Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
I didn't misunderstand the original post at all. The distinction between claiming they created the environment which allowed the protests to happen and they caused the protest is not great, your still tagging them with some responsibly for the riots. That the civil liberties they fight for allowed it to happen. Now the quaint and affluent streets of London are under threat, I wonder if the left leaning, namby-pamby lawyers, judges, politicians, journalists, activists and other apologists who live in them are focussing their minds on what they've allowed to happen and the vigilantism that is inevitably starting to surface?
This would have happened anyway. There were riots many times before in London, long before the police had more restrictions placed on them. This one is especially odd because it's just sheer criminality. It's not the fault of tax cuts, youth centre closures, someone being shot or increased human rights. We have seen from the many protests previously then the police do 'go in' but given the mass scale of this and the sporadic and uncontrollable nature of the outbursts they are trying different approaches.
They are a pressure group for civil liberties. They speak out on civil liberties. Their role is not to be balanced to defend the police. It's not hypocritical for them to take that position.
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I see you can't bring yourself to admit your cheap shot in claiming I'd stated they'd
condoned the riots, despite my clarification. Yes there have been many riots but when did you last see riots on this scale for 3-4 days with the police standing by powerless and watching shops and homes be looted and burned because they've been rendered impotent? IMO therein lies the difference between the past and now which you don't seem to see. That's what's been allowed to happen right under our noses and I've made it quite clear who I hold largely responsible for emasculating the police which is the main factor which I believe has allowed the troubles to spread and develop. That's really not the same thing as blaming Chakrabati, her organisation and/or
her ilk (who I alluded to earlier) directly for the riots and if you can't accept that then that's your problem not mine.
Last night our local trading estate was ransacked and right now in our local park there is a large number of youths congregating with one thing on their minds and it isn't the local ducks. They've been in/out of our high street all day causing little incidents and intimidating people and I've no doubt they'll be considerably more trouble tonight. The police are there but despite all of what's happened they evidently feel powerless to do anything about it. These kids know their rights, the rules the police are bound by and exploit their civil liberties only too well. It's just a pity that those who taught them those rights and afforded them their liberties didn't make a better job of teaching them their responsibilities.
Anyway those of us, who have for a long time thought that things had gone too far, might in time have cause to thank these mindless idiots because I have a feeling that, through their wanton violence and destruction, they're going to make our argument to the powers that be far more persuasively than our words of warning were able to do....