Cereal Killer Cafe attacked by mob

[spatchcock]

Apologies if this is being discussed elsewhere and I didn't see it.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/27/shoreditch-cereal-cafe-targeted-by-anti-gentrification-protesters

An angry mob with pigs heads? And flaming torches? This is insane. I am concerned about gentrification as many of us are, but attacking a small business where children were sat is so cowardly.

Why not take their concerns to Downing Street, or have a peaceful protest?

I used to live in that area in the late 1980s, when our rent was under £30 a week (!).

I am all in favour of community action, and nonviolent direct action when necessary. But this wasn't the "community" taking action - these were a bunch of people who were coming in to play-act at being revolutionaries without having the faintest idea how to actually build and protect communities. They have more in common with the Bullingdon Boys than they do proper community activism.

Anyway, East London has always, always been about incomers. I am deeply uncomfortable and suspicious about any action that claims to be for social justice but which attacks people for not being "locals".

They certainly picked the wrong target.

I took a wander around Shoreditch yesterday in my lunch hour, there are still plenty of "ungentrified" shops and buildings between the Cereal Bars, Cheap cafes, Clothes Shops, Sainsbury, Spa etc - and you can easily spot them.

They're the empty ones that are boarded up and that have been vandalised by the locals.

First of all, how is charging 4£ for a bowl of (mainly imported and therefore expensive) cereal any better or worse than 4£ coffees and 7£ sandwiches, which abound in London?
Secondly, the owners grew up in Belfast in the 80's, I doubt they are much scared by some wankers in pig masks throwing paint around and smashing a few windows.

Attacking small businesses and driving business and money away from the area, how the fuck do they imagine that will help anyone? Keep rents down by making it an area no-one wants to set foot in? Good luck with that.

Yep, the owners are from Belfast - Northern Ireland is renowned for being packed full of posh rich people rolling in spare cash with which to take over the rest of the country and gentrify it. Oh wait, that's not right:

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/northern-irish-workers-huge-wage-divide-compared-to-uk-peers-doing-same-job-30356587.html

Also most of the cereal is £2.50 a bowl.

This thing about poor people being driven out of areas like Shoreditch due to gentrification/ridiculous property prices - it's not quite right. There is still masses of social housing in Tower Hamlets (and Hackney) so people on very low incomes do live there. It's those on ordinary moderate incomes who are being priced out, who haven't got big deposits to buy and can't afford high rents in the private sector.