TommyT wrote:
actually I think that the real number is about 10,000 and considering that there were over 2 million people the smell of bacon was not so strong !
I think the cops definitely needed to be there – if they weren’t there Londonistan’s youth (of all races and cultures) wouild turn it into their own personal fight club as they have already done with most unlicensed raves in their areas.
Operation Trident was set up in 1987 (despite the cops claiming it is more recent) because of gang violence in London which kicked off at Carnival…
Its a shame that this has to be the situation for people to gather and dance in our capital though..
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I also think that perhaps you take a differnet view on such “community events” It was a party and people got intoxicated on the vibe as much as anything. Are you a Squat Snob?
Only inasmuch that I don’t consider most free parties to be real “squatting” any more (or even many squats!) and am very selective about what events I go to these days…
7 years ago people were squatting buildings, doing a few parties in them but also using them for living and creative space.
Now many residential squats seem to be merely havens for people to feed their addictions (and store stolen property), and the remaining residential squatters have to be wary of using their home for parties as they are invariably trashed three times over.
I’ve not seen a “positive” squat for ages now. Even when people try to do positive things in them they are robbed by scum who see squats as easy targets. I once helped look after one in Reading and TBH it was sometimes like manning a checkpoint in Iraq.
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Ive been too a couple of “free partys” and had too pay! then there was this dude in a k-hole who deicded to take all his clothes off and start smashing shit up………no body did anything, and i had to help to carry him out, NAKED!
So maybe a bit of organisation and security is not such a bad idea.
At the warehouse parties I have been to (mostly not in London though!) have been very well organised.
People who go off the rails have been peacefully dealt with and handed over to Ambulance at the gate if need be (without having people in uniform swarming all over the warehouse and freaking ravers out or putting themselves in danger)
Indoor Free parties used to operate taking donations in a bucket but everyone refused to contribute anything so the crews became a bit more robust about asking for money (its not something I particularly agree with , but TBH the money taken at these events (when split between crews present) barely covers the fuel costs!
In London there is security on some “free parties” and the door collection is to pay them – bear in mind these guys are facing knives and perhaps soon even firearms!
At the moment the future is smaller parties as stax is saying – and the problem isn’t just cops.
We in Britain have not actually reached a level of maturity where large groups of people from different cultures and background can party together without someone trying to start trouble unless there is some authority figure to nanny people. At all the large multiriggers there has been trouble but unless its cops fighting people tend to accept it as “part of the rave”.
OTOH small groups of people who know one another usually can self-regulate.
