The news media seem to be struggling to uncover the motives behind London’s riots (perhaps in fear of copy-cats), but sheltering-Londoner Penny Red has this profound account that tells of the deeper meaning:
People riot because they have spent their whole lives being told that they are good for nothing, and they realise that together they can do anything – literally, anything at all. People to whom respect has never been shown riot because they feel they have little reason to show respect themselves, and it spreads like fire on a warm summer night. And now people have lost their homes, and the country is tearing itself apart.
For all that I complain about Australian politics, I feel intensely privileged to live in a country that is proud of its identity. I hope London finds the inner strength to pull through.
