Opinion: Grenfell – The Towering Reality

The Grenfell Tower tragedy has exposed the stark realities of exactly what it means to be from the poorer side of the tracks. Juxtaposed a tad too close for complete comfort in the Borough of Kensington & Chelsea, sits a taxonomic diversity of people from extreme ends of the socio/economic divide.

It’s only when a tragedy the likes of Grenfell occurs, that you get a sense of what it really means to be poor or of ethnic origin; your worth, or lack of it, is plain to seThe Grenfell Tower tragedy has exposed the stark realities of exactly what it means to be from the poorer side of the tracks. e. And so it proved in the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy, the differences between the level of treatment the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ receive is cavernous. You could almost feel the embarrassment of the spokespersons shunted out to attempt to placate the baying mob. Trying and failing dismally to sound sincere, rhetoric as per usual their only tool.

Anger, when it was finally displayed was quickly seized upon by the media, the focus primed to shift to that aspect of the tragedy had it escalated; luckily it was quelled in good time. This had all the hallmarks of the Hurricane Katrina debacle where the poorer class were left to basically fend for themselves while Government shuffled around in a diabolical effort to look like they were doing something positive. As with Katrina, apart from the initial Fire Department’s quick reaction, the response of the authorities was slow, tedious and ill-conceived.

Theresa May appeared and leaped from one calamity to another, much like a serial offender and seems never able to learn from her mistakes. How can you as a leader arrange to visit the scene of a tragedy, but rather than visit with actual victims you choose to visit with the emergency services. Now make no mistake here, the emergency services are to be lauded and applauded most vigorously for their sterling work in the face of adversity, but surely it was more about the victims first, right?? The emergency services normally are found bringing up the rear in the normal course of things, so why for the life of me was the PM advised to visit with only them and then beat a hasty retreat back to safer ground when the visit had ended??

It’s morally criminal to wait until people burn and die in an inferno before the authorities do what is morally correct. Nearly 100% of the residents of Grenfell Tower were from an ethnic background or from the poorer class. It’s clear that your social status is the common denominator which is used to determine which level of treatment you receive at tragic times.

Because I see no end to this socio/economic divide that permeates our society, it follows that I see no chance of change either. The future looks neverendingly bleak if you’re from the unsavoury side of the tracks I’m afraid!