Here some Community Reporters from Manchester and Salford tell us their personal views on the recent local riots a week after the event.
Mrs F, a Community Reporter who lives in Salford commented “I hope every one of them get caught, name them and let us see who they are without their hood…. Where are their parents? Don’t they ask questions when they bring stolen goods home like where have you got that from. I feel sorry for the police they have a horrible job….”
Mrs D, a Community Reporter in Manchester said “… Our youth of today truly believe it’s in their right to help themselves to other people’s possessions. Don’t they realise that many people work very hard for their accomplishments?”
Another Community Reporter Mrs M said “We've been listening to sirens all yesterday and last night, on their way into the city centre. When I took a local bus recently, public opinion seemed to be that police should be allowed to use any weapons they deemed necessary.”
Mr G, a Community Reporter in Manchester commented “The riots do not reflect youth in general and we need to ensure that not all young people are tarred with the same brush. We have to explore the reasons why these riots happened. Is it mindless violence or frustration at the worsening economic situation?”
Ms A, a Community Reporter added“Manchester’s riots have left me feeling nothing but sad. I have no righteous anger, no thirst for vengeance, no nice quick juicy slide off the tongue insult to hurl at anyone. I’m just sad.....Yet my sadness travels beyond the boundaries of empathy for public servants, innocent civilians, or even the premature death of Miss Selfridge. It travels into the hearts of people who in broad daylight, in full view of CCTV, in front of the world’s media, brazenly committed acts of astonishing destruction. Can you ever imagine risking your job? Your family? Your reputation? Your future? Just to smash and grab a few tracky bottoms? No? Neither can I, lucky aren’t we. So tonight I am sad……”
Mrs H said, “We are living in interesting times at the moment - I have been waiting for the safety valve to blow. This new 'ConDem' Govt (and I do condemn them) have been pursuing far reaching welfare cuts which have condemned many young people to a near hopeless situation of unemployment, with training and social projects scrapped while the super rich just flaunt their excessive wealth (with no attempt by the govt to reclaim the 126 billion they owe in unpaid tax). Meanwhile we still pump out a consumerist message to all the 'have nots' - encouraging them to think that the only thing that matters in life is material things, while slamming the door in their face to get them legitimately……Meanwhile over the other side of the world over a million people die for lack of food - what kind of world do we live in where young people here think they can't live without a plasma TV and where the death from starvation of a whole nation ranks of secondary interest on the news.”
The image below is a wall in Manchester's Arndale Shopping Centre, thats been covered in Post-it notes, so the public could express thier personal thoughts and views on the riots.