![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.gfdesign.co.uk\/culture\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/2fb5466a104eac2a47f2a0a18a529671.jpg\" "\\"Riots")
\nHe carries the suitcase like he means business. He carries it like he cares about it. He carries it like he cares about it too much. He carries it like he\u2019s been somewhere with it. Like they\u2019ve been somewhere. Together. The suitcase and him.<\/p>\n
The suitcase never leaves his side. A family heirloom some suggest. Or it\u2019s carrying stolen goods. A suitcase of lifesaving or painkilling pills. For his gout \u2013 he has a limp, after all \u2013 or chemo for his unseen cancer. A suitcase to hold his collection of false teeth. Only one person suggests that. That would mean he\u2019s a travelling tooth salesman. Tooth fairy? Disgraced dentist? After a short argument, we agree the suitcase isn\u2019t carrying false teeth, and the man who suggested it gets his coat and leaves.<\/p>\n
It’s a serious business and people get unsettled, don\u2019t they, and need to know what\u2019s going on because a man carrying a suitcase everywhere he goes, never leaving his side, arouses suspicion. It\u2019s natural, it\u2019s human nature to be inquisitive. To care what\u2019s happening in their neighbourhood. What if he\u2019s a refugee wanting shelter? A home? One of our homes? What if he\u2019s come out of hospital and he\u2019s lost his mind and doesn\u2019t know where he is or even who he is? What if he\u2019s a murderer carrying the body parts of his victim? What if he\u2019s carrying a bomb?<\/p>\n
Wouldn\u2019t it be a good idea to talk to him, some people might think. To ask his name. Ask him where he\u2019s come from. How long he\u2019s staying. Where he\u2019s going. Ask him what he has inside the suitcase.<\/p>\n
But what if he becomes defensive when he\u2019s questioned? Aggressive? Upset? Starts crying? Starts shouting? Starts laughing? Uncontrollably? Like he\u2019s demented or having some kind of fit? What if he triggers the bomb? On purpose? By mistake? Either way, it\u2019s going off, and then everyone will be sorry.<\/p>\n
Better to call for help before it\u2019s too late. Ring friends. Supporters. People who care about this type of thing. Shout into alleyways. Yell from rooftops. Send messages online. Sort it out. Sort him out. Grab his suitcase. Open it \u2013 it\u2019s not going to be a bomb. Very unlikely to be. It would have gone off by now. Empty it out. Throw everything away. Burn it. Tell him he shouldn\u2019t be here. Making trouble. Threatening people. Taking what\u2019s ours. He doesn\u2019t belong. Tell him that even if he doesn\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll know it anyway. He\u2019ll see it in our expressions. In our eyes. In the flickering flames above him. On the soles of our shoes raining down. On the tattoos on our arms and fists \u2013 mum, flag, love, hate, united, brothers.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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