Heartbreak

At the moment it feels like it though. This is a long read.

For those outside the UK who may not know. We have had the most terrible tragedy.

On Monday a beautiful group of little girls were having a fun day learning to dance to Taylor Swift music.

A boy, identity not released at the moment, went into the dance school with a knife, and started stabbing. A very brave teacher tried to protect them and is badly injured. A brave man ran in and tried to help, he was also badly injured.

The police came and stopped the attack. Two girls died that day, another died yesterday. We’re praying for the others and the families with all our hearts, which feels completely useless right now. I know it’s never useless to ask God to help, but even so.

What was absolutely worse was that there is video evidence of a masked boy (he’s 17) pacing up and down on his drive, psyching himself up, giving himself the kind of pep talk you might give yourself before a sporting competition, before he drove to a beautiful happy town to deliberately harm those innocent children.

9, 7, and 5. The five-year-old had just lost her milk teeth. I will see that image forever.

It is a collective heartbreakthat any child, any family, had to go through this in the UK. There are no words. But it still needs addressing, and I’m sure you’ll agree – on a global scale. I’m aware of the other atrocities elsewhere, and that there is so much we don’t know.

It all matters

Because

The modern world is being taken over by a group of people at all levels of society, who are an insult to the love (or five minutes of insanity) that created them.

People of all ages. All races. All religions. No religion. All colours. All creeds. All nationalities. All genders. From presidents to petty thugs. If there’s a difference of course.

Humanity needs a reset. If it lives someone will try to kill it. Yet billions will not.

Have you realised how overwhelming the numbers of good people are? There are over 7 billion people on this planet, and we hear about a handful. A handful forcibly taking too much power.

We, the decent, also have power.

Permanent but temporary

When something like Southport happens it brings an awareness of this into sharp focus.

The permanence is that we will never forget it. The temporary is the way the world returns to normal.

The way we encompass it and move on. I’ve already emailed my MP and asked him to make sure this is addressed properly. Pathetic. But it’s all I’ve got. Now I’m writing this. There must be more.

From Stephen Lawrence to Damilola Taylor and so many more whose names I have forgotten but whose faces live in my memory, I remember. Yet things have become progressively worse, and all over the world.

Ukraine? Israeli innocents? Gaza? Just why?

How many school shootings in America are enough? Who can forget Columbine? But that wasn’t enough?

How many despots tearing societies apart all over the world are enough? How many gangs forcing people to fight or die, or fight and die, are enough?

Particularly in the younger generation where is the violence and anger coming from? Please don’t say poverty, I was poor, so was our Prime Minister. Sunak’s family were comfortable but not wealthy.

Everyone has a choice. Millionaires become criminals.

We can’t keep going back to normal because normal is now horrific.

The UK I knew

This is not the UK, and the factions creating this need to understand that they are destroying what the UK stands for. A safe life.

The British people are endlessly tolerant and accepting, as a nation we’ve taken blow after blow like this and maintained our society.

Who will ever forget the Muslim people offering hugs and to talk after the Manchester Arena bombing, and the huge queues of non-Muslims of all types queuing up to hug them right back. Knowing it was nothing to do with them or their religion. Reassuring each other.

The vast, vast majority of the collective British do not want this. Colour, race, religion, gender, politics, or creed, can never ever be more important than children.

The far right yesterday were an absolute disgrace. The far white despicable right, to point out that every race has its objectionables. The insult to those families was incalculable.

Attacking the police with large rocks? What did that have to do with those children?

They do not reflect what it means to be British. More people of colour who weren’t born here do that. What they do prove is that extremism is a poison in every society.

Now people are speculating that a fully masked man with a hood on is Muslim, and being objectionable when they do not know that. If he is then that isn’t a comment on billions of perfectly kind Muslims. It’s a comment on him and him alone.

If he’s been radicalised then whomever did that needs to go to prison for life, as a terrorist Muslim cleric has this week.

I worry about the safety of my fellow citizens.

What concerns me is that the British people are becoming angry, I am but I want to know how this stops.

Knife and gun crime used to be exceptional in this country. Now it’s more that once every single day.

This has to stop. I’m absolutely anti the death penalty, but even I’ve found myself wondering if we have to have a deterrent that horrific, forced on us by criminals? Because it would go against everything we stand for.

How dare they.

The danger

The far right are starting to fight back. We need, all of us inclusively to do whatever we can to prevent that. Europe is multicultural now, and that’s a good thing if we use it to expand our knowledge and understanding of others.

But to racialise our children, which bigoted white parents also do, cannot continue.

We need to break up the communities where there are gangs.

We need to ensure an equal level of education for all.

We need to if necessary to round up truants and place them in centres, tag them if we have to, find out what’s wrong, and sort it out for them. We will at least save some.

We need to get children out of abusive homes.

We need perhaps to have a stronger organisation above the police to deal with major issues. We have an army, they could provide back up and support.

No get out clause

We ourselves need to create the change we want to see.

We need to offer children stability. Perhaps children of single parents remain at school until their parents can collect them? Don’t panic teachers, other people could come in to run games, put a film on, oversee homework. That would eradicate the potential to roam the streets and get intimidated by the wrong people.

Many a child has been too intimidated not to get into trouble.

Starting by protecting the children seems to be a good place.

But our attitude as adults is highly complicit in the state of today’s society.

Lazy breeds lazy. Violence breeds depression and anger. Watching your mum scream at your dad, or your dad beating up your mum will made you full of a fury that needs an outlet.

Having no food will breed despair. It will also compromise the ability to learn at school.

We need to change these things. We need to think and behave in a way that creates a desire in children to reach for the moon, by bringing them up in a mindset that promotes optimism.

Your religion, your origin, your skin colour, whether you’re wealthy or poor, none of these things are in any way important compared to a safe place to live for all.

Violence is weakness. Killing someone to prove your strength only proves your weakness. Strong people say no.

Believing that anyone else is responsible for the state of your life is wrong. The only two people who might be are your parents.

You get the picture.

Just please God let’s not let this fade into the background as an horrific memory.

For the sake of those beautiful children, alive or forever lost to their families, let’s pull together and do something!

I am just so, so, sorry!

Deb xx