Walter's Blog |
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Reflections on recent events, plus the occasional fact free rant unfiltered by rational argument.
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"If you want to read a blog to get a sense of what is going on in Hong Kong these days or a blog that would tell you what life was like living in colonial Hong Kong, this blog, WALTER'S BLOG, fits the bill." Hong Kong Blog Review
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7/8/2024 1 Comment Anarchy in the UK! "Just 31% of Britons say that Keir Starmer handles the riots well, while almost half (49%) think he is mishandling them" The awful, unforgivable rioting that has gripped England and Northern Ireland for over a week now shows no sign of abating. Significantly, Scotland is not involved.
Moreover, there are signs that Prime Minister Kier Starmer has inflamed sentiment by labelling anyone on the streets as 'far-right'. At the same time, he ignores genuine concerns over unchecked mass migration and social deprivation. None of this should be a surprise because the Labour elites have long despised the working class. Who can forget Peter Mandelson, the darling of the Labour Party, asserting, "Your preoccupation with the working class is wrong. They've got nowhere else to go.". Likewise, Gordon Brown's gaffe in dismissing a Labour supporter as a "bigoted woman" because she raised the issue of uncontrolled migration. In 2016, during the EU referendum, working-class people smelled a rat when Labour vilified them as misled thickos and xenophobes for supporting Brexit. Labour intellectuals rejected working people's concerns in patronising and hectoring tones. Party figure Emily Thornberry sneered at a working-class household for flying the English flag. Thornberry is well known for her hypocrisy, having sent her kids to an elite private school despite her party opposing such schools. George Orwell's position decades ago was that socialists don't support the working class; instead, they hate the rich. Of course, none of this is an excuse for the violence we've seen, the racial attacks and the looting, but it is an insight into why Starmer speaks as he does. The media has largely followed the official narrative and is not questioning it. When one reporter dared to question the Metropolitan Commissioner of Police about alleged 'two-tear' policing, the commissioner snatched the microphone and threw it to the ground. The question hit home. In truth, all public order policing, indeed all policing, is a tiered process. No two situations are the same, and officers must react based on what they see, their experience and their training. But I suppose when the native population goes to jail for posts on Facebook, or, in the case of Sam Melia, goes to jail for anti-immigration stickers while a foreign man gets community service for repeatedly raping a twelve-year-old girl, it is difficult to refute the suggestion of preference given to a particular group. And therein lies the issue. Here in Hong Kong, we are familiar with the false narratives promulgated by media outlets as they follow an agenda. During the 2019 social unrest, the Western press portrayed events as solely 'pro-democracy' and largely peaceful while side-stepping the xenophobic mobs who attacked Mainlanders and their businesses. Likewise, their video clips focused on police actions and failed to show the build-up of petrol bombs and violence that led to the volleys of tear gas. The firebombing of police homes and assaults on off-duty officers was notably absent from the coverage. So, it is too easy to poke fun at the hypocrisy and double standards of British politicians now that they are struggling to contain serious unrest. But that would be churlish as I feel for the police officers deployed with inadequate training, poor tactics, and a lack of options to disperse violent crowds. The impact of the unrest on the police, who are facing fatigue and logistical challenges, is a matter of concern and should evoke empathy. At least Hong Kong has a well-structured and practiced public order response, with layers of contingencies and depth. Still, dealing with riots was never easy, and the optics are always terrible. In Northern Ireland, we've already seen rubber bullets fired at protesters, and I suspect it is only a matter of time before tear gas is used in England if the riots persist. The Northern Ireland Police Service displayed better resolve and coordinated tactics. Given their vast experience, this is not surprising. A YouGov poll suggests that one in three Britons support peaceful protests against migration, with an overwhelming 85% opposing the unrest. Just 31% of Britons say that Keir Starmer handles the riots well, while almost half (49%) think he is mishandling them. The poll also reveals a significant lack of confidence in the police's ability to protect people and property from further unrest, a concerning trend that adds to society's unease. For decades now, the very same politicians who are lining up to denounce much of the rest of the country as 'far right' have been pushing soft-on-crime policies while subjecting the British people to porous borders and mass migration from third-world countries. The post-industrial cities in the north have received most of the asylum seekers. These cities have substantial unemployment, stagnant social mobility, and poverty. Liverpool has the highest number of asylum seekers, while the north/south divide in sharing the burden is substantial. The North East houses a larger proportion of asylum seekers than any other region of the UK, with a rate ten times higher than the South East and South West. So, is it any wonder that the British social fabric is now fraying? Is it any wonder that mass immigration and the elite obsession with diversity are now producing a low-trust society with spiralling crime, social alienation, and growing division?
1 Comment
31/7/2024 1 Comment Southport - What is the narrative? "Citizen journalists, including drone footage, provided some of the best contextual coverage of the unfolding events" People reveal their prejudices by reacting with such powerful certainty to partial information. Thus, presenting incidents through social and news media is possibly inflammatory when context, background, and all the inherent complications are missing.
Indeed, social media's fleeting representation of events often appears designed to elicit a baseless emotional reaction. The social unrest of 2019 gave weight to this view. There is ample evidence of edited clips or timelines deliberately switching to paint the police in a poor light. Western news reports inevitably opened with scenes of police firing tear gas while the hours of rioting and criminal damage that prompted this response are cut from the account. Of course, by making the story one of 'police brutality', a narrative of peaceful protest is supported. Therefore, any injuries to the police are excusable, and the wholesale destruction of public property is the legitimate cost of the fight. Such reporting inflames the situation. All this came back into focus with recent events in the U.K. An incident at Manchester Airport on 23 July dropped into view with a clip showing a police officer stamping on the head of a man. The man had already been tasered and was flat on the ground. The following outrage drowned out any calls for 'wait and see'. The man's lawyer immediately took to social media, claiming the incident was racially motivated and his client was very ill in the hospital with a brain injury. He repeated these false claims through the traditional media, who uncritically accepted them. Then, an extended clip from CCTV emerged. This coverage shows the man and his brother attacking the armed police officers. A WPC allegedly had her nose broken as the brothers landed blow after blow on the officers. The narrative suddenly reversed. In no time, the family fired the lawyer as they went into damage control mode, expressing concern for the officers' well-being. Nonetheless, one officer was suspended. Then, the keyboard warriors declaring police racism fell silent as their case fell apart. Then, this Monday, 29 July, a horrific attack by a young man left three young girls dead in Southport. The suspect is a British-born black 17-year-old, and all the deceased are white girls aged six, seven and nine. Eight other children suffered stab wounds in the attack, and five of them are in critical condition. Two adults also remain in critical condition after being injured in the attack. It is known that the suspect arrived at the venue by taxi armed with a knife, suggesting a degree of premeditation. Within hours of this horrible attack, rioting was underway in Southport. Video from the scene showed men attacking the police, who appeared to be defending a mosque. Fifty officers suffered injuries, including fractures, lacerations, a suspected broken nose and a concussion. One officer was knocked unconscious. The scene was messy and confusing, with appalling optics. Then again, if you want picture-perfect anti-riot tactics, go to Hollywood. This is the real world. The police were not helped by their public order training and the political limits on the options available to disperse crowds. Tactics using batons that demand close contact invite injuries to both the police and the rioters. Likewise, as we see in the video clips, coordinated action needs to be included. Once again, the U.K. police public order approach appears based on "winning by appearing to lose." As a consequence, many officers are injured. Is it too cynical to suggest that the intent is to score narrative points in the PR battle instead of restoring order? On this occasion, citizen journalists provided some of the best contextual coverage of the unfolding events, including drone footage. Without the edits and shaping commentary of the mainstream media, it is possible to watch and draw your conclusions. It appears that the violence was prompted by social media speculation of a terrorist attack. The girls were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class; therefore, some saw echoes of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack when a radicalised Muslim man detonated a bomb, killing many, including a large group of young girls attending pop singer Ariana Grande's concert. The conspiracy crowd ran wild on social media. Yet it is unclear whether the culprit is associated with the attacked Mosque or his motivation. Currently, the dominant media narrative is that the rioters are outsiders and members of the nationalist English Defence League. If indeed true, they arrived quickly on the scene in substantial numbers. It would be interesting to know the addresses of any of the persons police arrested. Also, immediately, commentators drew comparisons with a recent riot in Leeds that saw the police retreating in the face of a predominantly Asian crowd. Accusations of two-tier policing sprang to the fore. Again, it is difficult and unwise to conclude anything without detailed knowledge. What is apparent is that a deep undercurrent of disaffection is bubbling away in communities that have felt the impact of mass migration. Layered atop this is failing public services, a broken economy and a deep resentment amongst many indigenous people who feel disadvantaged. The new Prime Minister Starmer's appearance to pay his respects in a photo opportunity didn't go well at the scene. If he was hoping for an extended honeymoon, he's not getting his wish. The minutiae of these incidents, the socioeconomic antecedents, and the role of social media in shaping public perceptions will continue to be debated. Meanwhile, what prompted this shocking attack on children remains unknown. But for sure, attacking the police and smashing up shops and a Mosque won’t get to the cause. |
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May 2025
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