Re: Parliament Square protesters cleared : Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:55 pm  

The Occupy movement is just one big Brian Haw tribute. He’d be proud of the legacy that he’s left behind if he could see it now.

Re: Parliament Square protesters cleared : Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:35 pm  

ROBINSON wrote: No it isn't. Not sure I ever said you shouldn't demonstrate. What I said was leaving tents, caravans, cars, graffiti or whatever is NOT an acceptable way of protesting. Having a day out whilst carrying flags and chanting slogans is a peaceful protest, whether walking or just sitting down. I think you need to learn to read. Where did I say Anti-war messages are wrong? Where did I say I was or wasn't anti-war? What I said was that there is no harm in the message being heard, but there is a right way to do it, and a wrong way. This way is, IN MY OPINION, wrong and should not be encouraged. A rule of thumb is, if the protest makes people think "dickkheads", as this did, then it's the wrong type of protest. The above is no different to the chorus of whining from just about every corrupt and morally bankrupt institution throughout history which was first challenged by "unacceptable" protests and then overturned by such (often forcibly). By what method do you think an English parliamentary democracy was instituted in the place of the Absolute Law of the King? Do you consider the actions of ... say ... Sophie Scholl "wrong" because she refused to kowtow to legally justified (under the Nuremberg race laws) Nazi despotism? What about Ken Sarowiwa? Was he "wrong" in defying the legally justified Nigerian brutalities? Many of the rights we currently enjoy were the direct result of men and women saying bollix to the law, risking their lives and even dying for the cause. Were they all "wrong", too? Sure, peaceful protest should always be the priority and if you can achieve results by such - great. But if you can't. If the game is so hopelessly and lethally loaded against the pursuit of social justice then there comes a time when the law must be challenged. I have no problem with that.

ROBINSON wrote: No it isn't. Not sure I ever said you shouldn't demonstrate. What I said was leaving tents, caravans, cars, graffiti or whatever is NOT an acceptable way of protesting. Having a day out whilst carrying flags and chanting slogans is a peaceful protest, whether walking or just sitting down. I think you need to learn to read. Where did I say Anti-war messages are wrong? Where did I say I was or wasn't anti-war? What I said was that there is no harm in the message being heard, but there is a right way to do it, and a wrong way. This way is, IN MY OPINION, wrong and should not be encouraged. A rule of thumb is, if the protest makes people think "dickkheads", as this did, then it's the wrong type of protest. The above is no different to the chorus of whining from just about every corrupt and morally bankrupt institution throughout history which was first challenged by "unacceptable" protests and then overturned by such (often forcibly). By what method do you think an English parliamentary democracy was instituted in the place of the Absolute Law of the King? Do you consider the actions of ... say ... Sophie Scholl "wrong" because she refused to kowtow to legally justified (under the Nuremberg race laws) Nazi despotism? What about Ken Sarowiwa? Was he "wrong" in defying the legally justified Nigerian brutalities? Many of the rights we currently enjoy were the direct result of men and women saying bollix to the law, risking their lives and even dying for the cause. Were they all "wrong", too? Sure, peaceful protest should always be the priority and if you can achieve results by such - great. But if you can't. If the game is so hopelessly and lethally loaded against the pursuit of social justice then there comes a time when the law must be challenged. I have no problem with that.

Re: Parliament Square protesters cleared : Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:59 pm  

ROBINSON wrote:

Glad you agree.

On a serious note, that statement of yours is very silly, isn't it?

The point here, is not the war, its the fact they've pitched tents in a public place, which is evidently OK.

If a bunch of travellers turned up and pitched tents in your back garden, though I bet your opinion would be different.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander, surely.

Absolutely, those kind of people have no respect for authority. Who do they think they are, pitching their scruffy tents in front of the mother of Parliaments? Don't they realise that the world can see them? What do they imagine the world will think when they see that the finest fighting force in the world is maligned in this way? It's disgusting, they should have a spell in the army, that would smarten them up.