link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7H02HSip_c&

I cannot quite believe the scenes of violence, burning buildings and looting that are playing out in London at the moment. I'm shocked and terrified. And it's not just London, people are taking to the streets in Bristol and Liverpool too. It's crazy. It's savage. England is supposed to be a democratic, civilized society.

I don't understand how things can have got so out of hand. Granted, the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan by police bullets last week was a tragic event and raises questions about the Metropolitan police's unfair treatment of people from black and ethnic minorities. And it's not the first time something like this has happened. But why are all these rioters, whoever they are, setting fire to innocent people's homes and businesses and stealing? It's brutal. The sad thing is, it's now just rioting for riot's sake. It seems that people have joined the bandwagon and they're not even fighting for a cause. And they;re all communicating via Blackberry messaging and Twitter about their next targets.... It's almost like a game. If this is about standing up for the community against the police, why are these people putting innocent civilian's lives and livelihoods at risk?

Although, if you think about it, this is not completely out of the blue. Prior to these riots, the country has seen multiple student protests, strikes and trade union marches over the last year which all point towards a growing sense of malaise and the failing policies of the government to combat high unemployment rates and other social problems including the growing gang culture which is sadly attracting more and more young kids.That is one of the saddest things about this whole situation, the age of the kids involved. The people of London are fearing the actions of young teenagers. And these are the country's next generation of adults. It's a scary prospect.

England is not the land of opportunity it once was. Let's hope the police or the government can put a stop to things soon... in the most peaceful way possible.