Thank you mayomick for sharing that link to the video Tottenham Riots-The Truth

Here's my transcription of that interview. Besides agreeing with just about everything he said, I felt that a transcription of this interview should be available for the historical/folkloric record, and to increase access to the video for those who are hard of hearing. Besides those reasons, I transcribed that interview because I think it would make a great monologue (not only because of what was said but also because of how it was said, and the scene itself).

Note: A question mark in brackets is found in the transcription after mention of Broadsworth farm because I couldn't understand that next word. Also, I added question marks after the man's distinctive use of the interjection "yeah". But that word isn't really a question.

I also created a page for this transcription on my Cocojams website at http://www.cocojams.com/content/tottenham-riots-truth-interview-transcription


Transcription: Tottenham Riots - the truth

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQHWwEpwAY

[indistinguishable chatter in the background]

Yep that me? Well, as far as I'm concerned the process-protest started like this right? There were about 150 people outside the police station. And they were out there and they were quite patient. All they wanted was a few answers as to what happened. The police completely ignored them. You know what I mean, treated 'dem with contempt. And even at that point they didn't retaliate. And then, a young sixteen year old-well approximately-went to approach them to again find out probably what was going on. And they just took some evasive action by pushing her and drawin their batons and that's when they people then started to retaliate. Now I think in all circumstances having seen that most people'd retaliate. Yes?

Now the police seems to have this contempt for people. And I don't think they necessarily needed to have killed the guy yeah? They had apprehended him, right? They was in control, right? There was no need for them to kill him. There was absolutely none, yeah? So basically, they might be surprised that this has happened, yeah. But they still don't seem to have learned their lesson thirty years ago approximately what happened in Broadwater Farm and Tottsworth [?] and them places, yeah?. And you cannot keep oppressing people, right? They talk about Tottenham being bad and things. There's nothing wrong with Tottenham, right. We've got a mixture, right, of people in Tottenham. Everybody in general gets on, yeah? So why are they tryin to make out as if Tittenham, you understand, is, you understand is all hotspot, you understand, it is that's bad. I mean look today, you can see all different sorts of groups or whatever, cultures of people, yeah? There's nothing that serious in Tottenham, yeah? But now I says they seems to pacifically target Tottenham and places like Brixton the deprived area where they know that predominately most Black peoples, you understand, have been sort of reside, yeah?

Well, I sincerely hope that this today, this event, will sort of make some changes some progress, yeah? Cause this is not just about Black people now cause if you can see the thing and the pictures there's All sorts of people, yeah? Ah it's not just Black people. So they can't use that now as an excuse and say, you know, Black people retaliate in, you know what I mean, in different ways, and things like that, yeah? So... it's a shame that it's happened the way it's happened. But unfortunately they say "You got to fight fire with fire, yeah". So I hope that they will stand up and acknowledge and DO something about it. It's as simple as that, yeah?.


-snip-

Please post the word that is said after the mention of Broadwater far, and any other corrections to this transcript. Thanks.