M.C. Newberry

SHEEP ON CLAPHAM COMMON

by M.C. Newberry

Sunday 14th March 2021 2:14 am

Did you know poor Sarah Everard? You didn't? No, nor did I.

But no worries, let's go graze on Clapham Common and have a collective cry.

There's sure to be many others willing to ignore Covid pleas

Who'll turn up just like us and be dismissive about disease..

Oh, I know that grief's a private thing and somehow I suspect

There will be a lot of unmasked others careless who they infect

Faced by the bullying constabulary who turn up on such occasions

Praticing their harassment style - in line with police persuasions!

Resolutely we will stand our ground and resist the lawful forces

To show our spirit of freedom which, in reality, of course is

Our way of being awkward and risking the chance of whether

We duly get arrested and our heedless heads banged together..

.......................................................................................................................

🌷(3)

◄ LIFE

THE FIRE OF JOY ►

Comments

Graham Sherwood

Mon 15th Mar 2021 15:11

A quick scout around Twitter will give a more balanced view of this conundrum. It was a shame the BBC couldn't have shown both sides of this sorry mess.
It's a double shame that the 'smack a copper' yobbo brigade hadn't got the sensitivity to give this one a miss!

M.C. Newberry

Mon 15th Mar 2021 12:06

I appreciate and respect the points of view expressed. My main
concern is that an illegal event was taking place that was using a
recent tragedy as a vehicle for a "cause" that all right-thinking people. recognise without needing to parade their awareness. NOTE: those
most intimately affected by this personal loss neither attended nor
endorsed this particular collective excuse for emoting. How many
other murders have occurred minus any such activity? I wonder -
and wonder why? Lack of main stream media interest perhaps, that
seizes upon and pursues "the story" according to its own "priorities"
at any given time.

Graham Sherwood

Sun 14th Mar 2021 15:29

The sad thing about this sorry event is that it is a conundrum, vis-a-vis respect for a poor murdered young woman versus a current law about people gathering because of Covid.

Two things I think are relevant from the merest snippet that I heard on BBC R4 this morning.

1. The official request for a vigil was denied and the refusal was grudgingly accepted. Ergo would not have taken place.

2. Whoever takes a megaphone to a vigil?

I really wanted to write a piece about this but in the end, couldn't think of a sensitive way to do it, so I just wrote a piece called 'vigilia' (not a punt for my own work) which encapsulated the idea of a vigil.

Sorry for this long-winded comment but it is a contentious event and for my money, both of you are right and wrong.

Aviva Rifka Bhandari

Sun 14th Mar 2021 15:19

M.C I didn't say that you were condoning murder, but you did seem to be belittling those who wanted to show some solidarity and attempting to diminish their intelligence and even their right to have a reaction 'if they didn't know the lady personally'.

Those that chose to break 2m distance or 1m+ (face-covered distance) did deserve to have a proportionate response - I don't know the percentages but there's plenty of people who think it got too physical and wasn't a proportionate reaction.

I wasn't there so I'm not going to presume whether those picked away from the rest had done anything in particular worse than the rest, but to my mind either everyone should be fined etc or nobody not some arbitrary sub-set, that's not any sort of system to be proud of if it were.

M.C. Newberry

Sun 14th Mar 2021 14:56

ARB - who is condoning murder here? The point remains that we
are in an age when almost any situation brings about some public
display of an agenda-driven sort. We are becoming slaves to
another form of "mob" mentality that, in this instance, presents a
very real danger to others. Grief IS a personal thing and should be
respected as such, not used as some organised "call to arms"
that is always easier said than done. In short....tragic to relate:
Those who fall prey to murder's awful advances
Are poor victims of cruel chance and circumstances.
GF - sheep need sheepdogs.

Greg Freeman

Sun 14th Mar 2021 14:43

Thank you, MC, our regular Write Out Loud spokesman for the Met. To describe the people who went to Clapham Common to express their outrage, anger and despair as 'sheep' is dismissive and contemptuous.

Aviva Rifka Bhandari

Sun 14th Mar 2021 14:03

Are you hearing bells ringing in your ear
For any women you know and hold dear
Who could be molested or murdered wherever they go
Are you hearing bells? Didn't think so.

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