Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Now about those "chickens"...

"People who treat other people as less than human, must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned."
James Baldwin



Rather than my rehashing, take the time to read these two ladies' posts in response to what's happening in the UK England (with the video in mind) - "Burn, Baby, Burn:  Why United States Citizens Should Follow the UK's Lead" and "Um...If This is How You Handle Civil Unrest, Just Give Up Now."

UPDATE 1:  Well folks, as I'd feared, there will be shades of  Selma, AL in England starting today - both water cannons and rubber bullets have now been authorized.

And doesn't all this sound so very familiar?! (Couldn't figure out how to stop the auto-play when the video was embedded here, so I substituted the link instead. Lawd knows I don't want to hear this man every time I view my blog!)

UPDATE 2: U.K.'s Cameron Looks to U.S. Anti-Gang Tactics - from the piece:
I also believe we should be looking beyond our shores to learn the lessons from others who have faced similar problems," Cameron said.

He said the government, police and intelligence services were looking at whether there should be limits on the use of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook or services like BlackBerry Messenger to spread disorder.

BlackBerry's simple and largely cost free messaging service was used by rioters to coordinate their activities, Cameron's office said.

Government officials said they were discussing with spy agencies and communications companies whether messaging services could be disabled in specific areas, or at specific times. Authorities are considering "whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality," Cameron said.

"Police were facing a new circumstance where rioters were using the BlackBerry Messenger service, a closed network," to organize riots, he said. "We've got to examine that and work out how to get ahead of them."

Cameron said that, in the future, police would be able to order people to remove masks, hoods or other face coverings when they suspect them of concealing their identity to carry out a crime. Currently, officers must seek approval from a senior officer.

A program that can ban gang members from meeting together, loitering in certain places, or displaying gang insignia will also be extended, he said...

...Peter Tapsell, a veteran Conservative Party lawmaker, called on Cameron to draw inspiration from the response of U.S. authorities to anti-Vietnam protests in the 1970s.

Tapsell said he recalled law enforcement in Washington, D.C., rounding up demonstrators and imprisoning them in a sports stadium. He did not elaborate, but authorities in 1971 set up an emergency detention center next to Washington's RFK stadium to hold demonstrators after the largest mass arrest in U.S. history.(emphasis mine)
Yeah, this ought to calm things down.

2 comments:

Alliyah Gallows said...

Could someone explained to me how armed police going up against unarmed kids are brave?

Maybe I missed something...

DebC said...

Hey Ankh (been meaning to add that "h")! Welcome!

You're not the one missing anything - except maybe white folk always needing a "hero" in order to make what they do seem legitimate (the media coverage of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, along with the Seal Team's Bin Laden's kill come to mind). That, and their "Divine Right" as "Masters of the Universe" of course. {smdh}

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