This poem is obviously inspired by the current riots in London and other English cities. It came to me that in the coming period, however long, we will bombarded with ideas and analyses of the situation and that the topics of these articles might run something like the 'titles' below:
On the inception of a million words and the birth of a thousand sociology theses -or- How to burn your own community
On the burning of your community and how to get away with it.
On the exercising of power by the powerless.
On the protection of property.
On the relative value of flatscreen televisions.
On the inherent worth of the latest sneakers.
On how we could understand Athens and Paris, but not London.
On the quality of education and hooded sweaters.
On drinking rosé wine at 9:30am.
On mugging dazed teenagers and the eating of your own young.
On the best way to explain the meaning of 'chav' to the rest of the world.
On the wisdom of guns.
On 'sympathy for the devil'.
On 'the wretched of the earth'.
On showing the rich we can do what we want.
On proving the point of the rich.
On the absence of social control.
On the pervasiveness of social control.
On 1984.
On big brother/little brother.
On dreamless futures.
On whether a future without dreams is a future at all.
On the safety of darkness and the dangers of being black.
On gang control.
On the Arab spring and the legitimacy of European governments.
On uniforms, uniformity, and mob mentality.
On masterminds and hive mind.
On the suspension of reason.
On lack of reasons.
On colonialism and never feeling at home.
On coming home early from your holiday abroad.
On having never had a holiday.
On never having been abroad.
On 'let them eat cake'.
On the eating of cake.
On how the cake is being taken.
On 'This takes the cake.'
On democratic representation.
On dialogue and the minimum of trust needed for it.
On looting, immediate gain, and long-term losses.
On disgust, the shaking of heads, and the throwing of molotov cocktails.
On stock markets, banking, and the pointing of boomerang fingers.
On being ordered to kettle peaceful students and lacking the man-power to act when your city is being burned.
On barbarians at the gate.
On barbarians manning the gate.
On barbarians being the gate.
On moloch, 666, and Sodom.
On outsiders and perception.
On blackberries, anonimity, and identity.
On advertising and real needs.
On civil liberty and the definition terrorism.
On 'innit'.
On ideas of fame and the measuring of nano-seconds.
On dancing on graves.
On spontaneous combustion.
On the instantaneous destruction of property and the slow grinding down of human lives.
On peacocks.
On vultures.
On death and taxes.
On carrying the biggest stick.
August 10, 2011 - Joran Monteiro
