Day 85: 'The Baby P' phenomenon

(What's a bigger story than a dead baby?)


Lil P.

When I visited The Old Bailey courthouse earlier this year, the guard there told us to go watch the case in Court 7. "It was an interesting one," he said. Well, he was right. Now, a couple months later the case has taken on a life of its own.

In the case, a mother and two accomplices were found guilty of abusing the 17-month old named Baby P until it died (name can't be released for legal reasons, although I'm pretty sure it's in my previous entry). This included such inadvisable parental activities like swinging the child around by its neck and just flat-out beating him. Well, after the case finished and the story was released to the public (covering courts works different in the UK), it sent a shockwave through London.

There seems to be a new story each day on Baby P, and the grotesque neglect he endured. The uproar has successfully helped get rid of children's services and doctors who failed to do enough/anything about Baby's neglect.

The Sun, a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch and the most popular newspaper in England/second most popular in the world (3.1 million readers), got 1 million people to sign a petition to ask for the child service industry people to be sacked. Even England's most vile criminals are disgusted by Baby P's abusers.


Some of the gruesome injures to Baby P.

When I saw an hour of the Baby P trial back in the day, it was definitely tragic. But I never expected it to blow up like this. Hopefully it at least incites some change to the system. However, does this case feel a bit overexposed? Sensationalized? I think so (although a case like this would certainly have the same affect in America), I mean, look at all these frikkin' links I found necessary to post. There's just that much out there.

It's all very sad. But it feels like it's reached a point where it's just a media war. Papers trying to sell papers, not because the story is still newsworthy, but because it sells papers. Terry Schiavo anyone? OR perhaps this Emmy award-winning South Park episode? If it was just the tabloids, it'd make sense, but it's not. Anyway, if it incites change to the UK's seemingly effed up child protection services, it's cool. But people tend to lose focus on that aspect real fast. That prison story helps prove my point. What do you think, is it too much?

Survey says: TIME IS RUNNING OUT

(And still so much left to do)


Christmas decorations dominate the London scenescape now.

Barely 12 days left. Not even two weeks. And still so much left to do and see and eat before I leave for the United States.

It's already beginning to feel a lot like Christmas here. So maybe I should reward myself by splurging on at least one (or more) European experience before leaving. Hmm, yes, good idea?

See Spamalot (and other London plays)
Smashing: I love Monty Python. Although the play premiered in the United States, it'd still feel more authentic to see it in London. Also, I want to see part II and III of Alan Ayckbourn's "The Norman Conquests." Part I was brilliant. I feel I'd be wasting a huge opportunity to not see the rest.
Bollocks: I can always see Spamalot sometime in America. Also, I already am seeing Les Miserables with my theatre class on Tuesday. Once I see, the best musical of them all, and one that started in London - why risk sullying it with another play?

Have a London shopping montage
Smashing: London, the most fashionable city in the world (besides Milan, I guess), makes you so self-conscious about everything you wear that the city forces you to shop for something new. Also, Christmas sales have many items listed at 70 percent off. And Lord knows, I need a new pair of jeans.
Bollocks: Shopping is pretty easy in America. Actually, in any developed country.

Watch Coheed & Cambria play its entire fourth album in concert
Smashing: I hate this band's first two albums. And then the third album suddenly was awesome. The fourth -Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow - magical. And this concert - called Neverender - will involve C&C playing each of their four albums in their entirety on four consecutive days.
Bollocks: Sure, this type of concert is unique, but they're American band. Why see that in England? Also, my favorite song eva!?!... Welcome Home was on Coheed's third album, which I did not enjoy as much as number four as a whole. But how can I attend a Coheed concert and not hear Welcome Home (fingers crossed for an encore?)

Take a daytrip to Liverpool/Wales
Smashing: Well, I'd be lying to my readers if I didn't go to Liverpool, but I might have to with time running out. But at least, I can always take a three-hour day trip to Cardiff, Wales so I can at least visit one country out side of England.
Bollocks: Do I want to take a five hour bus ride to Liverpool for a day trip? What the eff is there to do in Wales?

Take a trip...on hard drugs and hallucinate going somewhere cool?!
Smashing: Hmm, ummmm. It's wild.
Bollocks: Not really a good use of time when I'm preparing to leave London for - who knows how long. Once I return to Syracuse and recognize how boring it is compared to Europe, then maybe I'll consider.

Well, those are the potential Christmas gifts to myself. Woo. Selfishness! One more gift I'll be rewarding myself with is eating lotsa and lotsa cool food. The other day I ate a Syrian meal. Try the kebabs, ok?

By the way, Christmas is a huge holiday here. In America, the end of Thanksgiving signals the start of the Christmas season. Here, where there is no Thanksigiving, I've been hearing frikkin' Christmas music* since early November. The decorations also are in full effect:


Welcome to Oxford Street


Decorations all ova the place.


Steakhouses getting in on the Christmas spirit.

--
Foot notes:

*Three favorite Christmas songs of the moment:
1. Carol of the Bells - the Home Alone version.
2. Santa Claus is comin' to town - The Boss
3. Merry Xmas, everybody - Slade