A U.K. judge handed down shockingly harsh sentences to peaceful climate activists, sparking outrage and disbelief. Is this justice or suppression of dissent?
I’m doing a lot, I’m a trained union representative in the IWW and I’ve been active for a few years there. Lots of grass roots organising and direct action. But this isn’t about me, it’s about systemic issues and those in power aren’t going to be willing to give up that power without a fight. We have to be ready for that fight or we will lose and have to deal with the consequences. Do you think violence was justified against fascism in the 20th century? If so, why not in the 21st?
You can obtain guns, but there are limits and requirements to try to make sure they’re being stored properly and only bought in reasonable numbers for legitimate purpose.
I assume if you write in “I want to provide security for protestors” on your application, they wouldn’t be too inclined to consider it a legitimate purpose.
It’s not about protesting with the intent to commit violence. I think the police would be less inclined to escalate things if people were carrying long guns at the perimeter of the protest. It’s easy to commit violence against a group of people if you’re reasonably sure they’re all unarmed.
I think we kinda misunderstand what the other person is saying/what they imagine the outcome to be. There’s a crass culture difference here.
In the UK (and presumably most other European countries) the police would 100% escalate things if they see someone with a gun near a large aggregation of people. Carrying guns like that is simply illegal and the only reasonable deduction is that you carry a gun because you want to use it - i.e. you are about to commit murder.
Police violence against protesters is usually limited to water cannons and tear gas, maybe rubber bullets. Protester violence is rare, sometimes throwing rocks, maybe Molotov cocktails and burning cars.
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable“ - John F. Kennedy
I want a peaceful revolution more than anything, but it’s clear that it’s impossible.
So you’ve tried basically nothing and are ready to reach for a gun?
I’m doing a lot, I’m a trained union representative in the IWW and I’ve been active for a few years there. Lots of grass roots organising and direct action. But this isn’t about me, it’s about systemic issues and those in power aren’t going to be willing to give up that power without a fight. We have to be ready for that fight or we will lose and have to deal with the consequences. Do you think violence was justified against fascism in the 20th century? If so, why not in the 21st?
I don’t know what the laws are like in the UK concerning firearm ownership, but I can’t imagine they’re on the side of arming the peasantry.
You can obtain guns, but there are limits and requirements to try to make sure they’re being stored properly and only bought in reasonable numbers for legitimate purpose.
I assume if you write in “I want to provide security for protestors” on your application, they wouldn’t be too inclined to consider it a legitimate purpose.
By and large guns don’t provide security.
There are a lot more creative ways to protest violently though!
It’s not about protesting with the intent to commit violence. I think the police would be less inclined to escalate things if people were carrying long guns at the perimeter of the protest. It’s easy to commit violence against a group of people if you’re reasonably sure they’re all unarmed.
I think we kinda misunderstand what the other person is saying/what they imagine the outcome to be. There’s a crass culture difference here.
In the UK (and presumably most other European countries) the police would 100% escalate things if they see someone with a gun near a large aggregation of people. Carrying guns like that is simply illegal and the only reasonable deduction is that you carry a gun because you want to use it - i.e. you are about to commit murder.
Police violence against protesters is usually limited to water cannons and tear gas, maybe rubber bullets. Protester violence is rare, sometimes throwing rocks, maybe Molotov cocktails and burning cars.