For Pity's Sake, Can We Stop Reacting to the Violence and Start Responding to It?

As a recently exiled Londoner, someone who has lived in some of the city's more 'lively' boroughs - Brent and Southwark - I have sat in front of my television screen watching with increasing frustration as talking head after talking head has added nothing useful but filled airtime conjecturing about the impact of this, or the cause of that, creating an atmosphere of tension and fear in the minds of ordinary Londoners.

My mother, thankfully safe in her North West London home, has taken the remarkably sensible view that, until trouble comes her way, she isn't going to worry about it, and if it does, she'll deal with it then. In the meantime, she wants the police to arrest the criminals and the courts to punish them.

And she's right. At the moment, I don't care why these people are on the streets, I don't want to hear their justification, I want them to stop... or be stopped, if need be. And then, when ordinary people feel that the situation is under control, and can venture out into the streets in safety, we can look at the root causes.

So, until then, it would be nice if politicians like Ken Livingstone stopped telling us that the Government is to blame - these people haven't suddenly drawn the conclusion that looting and arson are legitimate overnight - and people like Darcus Howe stop making wildly inaccurate accusations about the actions of the police. Oh, and by the way, Darcus, this has nothing to do with events in Syria (one of the most stupidly insulting comparisons I've heard for many a year).

And it would be even nicer if the media stopped asking stupid questions and stuck to reporting the facts. Because it is facts that we need, not the theories of whatever person fancies fifteen minutes of fame...
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