Violence and the police (Menezes)
Mood:  don't ask

I suppose I am not the only one unsatisfied with the verdict of the Crown Prosecution Service about the De Menezes case. What does the general public feel of people getting killed by mistake and nobody pays for it. It is really disturbing when a general humble person looses his life through the violence of the police out of all the people. We live in very difficult moments since we have to be alert for terrorist attacks and that has made the police to have to use more force.

But there has to be a balance because police should not make fatal mistakes like this one. How to compensate his traumatised family who lost their relative in such a dramatic way? Sometimes when I am in London I wonder whether if it is safe to be different in this country. I think all police forces in the world need to be followed carefully. We give them power to keep the order in society. But that power can be usually be abused. A human life is something of immeasurable value.

We do not live in a war zone, we live in democratic nations where systems are operating to give us what is fair, sensible and appropriate. I can not understand this rule of the British justice system where a case is not heard unless there is a possibility of a conviction. It is in cases like this where a court case is most needed so at least both sides can expose to a judge and a jury what they consider took place.

It is true that several bodies have been involved in this but we know that they are not necessarily representative of the general population of London. The Latin American community is anxious because they feels discriminated. From reading the news one can feel that it was a mistake. But a mistake or series of mistakes that took one human life. That is what is making the public so anxious.

Democratic societies need to continue with a balance in their institutions. Abuse of power should continue to be challenged. It is true that the police do a hard job in trying to keep the streets of London safe. We would not want a society in which the use of guns are predominant. And we would not want either a state in which the citizens have to fear the police. I would invite people with different perspectives to challenge me in my reasoning. Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/menezes

Religion and sexuality (11 July)
Mood:  incredulous

We have seen on the news about the declarations of the pope while visiting Spain. Is the Vatican trying to influence Spanish social policiy? It has been long in Spain since the church separated from the state after having close ties to the facist regime. Really to worry about family is a good thing since it is one of the main units in society. I don't think the Socialist administration is trying to let any gay unit have adopted children. If I don' t remember bad the issue was to grant more rights to groups that are left out.

The catholic church would want all families to be under the woman and man model. But the reality is that society has changed. What is the role of religion in society nowadays? When does moral guidance become moral norms? I am not too sure of how much of a Catholic biass I have. Churches provide a lot of relief in third world countries but in the west why should they try to influence politics? In the act it self of trying to become political there might be a longing for the power that it used to have in the past.

And it is true as well that maybe the voice of the minorities wants to be silenced as well. I was not happy with Peter Thatchell banner either that says Paul Benedict, queen of homophobia. There is a lot of demagogy in those sort of messages as well and they can hurt sensibilities.Check links below

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1814472,00.html

http:www.pridelondon.org