Pretty saddening and crazy scenes over in England right now. There were widespread riots going on in cities such as London, Birmingham, Liverpool, and Bristol. These riots stem from police shooting and killing a man in Tottenham. A peaceful protest was planned a couple days after the shooting, but it turned violent and the rioting began in Tottenham, and in the days that followed, spread across London, and then England.
First off, I want to say that I do not sympathize with these rioters because their actions are simply inexcusable and that I hope that they are arrested and punished to the full extent of the law. But there have been contributing reasons why these people have started to riot after that police shooting, such as tensions between the youth and law enforcement, poverty, and high unemployment. Many consider the police shooting a breaking point of the relationship between the considered “lower class” and the government, and now these people want to act out against them. Other rioters simply saw this as an opportunity to go get some free stuff. No matter what reason, this rioting needs to stop. This person sums it up best.
I also wasn’t impressed with the lack of police presence in stopping these riots. The initial response from law enforcement should have been a more aggressive one, but in this time and age, even police need to be careful of their actions, or they will be scrutinized by the media. Their response should have been firm, but not excessive. What I mean is, use the force necessary to bring down the rioters and arrest them, but don’t go overboard, such as this. Even with all this said, they are trying their best.
Next thought, this one is pretty random (hence the title). I was once good friends with this girl in elementary school, and we still kept in touch in high school. After that, I didn’t hear from her again. She was an exceptionally bright and intelligent girl, but she does make the odd dumb decision here and there. A while back, I talked with another of my good friends from high school (who is also good friends with her) and he mentioned something about her in one of our conversations. So I asked him how she was doing, and he told me about a party that he went to with her and all their friends. He told me that she had multiple boyfriends since she started going to university and has started to drink heavily. He also informed me that she has often had arguments with her parents regarding her “freedom”.
Mind you, this all happened around a year and a half to two years ago, so this could have all changed, but I’m still shocked that she was drinking heavily and apparently been with more than a few guys. When I was friends with her, she was always this goody-two-shoe, pure girl that wouldn’t think of doing anything wrong, and when I heard about all this from my other good friend, I didn’t realize how a good girl like her could turn so bad. I’m not saying drinking is bad, most of us do it, but the part that shocked me was the guys she apparently has been with. I don’t keep in touch with her (she removed me as her Facebook friend), but I wonder what she is up to now…
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