Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
When is a Riot not a Riot?
I often disagree with contributors to HoL - sometimes fundamentally. The discussion of the riots was a good example. A wide range of feelings were expressed: anger, fear, grief, shock. And just as wide a range of proposed actions: from calls for severe punishment; to the need to reaffirm community values.
But I don't think that anyone failed to see that something very ugly and very serious happened. Violence, arson, and the destruction of property. Buildings were razed. Shops were looted. Police and firefighters attacked. Some people were forced to flee from burning homes; while others lost businesses they'd built up over years. A young man lost his life.
So I wonder. Am I wrong to get increasingly irritated by the euphemisms creeping in?
Councillors have been summoned to an "Extraordinary" Council meeting on 3 October to discuss "the serious public disorder which took place in Tottenham". Not, you'll notice, the riot.
I've heard people refer to "the disorder" and "the events". The most frequent term is: "the disturbances". With one suggestion that: ". . . the changing face of Tottenham Hale will soon erase memories of this summer's disturbances."
Of course, I appreciate people's good intentions - they want to be upbeat and positive. But is erasing memories really a sensible way to understand and learn from events?
Then on the Council's webpage, I read about the arrival of Anne Lippitt as the temporary Regeneration Programme Director. Her job is to tackle the recovery. From what I hear, Anne is a skilled and highly experienced officer who will make a valuable contribution.
But although this news item did mention riots once, it was otherwise full of absurd and convoluted euphemisms. So stuffed with them, that instead of getting irritated I had to laugh. (Especially the bit about Anne "having lived just a stone’s throw from the High Road as a child.")
So what's happening in Tottenham? It is being "improved" . . . "with fresh vision, aims and outcomes for the area".
Yes, the Council's website is now being written in Obfuscandian!
Tags for Forum Posts: Obfuscandian, Tottenham, disorder, disturbances, euphemism, riots
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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Gareth Morell, Research Director for "Society and Social Change, sent me a link to the report of their research into the involvement of young people in the riots. I met Gareth briefly and he seemed thoughtful and open-minded. He also knows Haringey. Of course there was a much larger team of researchers who gathered information from five areas, interviewing 206 young people.
Download or read their report here. I recommend it if you want to learn a bit more.
Interestingly, it tends to match some of the eye-witness descriptions by Pam Isherwood (Pamish) on HoL. Pam was at this evening's meeting of the Inquiry Panel chaired by Darra Singh, where she made similar helpful comments.
(Tottenham Hale ward councillor)
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Permalink Reply by pamish on
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NB I was appalled at the response in the room towards the woman from the burned-out flat. She spoke, through choking back pain? rage? of how she had grown up locally and had few opportunities but made a life for herself, worked many jobs, and then had everything destroyed in the fire. There were distinct mutterings against her. Any ideas why?
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I hadn't met Rosie before this evening. I sat next to her near the front and was listening to what she said, so I didn't see around the room.
But from things some people said in the meeting, it seemed they have fixed interpretations of what happened during the riot; its causes; and the lessons to be drawn. So facts and views which contradict their interpretation are not potentially interesting new knowledge but an unwelcome challenge to their version of events.
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On 9 August, three days after the Tottenham riot, HoL member James Walsh videoed short interviews with some local residents and traders near the Carpetright store. This material is now being edited by a volunteer and the completed video will be about ten minutes long.
If people are interested we can let you know when the finished video is available to watch on YouTube. (For free, of course.)
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