Protesters

I MAY be in the silent minority who thinks that during the last 5 years, protesters and their manner of protesting have become irritating and annoying. I don't know whether it stems from a disliking of authority or something lacking. Before anyone jumps on my back (not for pleasure), i know there are such issues as fathers rights (Fathers For Justice) and animal rights. Although do we need people throwing flour at the Prime Minister in the House of Commons? Attempting to abduct the Prime Minister's son. Or sending death threats/vandalising/assaulting people who work at animal testing laboratories?

The Iraq war protesting of 2003 really annoyed my friend and i. The media made a big thing about school kids and students protesting. When really it meant a day off for them. I know that sounds very cynical and i'm not trying to generalise since i'm sure there were lots of geuine protesters who truly cared. Although that is the reality of the situation. Why did they only choose the Iraq war? What about other atrocities that have happened. Such as in Kosovo, Bosnia or Chechnya? Where were they protesters then? What about ONGOING atrocities around the world, in parts of Asia & Africa. I find it bewildering that people were screaming about civilian casualites, yet they ignored or worryingly unaware of Saddam's gassing and massacring of his own people. Now at the beginning i did support the war, because i BELIEVED what we were being told. That is Saddam had the capability to launch deadly weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, which could threaten or at least spill over to nearby countries such as Turkey (member of NATO & the EU). However due to mounting casualities, an insurgency , a lack of clear goals/exit strategy & false intelligence i have become skeptical. With reason of course.

Now i'm not trying to imply that just because a Government is in a position of power and authority, that it shouldn't be held accountable. Of course not, i just can't stand this trend to protest just for the sake of it. Look at the what happened last year with the G8 summit in Edinburgh. Look at the trouble some of the hooligans caused. It was sad for the genuine protesters who turned up, but some people like to protest for the sake of it and to cause chaos. Because they are pathetic and get off on that kind of thing, which suggest that they are lacking something in their lives, but that's another matter tongue.gif.

So there we are, my rant is over. I wanted to get it off my chest. I imagine some people will disagree with me. Fine we are all different. Just expressing an opinion!

[edit on 23/1/06 by Flyboy211]

Originally posted by Flyboy211
Look at the trouble some of the hooligans caused. It was sad for the genuine protesters who turned up, but some people like to protest for the sake of it and to cause chaos.

No offence, but I was there just like I was at the May Day riots - in fact, I have been every year for the last five years. You might desire to move away from blaming these "hoolidans" and instead look at the Police force.

When there is a set path, agreed upon before hand and the Police begin to shift that then there is a problem. When the Police begin to get violent, than there is a problem. Like it or not, the Police force do attack the protesters and they make the situation worse and it leads to the riots that we have now.

Originally posted by OdiumYou might desire to move away from blaming these "hoolidans" and instead look at the Police force.

It's called "Public Order" and is used by the Police to keep the peace.

Originally posted by OdiumWhen the Police begin to get violent, than there is a problem. Like it or not, the Police force do attack the protesters and they make the situation worse and it leads to the riots that we have now.

Attack or disperse the group? I'm sure that if one officer feared for his or her safety or the safety of their collegues, they'd take action. I have got no problem with the way the Police conduct themselves every year at this free-for-all.

The May Day Protests are well known for turning into one big ruck, if you go, you know what to expect.

[edit on 2/2/2006 by FactoryLad]

As long as protesters aren't actually causing harm to other people, I think they should be able to jump up and down and scream at the top of their lungs if they want.

However, I think if they were intelligent protesters, they would stand there calmly with a sign or come up with other intelligent methods of conveying their message. Personally, I think I can get more people to know and care about my cause online than by holding a sign outside and bother people who aren't interested. But there are uses for that method as well.

I hate teenagers and students that just do it to go against the state system when they really don't know much about the subject. Then they go to starbucks or mcdonalds....

I went to the Iraq war protest, but now I'm planning on joining the Royal Marines as an officer and going to war.

Don't worry, I'm not a psycho.

Originally posted by mashup
I hate teenagers and students that just do it to go against the state system when they really don't know much about the subject. Then they go to starbucks or mcdonalds...

While I don't hate them for it, I do think it's a bit uneducated. There are many people who rebel against things without effectively investigating them first. And I'm not saying the things aren't neccessarily not worthy of being protested, but it just makes the protesters look uninformed when they are doing things without knowing why.