AIBU to feel angry about Notting Hill Carnival behaviour?

[ProudBlackMomma]

Any other London folk mortified by the Notting Hill carnival? Hundreds of arrests, lewd behaviour, vulgarity and litter. It does not represent my culture. It’s an embarrassment.

Crime does not represent anyone's culture. Any large event becomes a magnet for crime.

I think all carnivals/festivals experience some trouble, be it fighting or drugs etc. There’s always some who ruin if for others and the press love to shine a light on Carnival especially.

The individuals who have been arrested should feel embarrassed not you. Thousands of people enjoy carnival every year who behave accordingly.

I thought this year’s carnival was relatively peaceful. We don’t live that far away and there wasn’t as much disruption here as in previous years.

It’s fairly repellant. I wish it would stop now, before it turns into anything even worse.

I lived in London for 30 years and only went to the Carnival once out of curiosity and because a friend wanted to go.

Just too crowded for me and too many issues with it.

It is sad but with large events like this you will also have people who behave appallingly and spoil it for the largely peaceful majority.

The Reading Festival is pretty horrendous as well. Football matches too. Anywhere that involves large groups of people will be.

Any other event would be cancelled. Annual stabbings, attacks on police, knives and drugs.

Carnage https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c87vdj8j01xo
😉

The press an R wing social media love a ‘shock horror’ angle to a story.

I was on public transport coming home (not from Carnival) last night and the tube and train were full of mellow / upbeat happy carnival-goers having had a great day, spreading the atmosphere.

So much work and talent goes into putting out a Mas band, I wish the media would follow a Mas camp, talk to the community members who gather to make costumes, the community feel to it etc.

I didn’t know about the 72 second silence for Grenfell victims, this is such a good reflection of the fact that the origins of playing Mas’ and the origins of carnival in Notting Hill have political roots.

It is unfortunate that some crime erupts but given the sheer numbers is it worse than football matches, for example? I know which supporters I’d rather be on a train with, football fans or carnival revellers!

I am sorry you feel let down by the wrong ‘uns: it’s a racist society that generalises.

I think it's grown into something that doesn't really work in the area where it takes place- far too crowded, no facilities- I think it makes it really hard for it to be run in a way that's safe and enjoyable for everyone.

It’s absolutely horrible for the people that live there. It’s so entitled to just take over a residential area and trash it.

It's grim. Being on those streets in the evening, everywhere boarded up is scary. A genuine air of menace.

People pissing in residents gardens and worse.

There’s always been arrests at the carnival so nothing new.
i live in London (nowhere near it though) and although I went a couple of times in my 20s no-one I know ot my DC and their friends have any interest in it. Last time I went maybe 30 years ago I found it very crowded and didn’t enjoy it at all. No way would I go now in my 50s.
i was on the tube on Sun and saw a young woman in what I can only describe as a bikini (her boobs weren’t small) ! She was sitting down opposite me, when she stood up she did actually have small shorts on (and was carrying a cloak w I think Jamaican flag), but it was def not usual tube attire!!

I imagine they were well aware of the carnival before moving into the area it’s in the same place every year.

It does not represent my culture.

What culture is that?

A good year eh, just the 500 arrests.

The right wing press would have you believe it's worse than other big events, but I am not convinced this is true (particularly this year). You see the same after festivals in fields and huge football matches. It's just people unfortunately.

How Callous. I guess that is how entitlement thinks.

YABU! I am a Londoner and carnival does not embarrass me in the slightest. Carnival is the place for skimpy outfits and gyrating. There's some discourse about the hypocrisy around carnival vs dance hall; but it is what it is.
Criminality and litter is inevitable wherever you have 2mil people gathered.

I was at a festival a few weeks ago and a drunken woman out of nowhere started hammering a young woman with whom she shares culture. Two others were wheeled away by paramedics unconscious (drink and drugs) and others were complaining that they weren't drunk enough/started drinking at 9am.
Not one person who shared their culture assumed collective embarrassment.

Yes, the crush of people is awful, really unsafe. The music from the sound systems is dangerously loud, harmful to the human ear drum. Instead if weak festival beer, people are drinking hard liquor. Many if the outfits are lewd and nasty. That's to say nothing of drugs, crime, urinating in peoples gardens etc.

And it doesn't really 'bring people together'. People are in pockets according to their race, that was really noticeable.

I used to work opposite one of the London Test Match cricket grounds.

You know, those civilised cricket followers…

From FAR smaller crowds than NHC we had to disinfect our doorways every day that were awash with piss, vomit and sometimes shit and shit-stained clothes.

Work was impossible for the noise and crowds for 4 days (Monday usually v quiet).

Drunken entitled men central.

Big events, big crowds 🤷🏻‍♀️.

London. Big marches and rallies every weekend, big events etc.

Like, for example, Glastonbury where around half the women who attend have said they were sexually assaulted?

32 drug related deaths at festivals in 5 years.

16 reported rapes at Leeds Festival in 5 years.

In 2022, nearly 3,000 people had to seek medical attention at Glastonbury Half of these were illness, half were injury.

Music festivals accounted for 722 deaths in a 15 year period.

Or maybe we should look at football related gatherings. 6 stabbed at the Arsenal victory celebrations. There is always violence at big matches

Have we banned any of those?

I feel like your post is just thinly disguised racism

YABU. It’s no different to behaviour at the festivals going on.

It's always been the same I remember in the 80s just how awful the crowds etc were never mind the cribe