Submitted by je97 t3_120js00 in UpliftingNews
johnn48 t1_jdiq2he wrote
“Peacefully Protest” is a nebulous term. It can vary from the bus boycotts of Birmingham to the march in Selma. However did “Unite the Right” White Supremacists have the right to rally in Charlottesville. When does a Peaceful Protest and march turn into an attempted insurrection. Does blocking a road, preventing access to an abortion clinic or meat packing plant cross the line. Does gluing yourself to work of valuable work of art or interfering in athletic games. All I’m saying is saying we won’t prosecute peaceful protesters is a slippery slope without clear parameters.
SilverNicktail t1_jdiqhq4 wrote
It's most definitely a response to the UK government passing multiple laws to criminalise protest. The state has made it clear that they will prosecute and harass any protest they don't like, and you'd better believe that includes climate protesters.
[deleted] t1_jdj7frt wrote
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Usfamilyman67 t1_jdj74l1 wrote
I had the same initial thoughts. I’m all for peacefully protesting but are disruptive behaviors considered peaceful?
Sonacka t1_jdktzh2 wrote
Disruption is peaceful as long as there is no violence or damage done. You could shut down all of the roads in a city with a protest and as long as there is no property damage, violence, verbal harassment and ambulance/fire engines are able to pass through then it's peaceful.
georgepearl_04 t1_jdm5bok wrote
I don't think running into racetracks trying to kill/seriously injure drivers is particularly peaceful.
Sonacka t1_jdntbam wrote
That doesn't sound peaceful, do you have a link to any articles on that?
georgepearl_04 t1_jdnw9bt wrote
Sonacka t1_jdsal3n wrote
They were not trying to injure or kill the drivers. I agree that it might have injured or killed drivers/race staff but I do not think those protestors had any thought about how dangerous it would be for others if they entered the track. They are idiots that would have thought they would shut the race down. Nowhere in that article does it say they entered the race track with intent to kill or injure, only that their actions could have harmed people.
I don't agree with the actions of those protestors and believe they should be prosecuted but they were not trying to injure or kill people like you say.
georgepearl_04 t1_jdupklc wrote
You'd have to be brain dead to not realise that you were going to seriously hurt someone/kill them. They are extremely fortunate that Russell crashed out Zhou otherwise they'd already be dead/facing murder charges.
Sonacka t1_jdwgwub wrote
I'm going to go out on a limb then and say that they are brain dead. They are extremists who want to make headlines and also get arrested. If you think about it like that then stopping formula 1 makes for a great headline. How will they stop formula 1? By standing on the track so the cars can't go round. They are not smart people, their logic could legitimately be as flawed as that. Just because you, a rational person, can see the immediate flaw in their logic doesn't mean they can.
gooferpubs t1_jdlbckk wrote
Then what these protesters have done isn’t peaceful. They have repeatedly caused massive indiscriminate congestion of roads, including stopping emergency services.
Sonacka t1_jdlnvqu wrote
Did they stop the emergency services? Or did the traffic that was blocked up block the emergency services?
pawnman99 t1_jdlw39o wrote
Well, they caused the congestion, so I'd say they stopped the emergency services.
Sonacka t1_jdntdvg wrote
They didn't cause congestion, the number of cars did. If the cars weren't there or pulled to the side then the emergency vehicles could get through.
pawnman99 t1_jdnukhl wrote
The emergency vehicles could get through a chain of people blocking the entire road?
You guys are even more optimistic than I thought.
Sonacka t1_jds9j90 wrote
Yes. I don't know if you know this but most people have functional legs and can walk. Those that don't will have another way of moving out of the way for emergency services...
pawnman99 t1_jdsiqrs wrote
Like... waiting for the police to show up and remove them?
Sonacka t1_jdsme6y wrote
Do you have any evidence or links to articles that say these protesters stopped emergency vehicles from passing? Or are you just grumpy that these people blocked the roads for regular cars for a while?
pawnman99 t1_jdss35x wrote
Sonacka t1_jdszcbc wrote
Source 1 was definitely irresponsible of the protestors. Glueing yourself to something on the road is very irresponsible. Even if they didn't mean to delay the fire engine they are in the wrong.
In source 3 it paints the picture that the protestors were blocking emergency services, but the last part of the article shows the fire engine made it through, and still made it to where it needed to go within 14 minutes. The reversing ambulance appears to be reversing to face the protestors. Either it's going to ram through them, or maybe there is room for the ambulance to go through?
Source 3 shows the ambulance struggling to get through traffic. I don't know the layout of the roads but again it doesn't look like the protestors are blocking the road and stopping the ambulance from getting through, it's the amount of traffic in the way stopping the ambulance. Again though, people glueing themselves to the road is unacceptable.
Source 4 is a very weird source. The protests may or may not have contributed to the amount of traffic (I honestly have no idea, but for the sake of the argument, I'll agree that they did). The two people had their car hit after being in standstill traffic for four hours. That is not the result of the protests, that's just the result of a criminal driver. The 40 minutes for the ambulance to get there is very high, but it doesn't say how long the ambulance should have taken on a regular day, so maybe it's not much higher?
pawnman99 t1_jdt0bsv wrote
Do you really think the protests are unrelated to the amount of traffic on the road? And that the amount of traffic is unrelated to delaying emergency vehicles?
And yeah, protesters are acting irresponsibly. That's my whole point.
Sonacka t1_jdtb21p wrote
The protesters are related to the amount of traffic stuck on the road. But they aren't related to the drivers poor ability to let emergency vehicles through. They should all leave enough room for them to pass, just like the protesters did in one of your sources. Some protestors are acting irresponsibly I agree.
Itsumishi t1_jdkbg9z wrote
Disruptive describes literally every type of protest. Peaceful or otherwise.
Usfamilyman67 t1_jdsz4v8 wrote
Unfortunately the peaceful protests never make the news. It’s only the thugs that destroy and loot that you see on the news.
Itsumishi t1_jdt4mx6 wrote
Peaceful has nothing to do with disruptive though. Disruptive is literally the point of a protest. If its not disruptive it isn't a protest.
People standing on footpaths/roads with signs: disrupting pedestrians/traffic.
Boycotting a company: disrupting sales.
Standing outside a building chanting: disrupting people's access to employment or generally being noisy and disrupting their work.
pawnman99 t1_jdlw0gg wrote
I wonder if throwing soup on 200-year-old paintings is considered "peaceful".
nataliepineapple t1_jdm7tnx wrote
If the protesters don't get their way, the consequences to humanity will be far more severe than the loss of a few paintings. I'd happily see every old painting covered in soup if it resulted in meaningful climate action.
pawnman99 t1_jdmihvd wrote
Maybe you should go ahead and get off the internet, since those servers are powered by fossil fuels.
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