Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests - August 2020

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

Apparently XR^▸ (Crossrail) are staging four days of protests in Bristol over the August 2020 bank holiday weekend.

According to the Bristol Post, two protesters have been arrested for blocking Clifton Suspension bridge to cars - they were allowing non-motor traffic across. It appears that the police have responded by closing it to all traffic for the rest of the weekend

XR have also blocked Prince Street Bridge to motor traffic. Some readers will be surprised to hear that motor traffic was allowed to start using this busy pedestrian and cycle route again after the recent refurbishment.

Presumably XR won't be present at Bristol Bridge. It seems that their protest here last year that proved this could be closed to cars without causing major problems.

[grahame]

Presumably XR^▸ (Crossrail) won't be present at Bristol Bridge. It seems that their protest here last year that proved this could be closed to cars without causing major problems.

The divides between protest, pulling in the same direction and partnering are sometime wafer thin, even where the common objectives are initially approached from different angles.

[ChrisB]

I think this is more than just Bristol - I understand there are likely protests in that there London too. Hopefully they might spend some money while there in the shops that badly need it

[infoman]

Not sure if something is going on North bound on the M5 at the Stroud turn off junction 13.

My thoughts: if you are or know any one making a short journey,keep well away from ANY Motorways.

[TaplowGreen]

It'll be interesting to see how it's Policed, given the way events in Bristol at the recent BLM protest were (non) Policed.

[grahame]

I think this is more than just Bristol - I understand there are likely protests in that there London too.

Indeed, wider and over the next few days too.

From Faresaver Buses on Twitter:

We are currently experiencing delays on all services into and out of Bath due to heavy traffic. We understand this is due to ongoing climate change demonstrations so we are unable to advise how long these delays may last. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

[Red Squirrel]

It'll be interesting to see how it's Policed, given the way events in Bristol at the recent BLM protest were (non) Policed.

The recent BLM protests in Bristol were policed. In point of fact, they were policed very well. 'Policing' is not synonymous with 'breaking heads'.

[phile]

It'll be interesting to see how it's Policed, given the way events in Bristol at the recent BLM protest were (non) Policed.

The recent BLM protests in Bristol were policed. In point of fact, they were policed very well. 'Policing' is not synonymous with 'breaking heads'.

Allowed an act of vandalism of Colston's statue to take place while they stood by and watched and later had go hunting to identify the culprits.    Whatever one's opinions or the cause it was still a crime

[Bmblbzzz]

Presumably XR^▸ (Crossrail) won't be present at Bristol Bridge. It seems that their protest here last year that proved this could be closed to cars without causing major problems.

The divides between protest, pulling in the same direction and partnering are sometime wafer thin, even where the common objectives are initially approached from different angles.

Kye Dudd, the city council's head of transport, cited XR's closure of the Bridge as having proved it was possible, when the official closure was announced a couple of months back.

[TaplowGreen]

It'll be interesting to see how it's Policed, given the way events in Bristol at the recent BLM protest were (non) Policed.

The recent BLM protests in Bristol were policed. In point of fact, they were policed very well. 'Policing' is not synonymous with 'breaking heads'.

Policing is synonymous with "maintaining law and order", which is somewhat at variance with standing by and watching a howling mob commit premeditated criminal damage.

[broadgage]

I have considerable sympathy with the concerns and aims of ER, but feel that some of their protests are ill advised.
One of the worst IMHO^▸ (in my humble opinion) was the action against a LUL^▸ (London Underground Ltd) train, in which they were forcibly removed by passengers.

They should be encouraging electric public transport, not disrupting it.

Hopefully this latest round of protests will be a bit better thought through.

I have met a number of ER supporters, and their fervour and determination was undeniable. Less impressive was a general lack of basic scientific knowledge, especially with regards to fuel, energy, and electric or other power.
I refer here not to differing views over political, religious, or moral issues, but a lack of basic science.  

[ellendune]

Policing is synonymous with "maintaining law and order", which is somewhat at variance with standing by and watching a howling mob commit premeditated criminal damage.

The other extreme is Trump's sending in of federal troops to deal with the BLM riots - which did nothing to reduce the violence it only made things worse. Once unrest has started the police are in a very difficult position. This was not on the scale of the riots of August 2011 that cause huge damage.  It only damaged a controversial statue.

It is always better to try and deal with the injustice that leads to unrest before the unrest happens rather than always expect the police to come and pick up the pieces afterwards.   

[TaplowGreen]

Policing is synonymous with "maintaining law and order", which is somewhat at variance with standing by and watching a howling mob commit premeditated criminal damage.

The other extreme is Trump's sending in of federal troops to deal with the BLM riots - which did nothing to reduce the violence it only made things worse. Once unrest has started the police are in a very difficult position. This was not on the scale of the riots of August 2011 that cause huge damage.  It only damaged a controversial statue.

It is always better to try and deal with the injustice that leads to unrest before the unrest happens rather than always expect the police to come and pick up the pieces afterwards.   

......which to your final and (very noble) point is ironically exactly what the Police eventually had to do in the case in question, in Bristol and elsewhere.

It is not a choice between doing nothing and "breaking heads" or "sending in federal troops", this is not America, our societies have very little in common in this context. It's not a good comparison. We can be a bit more sophisticated.

The covenant is, the Police stop crime and maintain law and order, and in return we don't take the law into our own hands. Once we do, whatever the perceived righteousness of that cause, things start to break down.

Actions have consequences.

The direct result of the non policing of events in Bristol was that it sent out a message to the much larger mob in London that they had the green light to behave in similar fashion - hence we had statues and monuments vandalised, Police (who were similarly doing their best to hold back until the mob made it necessary to intervene) assaulted and hospitalised and their horses attacked, and a few weeks later we had the grotesque spectacle of the "Soccer Lads"/"Britain First" and Antifa/BLM squaring up to each other in London........and guess who was stuck in the middle?

All these streets of course thronged by the irresponsible forces who had decided that their right to protest trumped the risk of the  further spread of the worst pandemic to affect us since the Spanish flu.

So rather than expecting the Police, NHS, and Local Authorities to "pick up the pieces", maybe, just maybe, a slightly more assertive attitude to the unlawful events in Bristol may have prevented some of the violent disorder in London and elsewhere - no-one's heads needed to be broken, no militia needed to be called for, just the Police stepping in and stopping crime, as they generally do - I absolutely get however that much of the (in)action was driven by Politics rather than straightforward Policing.

Of course it's always easier to do all that from a standing position, rather than being on your knees?

[Red Squirrel]

Policing is synonymous with "maintaining law and order", which is somewhat at variance with standing by and watching a howling mob commit premeditated criminal damage.

The other extreme is Trump's sending in of federal troops to deal with the BLM riots - which did nothing to reduce the violence it only made things worse. Once unrest has started the police are in a very difficult position. This was not on the scale of the riots of August 2011 that cause huge damage.  It only damaged a controversial statue.

It is always better to try and deal with the injustice that leads to unrest before the unrest happens rather than always expect the police to come and pick up the pieces afterwards.   

......which to your final and (very noble) point is ironically exactly what the Police eventually had to do in the case in question, in Bristol and elsewhere.

It is not a choice between doing nothing and "breaking heads" or "sending in federal troops", this is not America, our societies have very little in common in this context. It's not a good comparison. We can be a bit more sophisticated.

The covenant is, the Police stop crime and maintain law and order, and in return we don't take the law into our own hands. Once we do, whatever the perceived righteousness of that cause, things start to break down.

Actions have consequences.

The direct result of the non policing of events in Bristol was that it sent out a message to the much larger mob in London that they had the green light to behave in similar fashion - hence we had statues and monuments vandalised, Police (who were similarly doing their best to hold back until the mob made it necessary to intervene) assaulted and hospitalised and their horses attacked, and a few weeks later we had the grotesque spectacle of the "Soccer Lads"/"Britain First" and Antifa/BLM squaring up to each other in London........and guess who was stuck in the middle?

All these streets of course thronged by the irresponsible forces who had decided that their right to protest trumped the risk of the  further spread of the worst pandemic to affect us since the Spanish flu.

So rather than expecting the Police, NHS, and Local Authorities to "pick up the pieces", maybe, just maybe, a slightly more assertive attitude to the unlawful events in Bristol may have prevented some of the violent disorder in London and elsewhere - no-one's heads needed to be broken, no militia needed to be called for, just the Police stepping in and stopping crime, as they generally do - I absolutely get however that much of the (in)action was driven by Politics rather than straightforward Policing.

Of course it's always easier to do all that from a standing position, rather than being on your knees?

Avon and Somerset police were there on the ground, accountable, and did not have the benefit of hindsight. Their assessment was that any intervention would have caused a limited situation focused on a single statue to escalate.

Short of using significant force, it is difficult to see how they might have prevented the statue from being toppled.  Had they used force, and had (as is probable) greater disorder ensued, it seems very unlikely indeed that the London protests would have been smaller.

Inaction has consequences.

For years Bristolians had asked for a plaque to be fixed to Colston's statue, acknowledging the source of the wealth he lavished on his home city. As awareness grew, so did people's revulsion that a slave trader be celebrated as 'one of the most virtuous and wise sons of their city'. But the process became bogged down in politics, and time dragged on. If certain local organisations and politicians had agreed to a simple plaque acknowledging Colston's role in the slave trade, we possibly wouldn't be having this conversation.

[Bmblbzzz]

Ironically, that 1895 plaque with its praise of Colston is still in situ.