I think this is interesting because it's so utterly against the image the UK has held recently. As a country that is fairly close to the top of the Global Peace Index list despite its involvement in all the wars, it's supposed to be safe.
Last month, when there was a week filled with politically motivated killings in Karachi and it was all over the news I actually worried less about my friends there than I do now about my friends in London/Nottingham. I think the UK isn't able to handle this sort of trouble very well; the police are probably doing a better job than the police in other places with more frequent conflict would, but the people don't have experience with this sort of situation.
They seem to be doing okay, anyway, and I'm for once glad I'm not in the UK right now.
Edit:
Someone on
reddit said this yesterday:
Quote:
What is utterly striking about these events is how devoid of political motive they are. It's pure wanton and opportunistic destructiveness; rioting not to make a point but just for fun. The emphasis on arson-for-a-laugh is eye opening too. What's most shocking is that these people walk among us. The people who are doing this sit next to you on the tube, serve you in shops... this is painting a dismal picture of how close we are to animals.
I think that's part of what makes me feel more uneasy about this than about other conflicts that affect my friends and relatives - killing people because someone said something bad about Altaf Hussain is still less obscure than burning down houses because you have nothing better to do. Maybe that means I'm weird.
On a side note, tying these two things together, people are actually making a point to saying MQM has nothing to do with the London riots. I think that's kind of interesting... Edited, Aug 9th 2011 9:08pm by Kalivha