“Remember the Royal Wedding” Boris Johnson announced in Croydon yesterday. That feel good factor when the whole nation were at one behind the royal couple. I fucking wasn’t and despise the ground they walk on, so where does that leave me. I don’t agree with the looting because I have always found greed and selshfishness to be abhorrent traits in people, however I don’t know if the looting was about greed. For all I know Bob Geldof may be sending a plane full of plasma screen televisions to Africa as I write. Does this make me a dis-illusioned anarchist (see Ian Bone’s Blog), am I an anarchist at all?
I have no problem with people smashing up large corporations and taking what they want, it doesn’t interest me, but I do feel for the small shopkeeper. Big chains have ruined many a small business and I don’t really care if Tesco, JD Sports & Carphone Warehouse close down, but it was disheartening to see Reeves furnitures go up in flames. They have survived the emergence of DFS, Benson’s & Argos etc and kept trading independently. Unfortunately corporations can sell things at a loss in order to gain dominence in an industry, just look at Sky in its early days.
There will be much psycho analytical babble bounded around, usually relating to parents, education and opportunities, but taking advantage of any opportunity was always classed as entrepreneurship. Many of the rich today made there initial money from porn or some other dodgy deal; if the looters are now content that they have some new stuff, great, if not there is always another shopping centre. I don’t particulary want looting on the streets but if their actions bring down the tory government, and a quick end to the old Etonians getting a bigger foothold in society, then surely a pragmatic overview will prevail.
Jason E Cooper 