Logic is not taught anymore in the British school system and the series of riots that have led up to yesterday’s vote on the raising of tuition fees bares that out. One has to wonder if there are actually students, as opposed to anarchists, who believe that the scenes of violence in central London and elsewhere would help their cause.
Then again the logic of standing on a burning bench or showing your faces as you beat a policeman is probably lost on most people. Its almost as if those rioting don’t care if they are recognized. They even attacked journalists as this piece reports.
“The gang formed around him and began to kick his body and equipment as he covered his head. The words had little effect and blows began to land on us. Unthinking, I shouted back at the yob nearest me, a boy of about 16 with acne and a Mediterranean appearance. He reached into a chest pocket and pulled out a claw hammer. He drew back his arm and his elbow tipped forwards to deliver a blow before I could react but one of the gang grabbed his arm. More shouting and sporadic kicking – but nothing worse – followed before the gang left, spitting on the ground and muttering obscenity-laden threats. Off to smash something, or someone, else.”
Reports that a large number of police officers were injured, some seriously and the sight of central London being trashed would clearly upset most British people.
While some rabid Diana fans might have enjoyed watching Camilla & Charles attacked in their car, few would have been pleased by chants of “off with their heads”. The Sun has the video of the vicious attack including this disturbing news.
“THE Duchess of Cornwall was physically attacked through an open car window by a rioting thug in central London, it was claimed today. Reports say a protester managed to push a stick through an open window of the limousine and jab it into her ribs.”
Even the Cenotaph and Churchill’s statue were not immune from destruction as this report shows. The first you will see hanging off the a flag is in fact Pink Floyd’s guitarist David Gilmour’s son.
“Gilmour, the son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, has already apologised for climbing the Cenotaph during the protest against tuition fees, admitting that he was “mortified” by his actions. He said: “I feel nothing but shame. My intention was not to attack or defile the Cenotaph. Running along with a crowd of people who had just been violently repelled by the police, I got caught up in the spirit of the moment.”
Or as Iain Stuart Murray put eloquently in his piece leading up to the vote last night.
“The vote on tuition fees is a clear test of the strength of liberty in the UK. If Parliament passes the bill, a degree of freedom and responsibility will be added to the lives of millions. If, however, the Liberal Democrats give in to the violence and rebel on the vote, it will be a signal that Britain still believes that taxing middle-income people now to subsidize the process of making other people wealthy in the future is a good idea. Because at the moment, British education is a steal, in every sense of the word.”
Crash Bang Wallace yet again shines with a six point summation of lessons learned. The kicker however is the following point.
“5) Violence gets you noticed but it doesn’t get you listened to. The riots have certainly made headlines, and there are plenty of good-looking photos from each event, but ultimately MPs still voted in favour of the plans.”
As the streets of London of clear of the debris from the students who rioted, many taxpayers will wonder how many will brought to book for their actions.
