saddest thing was that their aspiration was to get a pair of
trainers.
The
rebels without a real course.
(Tonight)
Real
and heartfelt
Intuitively
bold
Black
and bright and beautiful
Don't
be afraid of wanting to catch the moon: you'll have it.
Every
single voice matters and can be heard.
Love
is all it takes: makes the world go round.
Be
the change you want to see (Gandhi).
Donae'o
is playing, riots are in session
London's
the studio, the mic should have been the weapon
Allow
me to dictate my feelings of that day.
Wow
Wow
Wow...
let the words spoken tonight speak louder than the riotous actions
last summer
Only
The
Beginning...
All
this conflict, brings out the worst of gods gift,
Rebellion
through desperation and youth unemployment,
What
a sense of shame, London up in flames, our minds still in chains,
even when we try to claim
Our
freedom, instead we just be dumb, and now we are cornered against the
wall so we run,
to
where? Towards the sun,
but
police brutality, aggression and uprising making us lose our sanity,
victimisation
is such a calamity, criminalisation is making me sadder please
Just
STOP I can't take the heat, if we fight then in the end its ourselves
we beat
My
first thought was we have produced a disconnected society, riots and
more negativity seems to be all the eye can see
People
people this is the sequel we work just to make ends equal
Chorus:
Making
you feel untrusting of your safe neighbourhood
Making
you feel for the lone misguided souls
Making
you feel something.