Peace police, don't hurt the kids

It's going to be harder than usual to be positive tonight. I'm recovering from flu', which means I've had a lousy week... But worse, the news of the student 'riots' in London tonight is upsetting.

It plunges me straight back into memories of the Poll Tax demo in 1990, when tens of thousands of people marched to protest against the huge new charges we were all being expected to pay.

I was there. I was with my friend Carolyn and her baby in a pushchair, so when things started to turn from joyful to nasty, we left, and went to wait for our friends in a cafe. We were all due to catch a coach back to our north-of-England university town.

It took a long time for our friends to arrive. In fact some of them didn't make the coach. But over the next few hours, most of us gathered and shared experiences. I was young. I was naive. My friends saw some shocking things, and hearing about what they'd seen shook my middle-class complacency badly.

Almost everyone described how they'd felt to be 'kettled': trapped in Trafalgar Square and not allowed to get out, then squashed into a smaller and smaller space as the police squeezed in. It was scary, basically, and definitely dangerous.

Then, worse, one friend sat in a section of the crowd that was staging a peaceful sit-down protest ... and couldn't get up in time when mounted police charged ... and the woman next to him had her shoulder crushed ... and he held her until the ambulance arrived.

Two other friends saw a police van drive into a 'kettled' crowd at speed ... hook a woman on its bumper ... and drag her several hundred yards down the road while people yelled at them to stop.

As I say, what I heard was shocking. But even more shocking was the news coverage. We got home and turned on our TV, to see the events we'd witnessed described as 'riots', with no mention at all of the police's own role in the violence. I was young. I was naive. My belief that the police or the media 'served the people' was dead.

These were the days before the internet, remember, so there was no YouTube. The 'other side of the story' only came out months later, in a couple of little pamphlets printed by small anarchist publishers. It never hit the mainstream media at all.

But the world is different now.

Tonight's violence is shocking, and the BBC - disappointingly - has repeated the mistake it made in 1990 and presented a simplistic, anti-protester view: the students were angry about higher fees so they rioted.

But as first-hand accounts of the student protest begin to hit YouTube, it's already clear that 'riot' isn't the whole story: the police and the BBC may be slow to realise this, but the streets today were full of mobile phones with cameras...

It looks like the demo started with a nice enough atmosphere ... Then the police started using horses ... And they used fences to push people back ... Then it got dark and it all got a bit scarier ... And this vid shows what happened a couple of weeks ago, which maybe explains why – and how – things got nasty tonight.

You can see why I'm struggling to find a positive side to all this.

But here's it is...

All those people posting their own little snippets of video care about the way today's demo is represented. These people know the 'mainstream' view paints only half the picture, and they've taken the time to add their own little daub of paint to the 'other side'.

All of us should care enough to ask whether the police are behaving acceptably - or even sensibly - here. My own answer is 'no': I can't for the life of me see how it can be OK to trap people into a confined space, let alone charge horses into a crowd of children.

But if you need more persuasion, the two linked videos here and here show why the right to demonstrate is so important. Bless this guy Radfax, as he goes on and on and on saying "peace police" and "don't hurt the kids".

When we were kids, and we came home complaining about the way the police had behaved, our parents didn't believe us. Now many of us are parents, and we know it's true: too often the police behave badly at demos.

It's time for the grown-ups stand up and say so.



Flow x

Hold the front page: I want some good news for a change!

I'm not superstitious, but when I opened my door at midday, I couldn't help feeling that the universe was trying to tell me something ...

Outside, the world was entirely monotone: snow fell last night, and the sun didn't make it out from behind the clouds today, so black trees were silhouetted against the white sky, and the hills were stretched out like a depressive harlequin in a suit of mottled greys. It was not inspiring.

Then - as the clock struck twelve, suddenly, simultaneously - a laggardly cockrel crowed, three dark crows circled the house opposite, and a single magpie hopped onto its roof. Omens, all. So were they warnings of misfortune? Probably.

Sometimes it feels like a bad, mad world out there.

*

I watched the news last night. That's something I try to avoid, because it's generally so miserable, and I believe it's bad for one's mental health to be constantly exposed to so much gloom. As far as I'm concerned, when it comes to the mainstream media, no news is good news.

But I watched, and I read, so now I know all sorts of grim facts about the current conflict in Gaza. The whole Gaza strip is only about 25 miles long and 5-10 miles wide, and its borders are closed and guarded, so that there is nowhere for its 1.5 million inhabitants to run to. They are sitting ducks, and almost every one of them is an innocent victim of Israel's bombardment. As of today, there are 660 dead Palestinians and 10 dead Israelis. It's tragic for everyone.

And there is absolutely nothing I can do to about it.

In the olden days when all news was local and carried by word of mouth, you could respond to bad news by doing something to help. When the only misfortune you heard about was your neighbour's, you could (as a wise friend observed) at least take round a bowl of soup. These days, the news channels tell us about global catastrophes that are entirely beyond our control, and it reinforces our sense of powerlessness. If I were a cynic, I might suggest that they do it deliberately, to create the impression that bad news is universal and unavoidable, and to make us less likely to rise up in protest and try to change the world.

Of course, we do need to know about the bad stuff, at least some of it. Oppressive regimes use reporting black-outs to hide their murderous deeds. It's no co-incidence that the BBC is banned from some countries, including Myanmar and Zimbabwe, whose government has proscribed it as a terrorist organisation. So, no, I'm not advocating that we ignore the bad news - but I would like more positive news in the mainstream, rather than hidden away in the sidelines as it is now. It seems good news is not news.

I'll bet there is more good stuff than bad stuff going on in the world - but how could we ever know?

*

Back in my own little world, I laughed at the Portents of Doom, worried for a moment about my sanity, and then on a whim called two friends whom I thought would understand and enjoy the anecdote. One of these friends has been very ill recently. The other, his partner, answered the 'phone ... and told me - hooray! - that the doctors think his cancer has gone.

The wonderful news made my day, tho' it won't make it to the front pages.

And nya nya ne nya nya to that magpie!

Flow x

There's love and hope - not 'pure evil' - in Shannon Matthews' community

Once upon a time there was a poor little girl who was kidnapped and held prisoner for almost three weeks, tied up and drugged and made to keep quiet. Her mother called for help, and the police launched one of the biggest and most expensive searches in British history, backed by a community that stayed awake for nights on end and combed the streets looking for the missing girl.

But this isn't another fairy tale.

Yesterday, as you probably already know, Shannon Matthews' mother Karen was convicted of kidnapping her own daughter, and of false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. The police spokesperson Det. Supt. Andy Brennan described her as 'pure evil'.

Now 'evil' is a very tricky thing to define. I'd argue that before you can say what 'evil' is, you probably have to define 'good' and also God. But in everyday usage, when you call someone 'evil' it means something more like "I don't like them 'cos I think they do really bad things". The Urban Dictionary (admittedly more amusing than authoratative) adds: "More specifically, they don't give a shit about anyone but themselves, their money and anyone who might help them get their money".

Personally, I'd say that Karen Matthews seems to have acted nastily, cruelly, dangerously, thoughtlessly, selfishly, stupidly and probably greedily ... but I'd be hard pushed to call her 'evil'. I'm with Bruno Bettleheim on this, who thinks notions of good and evil belong in fairytales, and that in reality - uncomfortably - we are all "good and bad at the same time".

I really wish that police officers would keep opinions like this to themselves. The job of the police force is to ensure safe, strong communities - and spreading hatred is never, ever going to help. Brennan's comment reveals a primative psychology that seems to believe - like a simple fairy-tale or young child - or tabloid reader - that "A person is either good or bad, nothing in between". Grown-ups with responsible positions really should know better.

And thankfully, Shannon Matthews' own neighbours and community do know better.

Several news programmes have interviewed people from Dewsbury Moor, West Yorkshire - the neighbours and community activists on the Moorside estate who were actively involved in the hunt for Shannon. But although there is a sense of betrayal - after all, local people worked hard and selflessly for weeks - their anger has been restrained. By and large, local people seem to have resisted the urge to demonise Karen Matthews. One - tenants' rep Julie Busby - said on Radio 4 yesterday "Everybody's got views ... But I live on Moorside so I try to keep my views to myself ". I was impressed.

Dewsbury Moor is a strong community that has had a lot of bad press. But I live and work in the same Local Authority area, and have done bits of development work there in the past, and can tell you it doesn't deserve its tabloid reputation. Standing out from the pack, Channel 4 news has tried to paint a fairer picture of this "remarkably resilient and generous community that feels betrayed both by Karen Matthews and much of the media coverage". As one Dewsbury woman put it: "I don't think it's as bad as they make out".

The community is remarkable and inspiring because it is fighting against a tide of negative media coverage - and is so far resisting the temptation to join a tabloid witch-hunt. Good on them, I say!

And best of all, local people are remembering who is really the important person in all of this - the little girl Shannon herself.

I'll give the (almost) last word to local resident Petra Jamieson, speaking on the Channel 4 news broadcast yesterday: "I hope one day she'll come back onto Moorside estate and see the people that went out for 24 days searching for her, knowing that we all care about her, and we still will".

That gives me hope that after all, there's love - not hatred or 'evil' - in the heart of our communities.

Flow x

If the grown-ups can't play nicely, don't blame the kids

So, where do you stand on the Ross-Brand-Sachs affair?

I know this probably feels like old news by now, but yesterday, the BBC broadcast an apology during the Radio 2 slots that would usually be filled by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand, and today the Mail is leading with yet another finger-wagging story. And I won't sleep tonight unless I get some things off my chest!

So, are you outraged that two highly-paid presenters sank to such abuse in the name of comedy? Do you see their on-air swearing and rambling as the thin edge of a moral decline? Do you see it as proof the disrespect of the young - yet another symptom of 'yob culture'? Are you one of the 37,000 or so people who have complained to the BBC?

Or did you think the broadcast was funny? Are you angry that shows you love have been pulled from the air? Do you see the 'official' reactions as a threat to artistic freedom, or even an attack on freedom of speech? Are you shocked that the BBC gave in to tabloid pressure? Are you one of the 53,300 people who have so far joined the biggest Facebook support group?

And the million dollar question: have you actually listened to the controversial broadcast or recordings of it? If you answered 'yes' to any of the above questions, I bloody well hope so!

Personally, I am pretty much bored with the details of this individual case. Although clearly, mistakes were made and offense was given, I don't believe these were as important as millions of other mistakes and offenses that fill our world. Like war, poverty and global debt, say. Or Jeremy Clarkson and Bruce Forsyth.

But I can't stop thinking about it, because so many of the reactions - especially the Mail's vitriol, but also many of the comments on online discussion boards - seem to be part of Britain's favourite passtime, Youth Bashing. (And leave aside the inconvenient fact that Brand and Ross are hardly young!)

Look what happens, they seem to say, when we let the kids out to play. Young people are out of control and anti-social. They're yobs, and they need punishing.

Now, I'm not here to defend Ross and Brand. Personally, I did find bits of the broadcast funny, but that's because I have a twisted sense of humour. But I happen to think they were doing exactly what they were employed to do: of course 'cutting edge' performers risk going over the edge from time to time; that's why we need editors.

Ross and Brand were improvising - joy-riding on the flow rather than going with it - with no regard for the possible crash victims. And of course the BBC deliberately employs a whole posse of 'boy racers', of whom Ross and Brand are only two. Punishing them when they push the limits feels like entrapment. Imagine what would happen if the police removed all the speed cameras, filled the petrol tanks of some fast shiny cars and left them empty by the side of the road, engines running. Do you think the boy racers would breaks laws? Oh yes!

And it really galls me that the Daily Mail is, above all, a rag for aging boy racers. Despite all their complaining and raging at the 'yob culture', they still lead campaigns against speed cameras and higher petrol prices. No-one enjoys a bit of finger-wagging more than those who, secretly or unconsciously, envy those they wag their fingers at. I know I'm saying nothing new here, but their hatred and hypocricy are hard to stomach.

I am very deeply worried by our culture of Youth Bashing. It is unfair and unhealthy. It is devisive and dangerous. It's no wonder that Britain's young people are the unhappiest in the Western world.

I don't deny there's a problem. I accept that some kids are out of control and there are some nasty little so-and-sos about. There are of course also lots and lots of lovely children around, and everyone knows that young people are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators (my son got mugged last week, remember). But no-one who spends any time with children will deny that lots of them seem to have problems with playing nicely.

So here's my theory, my Big Idea: we've forgotten how to play. Not all of us, maybe, but most. Adults have got so serious that all recreations - even so-called games - have become things that must have a purpose: you do an evening class to 'improve yourself', you play squash or football 'to keep fit' or join a club for 'networking' - rather than for enjoyment. When did you last do something that was purely for fun?

If you can answer that question, then you're one of the lucky ones. I bet many people reading this can't. And if so many of the grown-ups have forgotten how to play, no wonder some of the kids have never learned.

So here's what I recommend: do something silly, and soon! Do it today, or tomorrow; don't put it off any longer. Do something that you will enjoy, and preferably something that will make you laugh a low-down, wicked belly laugh!

And maybe if the grown-ups begin to have some fun again, they'll stop finger-wagging at the kids.

Flow x

P.S. If you think I'm exaggerating the way this debate has polarized and
personalized into youth-bashing, listen to just a few of the comments posted on the Daily Mails' discussion board:

"How many are actually old enough to pay for their own tv licences, like the rest of us who complained? Grow up" (the_historian)

"You're ... one of the knuckle dragging troglydites. And with your date of birth being so recent in this unenlightened age ,coupled with your use of the term "bring it on", you are obvioulsy still but a child hence you don't know any better" (straddle)

"Let´s all blame Ross´s mother for his disgusting behaviour and his father (if he ever had one)" (maztheraz)

"It is no wonder we have foul mouthed, feral kids roaming the streets, when
they are weaned on a diet of broadcasted filth, unchecked or corrected by
equally 'brainwashed' parents" (imself)

And the BBC's own discussion boards also have plenty of people blaming the youth and 'popular' culture - although perhaps less crudely:

"Last month I had some kids throw a brick through my car windscreen 'for
a laugh'... I wasn't laughing and neither it seems is Sachs. Perhaps this
attitude: by 'entertainers' earning more in a week than I earn in a year explain
why kids think mindless, distressing acts are acceptable" (peter_sym).

"People who live on a diet of junk food and pop frequently end up being fat. My question is, do people who continually feed their minds with pap and pop often end up with fat heads?" (supportthesuperbra).

Remember hope, remember joy?!

We're living in weird times. All sorts of things seem to be teetering on the edge. I was going to say, balancing on some sort of threshold between bad and good, but it's sometimes hard to escape the impression that bad is likely to tip over into badder-than-bad.

Politically, socially, personally - and of course seasonally - it feels like things are sure to change, and as so many people seem to be saying at the moment, "Things will get worse before they get better".

Blimey!

If you've been listening to the UK news recently, you will have been fed a miserable diet of war, economic crisis, bank collapse, BBC presenter scandals, 'yob culture' and the 'youth problem', and you probably have indigestion by now. The chances are, aspects of your own life seem to echo these depressing headlines. My own tally of gloom this week includes a sore throat, a contract I didn't get, my thirteen year old son getting robbed, and hearing that a dear friend has colon cancer. Even the weather seems to be in on the conspiracy: we had a disappointing summer, now we're gripped by a grey, bleak autumn, and we have months of winter still ahead.

Rain or blizzard, trouble or collapse, unhappiness or total misery: these seem to be our doom and gloom options!

And yet ...

And yet, there are some signs of hope. Some of these are relatively small comforts - like the sun coming out this morning so that I saw a patch of blue for the first time in a week. Some are small but important - like the marvellous fact that my son wasn't hurt when his 'phone was taken, and we found him a new, better one on eBay last night for only a tenner!

And yes, some things - YAY! - are big, fat, juicy causes for hope. This week, as you will certainly know (unless you have been on retreat or held hostage somewhere very isolated*), America elected a new president who has inspired millions to vote who had never voted before, and who offers hope and a new positivity. Whatever we want to do or dream, Barack Obama says, "Yes, we CAN". My 8 year old heard his victory speech and said "that sounds like a poem" - and politicians who speak poetry are an excellent reason for hope, if you ask me!

Now, I'm a glass-half-full kinda woman. My occasional episodes of anxiety and depression (yes, I'm one of the one-in-four) have been stress-related and a reaction to horrible things - where anxiety and depression, frankly, were the sanest responses. But, generally speaking, I'm contented and cheerful, and I always prefer to look on the bright side of life.

But sometimes it's hard to be cheerful, amid all this doom and gloom. Sometimes it's hard to remember about the sunshine, and the blue sky, and (bloody hell, I'm beginning to sound like Fotherington-Thomas!) poetry - even the poetry of politicians!

Sometimes I need reminding about the good stuff.

So that's what this blog is all about: it's for silly stuff, stuff that makes me laugh. It's for beautiful images, words and sounds. And it's for serious stuff, ideas and thoughts that give me inspiration. But most of all, it's a record of my day-to-day attempts to remember hope and remember joy!

OK, so I'm not always so good at going with the flow (as kind friends sometimes remind me!) ... but meanwhile - oh yeah! - I'm determined at least to go-go with the flow!

Wanna come dancing with me?!

Flow x

*By sheep, say, in a small village in the Pennines with no digital TV signal and generally appalling telecommunications! ;-)