> The danger is always that this sort of thing triggers precisely that > sort of government response, with the consent and support of the > governed. I can think of how easily Americans adapted to the idea of > SWAT teams, and never thgouht of them as "heavily armed, armored, and > black clad Ninja cops". >
fortunately all the calls for water cannon and rubber bullets have been resisted here, saying that it's not the British way. Which is true. Except for Northern Ireland... B > On Thu, Aug 11, 2011 at 3:42 AM, Bob W <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Maybe it's just me, but when I read about these riots in the UK I > >> think of a combination of A Clockwork Orange and Neuromancer. > >> > > > > when I was growing up I used to watch riots, looting and suchlike on > TV > > coming from places like the USA, and my older brother and I even > walked > > through the riots in Singapore in the mid-60s. I used to think riots > & > > looting were a foreign phenomenon that the British were above. But in > fact > > we have a very long history of rioting and violence, including ones > like > > these that just seem to come out of nowhere. The Gordon Riots of the > late > > 18th century are an example. > > > > I've been reading a book about the British written by a French > journalist > > who has lived here for a long time. The French of course have their > own > > history of rioting, but she talks about an underlying propensity for > > violence in British culture which is not present in other cultures. > This may > > be true, and lies behind some of the violence of A Clockwork Orange - > teddy > > boys, mods & rockers, football violence, political violence and so > on. But > > the key message of A Clockwork Orange is not about the violence of > Alex and > > his droogs, it is about the violence used by the state against him, > and > > about free will and choice. > > > > B > > > >> On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 5:47 PM, Bob W <[email protected]> wrote: > >> > > >> > > >> >> -----Original Message----- > >> >> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf > >> Of > >> >> frank theriault > >> >> Sent: 10 August 2011 21:38 > >> >> To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > >> >> Subject: Re: Swords into ploughshares... > >> >> > >> >> On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 4:36 PM, frank theriault > >> >> <[email protected]> wrote: > >> >> > On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 4:43 PM, Bob W <[email protected]> > >> wrote: > >> >> >> ...riot shields into tea-trays. > >> >> >> > >> >> >> A great picture - not one of mine, alas - from London in the > >> early > >> >> hours: > >> >> >> <http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixel-eight/6024429000/> > >> >> > > >> >> > That is a wonderful photo. Hope things cool down there soon. > >> >> > Something about hot summers (is it hot there) and riots, I'm > >> >> afraid... > >> >> > >> >> Forgot the question mark at the end of the parentheses. Should > have > >> >> been "(is it hot there?)" > >> >> > >> >> -f > >> > > >> > This is England. Hot and summer don't belong in the same sentence. > >> > > >> > B > >> > > >> > > >> > -- > >> > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > >> > [email protected] > >> > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > >> > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > >> and follow the directions. > >> > > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Steve Desjardins > >> > >> -- > >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > >> [email protected] > >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > >> to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > and > >> follow the directions. > > > > > > -- > > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > > [email protected] > > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above > and follow the directions. > > > > > > -- > Steve Desjardins > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
