NHS Protest Shut Down Hard

[Wicky_42]

http://www.latentexistence.me.uk/heavy-handed-police-threaten-nhs-protest/

On the 17th March one of those mythical, actually peaceful protests took place in London against the upcoming NHS reforms that look to put much of the service into private hands along with a range of sweeping changes that have faced widespread disapproval from throughout the medical profession.

5 points to whoever guesses how police respond to peaceful protests...

The march was kettled, the crowd detained without charge for hours.

Riot police and mounted police were brought in.

People doing nothing were shoved and struck, some being dragged off - again, without charge.

Then, the icing on the cake: a van full of armed police rolls up and guys packing what appear to be MP5s walk the streets for a few minutes.

WTF? I've seen other protest threads in the past - partaken in the discussion before - but always there's at least been a violent component to the march that people have used to justify police crack-downs. Here there wasn't - just a march for a decent cause.

The best bit is that there wasn't a single reporter from a major paper present.

Thoughts?

 

[Soviet Heavy]

http://www.latentexistence.me.uk/heavy-handed-police-threaten-nhs-protest/

On the 17th March one of those mythical, actually peaceful protests took place in London against the upcoming NHS reforms that look to put much of the service into private hands along with a range of sweeping changes that have faced widespread disapproval from throughout the medical profession.

5 points to whoever guesses how police respond to peaceful protests...

The march was kettled, the crowd detained without charge for hours.

Riot police and mounted police were brought in.

People doing nothing were shoved and struck, some being dragged off - again, without charge.

Then, the icing on the cake: a van full of armed police rolls up and guys packing what appear to be MP5s walk the streets for a few minutes.

WTF? I've seen other protest threads in the past - partaken in the discussion before - but always there's at least been a violent component to the march that people have used to justify police crack-downs. Here there wasn't - just a march for a decent cause.

The best bit is that there wasn't a single reporter from a major paper present.

Thoughts?

Wait, they actually had to bring in armed police? I thought that the regular street cops in England didn't carry firearms. So they brought in the special forces to quell a peaceful riot?

 

[Wicky_42]

Wait, they actually had to bring in armed police? I thought that the regular street cops in England didn't carry firearms. So they brought in the special forces to quell a peaceful riot?

It's not that straight forward - the armed police are from a "Diplomatic" taskforce, which protects foreign dignitaries and ambassadors and the such-like, and their presence at the protest "was a coincidence". Not that there was any reason to be there other than to intimidate, or that there was any call for them to deploy, fully armed, to meet a peaceful crowd.

Personally, it looks like the beginning of the end for peaceful protest in this country, and a death-knell of democracy. Maybe I'm too pessimistic (though I was way too generous about how long it would be before guns were brought to peaceful protestors!), but it almost feels like the government knows there's shit coming: social security for the majority is down, unemployment rising with over 50% of black youths without a job, the failure of forcing those on benefits to do full jobs for no pay undermining confidence in leadership, vital services being mucked around and sold off, opposition to taxes on the ridiculously wealth "because is won't raise enough money", students already disenfranchised by all parties - there the real risk of hitting a tipping point where people get fed up enough to make themselves heard, and I think the posturing seen in my OP is the police setting the precedent for future intimidation and repression. If people expect police with machineguns to turn up, that's quite an intimidation to actually standing up and being heard.

 

[Phasmal]

Bloody hell.

I've been suprised by how much newspapers/news tv is just ignoring all this.
Shit, looks like me and Mr. Phasmal are going to have to go to London soon.
Never been to a protest before, but we definately need more attention on this. Plus I owe a lot to the NHS, seeing as my health is terrible and I am dirt-poor.

 

[Dectomax]

Thoughts?

In 99,9% of all cases when someone claims "a peacefull protest was attacked by police without reason", they are lying.

Even more so when they claim the media doesn't pick it up and they cite bullshit activist websites as if those were 'sources' instead.


Edit: The sceptic is damn right again. 30 seconds with google showed they invaded an NHS building already. How's that peacefull?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-17403869

Taken from the article:

"An NHS spokesman said: "There is a peaceful protest taking place in a conference room at our (NHS Oxfordshire) headquarters in Oxford.

"There are currently around 20 people inside the room. At present the protest is not causing any disruption for people working in the building."

Try reading it fully. They didn't invade and they're not disrupting anyone.

 

[Pearwood]

The best bit is that there wasn't a single reporter from a major paper present.

Doesn't that seem a little unlikely to you? Peaceful protests try to get as much media attention as possible, I have my doubts about this and that BBC article is basically "We have no idea what's going on, here's some background information and what their spokesman said".

 

[Hoplon]

Thoughts?

In 99,9% of all cases when someone claims "a peacefull protest was attacked by police without reason", they are lying.

Even more so when they claim the media doesn't pick it up and they cite bullshit activist websites as if those were 'sources' instead.


Edit: The sceptic is damn right again. 30 seconds with google showed they invaded an NHS building already. How's that peacefull?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-17403869

That's also Oxford, not London. find some relevant news.

 

[Lionsfan]

Thoughts?

In 99,9% of all cases when someone claims "a peacefull protest was attacked by police without reason", they are lying.

Even more so when they claim the media doesn't pick it up and they cite bullshit activist websites as if those were 'sources' instead.


Edit: The sceptic is damn right again. 30 seconds with google showed they invaded an NHS building already. How's that peacefull?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-17403869

Wait a minute.......I thought you were anti-Government? And now you're going against the protestors? Is it April Fool's?

 

[GoaThief]

I do love it when bigots dig themselves a hole.

Wait, they actually had to bring in armed police? I thought that the regular street cops in England didn't carry firearms. So they brought in the special forces to quell a peaceful riot?

Well that's not quite true as there's a fair few with firearms training, even more so now it's needed to carry tasers. In the local city we often have police officers wandering around with mp5s in a couple of rough areas, supposed to be a crime deterrent. They aren't special forces, just officers of some description.

 

[oktalist]

If people just go invading or picketing buildings, often police are called in to either throw them out, or make sure they don't get in. With larger groups, riot gear is almost standard issue too avoid the policemen being caught in the middle of a crowd hundreds strong without any gear besides a simple baton.

That's why I called the site of the OP a bunch of liars. They're dramaqueening over something that is totally normal, and would never have happened if the demonstrators had kept it decent.

As has already been mentioned, the link you posted is about a different demonstration on a different day in a different city.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

I find this so relevant to our current political situation:

I hate our government so much.

 

[Zeckt]

And to think were forced to continually pay taxes to the people with only their own interests at heart who continue to ruin the economy, as if they are doing a good job and deserve the high wages and benefits for doing a job that only has the interests of the rich at heart paid for by the very people they fuck over only to further get the rich richer and the poor poorer. Horaay

 

[Lionsfan]

Wait a minute.......I thought you were anti-Government? And now you're going against the protestors? Is it April Fool's?

I don't know. Some guy who never responded to my posts before to my knowledge, assumes something about me at seemingly random... You probably know better than me if that's a joke or not.

If you quoted me before, I never saw it. I was just going off of your responses to the police-tazing incident, and some stuff I've seen you posting while I was lurking in R&P