Give society some credit

Okay so this blog is nothing to do with first aid but it is about volunteering.
 
For many of us, the last few days I’m sure has been quite distressing / despairing / embarrassing (delete as appropriate, or add more). Neighbourhoods have been burnt down, communities destroyed, livelihoods lost. People are rioting, so we are told, because they live in such poverty that this is the only way of getting their voices heard. Yet they seem to be stealing from others who are no better off than them.
 
The dominant image of the last few days was of 89 year old Aaron Biber in his ransacked hairdressing salon. He didn’t look a wealthy man. There was that video of some guy sitting on the ground, already bleeding, in tears and looking traumatised. He didn’t look rich, but they mugged him anyway. Many of the owners of the damaged shops probably started off in as much poverty as the looters, but they fought their way out of that poverty by setting up their own businesses, businesses now destroyed. With that destruction goes the hope of employment to others desperate to escape the poverty.
 
With this as the backdrop to the situation we find ourselves in, it’s quite embarrassing to be British right now, knowing the rest of the world is watching the footage and wondering if this is how we behave normally. You know this country has sunk to such low levels when even the Iranians are calling for restraint.
 
Fast forward a few hours though and civilised society has started to mobilise and a new army of people have taken to the streets. People armed only with a broom, a pair of gloves and the occasional cup of tea. People arriving by the trainload are volunteering their own time so they can take to the streets and clean up the carnage that was created only a few hours previously.
 
This is so much more than just cleaning up the mess. It is about people taking pride in their neighbourhood, community or city. It is about taking pride in themselves. It is about showing support for those who have lost everything and letting them know they are not alone in this. It is about telling the rioters to do what they want, civilised society will always rise above them.
 
There have been a few commentators who, rather than blame the looters, are blaming society for forcing them to take the action they did. That’s fine, I don’t want to use this forum to condemn the violence or try to understand the excuses. But if society is to blame, look at all the volunteers who are out cleaning the streets. That is society, follow its example.
 
Well done to every single person who took part in the #RiotCleanUp campaign. It’s not just the streets you are cleaning but the image of this country. By giving up your time to help others, you have restored a declining faith in humanity and helped make British people proud to be British again.