Punk atmosphere in London

Natalia Rangel_247 – The punk movement is invading the streets of London. Unaffiliated with political parties or labor organizations, a multitude of people dissatisfied and revolted against the country's current police and socio-economic system have furiously taken to the streets of London, as if inspired by the verses of the punk rock classic, Anarchy in the UK: “I am antichrist, I'm anarchist/Don't know what I want/But I know how to get it/I wanna destroy the passerby”. The apparent anarchy without clear objectives other than destruction does not hold up to a more careful assessment of the situation which, as another punk track by the Sex Pistols says, suggests that the disturbances of recent days had a hint of a tragedy foretold: “God save the queen/Her fascist regime/It made you a moron/A potential H bomb”. The protests spiraled after Mark Duggan, a father of four, was killed in a confrontation with the police. He was unarmed. Police repression against the poor and discrimination against ethnic minorities is a long-standing problem in the British capital.

Sir Mick Jagger also addressed the uncontrolled movement of the masses in the song "Street Fighting Man": "Hey! Said my name is called disturbance/I'll ​​shout and scream, I'll kill the king, I'll rail at all his servants." And ironically, he uses the word "disturbance," the most frequently written word in English newspapers and magazines in recent days. The repertoire of songs by bands like the Sex Pistols, The Clash, and Joy Division perfectly illustrates the climate of dissatisfaction, revolt, and lack of prospects that became evident with violence. The three days of protests are being classified as the most violent in the country since the 1980s. Thousands of workers took to the streets, setting fire to police cars and double-decker buses, looting luxury stores, and confronting the police force with Molotov cocktails, steel cables, sticks, and stones. A few months ago, another protest occupied central London: it was students opposed to the brutal budget cuts adopted by the government in the social area. In March, 250 people took to the streets to protest the approval of the austerity package designed to address the English economic crisis. The government made a painful adjustment to its accounts and created a climate of every man for himself – nothing more appropriate to punk ideology than the nihilism provoked by insecurity about the future, as in the lyrics of The Clash's song "This is England": "This is England/We can chain you to the rail/This is England/We can kill you in a jail/The British boots go kick them/Got 'em in the head/Police ain't watching"

With the worsening social crisis in England, the country already has the worst rates of social mobility among developed nations in the world, according to the EU. Inequality has reached scandalous proportions and, according to a European Union report, the richest 10% in Great Britain have incomes one hundred times higher than the poorest. The gap between rich and poor has never been so wide. This socioeconomic picture should not be disregarded when assessing the attacks of recent days. It is telling that the disturbances began precisely in one of London's poorest neighborhoods: Tottenham. The region currently has the fourth highest rate of disadvantaged children and an unemployment rate of 8,8%, double the British national average. Oblivious to all this, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, met with the heads of Scotland Yard to assess the extent of the damage, reported that 215 arrests had been made, and concluded: “There is no excuse for violence in the streets. Those responsible will be brought to justice and will face the consequences.” The minister's categorical tone downplays the strength of the crowd that emerged forcefully and violently in the country. It's worth remembering that in the last century Sir Jagger already sang: “Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy/'Cause summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street,/oh, boy”. And there are still a little over six weeks until the end of the Northern Hemisphere summer. The video sequence begins with London's Burning by The Clash. Check out the lyrics:

London's burning! London's burning!

All across the town, all across the night
Everybody's driving with full headlights
Black or white turn it on, face the new religion
Everybody's sitting 'round watching television!

London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial 99999

I'm up and down the Westway, in an' out the lights
What a great traffic system - it's so bright
I can't think of a better way to spend the night
Then speeding around underneath the yellow lights

London's burning with boredom now
London's burning dial 99999

Now I'm in the subway and I'm looking for the flat
This one leads to this block, this one leads to that
The wind howls through the empty blocks looking for a home
I run through the empty stone because I'm all alone

London's burning with boredom now...
London's burning dial 99999