Oh what fun, riots at Ungdomshuset. The government screws you over, you attempt to compensate, but the government screws you back big time. Great, just great.
Early in the morning, during a class with marginal importance, my phone rings. Or actually, vibrates. Message. “The police is taking over the house.” – “Your house?” – “No. Ungdomshuset.”
Didn’t sound like much, obviously. I’m used to that person, whom I shall refer to as Violet. I’m used to Violet doing weird things, potentially risking her life, and yet cringe to the sight of gore in action movies. She’s quite a feminist though, and as a matter of principle likes to cross the line of gender differentiation on a regular basis, thus committing violent and potentially destructive acts could also stem from that; as well as genuine political interest.
At around 7 o’clock, I look at my phone. New mesage, “the police just threw tear gas.” If I wasn’t worried just yet, the time pretty much came at that point. I replied, and waited patiently.
In the meantime, I became restless and worried. At some point I considered paying a visit to Nørrebro, but quickly dropped the idea. It’s not a matter of life and death, my preserce wouldn’t change much, I don’t want to impose my own ideas on anyone – it’s better to stay at home.
The caffeine buzz sure didn’t help me calm down. I waited and waited. After sniffing around, I tried to calm myself down by trying to figure out whether there had been any casualties. So far so good, nothing. Though reportedly, people were injured – no good.
Eventually, I sent her a message, to which she replied within a few minutes. Everything was fine. Got chased around by the police, sprayed with tear gas, etc. Wouldn’t it be better to just quietly disperse? Maybe if things got that bad, perhaps violent conflict wasn’t the answer?
Violent conflict is rarely the answer. Which is what the layman simply does not understand, or does not internalize maybe.
I hope they’re all having fun down there at least, because otherwise it’s mostly futile.
I was however displeased with people wrongly labelling the riots as “anarchists.” Opposing the shut down of a community lot has got nothing to do with not wanting a governing force. If anything, it’s probably the other way aronud. It made no sense to shut the place down, especially with so much resistance. At the same time, I don’t believe violence is justified. Et cetera.
Well, I’ll get busy shooting random civilians and spraying them with tear gas, potentially arresting them.