Saturday, July 23, 2005

A Deadly Mistake

It seems that the London police, in their reaction to the dangerous situation on thre streets and on public transport, haven't taken the path of caution advised, for example, in the article by Alexander Golts I referred to earlier. The man who was shot at Stockwell Tube station was the wrong one. Now anyone who has dark hair or dark skin may feel threatened and at risk in London, and that can only arouse antagonism and resentment. With some experience of the dire effects of racial profiling by police intent on "cracking down", some independent Russian news outlets like gazeta.ru are coming out with headlines such as "London police making deadly mistakes".

With the situation in London as tense as it has been these past few weeks, one can understand the police response, and also that there was probably very little time to make a decision. But couldn't it have been possible to merely wound the man? The repeated shots to the head suggest a level of violence that can only be self-defeating.

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