Analyse af Russell Brands blogindlæg om Grenfell Tower

I am going to analyze the blog post by the comedian/actor Russell Brand. Russell Brand is an open minded and fast speaking celebrity, also known for being an activist.

The blog post is about the tragedy of Grenfell Tower. The fire that erupted in Grenfell Tower in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London on 14 June 2017 is widely acknowledged to be the worst during UK peacetime since the nineteenth century. It is confirmed to have resulted in 72 casualties and 70 physically injured. It has also left a community physically and emotionally scarred. That the catastrophe occurred in the country’s wealthiest borough added to the shock while the circumstances surrounding it also begged questions relating to political and corporate responsibility. The local council authorities were blamed for approving the construction of substandard high-rise buildings that threatened public safety. On the contrary, it appears most of these assumptions were flawed, since additional revelations were exposed. For example, construction experts blamed the rapid spread of the fire on the of the 1967 archaic design standards.

It makes us wonder, why did it happened at that time? how did it happen? ” The discernible reality alludes to a deeper truth and invites us to consider the real meaning.” We are told that we already know that residents had organized to protest about the dangerous conditions of their homes. We know that the building was masked by a deadly facade that likely hastened the conflagration. But was that the reason for this horrifying fire? How is it okay that a poor family now must wonder if it is their time next because the government refuses to responsibly regulate housing for the poor. The Grenfell residents no longer have a home, their homes were torn apart from this fire as Russell also says The Grenfell residents were sacrificed for greed and comfort, how is it okay for people, yet for families to live in houses and apartments that have not been build proper or that are too archaic. The world we live in is a world that is at a time where poor people are being continually maligned by austerity. Could this fire had been avoided? If only the government would wake up and care for the poor generation as they care for the wealthy generation, then this probably would not have happened or at least it could have been stopped before it had gotten too bad. It was a pyre of ordinary people whose voices and needs had been ignored. “This burning tower and the screams of its residents are an urgent call for change.” Not only does the element of race also play a role in potential housing status in UK but so does social class. It is seen that these communities do experience a great disparity of the pay gab that does affect the kind of housing they are able to afford and in comparison, the 86% white population who can have access to funds such as mortgages to buy their own properties. “We have a government that refused to responsibly regulate housing for the poor”. I believe that since these communities have lower incomes, it automatically increases their chances of ending up in low quality housing. This may be a direct reason to why cladding was used to build the building. Cladding was of lower quality which could be one of the major factors as to why the fire spread uncontrollably resulting in 71 deaths. The Grenfell Tower fire incident raises questions regarding the role of architects that observe life safety and building protection. Notably, the bad design and the observed use of flammable materials for cladding contributed greatly to the fire tragedy. The failure of local authorities to comprehensively inspect the refurbishment works also played a role in the devastating incident. As such, there is a need for architects to observe the required building laws and regulations to the latter while at the same time conducting self-evaluation to guarantee safety. In the blog post Russell speaks very open minded and Russell has many points of views about the tragedy. Russell brands language indicates that he indeed is an activist, he is not afraid of speaking directly to the people and neither to say what is fair or unfair. We can tell that he is a fast speaker who knows what to say, and when he talks, people listen. A sentence from the post says “The fire, at this time, is a grim omen indeed.” The sentence tells us that Russell Brand is trying to say that this tragedy is many of others, and that people should act now. The people who are supposed to be responsible about incidents like these, are not doing their job good enough and Russell believes that if they don’t step up, then tragedies like these will happen over and over.