Society

I started writing a really long piece about this quote, which was from a recent post on the Suicide Girls blog. I talked about the riots, the causes, the effects, the present and the future. Then I remembered what I’ve learned from doing this blog. Airing my views here is often one of the worst things I can do. So I’ve decided not to post that piece I wrote. We all have our own views about what went on last week, and about society in general.

One thing that the riots did show is that society isn’t ready to implode just yet. There were enough people with good in their heart and brooms in their hand to pull the communities back together, or to start at least. There have been all sorts of reasons put forward as to how and why the riots were stopped. The politicians and the police both claimed their victory. Tariq Jahan’s sensible, inspirational and courageous speech definitely deserves a lot of the credit for calming things down, here in Birmingham at least. 

But the thing that worries me is the possibility that the riots ended simply because there was nothing left in the shops worth looting. Everyone who was willing to get involved had got their piece.

Which leads to the even bigger worry. What happens when people are rioting for something other than a new tv and a pair of trainers. What happens if, or more likely when, political ideals and material possessions mean nothing to the vast majority of people. What happens if people are rioting for no other reason than because they can.

This “short re-write” is already longer than I’d planned, and I’m not really sure how to end what I’ve said. But I watched The Dark Knight during all the madness last week, and a lot of the themes in the film echo my thoughts. One scene in particular seems so relevant to what I’ve said here. So that’s what I’m going to finish with, a conversation between Bruce Wayne and Alfred, and hopefully we never get to the stage where Alfred is proved right. 

Bruce Wayne: Criminals aren’t complicated, Alfred. We just need to figure out what he’s after.

Alfred Pennyworth: With respect, Master Wayne, perhaps this is a man that you don’t fully understand either. A long time ago, I was in Burma. My friends and I were working for the local government. They were trying to buy the loyalty of tribal leaders by bribing them with precious stones. But their caravans were being raided in a forest north of Rangoon by a bandit. So we went looking for the stones. But in six months, we never met anyone who had traded with him. One day I saw a child playing with a ruby the size of a tangerine. The bandit had been throwing them away.

Bruce Wayne: So why steal them?

Alfred Pennyworth: Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money. They can’t be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

PS: I’d sketched down a bunch of ideas for this quote last night. This was the one I thought worked best so drew it up today. While I’ve been sat here writing this and looking at my drawing its looked more and more familiar. And I’ve just realised why. It’s similar (in style) to a piece which I can’t find now, but I think was done by Wasted Rita. I never intended to echo anyone’s style, my brain is just so saturated with the millions of things I see each day, that I guess every now and again something similar splurges back out. So I apologise for that. 

If you’ve never seen Wasted Rita’s work, you should go and check it out. Pretty awesome stuff.