CNN reports on the horrible murders of three Birmingham men run down by looters as they tried to protect local businesses:
The distraught father of one of the victims, who tried desperately to revive his dying son, appealed for calm.
"Blacks, Asians, whites. We all live in the same community. Why do we have to kill one another?" said Tarik Jahan. "What started these riots, and what's escalated them? Why are we doing this?"
Jahan’s son, Haroon, was killed early Wednesday in Birmingham, along with two brothers, Shazad and Munir Hussein - both in their 30s.
The 21-year-old was struck by a car while he kept watch outside a gas station following a break-in, according to the father.
"I heard the thud and ran around and I saw three people on the ground. My instinct was to help the three people. I didn't know who they were; who'd been injured," he said.
"I helped the first man and somebody from behind told me my son was lying behind me. So I started CPR on my own son."
He struggled to revive his son, his face and hands covered in blood.
"Why? Why? The guy who killed him drove directly into the crowd and killed three innocent guys," he said. "Why? What was the point of doing that? I don't understand."
As the British government proves completely unable, or unwilling, to protect its citizens, vigilante groups have been forming. A report at the Australian News.com.au captures the scene:
From immigrant communities to football supporters chanting "England, England, England" as they patrol their neighbourhood, many groups have taken matters into their own hands after four nights of looting.
Hundreds of Sikhs, some dressed in traditional outfits, gathered outside their gurdwara, or temple, in Southall, west London, late yesterday after earlier rumours circulated that it was next on the looters' hitlist.
The group organised motorcycle patrols and monitored the train station for potential troublemakers, according to an AFP reporter.
About 200 locals in Enfield, the north London borough at the heart of previous attacks, strode through the area to "protect their streets", an AFP correspondent said.
Amateur video footage released today showed a group of around 100 men running down an Enfield street chanting "England, England, England".
The group earlier became involved in an altercation with a youth carrying a hockey stick, but the situation was resolved after a majority of the mob called for calm.
A similar number of football fans congregated in the southeast suburb of Eltham, also rumoured to be a likely hot spot.
The British Parliament is meeting in emergency session to debate measures including a shutdown of social media resources the rioters are using to coordinate their activities. The Wall Street Journal relays Prime Minister David Cameron’s theory that the riots are “the result of a culture that glorifies violence, shows disrespect to authority, and says everything about rights but nothing about responsibilities.” Cameron insisted his government “will not allow a culture of fear to exist on its streets.”
He would be far better served to look at the culture of dependency in Britain. The news is filled with giddy youths talking about “taking their taxes back” and “showing the rich we do what we want.” A culture of fear is what you get when people realize the massive government they’ve paid a fortune to construct will not protect them from those who tear up the social contract, and set about robbing badly beaten little boys as they lie bleeding in the street. Something tells me the British are going to draw exactly the wrong lessons from this experience.
Things seemed to be settling down a bit on Wednesday night, giving the British police time to begin raiding houses and arresting rioters. Voice of America News reports there have been over 1,100 arrests so far, and a hundred more arrest warrants are rolling off the printers. It won’t be that hard to track the perps down, since England is covered with video cameras. The British are the most photographed people in the world. For the past four days, the government has been using those cameras to watch something it didn’t have the confidence to stop. When rioters become looters, and then murderers, civilization either defends itself with deadly force, or dies.
