this year, i intend to avoid the annual notting hill carnival due to the presence of the following groups:
a) stupid white people: by which i mean the metropolitan police, who flock to this event each summer, irresistably attracted by the opportunity to provoke disturbances and engage in a spot of state-sponsored wog-bashing, on overtime.
b) stupid black people: by which i mean the community leaders who organize carnival and who always sanction a cop-shackled celebration of afro-caribbean culture, instead of standing on principle by cancelling carnival until such time as the police learn to attend the festivities as public servants, and not mob-handed serf-masters - the prevalence of this situation essentially being due to the fact that community leaders' favourite carnival sound is the ching-ca-ching-ca-ching of choked-up carnival cash-tills.
currently, carnival is no more than a cynically cordoned-off conflict-zone, meticulously organized by the london security authorities, in close collaboration with their corrupt counterparts in the local communities - their motto seems to be: why have a fiesta, when we can stage a fight?
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the cops and community leaders connive to treat carnival-goers like children - and of course a small percentage of the crowd admirably live up to authoritarian expectations. you may disagree with my analysis, but as far as i can make out it's the only explanation for the sorry security state which carnival has become. blame it all on the police if you like, but in the end whose carnival is it? theirs or yours? and who's gonna take responsibility for it?
as enforced by the metropolitan police, boris johnson's carnival policy is as follows:
1. switch off the music as early as possible (around 7pm) and stir up discontent amongst the youths.
2. order the discontented youths to 'go home'.
3. beat the crap out of anyone who disobeys police instructions.
4. dress up confrontations between the police and youths as gang-fights between rival factions - in order to provide a superficial excuse for police brutality, if exposed.
it's amazing how this aggravated status quo continues to remain unchallenged - this is largely because the members of the community who hold power are far too busy making money out of the establishment to get their hands dirty criticizing it. in this country, the carnival's always appeared (to me) to be an exuberantly protested day of cultural freedom, rather than a true celebration of cultural freedom. in fact, carnival has become so established that it is now very much a choreographed establishment-authorized protest with police certification, and really lacks the necessary freedom and motivation ever to mature into a genuine self-regulating self-unconscious celebration of individual independence.
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