London Riots

As dusk falls, it's strangely calm in Dalston this evening. I just went for a walk up the road, as much to buy some food as to see what the atmosphere is like in Kingsland Rd, where last night the local Turkish community stood strong against the rioters and managed to prevent any damage in the area. Compared to last night when I went out at 6pm and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife, life, if a bit quiet, seems relatively normal on the streets. People are still out having dinner in the Turkish restaurants along the street, still having a drink in the pub and just walking about. There are signs though that things are not quite as normal, the Argos at the end of my street is completely boarded up, the Tesco and the cafes across the road from it , which are usually buzzing, are all shut. There appears to be groups of Turkish guys gathering, I imagine in case they need to protect their property. Yet a world of difference from last night when there were police helicopters circling all night, and my bus home at around 10pm was not stopping in Dalston Junction leaving me to find for my own way home. Was quite unsettling given that the bus had passed groups of hoodies on bikes carrying wooden batons, and still being relatively new to London I didn't really know where I was. Luckily I found a lady on the bus who lived very near me and who suggested we catch a cab together. We managed to hail one shortly after getting off the bus, and the driver promised to get us as close as he could. Fortunately that turned out to be all the way! After a night of hearing the continuous sound of sirens and the police helicopters, I think all my flatmates went to sleep wondering what we were going to wake up to in the morning. Yet the sunny day in London has brought not much. A strong condemnation of the violence, a lot of questions about why the police were not there to protect them, a decision to provide almost 3x more police tonight, and a few people starting to ask the question in my head, which is, why has this happened? Let me be clear the question is not why are they rioting and looting, I think no-one is really arguing that it is anything more than opportunistic youth with no respect for authority, I heard one commentator describe it as 'aggressive late night shopping', but what are the roots that have created groups of youths that think it is ok to do this? But as darkness falls, first though we have to wonder what tonight will bring, and if 16000 police is enough?