//If the protest makes us feel frustrated we should be glad that we are not Police Officers.//
Quite right . I joined to uphold the law of obstruction and did so.
If I wanted to be a Lyons nippy at their corner house at Marble Arch serving out tea and biscuits and offering succour to those annoying people and enquiring of their comfort whilst they sit in the road annoying others I would. However we must prevent vigilantism
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Mustn't they. Robust and correct policing always prevented anarchy and vigilantism. They are going about it wrongly and it isn't working.
Retrocop - If I understand you correctly, you believe that the police should physically remove the protesters, and arrest them if they refuse to comply.
I would entirely agree.
But what is your view on members of the public reacting with violence and assaults, as the news clips show?
TTT
I have no intention for a scrap. You might have noticed that I have no intent on a debate with a serial antagonist. I can show restraint and choose who and when I debate with. I am not renowned for disrupting other threads and I hope you will allow me to join in your debate with others. Moving on.
Back from a few days off (attending a family wedding in Devon) may I just say that I am baffled that the police don't simply remove the protesters physically? That would obviate all the problem areas. I'm fairly sure that they are committing some sort of offence in blocking the roads against law-abiding people. Standing at the side and waving placards etc. would be fine. I'm probably being naive, sorry - but I really, really don't understand how all this is happening. The one time I was on a demo. we didn't stop the Councillors from entering City Hall (they wanted to close our school for economic reasons - we got the best results in the area). This stuff is alien and not acceptable - so the police should act.
Jordan- If you, and indeed all of us, can see the simple and effective remedy to this nonsense, then clearly the police can see it as well.
I can only presume they are constrained by factors that do not appear obvious.
It is equally clear that these restraints need to be removed, and quickly, before the virtually exhausted patience of the public leads to serious injury or death.
AH: "It is equally clear that these restraints need to be removed, and quickly, before the virtually exhausted patience of the public leads to serious injury or death. " - that is really the thrust of this post, we must make it possible for the police to do their jobs before the public do it for them rather more clumsily.