Sickening: ‘vile’ group burns effigy of Grenfell Tower on Bonfire Night – in mockery of the dead
Do you know these men?
The images above were taken from a video in which an effigy of Grenfell Tower is burned, in mockery of the residents who died, were injured, or had their lives irreversibly harmed when the tower block was destroyed by fire last year.
Police have launched an investigation, as this report states:
“Scotland Yard have launched an investigation into a “vile” video of a model of Grenfell Tower being burned on a bonfire.
“Party-goers … laughed and joked as they mocked the Grenfell tragedy.
“The Metropolitan Police are appealing for information on who was at the event that has been widely condemned as “sick” and racist.
“The footage, apparently shot for bonfire night in a private garden, shows the 3ft cardboard model with brown faces at the windows – and a woman in a niqab – being lifted onto a fire.
“[It] shows a group of white people laughing as the tower mock-up burns.
“They refer to “ninjas”, thought to be a substitute for either Muslim women who wear a face veil or the offensive term “n*****”.
“Men in the group call mockingly: “Help me!” and “Stay in your flat” – the advice given to residents during the UK’s worst residential fire since the Second World War, which engulfed Grenfell Tower in north Kensington last summer.
“Social media users felt sure the event was a hate crime, calling for those behind the burning to be punished.”
You won’t see the video in this article. I won’t give this kind of hate the oxygen of publicity.
But if you know any of the people in the images above – which were taken from the video – please contact the police.
The public reaction has been universally negative:
It’s a disgusting video. We hope that the police are taking this seriously. Not only is it extremely upsetting to survivors & people who lost family, it’s hateful & offensive to everyone that has been affected by the tragic events of that night. 1/3
— Grenfell United (@GrenfellUnited) November 5, 2018
Meanwhile this week survivors continue to bravely give their evidence at the @grenfellinquiry today. Our focus & support is with them. 💚 3/3
— Grenfell United (@GrenfellUnited) November 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/DancingTheMind/status/1059510471810789376
Some chose to make political points – but can anyone blame a person who says the following?
You know why those people in that hideous video felt burning an effigy of Grenfell tower was a good idea? Because the corporate media which is run by billionaire tax exiles led them to believe the people in that building were undeserving.
— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) November 5, 2018
One of the people who offered their condemnation was herself condemned: UK prime minister Theresa May.
She tweeted:
To disrespect those who lost their lives at Grenfell Tower, as well as their families and loved ones, is utterly unacceptable. https://t.co/i4PeM2cGBd
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) November 5, 2018
Mrs May’s words were considered the height of hypocrisy, in the light of her own behaviour towards the victims of Grenfell.
Says the habitual liar that has left 151 families in emergency/temporary accommodation some 16 months after the tragedy. You can’t go soon enough, Prime Minister. https://t.co/Yc8bRTRNhq
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) November 5, 2018
Wind your neck in Treeza…There are still 151 families not housed a year after you promised to house them. People in glass houses eh….. https://t.co/doFuokvTb7
— Bevan Boy 💚 (@mac123_m) November 5, 2018
You wouldn't even meet with them. Your face said it all when you eventually forced yourself to hold a painting that had been done. Don't think for a second that people aren't just as disgusted with your lack of 'respect' for anyone at all. And yes, it was 'unacceptable'.
— TracieWaylingArtASMR (@traciewayling) November 5, 2018
Mrs May’s attitude was insensitive, but it was not a hate crime.
Making a racist effigy of Grenfell Tower, and laughing while burning it, is.
Take a good look at the images, and don’t hesitate to call the police if you think you can help identify the perpetrators of this abomination.
UPDATE: Five men have handed themselves in to police after images from the “Grenfell effigy” video appeared on the social media.
According to the BBC: “The Metropolitan Police said the men – two aged 49 and the others aged 19, 46 and 55 – handed themselves in at a south London station on Monday night.”
They have been arrested on suspicion of having committed a public order offence.
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What the hell is wrong with the people of this country who do this very disrespectful to the people who lost there lives and the people who survived, they need to be arrested and charged with hate crimes.
It’s not a nice thing to do, but there are more serious criminals-murderers, rapists, burglars ect for the police to go after.
Indeed – Nobody died, some cardboard was burned.
71 people DIED in Grenfell Towers on 14th June 2017, and thousands of tenants are still at risk in similarly clad buildings, yet no-one is in custody for that crime.
That’s the REAL mockery!
It is the minds of such people that is sickening and Thomas is blinkered if he cannot see that you cannot do comparisons with such people
I’d link it in with the machismo culture of Trump, Netanyahu, Bolsanaro, Orban etc, where it is deemed cool to mock the vulnerable.
Expressions of disgust from the Tories doesn’t wash as these were the very people whose policies have strengthened the culture of gloating and vilification.
According to this morning’s news reports they all handed themselves into the police lastnight, they are currently all under arrest.
Sometimes you have to wonder about the mind sets of some people, it may have seemed to be a good idea at the time by whoever constructed it, but it was a massive mistake.
This is utterly despicable. I hope someone identifies these monsters.
The grieving and bereft Grenfell survivors (116 from the tower – 22 from adjacent properties), have more than enough heartbreaking problems to deal with. As I understand the present situation, only 136 have been given permanent homes, and yet Theresa May, promised they would be rehoused within three weeks of the fire.
It’s a national disgrace.
It’s vile but I don’t think it’s a police matter. Investigating and possibly prosecuting people for “hate crime” at what seems to have been a private party will not make the streets safer for ordinary people.
To be frank I’m concerned about the idea of “hate crime” full stop. Some of the “hate crimes” we hear about seem to me to be getting very close to “thought crime” and that is a dangerous road to be going down.
The law doesn’t apply to the inside of private premises, there is no mention of an exception for gardens + plus any notion of it being ‘private’ vanished the moment the video was published on the web.
It doesn’t matter where the incident happened. That’s not relevant, according to the law. The operative element is whether it was published to others – for example, on a WhatsApp group.
Thankyou for confirming what I said above.
Well, partly.
I really don’t think you have the right to decide which offences should be acted on by our Police force. That is an all to often whinge from motorists, yet, the biggest death toll in our country comes as a result of war or driving. War is the only one that beats driving. I could bet you moan about the Police “Wasting their time” on Policing drivers too!
Jesus. That’s incredible. I’m pretty much lost for words. Disgusting scum.
The evil side of human nature. There is a fine dividing line between this sort of disgraceful ad unacceptable behaviour and what the Nazis got up to in the 1930s.
We really have lost our way. The bon(e)fires belong to Samhain and the 5th of November is a celebration of religious intolerance, neither of which has anything to do with what these people were doing. There is no excuse for their behaviour but methinks that it is time that we re-examined our traditions. £argely, we have forgotten why we do things and meaning has become lost, or discarded. I don’t celebrate the 5th Of November, because of what it means. Are we not somewhat hypocritical, as a nation that professes toleration, yet annually burns the effigy of a man who was driven to and act of attempted mass murder, because of religious intolerance?
As far as the actions of these persons goes, what drives people to commit such acts? I fear that lack of engagement and education will only make matters worse. If one cannot challenge somebody’s opinion, one have no hope of changing it. Silencing people, with political correctness will not change their minds but merely strengthen their resolve and legitimise, in their minds, their beliefs.
When the ‘so-called-elected-government’ of the UK hob-nobs with savage, right wing dictatorships, plying them with all the weapons and training needed to assault and destroy thousands of innocent, civilian lives in neighbouring countries then obsequiously line-up for bonus holidays and freebies on the pretext of ‘cementing business ties’ and ‘furthering education’ we can expect our own UK moral standard to slip somewhat!
It would be very ‘odd’ if it didn’t! The rot starts at the top!
There are some very sick people about indeed.
Here is a much worse example:
“any prime minister should be extremely cautious about ordering the use of weapons of mass destruction which would result in the indiscriminate killing of millions of innocent civilians”
This statement appeared in the draft version of Labour’s 2017 general election manifesto. What kind of person could possibly object to this?
Well, it was too much for the sick minds of Labour’s nuclear mafia who successfully fought to get it deleted from final version.
(The British General Election of 2017 by Philip Cowley and Denis Kavanagh, p182/3)
Labour needs to have a clear anti-nuclear position for the next election. I would urge readers of this blog to help bring this about.