Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
And now the reaction
We're all seeing the reaction to recent events start on our TV screens with coverage of items like the Enfield vigilantes and so on. The @harringayonline twitter address has started to receive less newsworthy links to other reactions that perhaps start to form a pattern.
Just this morning we received a link to the following petition on the HM Government site:
Convicted London rioters should loose all benefits.
Responsible department: Department for Work and Pensions
Any persons convicted of criminal acts during the current London riots should have all financial benefits removed. No tax payer should have to contribute to those who have destroyed property, stolen from their community and shown a disregard for the country that provides for them.
I fear that if we're not careful, we'll end up creating fertile ground fro a certain sort of political view.
Has anyone else come across other tales of reactions?
Tags for Forum Posts: london troubles
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Hugh, haven't we had a few testosterone-fuelled reactions on this forum that put petitions that 'rioters should loose (sic) all benefits' in the shade? We're not short of ardent tillers of that fertile ground here on HOL.
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OAE I totally agree. I stopped reading certain forums during the last few days as I was fed up with some of the vitriolic and sometimes inaccurate contributions. I don't see why we should encourage or provide a forum for more of the same. How about a counter petition that simply states that anyone convicted with theft or other criminal offence should be treated according to the law.
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Clarification:
I used the phrase 'testosterone-fuelled reactions' somewhat loosely above. I did not intend to suggest that those TFRs are restricted to the male of the species. While normally the male testes produce ten times more testosterone than do the female ova, it is generally accepted that the female is much more sensitive to the product and that some females actually produce it in industrial quantities. Thus, to exemplify from the Irish context, the mythological Queen Medbh (Maeve) of Connacht was probably much more testosterone-fuelled than the Brown Bull of Cooley over which she went to war with the Ulster hero Cuchullain; and the historical 16th century Pirate Queen of Connacht, Granuaille (Grace O'Malley) seems to have had much more testosterone than her sparring partner (and sometime correspondent in Latin) Elizabeth Tudor, despite the latter's claim to have the body of a weak and willowy woman but the whatsits of a man or a lion or something.
I have no doubt that some bands of both Vandals and Vikings were led by women whose middle names were 'Testosterona', though this is subject to further historical and DNA research. But rest assured even HOL can boast one or two outstanding examples of this fine bellicose tradition.
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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on
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That sounds reaonable Osbawn ..I could subscribe to that ..
BTW you asked a few days ago about my views.. I do try these days not to mention .de but now only do when answering others questions... I suppose I blurted my views out here: http://www.harringayonline.com/forum/topics/riots-young-offenders-u...
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Permalink Reply by Sophie Smith on
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I'm seeing a resounding silence in the new post "how can we help the young people" and despite being a muesli-eating Guardian reader I had to bite back a sarcastic reply myself. I think there's going to be an increasing lack of sympathy for those kinds of people considered to have participated in the riots - everyone will chose their preferred racial, religious, age or socioeconomic group for who they think participated. The people being convicted at present include postmen and teaching assistants so it isn't right to just assume the rioters were all receiving benefits. It strikes me this petition is part of society just picking on its chosen scapegoats again - this time it's people on benefits.
Justice means punishment that matches the crime. This means applying it equally to all people found guilty of the same crime. If that means X number of days in prison per rioter, if we start additionally removing the only source of support from those who are on benefits, this means a harsher punishment for those than for others who aren't on benefits and don't lose their support as part of their punishment. People on benefits will be punished MORE than those rioters that aren't. If the point of the criminal justice system is to make society more fair, this is counter-productive unless you reduce all rioters to penury.
If you want to really punish people, then increase the penalty for all rioters but apply it equally regardless of status.
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