Agree 100 per cent. Some of the people who turned up were clearly only interested in making it "all about themselves." They look like a posh version of the same sort of people who stand outside courts screaming abuse at police vans as they take suspects to court.Hold a vigil to pay respect to the poor woman who lost her life, hold a protest elsewhere to make your point about women feeling unsafe ect. Mix both up and you just shit all over it.
I dont disagree with any of that-yet for the majority of time policing isn't dealing with 'protests', 'marches', its having to deal with the worst of society on a daily, relentless way. The difference with police and the public is the police wear a uniform and are trying to do their best. I doubt any of them wanted to be there last night-because they know like night follows day all this will lead to, aside from the endless statements, paperwork, justifying every action-is every gaffer and politician fueled by an hysterical media will distance themselves from every single one of them.I agree, the police do rely on people behaving in a law abiding way, that is why the police are at their most ineffective when they are required to suppress protest, which is what they did last night, because it is antithetical to their Peelian principles.
You might reply that in Britain it was the Police on Clapham Common and not, as it would've been the case in so many other countries the military, and that can turn in to a real shit show.
But that's small comfort for the appalling headlines the coppers are getting today, even the Tories are pissing on you, but I suppose that was to be expected.
I wrote a long post to you last night which was deleted.
In it I explained that I'm only too aware of organisations who hijack protests, piggybacking on popular movements, radicalising them looking to further their own agenda, create flash points to take on the agents of the state (that would be you) whereby the flame is ignited and the masses overthrow their oppressors (who ever they may be) blah, blah, blah.
It's all a f**king pantomime played over and over. But just as coppers are, for the most part, not agents of the state and not a law unto themselves, sometimes they are. And just as demonstrations are often hijacked by organisations with hidden agenda's up to no good, sometimes they're not.
No doubt you've seen injured coppers and had to deal with the aftermath of protest from your side of the fence, on the other side I've seen angry exhausted coppers arrest people willy nilly on trumped up charges, I've seen them put the boot in, I've seen cuts and bruises, broken teeth and worse, I've seen police vans open up and the dogs set on kettled protesters, people with nowhere to go, and I've seen coppers create their own flash points for the purpose of manufacturing arrestable offences.
Of course I'm an old fart now, most of my fond recollections of plod stem from the glorious policing years of the 70s and 80s, I'm sure it's all sunshine and rainbows now but it's amazing how first impressions never leave you
And so it goes on and will do long after you and I are pushing up the daises, meanwhile right wingers run the shop.
Yeah, as I said last night I don’t think such large gatherings are particularly sensible in the circumstances but as we’ve seen over the past 12 months they’re still happening so it’s a case of how to handle them when they do occur. Agree that some people will criticise the police regardless. but equally some will defend them no matter what too. As with virtually everything now, people are polarised and there is little ground in the middle for rational debate.I have been told for over a year where I can go, what I can do and who I can meet. It has been done to keep people alive at a time of the worlds worst ever pandemic. People have not even been allowed to attend a hospital to see a dying relative or go to the funeral of a loved one so why should people think they have any right to gather en masse because someone they did not know and had never met has died ?
The police are put in a difficult situation every day of the week and have to make decisions. There will always be people ready to slag them off no matter what they do.
People think that the Police are one unit, or somehow everything is handed top-down and like robots they all follow.I dont disagree with any of that-yet for the majority of time policing isn't dealing with 'protests', 'marches', its having to deal with the worst of society on a daily, relentless way. The difference with police and the public is the police wear a uniform and are trying to do their best. I doubt any of them wanted to be there last night-because they know like night follows day all this will lead to, aside from the endless statements, paperwork, justifying every action-is every gaffer and politician fueled by an hysterical media will distance themselves from every single one of them.
Apparently there is another 'protest' planned for Monday..can't wait.
and then sat down with the nurses and planned their demonstration closely followed by Piers Corbyn and...... where do we say enough is enough ? Why are they allowed to hold a vigil and yet Corbyn isn't ?Exactly, the Met should have sat down with the organisers to plan an orderly vigil. It's clear that emotions are running very high in London after Sarah's murder with regard to safety on the streets, I'm sure that with a degree of cooperation the more extreme agitators could have been kept away from the vigil.
And all the while forgetting it was the police who they sre abusing who investigated the horrific murder and arrested someone for it.I have a friend who works on the 999 lines and we spoke on Zoom a few weeks ago about her job and she said the last year has been the worst, not just for the type of calls but rather because people are so abusive and anti-police.
I don't know why that is but the endless stream of political bombardment has to be responsible. Both the right and left criticise the police to death and it's because the police have the duty of dealing with an incident regardless of political view.
That's what happened in this incident, the Police dealt with an illegal protest in the only way possible and people are criticising them for it. If they aren't allowed to do their job then by the same argument why should they shoot terrorists in case people disagree or why should they take down muggers given they might hurt them....?
Last night we saw videos of young women demanding men be respectful whilst chanting f*ck the police, the irony and hypocrisy is just startling really. The bad behaviour of these people though will be suppressed, we won't hear a thing about it whilst the real story will yet again be police brutality.
charming
That third to last paragraph. I’ve seen plenty of that happen too.....around football matches time and time again.I agree, the police do rely on people behaving in a law abiding way, that is why the police are at their most ineffective when they are required to suppress protest, which is what they did last night, because it is antithetical to their Peelian principles.
You might reply that in Britain it was the Police on Clapham Common and not, as it would've been the case in so many other countries the military, and that can turn in to a real shit show.
But that's small comfort for the appalling headlines the coppers are getting today, even the Tories are pissing on you, but I suppose that was to be expected.
I wrote a long post to you last night which was deleted.
In it I explained that I'm only too aware of organisations who hijack protests, piggybacking on popular movements, radicalising them looking to further their own agenda, create flash points to take on the agents of the state (that would be you) whereby the flame is ignited and the masses overthrow their oppressors (who ever they may be) blah, blah, blah.
It's all a f**king pantomime played over and over. But just as coppers are, for the most part, not agents of the state and not a law unto themselves, sometimes they are. And just as demonstrations are often hijacked by organisations with hidden agenda's up to no good, sometimes they're not.
No doubt you've seen injured coppers and had to deal with the aftermath of protest from your side of the fence, on the other side I've seen angry exhausted coppers arrest people willy nilly on trumped up charges, I've seen them put the boot in, I've seen cuts and bruises, broken teeth and worse, I've seen police vans open up and the dogs set on kettled protesters, people with nowhere to go, and I've seen coppers create their own flash points for the purpose of manufacturing arrestable offences.
Of course I'm an old fart now, most of my fond recollections of plod stem from the glorious policing years of the 70s and 80s, I'm sure it's all sunshine and rainbows now but it's amazing how first impressions never leave you
And so it goes on and will do long after you and I are pushing up the daises, meanwhile right wingers run the shop.