"Childhood? That’s dead man, died a long time ago"
Recently, I watched Ross Kemp on Gangs - Gangs of South London about the recent increase in gun crime and other gang-related activity in London where he talked to the boys (no other word for them really) in these gangs and the people in the communities trying to help.
The programme (and others in the Kemp’s Gangs series) is really worth watching.
However, the thing that shocked me most was that when asked the question of who was supplying the guns the answer, not only from the gangbangers but also community workers was - “The Government”. This really astounded me. Coming from a nice peaceful Suffolk town where the only guns are the ones for shooting rabbits then the concept that people in the inner city are so truly despondent and mistrustful of “the government” that they think they are trying to kill them is truly worrying. What do people with a more experienced view of the inner city think of this? Was it just editing or is this really the way that the kids in south London think of the guys in the palace on the north bank? or is “The Government” just code for society, me and you? How would you get it through to these children that everyone isn’t against them? Lots of questions to which I don’t know the answers.
What was more worrying though was that when Ross Kemp talked to John Reid (the then Home Sec) he obviously didn’t either, he just talked exactly like any moron politician with a chance for a soundbite, and although he seemed slightly shocked at the idea that he was the one putting the guns on the streets, he was quickly back on message and I doubt took much away from the encounter.
What is the LibDem response in London (and countrywide) to these inner city problems?
“Childhood? That’s dead man, died a long time ago” - Quote from one of the Gang kids
