Damian Thompson, not particularly a fan of the Archbishop of Canterbury, and sometimes able to rant on a bit about the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, asked yesterday, August 9th, "London riots: Why the silence from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of Westminster?" I did a quick check this evening (about 4 AM on the 11th in England) and I find nothing yet from the ABC.
There is a prayer from the CofE:
Gracious God,
We pray for peace in our communities this day.
We commit to you all who work for peace and an end to tensions,
And those who work to uphold law and justice.
We pray for an end to fear,
For comfort and support to those who suffer.
For calm in our streets and cities,
That people may go about their lives in safety and peace.
In your mercy, hear our prayers,
now and always. Amen
But that is not a response from the Archbishop of Canterbury or the Archbishop of York. There are a variety of efforts, witnesses, and prayers from various bishops in the areas where there have been problems. You can read some of them HERE.
Nothing is heard from the Queen.
The political alignment toward order at any cost is well underway.
What's going on?
Then there is this amazing interview (with unfortunate overlay of the voices of those listening in the background).
From Daily Mail
ReplyDeleteThere may have been no rioting in the Highlands, but no one has been watching the arson and looting of Britain’s cities more closely than the Queen.
From her summer home in Balmoral, the Queen has kept in touch with developments and plans are being put in place for an appropriate royal response to the riots.
This will almost certainly mean a high-profile visit by a senior member of the family to communities hit by the violence and to the emergency services.
Thirty years ago, when riots erupted in London and Liverpool, Prince Charles became the national focus for inner-city regeneration.
However, courtiers may consider that Prince William, whose wedding brought so much goodwill to the country, may be the appropriate figure.
That "interviewer"? Unbelievably abusive.
ReplyDeleteOld Black Man: "I'm seeking understanding."
Beeb Talking-Head "So you condone the violence?"
WTF????
[Does Murdoch own the Beeb now, too? O_o]
One wonders if the Beeb's 'tude represents the Silent Archbishops, too.
[Whoops, my post got posted before I was done w/ it! Cont'd...]
ReplyDeleteThe strange thing is, my FIRST reaction to this violence, is "Britain Needs Jesus."
But Jesus to be found in ANY of the UK's churches? [Is God to be found in any of its temples, mosques, etc?]
Don't worry, Brits: as I point fingers at y'all, I point 3 back at the US. Do OUR churches (etc) really have any more to say, to this kind of alienation?
The interviewer isn't abusive at all. There have been a lot of people popping up saying that they want understanding and in many cases that has included understanding why looting and violence against innocent people was ok.
ReplyDeleteIn that context the interviewer was only trying to assertain the view of this man.
And in many people's eyes his view gained a HUGE credibility when we could all stop wondering whether he meant to condone things like 2 people helping an injured person to sit up and then rifling through his backpack before calmly walking off.
Without that, this clip wouldn't have gone viral.
New York has a "stop and frisk" policy for finding illegal weapons, and you can guess who gets stopped and frisked the most often and who does not.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we in the States are in any position to feel smug about this. We have a rapidly growing population of the newly poor in a society where poverty is de facto criminalized. The economic disparities between races and classes are growing, not narrowing. Our own cities are powder kegs full of very dry combustible powder.