Underclass scum and "normal" people who joined them

During the last several days and nights civilised and decent citizens of this lovely land of Britain experienced shocking images of underclass scum thugs looting and setting whatever they could on fire.

Apparently, packs of deprived youths were able to shaken and rock the normality of the British street to such extend that they were apparently joined by opportunistic hundreds of those who had something wrong with their moral compasses and who got carried away giving in to the mentality of an aggressive mob.

Certainly for many, it was one of those moments when normal rules do not apply and everything is allowed which gives an impression that under a thin layer of normal social relationships there is a beastly drive to aggressive, violent looting with no regard to anything.

So we have observed packs of underclass youth representing gang culture and some “normal” people who seemingly joined them maybe in a mix of greed and dislike of those more successful and rich, or maybe in a sudden rush of power and impunity felt by those normally powerless. 

MG

Water cannons and plastic bullets

Riots and violent looting across the England shocked the society and the use of water cannons and baton rounds (plastic bullets) have been allowed by the government to the Police.

I don’t expect water cannons to be extensively useful or effective in combating thugs. First of all, over dozen water cannons serve in Northern Ireland and it is unlikely to see them on the streets of England tonight. Even if they appear the problem will be the same – they cannot be everywhere. Secondly, water cannons are effective in dispersing big crowds of protesters trying to confront the police but not against mobile groups of youths focused on personal gain and causing mayhem, attacking and looting not protected spots and quickly disappearing afterwards. Water cannons will have rather psychological effect and will help to convince the society that “something has been done” to tackle the problem.

Baton rounds (plastic bullets) will be more useful. By now, the deployed heavy armoured lines of police can easily withstand stones and other thrown at them missiles but usually is neither able to outrun and catch up with running thugs nor to engage them over distance.  Plastic bullets will change that adding to the comfort and safety police officers involved increasing area of their effectiveness during combat.

MG

London riots

Recent riots and looting in London and other cities took everyone by a surprise – deprived hooded scum took to the street and the police forces were over-stretched, outnumbered and outmanoeuvred, not being able to be everywhere. Groups of youths attacked the police in running battles, burning cars and buildings, looting shops in few consecutive days/nights by now. What the results of this are likely to be?

It seems the violent riots came in handy in the right moment for the police. It is likely that plans to cut 10.000 police jobs within next two years will be abandoned.

The next thing is that many people will end up being arrested and prosecuted in numbers reaching hundreds in the next weeks, months. This tsunami of criminality will cause difficulties for the justice system. Already those arrested in London have to be taken to the cells outside of London because those in London are already full.

I would also expect some sociological discussions what to do with the problems of poverty, deprivation and gang culture among many youths. Apparently, there is a whole generation of people who have never worked, who stay on benefits, who are eager to commit opportunistic crime, who have no regard to communities they live in.

Validity of intervention in Libya

First of all, Colonel Kaddafi is a dictator, a bad man, even a mad man. I am not trying to defend his regime. When his youngest son was arrested for two days in Switzerland for maltreating their domestic staff in the luxury Hotel in Geneva it had triggered a furious reaction from Kaddafi’s regime and some unjust actions like detaining some Swiss businessmen. More examples of degeneration of Kaddafi’s family - read here.

So Colonel Kaddafi is a bad mad man but I am not entirely convinced to the validity of western involvement in the conflict. The conflict erupted fuelled by Arab Spring but the ‘good guys’ might not be as good as many would like to believe. The sides in the conflict are defined along tribal lines. Limited support of the west helps to keep the conflict going on and in an impasse; and the main coalition’s goal – “to protect civilians” – is paradoxically fulfilled to the contrary because more people die and suffer on both sides in prolonged fighting than it would be the case in a quick campaign (regardless which side would have won).  Additionally, if the rebels would emerge victorious it does not necessary mean democracy in Libya.  There are many islamists among rebel fighters who recently killed their commander. Libya has no democratic institutions and plenty tribal partitions and I fear Somali scenario may become a sober fact.

Truth

The main point I want to make here is that the truth is not always the most important thing. In fact people often pretend that something is true (e.g. Santa Clause) in order to do good things for bad or untrue reasons. It comes to my mind the quote from Terry Pratchett’s “Hogfather”. By the way, it is amazing how many deep ideas found their place in this short peace of text:

“Death: Humans need fantasy to *be* human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
Susan: With tooth fairies? Hogfathers?
Death: Yes. As practice, you have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
Susan: So we can believe the big ones?
Death: Yes. Justice, mercy, duty. That sort of thing.
Susan: They're not the same at all.
Death: You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder, and sieve it through the finest sieve, and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet, you try to act as if there is some ideal order in the world. As if there is some, some rightness in the universe, by which it may be judged.
Susan: But people have got to believe that, or what's the point?
Death: You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become?”

We have here the problem of truth and fantasy, what it means to be a human, evolution, a metaphor from the Bible, moral duties, the role of beliefs and some physics.

Usually, people try to confirm their experience with their convictions they hold dear as long as they can, but sometimes changes in their lives force them to changes in their belief systems. When looking for the truth we may find different answers than we were looking for. After all, truth is a dangerous thing.

Open minded

People get infected by ideas simply because our brains are pattern-seeking devices. We always try to link the dots and fill gaps – even if we cannot. We also seek control and order – that’s why we categorise things. In an attempt to have influence over things and processes we didn’t understand we created magic. In order to feels safe we invented religion.  In order to understand and submit the world around us we developed science. To express ourselves we often use art.

These days we use technology in more ways and to larger extend than we have done ever before.  Although modern technological progress was a direct result of scientific discoveries many of us still lives in more or less superstitious paradigms. Apparently, old habits die hard but the next tests for our species lie ahead: how to accommodate and feed the growing number of people? What about climate changes? How dissolve social inequalities and injustice throughout the world? The world is bound to change within the next 50 – 100 years more than it had changed in any analogical period in the past. We simply cannot go further sticking to old ideas and old worldviews. To be open-minded is a good start. But then, children’s minds are open as well – and what we do? We allow them to get infected and brainwashed by old memes, old ideas.

MG

Atheistic Christians

No surprise for me here, but the recent BBC article about Rev Klaas Hendrikse titled “Dutch rethink Christianity for a doubtful world” by Robert Pigott is significant. Rev Klaas Hendrikse who does not believe in God and the results of a study by the Free University of Amsterdam that “one-in-six clergy in the PKN (Protestant Church in the Netherlands) and six other smaller denominations was either agnostic or atheist” demonstrate an important cultural change. 

Well, this reflects not just a cultural change but a fundamental change within western civilisation reflecting shift from monotheistic agrarian worldview into new, scientific, modern perspective. Maybe that’s the way how denominations and institutions of mainstream monotheistic faiths will follow to accommodate the growing number of non-believers – or something-believers.  

The article about rev. Klaas Hendrikse is here.

MG

What has been taken from us?

Many people of current modern generations have lost something. We used to live in small communities, and certainly, it had had its drawbacks, many drawbacks. But people had lived knowing other people and people lived close to the secrets of nature.

It is not possible anymore. Hundreds if not thousands years ago we gradually moved from fields and forests ending up in those modern, advanced, big cities and big societies. Our new lifestyle gave us many things we today enjoy but it has robbed us as well. We have gained a lot but we lost so much.

MG

What is wrong with those people (zombies)?

Watching zombie movies quite often you can spot the following pattern:  after craziness of an initial outbreak a group of survivors make to a relatively safe shelter where there is some food – a mall, a huge superstore, etc. They barricade themselves in and then the action slows and our focus is on interactions between the group members. At this point usually we can tell who has been bitten and not taken care of – so we just have to wait, or, more commonly or anyway, the survivors do something really stupid – to push, as I can imagine,  the action forward. Quite often and without a good enough justification they want to leave the safe place they are in – usually by getting into a lorry or something like that in order to go somewhere.  Then something goes wrong – sometimes they just drive too fast or somebody previously bitten transforms into a zombie, anyway – most of them die in the process.

There is also something wrong with zombies. Classical zombies tend to be dumb and really slow sometimes limping for no reason. Besides, if the infection spreads through just biting it does not explain the fast rate of the process. Energetic, agile, aggressive and intelligent zombies are quite rare – like those in the “I am the legend”. 

MG

Why nothing matters (nothing)

Why do you think something matters? After all, it is just your personal opinion. It may mean perfectly nothing to other people, nothing at all. An occurrence of something appearing to be meaningful to you is simply a manifestation of your own imagination, a reflection of your own mind. Mind, which does not exist per se; your mind which gives you a false sense of self which derives from all the evolutionary steps which led to Homo sapiens and from all the social programming you have been submitted since your birthday. You cannot even control it. You are so often lost in the narrative of your thoughts. Is not you who thinks them, it is your mind. When you go sleep you switch off your consciousness and you lose all the control you have thought to have; after awakening you hardly even remember your dreams. Something called “you” simply does not exist beyond temporary and fugitive moments.  In a sense, you are an illusion and equally illusionary your thoughts are and nothing matters. 

On the other hand, that sense of you is truly unique; it is all you have got and all you can experience in this very moment. You can make it wonderful, you can make it miserable – after all, it appears you have some choice – at least it is healthier to think in that way – so make your experience meaningful because you matter and what you think matter as well. After all, everything matters.

MG