uk protests turn violent again.. the trigger... the 2012 countdown clock..

uk protests turn violent again, reports of heavy handed tactics and keeteling by police again.. but what was the trigger for the violence to start? according to this bbc article the violence started when one protester attacked the 2012 olympic countdown clock. police then pounced resulting in massive violence and the protesters retaliating against the police.

over the past 5 or 6 years i have read many articles and heard many interviews about the subject of 2012, and in many of these i had heard that when we approach 2012 we will see a rise in natural disasters, civil unrest and protests among other things. now i know the 2012 thing could be complete bs or there could actually be something to it. personally i dont really have an opinion on either side of the arguement, i remain open minded on the whole thing.. but if the worlwide civil unrest is connected, i think its quite ironic that in this case the reason for the protest turning violent was actually a 2012 countdown clock.
(just thought i would add that, as the 2012 thing popped into my head while reading the article)

www.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by Misterlondon


I am all for protest against this government, but what we see in the pictures is mindless acts of destruction by people who are too cowardly to show their faces plus if you are going to protest make sure you have an alternative solution to what you are protesting about. So far its just yobs day out, sure people are frustrated and frustration can lead to mindless acts but what we need are alternative solutions, not heard any as yet.

reply to post by Misterlondon


I am all for protest against this government, but what we see in the pictures is mindless acts of destruction by people who are too cowardly to show their faces plus if you are going to protest make sure you have an alternative solution to what you are protesting about. So far its just yobs day out, sure people are frustrated and frustration can lead to mindless acts but what we need are alternative solutions, not heard any as yet.

Originally posted by Swanseadog
reply to post by Misterlondon

 

I am all for protest against this government, but what we see in the pictures is mindless acts of destruction by people who are too cowardly to show their faces plus if you are going to protest make sure you have an alternative solution to what you are protesting about. So far its just yobs day out, sure people are frustrated and frustration can lead to mindless acts but what we need are alternative solutions, not heard any as yet.

i partly agree with what you say.. but it is a small percentage of the people who dont know and dont even care what the protests are all about, that are there purely for the violence.. was exactly the same in the student protests in london..

Just putting this out there, but liberating inanimate objects (like Olympic clocks, bank windows, & a bourgeois mall) is not violence.

Originally posted by PinkAndBlack
Just putting this out there, but liberating inanimate objects (like Olympic clocks, bank windows, & a bourgeois mall) is not violence.

no its called vandalism but clashes between protesters and police is called violence... anyway.. whats the point of coming here and picking on a small thing, adding nothing to the thread except a negative comment..
i wonder how you define the word trolling?

Originally posted by Misterlondon
uk protests turn violent again, reports of heavy handed tactics and keeteling by police again..

I think this is a story put out by the anarchists that tore up London yesterday. There were only "heavy handed police responses" after they started to start fires and vanadalism property. Prior to that, the Police did no kettling or any other "heavy handed measure". They are very concious of the bad press they got after the last protests.

Seems to me the Police are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They either stand off and allow this violence to develop, then get accused of being heavy-handed when they respond, or the kettle and try to control the crowd to limit the damage done by the minority of peons and that's heavy handed too.

It has to be said though that these few hundred who caused all the damage had nothing to do with the TUC march and were all either Anarchist party members or Socialist Workers Party affiliates. The TUC march, of over 250,000 people, went off peacefully and required minimal Police presence.

Originally posted by Misterlondon

Originally posted by PinkAndBlack
Just putting this out there, but liberating inanimate objects (like Olympic clocks, bank windows, & a bourgeois mall) is not violence.

no its called vandalism but clashes between protesters and police is called violence... anyway.. whats the point of coming here and picking on a small thing, adding nothing to the thread except a negative comment..
i wonder how you define the word trolling?

Hey man take my comment as an attack on your thread if you want, but I'm not looking to hurt any feelings. I'm just throwing it out there that property destruction is not violence.

Every media piece sounds the same whenever a group of people ("black-clad anarchists wearing hoods & masks") get mad & start busting windows. They say the protesters are being "violent" then send in the bulls to crack as many skulls as they can.

YOU can't break something that's replaceable without getting labeled a "violent person" but THEY can come in & break an arm or two/do what ever they want & at the end of the day THEY get a big fat check for it, paid by your taxes! IT'S INSANE NO?

reply to post by Misterlondon


I agree with you, it is a small minority compared to the size of the crowd protesting and who knows maybe tptb have employed these people to disrupt the protest and thus discredit what the protest was all about. My main theme is no one is offering any real alternatives to what the government is doing.

reply to post by stumason


I saw a lot of red & black flags (anarcho-syndicalism) in some videos of the protests. Red & black anarchists are all about the unions/working class. They were protesting the same thing as you just in a different/more direct (not more betterer) way.

reply to post by Swanseadog


If that was the case, "TPTB" did a piss poor job of managing the media response. The BBC must have mentioned that the TUC march was peaceful and nothing to do with these people at least 10 times in the half hour I watched yesterday.

reply to post by Swanseadog


Just because they are a minority does not mean that they are wrong. If there's no diversity of tactics, then "the revolution" will never come. Ya digg?

reply to post by PinkAndBlack


If there is no cohesion the centre can not hold, unity against adversity is what it takes, until unity is achieved protest fails. The people will turn away simply because violence and wanton destruction is abhorrent. What we have seen in London is the childish tantrums of spoilt children. I do not agree with the way this Gov is handling things, but do you honestly believe they will be swayed by this?

reply to post by PinkAndBlack


Hmm, the anarchists certainly don't believe in anything that the TUC or other unions do and the Socialists are a bunch of dreamy eyed youngsters who think we should all live in communes. Not the same at all. They just love to cause the Government as much crap as possible, regardless of the motive.

And for the record, I don't sympathise with Public sector workers or their march yesterday, but I applaud their successful demonstration and the way it was pulled off.

reply to post by PinkAndBlack


Please refer to my other responce ie if there is no cohesion etc.

reply to post by stumason


Not saying that is what actually happened just throwing it out there, I have seen more pics of the violence and destruction in the papers this morning than anything else.

reply to post by stumason


I agree I think most of the media has represented the march as a peaceful event, just the actions of a minority that had no connection to the TUC demonstration that were vandalising and violent.

It was obvious to anyone who watched the news that the TUC demo and the Anarchism were 2 very different things.

Originally posted by Swanseadog
reply to post by PinkAndBlack

 

If there is no cohesion the centre can not hold, unity against adversity is what it takes, until unity is achieved protest fails. The people will turn away simply because violence and wanton destruction is abhorrent. What we have seen in London is the childish tantrums of spoilt children. I do not agree with the way this Gov is handling things, but do you honestly believe they will be swayed by this?

The anarchists want unity with the rest of the people, but it's the rest of the people that have listened to the States lies & think that the anarchists are the enemy. The term "diversity of tactics" does not exclude parading around non-violently with a permit... We're the ones willing to compromise while the vast majority of the masses are being the stubborn ones. Claiming that your way is the only way is just plain ignorance...

reply to post by PinkAndBlack


All I am saying is confusion leads to chaos, some middle ground needs to be acheived the majority of people will not listen to morons who are too afraid to show there faces and stand with the courage of their convictions. Take the masks off.

reply to post by PinkAndBlack


I just dont see the point in violence and the destruction.The destruction of the Anarchists has dominated the media reporting on the event, destroying the positive message that should have been 100's of thousands turning out for a peaceful protest.

Maybe I'm getting old, but all these anarchists look like a bunch of silly kids driven by some nihilist delusion.