Brixton

One of the elements of this discussion that interests me most is the fact that we are all generally coming from a white, middle class perspective, in attempting to understand this city we live in. As such, so much of what we want from and love about London is tied up and ingrained in other things that we fear or don't understand. Brixton's a perfect example of this conundrum. It's long been a home for political activists, for artists and for true multiculturalism, in particular for Africans and Jamaicans. Yet partly because of these reasons, it has experienced clashes with government - the Brixton Riots being a big example, and thus it has formed a vacuum into which poverty, crime and a rampant drug culture have drifted. I found this great article by a very right-on travel writer called Victor Borg, which gives an honest and tributary take on Brixton's uniqueness (-is that a word?)
http://www.victorborg.com/html/bohemian_brixton.html

The point is, we are part of that lively community. We cannot allow such events to polarize people and cultures. We live in these places. We can expect to feel safe in them. And 'we' means the entire community of Brixton, and London by extension.

Here's a great article that I'm not sure has been posted yet. Apologies if it has. It's the bit about guns being carried round like mobile phones that gives me the shivers...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/Story/0,,1885123,00.html