It will be hard to find a British blogger at the moment who isn't reflecting on this week's events in England (Britain is cited everywhere but lets be honest I saw no mention of Scots or Welshmen taking to thieving their local trainers or electronics shop).
The Dutch and expat press is as full of news about the riots as the British national press is, and there is lots of contemplation of what it is to be British, whether expats feel proud to be British and how watching the looting, violence and arson across the country on TV makes those of us abroad feel.
An interesting piece by Annabel Kantaria in the Telegraph expat section asks "Are you proud to be British?" and explains the image her British children (who live in Dubai) just got of England during their visit this week. One reader commented that the concept of being proud to be British is outdated and belongs in the 1940s. I have to agree. I'm happy to be British, but proud?
I have read a number of blog pieces by British writers that relay that this kind of 'British' behaviour is a reason to be happy with the choice to move away from their homeland. The Dutch press asked whether such looting and violence could ever be seen on the streets of the Netherlands. A resounding no came back for a number of reasons, the primary being that the extremes within British society are not present in Dutch society. There's a predominant 'average' Dutch layer so the extremes of rich and poor are not daily evident like they are in Britain. It's a point my husband has been making since I met him over a decade ago - extremes in Britain are evident wherever you look.It's something I notice when I go back now but something not apparent to me when I lived there.
On a personal note the images played out through the British and Dutch media have been harrowing and shocking. The conversations that have followed in the press are equally worrying - many different theories about the whys and what nows. Disenchanted youths. Government policies. Youth schemes scrapped. The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Unemployment. University fees. Ethnic minorities. Lazy teenagers. A feeling of entitlement. A lack of responsibility. Feeling displaced in society. Criminal opportunistic gangs. Lack of discipline in the home and in schools. Bad parenting. Teenage parents.
Whatever the reason, whatever the excuse, the violence on English streets in the last few days leaves most British people angry, upset and incredulous - whether you still live in Britain or not.
What is clear is that international press coverage of youths rioting on the streets of London, Manchester, Liverpool and Brimingham (amongst others) have allowed Brits across the world to feel what it is to be British right now. And it's not a good feeling.
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