London Riot (and Cat on a Leash)

London is Burning...literally.

I went to bed soundly last night with the background of police car sirens and choppers above the sky, but still believing that I am miles away from danger, and will not be touched by the violence.

This morning, I woke up with cloudless sky, rays of sunrise reflected on the buildings across the street, and gentle whispers of tree leaves of summer green.

On the way to the early morning visit to the gym, I encountered a fat white cat on a leash. I had two cats in the past, both of them sweet but resistant to anything that bind them, so was quite astounded to find this cat wondering around with the owner as if he/she was a dog.

As I looked up the tall trees in our resident garden, there was a #3 shaped Aluminum-foiled blue balloon stuck just too high for anyone to reach, swaying left and right.

All calm and beautiful summer morning, though in actuality, London is anything but.

Until last night, I blindly believed that none of these rioting would affect me, as they were happening across the Thames in the south or up north in Tottenham. I expected no more surprises than what I usually find in my neighborhood, like cat on a leash or #3 blue balloon. That sense of safety is no longer here with me, as the rioters are closing in. There is a report of a restaurant just few blocks away being sacked by the rioters, and bus being torched across the park. Some of the street signs are taken off the polls, and neighborhood shops were vandalized and robbed.

The world still looks peaceful on the surface, but there are underlying threats, and for the first time in London, I am afraid.

It is bad enough that the world's economy is crumbling out of control, but this riot disquiets me for its immediacy. I feel like there is no safe place to hide, and the rioters could torch my building anytime without warning, just because they can. What's more, there seems to be no reasonable cause for violence. They are not crying out for propaganda or protests but simply acting up, may be just for fun.

The properties rioters are mindlessly torching, vandalizing, and robbing are the fruition of long years of hard work for many. Those property owners are just like me, who enjoy their peaceful existence (with may be a small surprises like a cat on a leash). The realization that I could just as easily loose everything as any of these property owners horrifies me, especially for no cause, no agenda, no reason.

London is Burning...and the fire needs to be extinguished, now.