back in the day i wanted to be a policeman. i wanted to do it for the right reasons: to care for and protect my fellow citizens (this was a time when i was not only a sociable person, but i was also a witty person - it's amazing what a failed relationship will do to you...) i had grown up on a diet of dixon of dock green and z cars, and to me being a policeman was all i wanted to do. so why am i not a policeman. i am colour blind - it sort of makes for a bad policeman as i couldn't be sure i would have caught the guy in the red car (or was it green?) (a number of side points here - when i went for my first interview with the police on my way home i stopped at one of my favourite porn shops to have a look at the magazines - it was always a big thing when i would go into porn shops as i was underage, it was my rite of passage - on exiting the store a pigeon managed to land a load of droppings on my shoulder. the colour-blindness was used a "joke" when i was introducing myself in one of my classes at poly, that along with the peter sutcliffe joke bombed and i was forever seen as an odd one by the rest of my class....)
i have never really lost my respect of the police and i still wish i could have been a policeman. yes i know that there are bad policeman, but i know that there are bad teachers, bad doctors, bad accountants. there are bad people everywhere - and some are badder than others.
so i am a little ambivalent about the recent shooting incident at stockwell station.
this is from a mate of mine. i have to say i don't know nevs all that well, we have shared some good conversations about comics, porn and wrestling. i have found him to be funny, intelligent and passionate.
"So, as we all should know, An innocent man was killed at Stockwell situation for essentially wearing a rucksuck, being dark skinned and having the good sense to run when armed policemen come running towards him. Having cornered Jean Charles de Meneze. The police pinned the terrified man and shot him in the head, Later admitting that they had made a 'mistake' Perhaps the defintion of the word 'mistake' ought to be a bit more clear. I read Judge Dredd as a kid. I had no idea it would be a prophecy. I was ready to riot as I stayed up watching the BBC News 24 service on Friday. By 7 in the morning, I was getting in contact with everyone I could think, asking tdid anyone want to provide a non violent stand against a police force that is now apparently allowed to murder people on the street given the correct pretext. I was honestly shocked to find I was alone on this. I really thought that killing a man in broad daylight might shake people up from the apathy that allows this kind of behaviour to run unchecked. I've been wrong before, I suppose. That was that. This morning, I was asked to a staff meeting along with my workmates to discuss general points of duty. Our meeting ran over by perhaps five minutes. A fellow member began setting up the shop. Five past Eleven on a Sunday Morning. We turned to see an angry mob gathered at the door, demanding to know why we hadn't opened yet. In all honesty, I really, truly thought it was a joke. We carried on setting up and they actually rang up the shop, angrily demanding to know why a video shop was opening five minutes late on a sunday morning. Being a reasonsbly pratical person, If iI walk up to a shop and see it isn't open, I'd go do something else and come back later. But then I'm crazy, right? When we opened, they were genuinely angry. As if we had insulted their mother or something. People will carry on regardless while innocent people are murdered in front of their eyes, but will quickly form a mob because they have to wait for ten minutes to pay for the priviledge of renting out Miss Congeality 2. This isn't funny anymore. "
i have to say i wish it was as simple as the above.
i am not in agreement with him. what happened was tragic, and we can only hope it never happens again. in the act that took place in stockwell tube the terrorists have succeeded in part of their aim - they have changed the way we live, they have changed the way we think and act.
the police are in a no win situation here - if they had not acted and a bomb had gone off we would have wanted them to explain themselves for the multiple deaths that there would have been. they can't afford to wound a suicide bomber - who by their very nature is not interested in surviving - they have to shoot to kill.
as my sainted mum was fond of saying "if ifs and ands were pots and pans there would be no need for tinkers" so we can all play the game of - if they had waited a little longer, if only the bloke had not run, if if if ....
but we are now in different times and perhaps we no longer have the luxury of such hand wringing.
the solution to current situation is not going to be a simple one, and maybe a long time in coming it is not going to happen at the end of a gun or by the explosion of the bombs. it is a solution that will have to be political and long lasting.
do we have the leaders who can find that solution?
lets hope so.
1 comment:
What alarmed me to start with was the shooting five times thing. Turns out it may have been eight. Is that not excessive in any circumstances? Are we going to divide London down racial lines? Little bit dark skinned with a slightly bigger bag than average - suspect?
It may be worth knowing that the police were plain clothed. How obvious did they make it who they were? This guy was from San Paulo. Shoot first, ask questions later.
One of our teachers, Muslim, went camping with a group of kids as a reward trip last week. He felt both guilty, upset and angry when a group of people on the DLR jumped off as he got on with his rucksack, sleeping bag and camping roll. Is it fair to subject innocent people to that kind of treatment? Can the police legitimatley shoot them just in case?
The whole thing about 'resasonable force' is such a minefield. I am supervising a playscheme which states that 'resonable force' may be used to restrain children. If you get it wrong you can be sued. No-one can define 'reasonable' to me so I've had to tell my staff to leave well alone and to put myself on the line if necessary.
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