Party Vibe

politicians can no longer sort that out. irrespective of political party they have no real power anyway at street level, since the 1980s the multinational companies have become more powerful than govts, and mobs of people, organised extremist groups or even angry individuals can cause utter havoc in todays individualistic world.

its nearly 3 years on since London got blown up and although thankfully it hasn’t caused a race war (yet) its still cost more innocent lives, 25 years of positive multiculturalism and a load of personal freedom we once had and that freedom hasn’t come back.

As for “democracy”, look how quickly a determined army of angry young men can steal a election (Zimbabwe). might seem like a third world tinpot foreign nation but that army was trained using British tactics – like how the abused sometimes become abusers, they are using the same tactics what were used to keep Rhodesia under minority white rule to keep their supporters in power.

its going to take coppers and maybe even the covert security services (MI5/SOCA) or even soldiers (although we’ve had the bright idea to deploy them all to foreign lands as part of dubyas crusades) as well as the normal people to clean up Londonistan – perhaps even a temporary return to the 1980s lockdowns or even curfews.

If it means massive losses to the capitals nightlife or even another 80s style riot or two (as clearly people will get angry) than so be it – we’ve had that all before and Britain survived, and I hate to say it but the tight rein on which the feds keep people on in my town (which is like SE London 20 years ago with less crime) does actually make the place slightly safer!

I was in my 20s when I started using this site! A ton of major changes have happened to Britain and the World in all those years, not all of them good. I did that political compass test twice, in 2003 and 2005 and I agree I have had a definite shift to supporting some forms of authority more whilst still remaining fairly left wing. This change happened with bitter experience, notably a social community/squat experiment in Reading falling apart in 2003/4 including a element of betrayal by a friend of 12 years whom I thought was well into this stuff and represented all the positive community ethos.

being made aware of the failures of similar ventures in London and the East of England have hardened my attitudes, but this all comes with experience.

Another thing what may seem ironic is that listening to radio scanner loads taught me a bit more respect for the Police as I realised all the other harsh shit they had to deal with, and also some people I knew locally and thought were “alternative/anarchist types” were actually fairly scummy, burgling old peoples houses, beating women, doing all sorts of other wrong stuff…

Working in Whitehall (the only organisation what would give me a job because I dared to take a 1 year career break and party hard after the dot com crash) taught me many of those in Govt weren’t often evil – stupid and misled sometimes but it also came with trying to please the whole population which is impossible..

Maybe you will have to experience this to see where I’m coming from.

I would say my politics are still left of centre (with a lot of support for a constructive public sector) – I am only unsure of “anarchic”/”unregulated” ventures having seen too many fail.

I think these ventures need a “helping hand” from Government rather than an “iron fist” (as Billy Bragg once said), but at the same time when there are people taking the piss the conventional authorities need to deal with them, unless you want vigilanté style forces like in African nations.

There has been a increase in personal freedom (in 1987-1991 we dared not openly talk about our drug use, stuff was expensive and hard to get, and the cops would randomly stop check you even more than nowadays) but it hasn’t always been used positively.

Some of the “freedom” – particularly the the ease with which younger people in the West can obtain motor cars and fuel, and the rise in disposable income prior to peak oil was what has led to todays global resource war and subsequent terrorist attacks and racial disharmony worldwide (which obviously need security measures to deal with them).

bear in mind too I’m a Londoner.

I was born and brought up and played in the areas where Jonnyquest now lives. I moved back there as a teen/young adult for college and watched it decline. From what Jonnyquest and Daftfader post London really has got much worse, to the point “normal” people (i.e those what aren’t representing gangs/crews) no longer feel safe to go on the streets.

It is simply not acceptable that a young man cannot go about London in night without being set upon. worse that those who try to better themselves (like those French students) or the young actor and the brother of that Eastenders actor find if they dare try and stick up for themselves they are killed.

All the “liberal” solutions have been tried and failed. I know a lot of London’s problems is because of the gross inequality of incomes in different areas but we had that 20 years ago too and it exists in Ipswich and Lowestoft too but less people get killed…

I’ll give Ken Livingstone his due, he tried to do a lot of good for the capital but didn’t or couldn’t deliver quickly enough so lost at the ballot box. (I’d still have voted for him if I was back in the capital!) This is a failure of democracy. I think given 5 more years he may have been able to finish off some of his plans, but people have the right to disagree and I think many voted for Johnson not because they thought he was any good but just as a protest at the slow progress…

A while back I posted a report here on how 600 met cops sealed off a street in London to bust these dodgy shops selling stuff what was mugged off people in the street. I was shocked at how many people on this forum were so supportive of the Police action (though it was done well without causing too much trouble to innocents, and no shots were fired).

Sorting out London is not going to be easy or painless. Sometimes people need to lose freedom to appreciate what it is.