The Story from South to North

South:


Is this glitter or is this glass? Is this the shattered hope of a nation now so preoccupied with its economy that we have now been reduced to the burning of public policy?

Burn, bright lights, burn. Illuminate the faces of those who are guilty and shed light upon those who died victims of the deeper political unrest.


Once we stood together, now we are forced apart. The money will always talk, but the heart will always scream. The conservation of liberty has become a joke for those above who feed on the lower man’s wallet. A yacht for heart surgery.


In the background, as this is typed, the news and far-off cries of anger are heard. Car-alarms blare. The greed of the forgotten has reached its climax. What began as a call for peace and remembrance fell into despair.


Only here could rioters be this young, this greedy. They attack the companies from which they can reap material benefits. A school has been hit. The attackers laugh it off, a sport for them to enjoy.


Only this in the city where anything can happen. A city where all are free? They call this a ‘battle’, but watch the videos on YouTube and the pictures which appear on Facebook. Tomorrow I will venture into the ruins of the city I must call my home to document the ravages of a war yet to begin.


This is an attack on the government, but what do they expect in return? Money, a job, an education? The government has to be intact for any of this to be available; so they destroy the city, cost the country millions in repairs. A country already in debt from borrowing and bailing. Whose fault is this really?


The nation watches as its capital slowly destroys itself.



Is this London?


North:

If one could observe from a purely impassive point of view, then it is likely that one would consider a myriad of thoughts and opinions on the matter. One such opinion would be that, whilst it is understandable that there have been riots, the level of the violent acts committed is in no way justified by any excuse, ideal nor idle thought that any of the participants in Croydon burning can argue with.

The bright blaze flashes through my eyes brightened by the television screen I see through. It's too bright, too hot, too light, people are in danger and risking their lives, doing the jobs they're paid to do whilst the children run riot and fight. What will happen when morning light arrives, and there is nothing left but dying embers and wailing sirens?

I cannot, with good nor bad faith, say I condone nor condemn the initial actions of my fellow youths, but I can say this much. To react with such a level of violence, to burn down buildings and to riot on the streets, because one is angry and upset with the status quo does not make one better, nor does it make one worse. It makes one human in such an intrinsic and fundamental way that, if any were to deny it, they would be in denial of what it is that makes a human, human.

In essence, what I am trying to say is; humans are destructive by nature. But we are also creative. We can take a little of this and a little of that, and make the most wonderful of things, and the most damning too. It does not do us well to deny the darkest part of our personality, nor to glorify it.


These teens, these young people who I call my generation, are glorifying the act of violence as they equate it to their only way of reacting to what they perceive as injustice. Though, I suppose that, by now, they themselves do not even know why they’re really rioting anymore. If one could even call this rioting.

Surely a riot would have some fundamental purpose and endgame as opposed to chaos and disorder. I shan’t use the term Anarchy, as the media is so good at demonising it without my assistance, because Anarchy is wholly different from this madness I see on the television screen.

Whole buildings burnt to nothing more than ash, the flames so hot to melt the metal tracks for the trams on the streets. This is not a riot. This is a war-zone and the opposing forces seem to be in as much discord as the flames eating away at buildings seem to be.


Keep Calm and Carry On!

A MUSING ON INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS by Hannah Clark

I realise that the subject matter of this post may have little to do with the message of SHAKE!, but after my English exam this morning and my Psychology exam this afternoon, I felt the need to muse on the necessity of examinations. Why do we have them and what purpose do they serve? Especially in an 'international' qualification.

HANNAH REVIEWS "THE DECLARATION" and "THE RESISTANCE" by Gemma Malley

On the second day of SHAKE! we asked the participants to bring to the session something they considered to be a piece art that had Activist connotations. Hannah Brought in the The "Resistance", part of the The Declaration Trilogy by Gemma Malley. Set in the future in a time when human being has found the  means to live forever! However, they had not considered the consequences of this, socially, politically or psychologically. We asked Hannah to right a review.

So in Hanna's own words...

THE DECLARATION: BOOK ONE

A guilt trip when you think about it. Our generation quests for eternal life, and we dare not think of the consequences. This book braves this taboo territory and explores the year 2140. The world is, literally, failing to support the immense population. There's little fuel, little food and little countryside. There is also very little crime, very few terrorist threats (unless you count those performed by the 'Underground' and groups vying for cheaper 'Longevity' drugs). What of families? Well, any parents who decided not to take Longevity are... dead. When you take Longevity, you forfeit the right to have children. Any children you may bear may be found and will be forced into either: slave labour or 'consensual' labour', raised to hate you and themselves.

The protagonist is Anna, a stubborn girl who is determined to 'Earn Her Place'. Life is looking up for her: she doesn't know her parents, she's a Prefect, her Work is usually Excellent or Perfect, and she's nearly sixteen which means that she will be a Valuable Asset and will soon be working in a House on the Outside.

Then along comes Peter, a boy who doesn't Know His Place. His mischievousness, cheekiness and Outside Knowledge drive Anna to think differently about her Place and whether or not her parents do actually love her.

It's quite an interesting read, and it challenges you to think about the consequences of our actions now. There's very little mention of race, although it can be assumed that everyone is white because the adult characters appear to be far more nationalistic than we are 'today'. Power is quite obvious- the adults have it all. One man, in particular, has a lot of it: Richard Pincent.

Stars out of five? Four.

THE RESISTANCE : BOOK TWO

The second book of the Declaration trilogy. It's a slow burner, and quite predictable. The protagonist has switched to Peter so that you find out more about him because, in the first book, he was this mysterious character with an aura of wonder. In this book, you just want to cuddle him. He's harder, but he's easily led. We're also introduced to Jude- Peter's half-brother. I like Jude. He doesn't take crap from anyone and is his own man. He's cool like that. We also get to know Richard Pincent, the man with all the power. He owns the company- Pincent Pharma- which produces Longevity drugs. Nice one, Richie! Or so it would seem, because he is really the most 'Selfish' character. He leads Peter to believe everything he says, nearly forces Anna to sign her Declaration, and locks away Jude :'( The Underground are far more active, which is a good sign because Pip was also one of my favourite characters. He reminded me of one of my teachers- if any of you know Mr. Bolton, you'll probably like Pip as well- and I don't know what that says about me, but whatever.

Predictable, gets you where you're going and has a beautiful climax. Almost like going on a business trip to a beautiful island.

Stars out of five? Three and a half.

The Legacy:

The final installment of the Declaration trilogy. Set one year on from The Resistance, the world is rapidly running low on energy, food and water with ridiculous rationing schemes having to be enforced. To make matters worse: a deadly virus is sweeping the country. Richard Pincent, the head of Pincent Pharma we met in The Declaration and got to know in The Resistance, knows this but withholds the information, blaming the Underground for the mounting bodies. Peter- in Scotland with Anna, their daughter Molly and Anna's brother Ben- travels to London after receiving a message that he is needed only to discover that Pip, the lovable leader of the Underground, has turned himself in. In a race against time (and a few grammatical errors along the way, which were annoying and distracting from the story) Peter, Jude, Anna, and newly-free Sheila  fight to save the children from riots and attacks on their lives, and make a startling discovery that draws the perfect end to the trilogy.
Stars out of five? Four and a half.

HANNAH SHARES THE GOOD NEWS

Hi all!

I have great news for anyone who's doing the IB Diploma (I know a couple of you are, but I can't remember who)! SHAKE! counts as CAS! You can claim 60 hours for it if you attended for the whole 5 days and can prove what you've done and which group you were a part of.

You get 30 hours for Creativity and 30 for Action, which means nearly HALF of the requisite 150 wiped out in one week!

Hannah.