Lest We Forget

November is the month for remembering, a time when we traditionally recall our fallen soldiers.

I think there are also important, recent events it is essential to keep in the front of our minds.

We are all too ready to place the blame on others for our problems. It’s usually somebody else’s fault: the bus is late; the plumbing doesn’t work, the dog chewed my homework, somebody lost my keys… But there has to come a time when the buck stops. I refer to those mind-stopping moments when we saw on the news that our local populace was taking to the streets with sticks and stones, taking what they wanted from shops - smashing and grabbing and having a whale of a time.

I visited Wimbledon Town Centre when rumour (Twitter) had it that Wimbledon was going to receive a visit from the looters. The atmosphere was unreal. All the shops were shuttered and closed, there were more police than shoppers on The Broadway and there was a strange quiet, as people hurried to get home. Things like this don’t happen in Putney, Battersea or downtown Wimbledon... But, of course, they do.

So, who is to blame for this lapse in civilised behaviour? The first on the blame list must be the looters themselves and the police were soon putting that to right with the Courts dishing out ‘exemplary sentences’ which made us all feel a lot better. The first suggestion I got of who was not to blame was the local politician, who fired off a press release the next day insisting that this was nothing to do with the Government or the cuts or anyone in politics. Squeaky clean, I thought. I’m pleased to know that our Government has no affect on people’s lives. There was a quick follow-up, with our national politicians blaming the police for mishandling the riots. The police retaliated by blaming the politicians for shortcomings they had in dealing with the situation. Schools were the next in the firing line. If only we had good old-fashioned discipline in schools this wouldn’t happen, ran the editorials. There was a noticeable lack of reply. I suspect that the teachers are rather used to being the source of every discontent to waste too much valuable time in replying. So who ends up with the buck? There is a lot of washing of hands and looking the other way. Surely, somebody has to take responsibility or we can all look forward to a repeat performance next year - or even around Christmas?

Could it be that mums and dads are so busy with careers that kids are fobbed off with trainers, iPads and other toys? Is it because there is no time or inclination to use the ‘N’ word (‘No’) that so many young people have no boundaries imposed by parents? Could it be that parents have no time to create positive role models for their children?

As for the politicians - they are quick enough to accept the accolades when things go right and are just as quick to keep a distance when things don’t. Politics is about life, and I shudder to think what life will be like if we don’t see what we can change to stop this rioting becoming a routine happening.

Tony Kane is founder of Time & Leisure Media Group and editor of the Wimbledon, Wandsworth and Putney editions of Time & Leisure Magazine.