Having lived in London, as many New Zealanders have, I found the scenes of wanton destruction by rioting crowds this week incredibly sad.
Sad for a number of reasons: Parts of the city have been destroyed for no reason other than pleasure in anarchy; honest people's homes, lives and livelihoods have been
put at risk; and what does this mindless violence say about the thousands prepared to take part in it?
The riots are, however, not altogether surprising. Britain's cities teem with under-educated and under-employed young people who feel they have no real stake in the prosperity of their nation and are quite prepared to take for free.
Not that those rioting would be likely to explain the reason for their actions as being "because we feel marginalised". A more likely response would be "Is a free TV, innit!"
Britain has built over-populated urban jungles and the cheek-by-jowl metropolitan melting pot factor that so many of means love about these crowded cities could be viewed entirely differently if you have no job, no ambition, no empathy, and little capacity for critical thought.
Add to this the fact that we live in times when a distressingly large number of people have abandoned any notion of human decency and you have all the ingredients for the disgraceful events in London and beyond.
Those rioting behaved like a pack of vultures, bespoiling the environment they live in and turning on fellow citizens and each other at will.
This was not a case of protesting a police state or fighting for a free nation - it was simply a free-for-all.
So, thank goodness we live in faraway New Zealand?
Well, yes, but there is a lesson in London 2011 for us all. Even here in "idyllic" Hawke's Bay there is ample evidence that society is fraying at the margins.
Unemployment is high, gang culture prevalent, hard drugs use on the increase and multi-generational welfare dependence rife.
How do we ensure that most people in our own region feel that they have a meaningful stake in society?
Critical factors are a good education, the prospect of a job and a reduction in welfare dependency.
All very easy to say but very hard to achieve. Perhaps the candidates in the looming general election will offer some answers.
