There has been lots of flack fired at those who have signed up to the Facebook site set up to remember the life of Raoul Moat, the Geordie who was on the run for over a week after leaving prison and then shooting his ex-girlfriend and killing her lover. Over 40,000 gave their opinions, the vast majority supportive of Moat and hailing him as a hero and a legend. Many expressed satisfaction that he had avoided discovery for so long and had declared himself the sworn enemy of the police - some even expressing regret that he had not killed a few along the way. There were those who had known Raoul Moat and regarded him as a good and reliable friend. Added to all this, commemorative bunches of flowers have been left at the side of the river where he died and outside his run-down home.
The Establishment has come out with the expected condemnations of those who dare to hold up as a hero a man who has murdered and come close to killing two others. These members of the Establishment cannot understand the reactions of so many [mainly] young men because each of them has for the most part had a privileged and charmed up-bringing. Can David Cameron understand the behaviour of a man who never knew his father, has had little contact with a mother - who last week said that her son would be better off dead - who struggled with his social life, with his work, with bringing up children, who had been arrested a dozen times - but only convicted once - who believed that the police were harassing him ...... and so on? When he was in prison, his girl friend told him that their relationship was finished and that she was now with a policeman.
The other striking factor in so many [all?] reports was the need to tell the world that Raoul Moat was a bodybuilder "addicted to steroids." Nobody is addicted to steroids, nor was Moat's behaviour affected very much by steroids. He was a violent man who had grown up in a violent environment. Even if steroids were a factor, using them to grow extra muscle is not an excuse or a justification for violence. But the tabloid press had a field day with this and repeated old steroid stories that never had any foundations in fact to juice up the story. On Question Time last night and then again on This Week all the participants attacked the distorted values of those who could see any good in a murderer. Some like the wild Kelvin McKenzie - former editor of The Sun - went completely over the top. After all those who appeared last night and made my blood boil it was left to George Galloway to say something sensible about young working class males alienated from society.
There are thousands of young men in England who have similar chaotic lives, many girl friends but no permanent relationships and who could easily be tipped over the edge to do what Moat did. They hate the police and all authority figures and think that revenge is a justifiable response to a perceived slight. Many would want to kill any guy who took their girl while they were in gaol.
The situation is exacerbated by the behaviour of the police in wheeling out vast resources in order to track down one man in a fairly small area of the north-east. It is interesting also that quite a number of men were very prepared to help Moat in spite of the massive police presence. In spite of these resources Moat held out for a week. He targeted no one except those against whom he had a grudge. He fought authority and he resisted to the end. To many he is a hero and it is a measure of just how out-of-touch the Establishment is when it comes to understanding the people. The last government under the appalling Blair made criminals of us all in a way that no government has done in modern times. They increased surveillance, they kept tabs on us, they photographed us, they searched us, they imprisoned people without charge or trial, they increased police powers, they stopped the right to free protest, they took away our liberties until we were left with Us and Them. Us is everybody except the rich and those in authority who have always run this country. Anyone who fights against Them is a hero!
/
No comments:
Post a Comment