Your friendly neighbours at the Barbican
Residents of City apartment complex the Barbican are thinking of forming a vigilante group to take on the “Johnny foreigners” at the nearby YMCA.
Their noisy antics have become the subject of heated exchanges in one of the chatrooms on www.barbicantalk.com.
One of the more gung-ho residents, who calls himself Flangia, has even proposed the foundation of a Guardian Angels-style group.
“I suggest we found an organisation, much akin to the Black Panthers, to further the movement for quieter streets around the Barbican,” he writes. “We will reject the integrationist, nonviolent stance of your average roll-over Londoner, and make it clear from the beginning that we seek no compromise with the people who breach the peace.
“We would similarly reject nonviolence as a creed and specifically choose to organise around a platform of self defence. We could call ourselves the Barbican Angels.”
He goes on: “One of the very first activities we would undertake would be organising a citizens patrol — in order to protect the citizens of the Barbican.
“I admit that there is a chance that the police may be a little peeved when we do this. But we could also provide several community service programmes, including safety and observation patrols, courses in self-defence, and urban beautification.
“The safety patrols would be the main focal point of the Barbican Angels. Members could be identified by distinctive uniforms (green berets?). We would perform numerous patrols, to serve as a visual deterrent to crime, breeches of the peace and to assist the police in reporting suspicious activity.”
When a fellow online chatter asked: “Errr… are you being serious?”, Flangia replied: “Obviously, I’m not advocating the use of firearms.”