Freedom to protest

Police officer enforces Oppressive Law

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Loosing
• Freedom
• Liberty
• Oppressive
• oppression
• liberty
• police
• state
• rights
• free
• protest
• speech
• law

[McDuff73]

Which oppressive law?

The fact that your able to complain about this disproves that there is no freedom of speech, the very large G20 protests disproves that there is no freedom to protest.

[ad83astra]

Read up on SOCPA McDuff. And the various terrorist laws that have been indroduced since 2000 and you will find that our civil liberties have been seriously dented. Walk up to parliment with a sign and see how far you get then come and talk to me about freedom to protest.

[McDuff73]

I dont think your point of view is wrong because there is a problem with you in fact I dont think your point of view is completely wrong I just think its a little narrow, as I said in my first post faults lay on both sides of the G20 protest and I'm a little dismayed by your assertion that my point of view is so weak that I have to resort to attacking you personally.

[MRSstraightA]

"but by using this one incident to claim some higher agenda to violence against society on the part of the police is rather rash and a little silly."

Clearly I have not done this, in fact I went as far as to say that *even when leaving the attack on Tomlinson aside* there was aggresion,

Did you see that . . . *even when leaving the attack on Tomlinson aside* . . so I have not at all made claims of an agenda to violence based on that attack.

[McDuff73]

@MRSstraightA

The 'thought experiment' is moot Police by the nature of their work have license to use some force to assist themselves.

And thats not to deny that sometimes its overused but by using this one incident to claim some higher agenda to violence against society on the part of the police is rather rash and a little silly.

You'd have thought that a line of police walking towards you shouting move on, would have been enough for the average person to well actually move!

[MRSstraightA]

"he was pushed several times"

He was walking away from officers, he was stuck on the legs (from behind) with the full force of a raised baton, when that failed to bring him down, the officer lunged (again from behind) with his full force and sent Mr Tomlinson to the ground with some considerable impact.

Do this thought experiment - review the video evidence in your mind - but replace the officer with Tomlinson (& visa versa) - do you doubt for a moment that Tomlinson would be in jail now ?

[McDuff73]

@MRSstraightA see I'm not confortable with that the man wasnt attacked its not like he was jumped and they beat the crap out of him he was pushed several times as the police did to many other protestors that day his underlying conditions didn't help him as part of a normal operation to clear that part of the streeets.

Its been done many many times it just so happens this one ended in disasterous consequences, you again omit the violence and aggression towards the police also!

[McDuff73]

@MRSstraightA I get more synical the older I get but I am also at a stage where I'm looking to be invovled where I can make a change, rather than be stood out on the sidelines grumbling about the way things are run I'm going to get involved in the political process I'm going to get involved in the oversight of the police I'm going to actively take part and then I can only complain about my own inactions in future.

[McDuff73]

@MRSstraightA I'm not so sure about that it only takes one person to chain themselves to something! it only takes one or two to be stood in the road to stop the flow of traffic.

I am all in favour of protest but do it responsiby just because your unhappy with something in no way give you the right to inflict your opinion on anyone else.

[MRSstraightA]

Ok, McDuff.

[MRSstraightA]

The actions on the day point towards bellicosity - leaving the unprovoked (as far as we can see) attack on Ian Tomlinson aside - the footage from the day is littered with examples of hostile - and sometimes nakedly violent aggression towards members of the public.

Of course these things are open to perspective, but I am not alone in this view - as I have said elsewhere - it is broadly shared by many, including many far removed from the protesters agenda.