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Originally posted by johnyelland1234
reply to post by TrueBrit
Some good points TrueBrit.
I too work for the British Government and am currently doing 12 hours per day 6 days a week. Doing very hard graft outside. We are having cuts all the time and we have to justify ourselves to keep our jobs and to stop civilian companies stepping in. My workplace is a classic example of overspending because 'thats the price they charge'.
Recently we paid 400,000 pounds to have an airfield dug up and a different type of grass planted to deter birds from landing on it. Ultimatily (sp?) to stop bird strikes on aircraft. Total waste of money.
However, Democracy works if everyone plays fair. Student riots simply used more of the governments funds correcting the result of that riot.
My point was that if people want to have something, they can't kick off and use riots to try and 'persuade' the government to give them what they want. This will only make matters worse.
It actually reminds me of a screaming child wanting chocolate, even after the parents said no.
The government can't make everyone happy, I left school with very little but still found a good job and now I make the most in my family.
The UK is very strapped for cash, and there will be cuts. Although I doubt it'll be to 'Foreign Aid', thats too important to our country
Originally posted by TrueBrit
I do not understand how you can take the attitude that kicking off and rioting is somehow wrong.
Originally posted by johnyelland1234
Originally posted by TrueBrit
I do not understand how you can take the attitude that kicking off and rioting is somehow wrong.
Would it be the governments fault that the police officer died or the fault of the rioter who through it? All because he wanted to save a few grand in tuition fees to fuel his drinking binge on weekends.
Students don't know how lucky they are over here, I would kick every rioter out of the education system if they want to act like little punks.
Originally posted by TrueBrit
Originally posted by johnyelland1234
Originally posted by TrueBrit
I do not understand how you can take the attitude that kicking off and rioting is somehow wrong.
Would it be the governments fault that the police officer died or the fault of the rioter who through it? All because he wanted to save a few grand in tuition fees to fuel his drinking binge on weekends.
Students don't know how lucky they are over here, I would kick every rioter out of the education system if they want to act like little punks.
First things first. Protest, even violent protest, is historicaly the most immediately effective in this country, I must cite again the civil war, which was basicaly organised violent protest against a system of governance that was quite simply unjustifiable. I see no real difference, other than the fact that we are expiriencing it in our time, rather than in a history book. If you dont like it, strap on a sheild and a riot helmet and make your opposition to it clear. Basicaly , pick a postition and take it to the streets and these things will be settled in a final and exacting manner.
The students were not protesting the fee rise in order to promote alcoholism, or even for thier own financial saftey , they were protesting so that in future years people from the lowest sectors of the community could actualy aspire, rather than being crushed by and made despondant by the ever widening gap between thier financial situation, and that required to get through university, and pay the fees off afterward.
If you cannot see that there are serious social issues involved with this unessacary increase in fees, which pertain to the class gap and the difference between the ability of the poorest folks in society to be socialy mobile, then you have clearly not been paying any attention to that which occurs beyond the tip of your nose.
You probably would kick every rioter out of the education system, and you are welcome to live in a country full of dullards with no capacity to stand up for the rights of others, but that country is not Britain, and that form of supplication is not that of any proud British citizen. If you want to be rolled over by overwhelming odds, and support what amounts to a financialy fascist governments stance on this subject, then I suggest going to France, which has a much richer history of surrender and general inability to protect its own rights or borders.
The riots in London were proof not of thuggery , but of the will of the people, that government cannot control us, and must stop attempting to reduce the ability of the lower classes to advance themselves, which is exactly the ONLY result of the measures they have installed.
The student who threw that extinguisher , as I have already mentioned, was very foolish to do so. That point is not in question. However, calling him a thug is not justified since he has no prior history of these forms of offence. Futhermore, the events that lead to his doing this act were likely to prove in years to come, to have been instigated by police infiltrators into the protest group. Agent provocatuers are rife in all protest based political groups, and it would be idiocy in the extreme to assume that the student groups are some exception to that. This makes it likely that the events leading to the dropping of the extingiusher, the presence of the protesters on the roof, the mood of the people involved (which is key to this entire event) was not purely that of the students but augmented by the egging on of an infiltrator somewhere in proceedings.
This matter is not as simple as right and wrong in terms of physical acts, but goes to all the deepest and darkest recesses of the way our nation operates, the oppresion of the poor by the rich, and the prevention of those from less well of families to attain what is thier absolute RIGHT to an education. We pay our taxes to keep these services as low cost as we can, and if the government refuse to do what they are asked in regards to it, then they should bare the responsibility for the consequences.
Quite frankly they are lucky there isnt a proper full scale bombs and bullets war happening in this nation right now, over these and other pressing issues, so before you start hollering about the frankly childlike and mortality free riots and protests, you might want to consider the alternative. The alternative being all those people who have seen thier rights taken from them, all those people in London who will not be able to afford to live there because of the housing benifit cut ( Im talking of course about the bus drivers, station cleaners, shelf stackers , coffee shop employees and bar staff amongst others that keep our capital clean and moving) some 82,000 of them, the creation of a segregational attitude to education, the support of banks and the frankly gutting attitude the government takes toward jobs, all those people affected by this, rising up and just utterly destroying the government physicaly and permanently. Its either these flare ups, or full scale war and I would like to know which you would rather have.
Originally posted by johnyelland1234
Can you answer the question?
If a police officer, doing his job gets smashed on the head by a falling fire extinguisher and dies. Would it be worth it and would it be right?
You can spiel off a load of dribble about it happening in history and how it's the only way things are going to change until the cows come home.
The fact is rioting is wrong, whichever way you look at it and I doubt most people share your view.
The topic of thread is about the student that was jailed for throwing a fire extinguisher. He was WRONG, I don't care if someone egged him on to do it. He was the one that did it and he should be punished for it. The people that decided to riot that day did terrible things and don't deserve a golden pass through life.
As Xcathra said, you are not entitled to anything, why should you be? You pay taxes just like everyone else, so what? You have free education up to the age of 18, what more do you and these students want? A free car and house with a 20k lump sum?
Originally posted by TrueBrit
reply to post by johnyelland1234
Ok I will answer your question. If a person decides that they are going to stand against the citizenry, then he ought to understand he is taking his life in his hands, but of course, if the kid had killed someone that day, then he would be ultimately responsible for his individual action on the day.
However, I stand by the point that PROTEST no matter how it is done is justified and further more badly needed, every day until the filth in parliment is either expunged , or torn apart in the street and replaced with something less vile.
Originally posted by TrueBrit
reply to post by johnyelland1234
Its legality is no where near as important as wether it is right or not. In a choice between riots and a deafening silence when peoples rights are being erroded, our tax pounds wasted on things that we do not benifit from (billions wasted by government departments at whitehall level appart from anything else) I would rather have bloody havock , carnage at every corner of the capital and a parlimentarian hung off of every lampost in parliment square, than ever, EVER , let those out of touch, ignorant lumps of walking genetic failiure in the houses of commons, make one more move without hearing a shout of denial.
Originally posted by johnyelland1234The government is trying to do it's job and they are well aware that they are broke, you should quit complaining and whining and see how it pans out.
The Police do a valuable service to the community
How would the police be endangering the rioters? They have no guns, at most they'll have tasers and batons, which is for their protection when rioters endanger THEM.
If you like I can find even more links to articles that have 'the people' and 'students' committing violent crime, which would no doubt be alot worse if there were no Policing system.
Did you physically pay to go to school when you were under 18 and weren't paying tax? Thats free education to you.
People are sponging off the government because they can't be arsed to get a job and cost a wad of cash each year, do you go round their house and shout 'get a job you fat bum?' no, because you'd be badly hurt as a result.
Rioting gives people the chance to do bad things because the chance of them getting caught is slim compared to if they were by themselves.
Your parents have to pay tax regardless if they had kids or not.
I've already made it clear why we bailed out the banks and it's a sound move IMO, and as for the war, there's no doubt it's cost us alot of money, but also IMO, it was very worthwhile.
You still never answered the question.
Originally posted by johnyelland1234
Originally posted by TrueBrit
reply to post by johnyelland1234
Ok I will answer your question. If a person decides that they are going to stand against the citizenry, then he ought to understand he is taking his life in his hands, but of course, if the kid had killed someone that day, then he would be ultimately responsible for his individual action on the day.
However, I stand by the point that PROTEST no matter how it is done is justified and further more badly needed, every day until the filth in parliment is either expunged , or torn apart in the street and replaced with something less vile.
The police weren't standing in the way of citizenry, they were there to control the riot and to make sure that damage caused was limited and controlled. They didn't get a memo from the government saying, get your sticks we want you to get rid of these students.
The police were there to uphold the law, students do not have the right to riot, rioting is illegal so therefore the police were there to uphold that law, which is their job.
Students are not above the law, i'm trying to get through to you that Rioting is illegal and wrong but I don't think you want to listen.
People do not have the right to riot and never will or should, it's a horrendous act thats more akin to primates than a society of a first world country.