Are the people of Britain readying their pitchforks?

I live in the U.K and I'm seeing more and more examples of public discontent with the current government and the governmental meddling and snooping that it has introduced into British society. For a long time, people like me have been looked upon as social outsiders due to being non tolerant of (and very outspoken about) any overbearing governmental action and for questioning actions that remove, infringe or intimidate liberty and/or society's (in the U.K, societies') members.

Today, I read a news article published online in the Telegraph.co.uk and was totally blown away by the public comments left to the question "How would you build the Britain of your dreams?" It appears I'm fast becoming an insider (thankfully, prisons here are overfull with regard to operational capacity and similar applies jails too elsewise some comments I make might make me a different kind of insider).

The article can be found at How would you build a dream Britain?
Many of the comments left show a massive build up of public anger and aggression toward the current government (New Labour) and the Prime Minister (Gordon Brown). My question here is: now that more of my fellow Brits have woken up to the fact that their rights, money, liberty and society is/has been taken away from them, will we see a peasants revolt? And how long before it happens? My own pitchfork is already ready should the need arise. Reading the comments left at the above link, what do you think? And what does it say about Britain?

Message to the mods: I wasn't sure where to post this thread so if it's in the wrong place then please move it to where it best fits.

[edit on 1/303/0808 by Rapacity]

Edited to correct spelling error in the title.

[edit on 1/303/0808 by Rapacity]

No, you won't.

Everyone who has the mindset capable to do something is too busy getting stoned or really couldn't give a [profanity removed] about anything to do with your rights or your social wellbeing, because they're better off.

EDIT: You doubt me?

Explain why so many teenagers are clubbers or ravers.

[edit on 1-3-2008 by Throbber]

We've always had clubbers and ravers and not all are teenagers - I've met many old women in nightclubs! I agree there were a lot of people too stoned to be bothered but something seems to happening at the moment. People in the U.K are really beginning to vent their anger of and at the current government. They are fed-up with the political meddling, screening, fining and taxing of every part of their lives. If you read the comments left at the above link, you will see the words revolution and coupe mentioned several times. People are waking up.

They took all our pitchforks away!
Followed by knives, cricket bats, rolling pins and pointy sticks. All we have left are non-lethal means of coercion and a sharp tongue - as long as we say nothing that could be in any way offensive to anyone white, black, slightly dark skinned with oriental features, blind, deaf, blonde or with a slightly gammy leg!

With all that in mind, perhaps it's best to stay home and keep quiet

To be honest, people may grumble a lot but are too coddled in their comfortable little lives and wouldn't want a possible revolution to interfere with the next Eastenders drama or new series of Big Brother. An angry mob intent on storming Parliament could probably be stopped in their tracks and sent home with the promise of a free iPod and the Sky Movies channel.

reply to post by Rapacity


Don't worry, they'll go back to sleep once we've sorted things out, and then it'll all just start all over again.


*cough* Temporary solutions are not solutions *cough*

[edit on 1-3-2008 by Throbber]

Britguy, I'm not sure. Eastenders isn't too good at the moment and the same can be said of the other soaps. People have been watching a lot of sensationalism and might be wanting to better the TV with a half thought out plan for regaining control of their country.

I like the idea of a free iPod.. do you think we could offer two iPods to continue the march over parliament.

Seriously though, I wasn't thinking there would be a violent revolution (and I wouldn't be against one); I was leaning more toward the fact that the British people have been pushed too far into a corner and are now looking to push their way out. Our government is one step away from surrendering Britain by merging Britain's sovereignty with a greater Europe. The British people are just beginning to realise this.

reply to post by Rapacity


I think there's been a concerted effort to extinguish national identity and move us into the European state for decades now. All the immigration and multiculturalism being thrust upon everyone, whether they like it or not or whether it's even beneficial in any way to the country.
Bottom line is that the MP's would sell us all out in a blink if it enriched them or gave them a bit more power over us, which is why I am totally against career politicians. The European Parliament is a hotbed of bribery, corruption and nepotism, but what large organisation isn't these days. Just a shame that we have to contribute so much money to it. Norway isn't an EU member state and does very well for itself, so why must we be a part of it too?
I personally think, with the powers that the government have given themselves in recent times, that nothing short of the citizens storming parliament will remove the buggers.

Originally posted by Britguy
All we have left are non-lethal means of coercion and a sharp tongue - as long as we say nothing that could be in any way offensive to anyone white, black, slightly dark skinned with oriental features, blind, deaf, blonde or with a slightly gammy leg!

dude, the britain of my dreams is where people don't feel the need to say offensive things to people who aren't white British for 17 generations and complete twits. Yeah, you know the vowel I wanted to put there. Jesus, this whole 'being nice and culturally sensitive is just PC gone mad' is probably the thing that sickens me most about being a Briton.

There is something fundamentally sick in our culture - the biggest, most vocal, most publicised sub-culture within Britain at the moment is the whole 'chav' ordeal - how can so many people in our country truly not care about anything, even themselves, be so utterly absorbed by anger and hatred of anything different, even happines. I got bloody started on in the summer because I was walking down the street smiling listening to my walkman. Seriously. What kind of person tries to pick a fight with a complete stranger because he looks happy? Unfortunately, most of Britain nowadays. I mean, what the hell?

Something seriously weird is going on. I know the whole world is obsessed with the death trip at the moment, but 'chavs' seem particularly destructive, and what is worse, self-destructive. True, I'm just a 22 year-old hippie trying to live his life causing as little harm to others as possible, and I don't want to change anyone's mind, but, seriously, it doesn't mean I have to like other people's world views.

Britain is going to the dogs, yo, and I for one am jumping ship as soon as possible. I feel no nationalist connection to this country, I don't feel I owe it anything, and I don't know if another country is any better/worse (according to my own standards) but I'm willing to at least try something/where new because I can only see it getting worse before (if) it gets better, and I just don't wanna live through that.

Britain isn't getting its pitchforks ready, unfortunately - the mob isn't turned on the elite, its turned on absolutely everything. That's what a sequence of selfish governments have done to our culture.

reply to post by Britguy


Nah, you wouldn't need to storm parliment - try protesting outside your local magistrate's court or other administrative buildings.

At least, that's how things were done back in the 80s, i believe.

reply to post by rexpop


The Chavs are the 'cool' ravers - you never hear of new monkey?

Seriously - most of the dance and rave scenes have been impregnated by their working-class elitism.

The idea of "The only guys you can trust, are the guys who share your hood" type of thing.

p.s; if you're looking for someone to blame, blame politicians for drawing attention to them.

[edit on 1-3-2008 by Throbber]

Dude, you have no idea - my sister is like the total epitome of chav, and she's just always so angry. Also, I've only just managed to escape Plymouth, a city in the SW currently suffering what I like to call a "chavalanche". But... they just don't care. Care about what you ask? Well, that's the wrong question. They simply don't care. Full stop.

I know I'm generalising, and probably being wicked unfair, but it's hard to detach myself, you know? I just see Britain turning into a police state from the top-down and a racist, anti-freedom, anti-thought concentration camp from the bottomup and, seriously, it seems to me that the "rest" of us are just caught in the middle.

Originally posted by Britguy
They took all our pitchforks away!
Followed by knives, cricket bats, rolling pins and pointy sticks. All we have left are non-lethal means of coercion and a sharp tongue - as long as we say nothing that could be in any way offensive to anyone white, black, slightly dark skinned with oriental features, blind, deaf, blonde or with a slightly gammy leg!

Be creative Replace pitch forks with the contents of your garage / kitchen, hold your sharp tongue for a better day, take notice of those with slightly gammy legs and eyes that arn't perfect and don't let your self be divided from the next man (who may have any colour skin, any disability and any IQ).

Rexpop, I'm a bit older than 22, I used to think that the British people were a lost cause. I would speak until blue in my face to people about this government, explaining to people that (and this includes all governments) just because a politician "says so" doesn't make it true. The very fact that you are 22, able to be happy and think for yourself (and many young people your age do) shows to me and many people my age that the British people (and I mean all British people regardless of ethnicity) do have hope. I left the U.K for Holland in 2005 (I'd had enough) but came back to help my family at the end of 2007. I'm still here now because I can see hope for the British people making Britain great in itself. If your looking for a place that demonstrates the great things that Britain should be then I'd recommend you visit Holland (most Dutch speak English fluently and are very welcoming and heartwarm (I love the place myself). Presently, they do not suffer chavs (If you u2u me I will give you a number to get you work there).

Rexpop, don't be too disheartened about Britain, it may seem bad at the moment but it will get better.

What a awesomely nice post! Seriously! Every time I get really disheartened by Britain, somebody like yourself will come along and show me that there are some people here who are essentially warm and pleasant!

When I first came back to Britain, I went into a fast food store (not a burger place). Whilst there, some young girls (at a guess 14/15 years old) came into the shop and started bragging amongst themselves about an item they had nicked from the shop they had just come out of. At the time I felt like going straight back to Holland. I felt embarrassed. Not one person spoke up and said anything reprimanding to them (including me). What can you say without being arrested or attacked then arrested for defending yourself.

Recently, there seems to have been a change in people's attitudes: they are becoming much more vocal about the things they do not like. People are beginning to fight back. And it's this reason that I opened this thread, I really do think that the boiling pot that is the British people is about spill.

My dream Britain, to be fully integrated into Europe for a start, free travel for everyone over 65 at any time, no tv licences, out of Iraq/Afganistan, break the UK/USA link, all immigrants to learn english as a second language, strict imigration controls, get rid of cameras and put real bobbies on the beat, those on long term welfare to do some work and charge the Welsh when they visit England that will do for starters.

Here's another reason why I feel that the pitchforks are getting readied:

"OFFICERS in Britain’s new border force have been told they should not arrest illegal immigrants and foreign criminals at weekends or on bank holidays." Quoted from the The Times Online

Immigration is a very hot topic with most people in Britain (personally, I feel that immigration benefits a nation but that there has to be a limit to what an immigrant should expect of his/her host; and a limit of how tolerant and giving a host government should be to its guests). The U.K government and its departments isn't really bothered about the publics feelings. It's more concerned with imprisoning/criminalising the public, giving away our money and generally (expletive removed) over the public than about protecting the public's wealth/resources and the country's borders. Personally, I feel like we've been successfully invaded, are currently being looted, being made into prisoners of war and we are only now beginning to react.

Viva la revolution

I am sick to the back teeth of this place!!

Personally the government overhere has messsed up.

The UK is a scary place to bring up kids.

I have an awful lot to say on this subject but im not going to post right now as just reading this has me pent up with anger and sadness...

I will admit, I'm not "British", or "English" or part of any ethnic group in the British Isles, however seeing things from New Zealand, it certainly seems quite..."chaotic".

Things like the Bishop of Rochester (an ex-Muslim) claiming "no-go areas" for non-Muslim British, while Britain experiences the greatest rate of emigration (one British person leaving every three minutes) since the end of the Second World War. Yet, despite calls by senior figures arguing against the continued high-rate of immigration,, more than 860 immigrants enter Britain every day, while Britain is reported as the most crowded country in Europe, with Britain building 2 million homes for the influx of migrants. This is also forgetting that in 30 years white Britons will be the minority in a dozen towns, or 100,000 young Britons have been pushed into unemployment by migrants, that English is the minority language in 1,300 schools, or even that one in five babies was born to a foreign mother in 2007.

50 years ago, the British public would have scoffed at the notion of white Parliamentary candidates being barred for "equal representation of black and asian candidates", or the "Asian" community declaring that it 'cannot be upset' on immigration policies, or Muslims "offering" Sharia Law to Britain, or even a drug raid on Vietnamese cannabis factories being scrapped because it was seen as "racist".

Call me a "facist", call me a "xenophobe", a "racist", a "hater" or what-have-you, but importing as many immigrants as possible to continue "economic growth" at any cost seems like both an economically and socially-unstable idea - I've even seen a few ATS members openly state they prefer immigrants to their "native" countrymen.

Wait, maybe that's the conspiracy? Ensure as many immigrants as possible enter Britain (all-the-while refusing to "integrate", maintaing "seperate" communities etc), then wait until the economy enters recession, send in a few agent provocateurs here-and-there within these communities. As unemployment increases, and tensions between the different "factions" grows, use a "catalyst", such as a bombing in one community by another community, a murder of a prominent figure from a particular community etc to set of the ethnic-powderkeg of Britain then whammo! - you've got yourself full-scale chaos and anarchy, from which the British Government can become the "hero" and settle the situation, all at the cost of democracy and your freedom of speech.

Y'know, this is the point where I hope I'm the proverbial madman, not the fated Cassandra of Greek mythology...

Originally posted by magicmushroom
My dream Britain, to be fully integrated into Europe for a start, free travel for everyone over 65 at any time, no tv licences, out of Iraq/Afganistan, break the UK/USA link, all immigrants to learn english as a second language, strict imigration controls, get rid of cameras and put real bobbies on the beat, those on long term welfare to do some work and charge the Welsh when they visit England that will do for starters.

It's an odd country. May I counter you dream?

I don't really wish the UK to be integrated into Europe as such, I really want all European countries to keep their identities. I'm English (an identity that is fast sinking and no one is noticing) Ireland Wales and Scotland put together wont have as many people as France. I would be a sad world were we all made of nokia.

Free travel for anyone over 65? How about mothers? How about people trying to keep on the job market? How about people that have not accumulated, or had the chance to accumulate wealth? Works both ways, over 65 is not a free route... cos some of that era have robbed from others.

TV - well, the licence thing is tough. Information should be as free as possible. Agree with that.

Iran / Afghanistan - no comment

UK/USA link - We officially paid back that debt they imposed on us a few years back - so lets float for our selves!! (oh did we loose all our infrastructure to the best bidder?) USA?UK link OK!

All immigrants learn English - no brainer, I try and fail at learning other languages, should I find my self immersed in another language I think I should pick it up.

Strict immigration controls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

Get rid of cameras and put real bobbies on the beat - yes yes yes!!! Got a good relationship with the bobbies here, BUT if they were to go on holiday or die god forbid their statements would be gods word almost.

Cant say much about welfare cos I used it recently for a broken ankle - cant say anything about the Welsh as my soon to be boss (who head hunted me) is Welsh