Is it possible to draw a connection from TikTok’s sound “Attenzione Pickpocket” to Milan’s daily life? In case you were wondering, engaging in a few conceptual passages may lead us to unveiling that link, and I will try to walk you through how the well-known “scream against pickpocketing” might signal a deeper level of societal malfunctioning.
Over the summer most of us became accustomed to hearing the voice of Monica Poli screaming ‘Attenzione Pickpocket’[1] all over social media. While this could have been funny in the beginning, with pickpockets becoming a buzzword that everyone was likely to jokingly mention, it can now prompt reflection on what is at the core of our society. Monica Poli[2], a 57 year-old woman and member of a citizens’ organisation in Venice, was already urging tourists and people to be aware of the situation in urban Italian settings. Furthermore, she underlined the distressingly commonness of the phenomenon all over major cities in Italy, and how taking action against it is more than vital. In addition to this, she advocated for prevention falling upon the individual, avoiding certain behaviours which could lead to a higher likelihood of becoming the victim of theft.
One thing I noticed upon coming back to Milan this past summer was how Milan’s metro system had re-introduced a series of alerts prompting passengers to be careful due to the presence of pickpockets[3]. They still sound something along the line of “Fate attenzione a borseggiatrici e borseggiatori. Please, beware of pickpockets.” Upon first hearing this, I was driven towards initiating a chain of thoughts over the correctness, the righteousness of this message. A rhetoric focusing on the need of paying attention has spread all over Italy, addressed towards every kind of victim: people should mind their clothing, their drinks, their minds even. What this might be signalling is governmental actors’ alleged unwillingness to tackle problems which plague entire societies, urging (potential) victims to be mindful of their status, of their situation, while, at the same time, pinning it on them if they end up being victims altogether.
Well, perhaps, this shouldn’t be the case, perhaps it shouldn’t be people who ought to be mindful all the time, constantly checking their belongings and their surroundings, speeding up their walking pace because a person at the corner of the street looks suspicious or dangerous. Perhaps, it should be on the government to attempt at taking care of risky situations, sending out messages which reinforce the way in which it should be attackers bearing the weight of the responsibility for their potential crimes, and not victims who have to repent for not being quick enough, fast enough, conscious enough so as to prevent becoming victims in the first place.
Individuals feel the urge to try and act in order to scare away potential threats, while governments scream and shout and then, de facto, hide their hands behind their backs. Criminality was reported to have increased from 2021 to 2022[4], placing Milan on top of the Italian rankings with 193,749 crimes reported (5,985 crimes reported per 100,000 inhabitants)[5]. Nevertheless, alerts in Milan metro system – and, more in general, across Italian train stations –are not an innovation brought about this past year. All the contrary, some of them date back to 2011[6], when they raised astonishment among all different kinds of passengers, having them feel left alone without any kind of more specific protection. An article from 2011 quotes a student asserting how he became worried upon reading the announcement which was cautioning against the presence of pickpockets in the stations and on the trains: “If they are warning me about the presence of pickpockets, does it mean that I have to engage in self-defence?”[7]. Years have gone by, but the situation cannot be said to have changed. There is probably much to be understood about this broader criminal situation: some scholars have stated it may be due to lack of control, some others pin it down to a widespread discontent and pauperism. While anger can derive from both scenarios, the teenage angst which still characterises most members of our generation shall drive us towards being the bearers of change and of bettering of society, calling injustice out and promoting supportive behaviours.
Walking home under Milan’s livid sky, I find myself thinking about how the city really is not meant to be everyone’s. For every fancy fashion show, world-anticipated concert, electrifying experience, Milan has another side – usually well-concealed – which wouldn’t be chosen as an exemplification to portray the spirit of the city by anyone who would want to advertise it. Still, Milan is also embodying the happiness you find in a person who gets to the bus stop just in time to catch it; Milan is to be found in those who commute for hours to get to the university of their dreams. Milan is possibilities and complications, but this ambivalence should not be meant to represent a double standard: that is, it oughtn’t be the case that privileges are to be enjoyed by certain people only, while others are faced exclusively with obstacles. The city is everyone’s to be experienced, and it should strive towards the utilisation of a (not so abstract) weighing scale to balance out the good and the bad for each single human.
Per Milano
Non è che dalle cuspidi amorose
crescano i mutamenti della carne,
Milano benedetta
Donna altera e sanguigna
con due mammelle amorose
pronte a sfamare i popoli del mondo,
Milano dagli irti colli
che ha veduto qui
crescere il mio amore
che ora è defunto.
Milano dai vorticosi pensieri
dove le mille allegrie
muoiono piangenti sul Naviglio.
Alda Merini
Just an average guy that read “On the road” a bit too soon and was led to tending to fall in love too much with too many things. Still in Bocconi, still trying to study Management of Government and International Organisations. I don’t know if I can say that I am a global citizen, I am more of a citizen that likes the globe.