Vocal Voices

Hold up the wrong placard or wear the wrong T-shirt at the latest medieval fancy dress parade and that is all it takes. You do not have to glue yourselft to railings, throw paint over shop windows or lob eggs at people, just being there and being "against" is now enough.

It is all geting very Chinese or North Korean in this increasingly dystopian land.

Just being there. even as a supporter, gets you a mug shot for the database; possibly for later use against you. 1984 is late, but it is here.

Ah bless!

So, a day after arresting innocent people the Met police "regrets" their actions.[Official]

These people did nothing wrong. Get that: Nothing wrong, nothing illegal.

We really should be worried, but apparently we are not.

I have no problem with the police arresting the likes of Just stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Animal Rights, and so on; who actively disrupt our daily lives with their activities of gluing themselves to roads and railings, throwing paint over buildings, and so on.

But shouting and wearing T- shirts at a fancy dress parade: come on!

I know that many of you think that this is a rant against the Royals because of the Coronation; that is why you blanked my OP, but it is not.

It is about our right to protest, and also to also disagree with the perceived right way to think and act.

Go with the promotion and fawning of things, as we are doing, and "they" will control you.

Workingman wrote:Ah bless!
I know that many of you think that this is a rant against the Royals because of the Coronation; that is why you blanked my OP, but it is not.

It is about our right to protest, and also to also disagree with the perceived right way to think and act.

Go with the promotion and fawning of things, as we are doing, and "they" will control you.

I agree with you WM and I support the right to protest. I don't agree with them but peacefully making your point known should not bring the police down on you. So long as that is all it is.

We do need the right to protest and that is being eroded year on year. Largely because it is being abused so much by those who are using real causes for political gain. I didn't blank you I was just thinking about how I was going to word my response and I was still thinking. I was ill all last week and over the weekend and still can't get rid of this bloody cough or the pain in my limbs. Maybe by next weekend.

I wasnt blanking you either, just busy

I agree too, I said to Tim at the time 'well thats convenient pop them in the cupboard and whats the betting they'll let them out later with no charge' and sure enough......

Interestingly after chatting to a friend I have edited this to add.....

My friend pointed out they were quite intimidating and very loud and why should people including young children have their once in a lifetime event ruined, because someone doesn't agree with it.

So I guess that is a fair point too

The republicans maybe they should have left alone.

But Just Stop Oil have inconvenienced way too many people for me to have any sympathy for them whatsoever. Disruption is not protest.

There is also the point of view that arresting those opposing the royal family probably prevented a punch up in the crowd. After all, that shreiking ninny who threw eggs at the King in York got a rough handling from the crowd before the police rescued him.

Throwing eggs is an arrestable offence. Wearing a T-shirt is not or should not be so long as the wording is not profane.

If there was a disturbance then both sides should be arrested. It is not as if the Royalists are all angels and free of violent individuals. See the English Civil War for details.

The protest groups had meetings (plural) with the Met ensuring that their "official" protests on the day would not be violent or disruptive. Even so the police used any excuse available to arrest only members from one set of groups in the crowd. Not only that, but they used AI driven facial recognition on every single person who was on the route. If you attended or were at one of the viewing areas your mug shot is now on the police database.

It is not how we should be doing things in a supposedly free society.

Workingman wrote:If you attended or were at one of the viewing areas your mug shot is now on the police database.

If you have a passport, driving license or a voters photo identity card, your mugshot is already on a police database.

If you have an ID Card then not only is your mugshot on it, but a bunch of other data too.

Suff wrote:If you have a passport, driving license or a voters photo identity card, your mugshot is already on a police database.

Yes, but if you keep them in your pocket or in a drawer they cannot tell when or where you are... not even if you were at the Coronation. Live facial recognition tells them the whereabouts of hundreds of thousands of innocent individuals at any particular time.

This is about the right to peaceful protest not ID cards.

Workingman wrote:This is about the right to peaceful protest not ID cards.

Very true, sorry I couldn't resist.

You are right though. It is banned in France explicitly for this reason.