Extinction Rebellion | Page 7 | Vital Football

Extinction Rebellion

Was quite funny watching a few activists get dragged out the road by a few lorry loads of scaffolders n builders on the roundabout under the M25 at jct 20 this morning. They didnt seem quite so keen on their cause for a few minutes when they thought they were going to have the shit kicked out of them.
 
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Captainreblue said:
Was quite funny watching a few activists get dragged out the road by a few lorry loads of scaffolders n builders on the roundabout under the M25 at jct 20 this morning. They didnt seem quite so keen on their cause for a few minutes when they thought they were going to have the shit kicked out of them.
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Yep, white collar workers trying to do a day's graft.

Loads of traffic, sitting idly. That's going to help. There needs to be more action taken than just arrest / release. Or the police should just walk away.
 
The police are as much use as a chocolate teapot. They should be re-assigned to help their Senior Officers count their over inflated and un-earned salaries and leave the layabouts to the attention of the lorry drivers, builders etc. who would very soon sort the morons out.

It's no use calling them idiots, I doubt if any of them are that intelligent.
 
markinkent said:
The police should move the protesters off the motorway immediately.

Miles of traffic sat going no where is doing nothing for economy or the environment (if the engines are on of course).
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Followed quite a bit of this on TV and radio this morning. These Tarquins and Henriettas are winning no friends or supporters, other than the already converted champage socialists. On the phone-ins I've heard it's quite clear that the vast majority (with a few exceptions on both sides) of those complaining about the protesters are working/working class people (you can hear from their accents as well as their stories), often who are just trying to get to work, whereas the protesters are largely poshos, who either don't have or don't need a job and don't need to get to work. I heard the odious, James O'Brien, this morning trying to play the card that effectively they are educated and compassionate (presumably unlike the oiks trying to get to work and complainnig about being delayed by these frivilous attention-seekers) and it's unfair to stigmatise them as "middle class" do-gooders - poor old, JOB, must have touched a nerve for a public school-boy, champagne socialist like himself.

There were an array of calls of people missing hospital appointments, NHS staff not getting to work and there was even one contractor delayed from getting to an insulation job because of them! I even heard some callers saying that as a protest against the protesters, they decided to take out their gas guzzling car instead of their more economical one and emptied all of their recycling into a black bin that day. These toffs (and I'd point out that they are nearly all white and as we know nearly all upper middle class - funny that the lefties aren't jumping on the diversity train here and dismissing their voice as they do for anything they disagree with on the grounds that that voice isn't sufficiently diverse (the John "not the king of the north" Snow Brexit protest quote being the epitome of this)!) really don't live in the real work and don't have the worries or needs of most people who's main concerns are getting to work, dropping the kids off, getting to the hospital etc.
 
Oh, and on the Police (and I am a massive backer of our forces), would appear to have been brainwashed by their woke overlords. To hear the officer who seemed to be heading up one of the Herts Police operations against the protesters asking them to move and saying things, in a soft polite voice, "let us know if you need anyt help" and "we'll try to deal with this as nicely as possible" was quite frankly pathetic. It would be interesting to hear from someone in the OB, but from outsiders, it seems like the officers on the street are told to be ultra soft and ultra nice to any protest or criminality which may be deemed to be furthering a woke cause - whether it's this week's protests ER, or the BLM protests last year. Whereas, us football fans are often treated as criminals, pushed about, told where to go, what to do and how to behave before we've even done anything the slightest bit wrong.
 
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I can understand why Bert said what he did. We should remember, though, that the police strategy relating to these specific events will have been drawn up by chief police officers in conjunction (probably) with the Home Office.

I`m not excusing said chief police officers, btw. IMO, there are far too many current leaders in the police service who have relieved themselves of the majority public view of what is and is not proportional, in favour of political point scoring aimed at self interest, medals and titles.

Those who say that society gets the police service it deserves (as police men and women are drawn from society and reflect society) are making observations on firm ground.
 
SteveTreacle said:
Oh, and on the Police (and I am a massive backer of our forces), would appear to have been brainwashed by their woke overlords. To hear the officer who seemed to be heading up one of the Herts Police operations against the protesters asking them to move and saying things, in a soft polite voice, "let us know if you need anyt help" and "we'll try to deal with this as nicely as possible" was quite frankly pathetic. It would be interesting to hear from someone in the OB, but from outsiders, it seems like the officers on the street are told to be ultra soft and ultra nice to any protest or criminality which may be deemed to be furthering a woke cause - whether it's this week's protests ER, or the BLM protests last year. Whereas, us football fans are often treated as criminals, pushed about, told where to go, what to do and how to behave before we've even done anything the slightest bit wrong.
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"let us know if you need any help"
"we'll try to deal with this as nicely as possible"

Not only football fans might appreciate such consideration.
(I have not so "fond" memories of the police keeping us back at The Den....)

I can think of a few other protestors who would welcome such friendly help.
Except they won't get it if their "issue" is not approved by the woke mob.
 
SteveTreacle said:
Oh, and on the Police (and I am a massive backer of our forces), would appear to have been brainwashed by their woke overlords. To hear the officer who seemed to be heading up one of the Herts Police operations against the protesters asking them to move and saying things, in a soft polite voice, "let us know if you need anyt help" and "we'll try to deal with this as nicely as possible" was quite frankly pathetic. It would be interesting to hear from someone in the OB, but from outsiders, it seems like the officers on the street are told to be ultra soft and ultra nice to any protest or criminality which may be deemed to be furthering a woke cause - whether it's this week's protests ER, or the BLM protests last year. Whereas, us football fans are often treated as criminals, pushed about, told where to go, what to do and how to behave before we've even done anything the slightest bit wrong.
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Policing by consent, its what the public wants........apparently. it all came in during the Blair government when the Human rights act was enshrined within all crime legislation.
 
Nobby_66 said:
Policing by consent, its what the public wants........apparently. it all came in during the Blair government when the Human rights act was enshrined within all crime legislation.
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Sorry Nobby,

Almost without exception everyone I talk to wants "Zero Tolerence Policing" sadly what we get is "Zero Policing".

The budget for the top ten (and a half*) Senior Policemen and the ridiculous police commissioners office was in excess of £3m per year and none of them do any real policing. That figure is two years out of date (But it will only have increased) and doesn't include NIC or transport costs. (*One post shared with Essex).

OK I accept that their inflated salaries are probably in line with those enjoyed by Senior Local Authority Managers, another fine body of persons who have been able to rifle our pockets with impunity, regardless of their pitiful performance.
 
Bert said:
Sorry Nobby,

Almost without exception everyone I talk to wants "Zero Tolerence Policing" sadly what we get is "Zero Policing".

The budget for the top ten (and a half*) Senior Policemen and the ridiculous police commissioners office was in excess of £3m per year and none of them do any real policing. That figure is two years out of date (But it will only have increased) and doesn't include NIC or transport costs. (*One post shared with Essex).

OK I accept that their inflated salaries are probably in line with those enjoyed by Senior Local Authority Managers, another fine body of persons who have been able to rifle our pockets with impunity, regardless of their pitiful performance.
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"Almost without exception everyone I talk to wants "Zero Tolerence Policing" sadly what we get is "Zero Policing".

That's because the softly softly touch has gone too far. You can have Zero tolerance and nick everyone but once they are dealt with (either charged or bailed) you have to let them go unless certain exceptions apply so you end up nicking the same people the next day.
Believe me, no one is more frustrated than the police. I'm not quite sure what management wages have to do with anything 🤔
 
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Nobby_66 said:
"Almost without exception everyone I talk to wants "Zero Tolerence Policing" sadly what we get is "Zero Policing".

That's because the softly softly touch has gone too far. You can have Zero tolerance and nick everyone but once they are dealt with (either charged or bailed) you have to let them go unless certain exceptions apply so you end up nicking the same people the next day.
Believe me, no one is more frustrated than the police. I'm not quite sure what management wages have to do with anything 🤔
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Agreed, Nobby. But, in relation to Management, I would add that, IMO, there are too many senior managers in the police at this time. Frequent glances through publicly accessible records (official minutes) of police meetings is quite enlightening in this regard.

Don`t expect a detailed reply, (or any reply) Nobs, as you, well for a short time only (:giggle:) anyway, have to be careful what you say.
 
Bert said:
Sorry Nobby,

Almost without exception everyone I talk to wants "Zero Tolerence Policing" sadly what we get is "Zero Policing".

The budget for the top ten (and a half*) Senior Policemen and the ridiculous police commissioners office was in excess of £3m per year and none of them do any real policing. That figure is two years out of date (But it will only have increased) and doesn't include NIC or transport costs. (*One post shared with Essex).

OK I accept that their inflated salaries are probably in line with those enjoyed by Senior Local Authority Managers, another fine body of persons who have been able to rifle our pockets with impunity, regardless of their pitiful performance.
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Yep, too many chiefs and not enough .... (oooh, can I say that ? ) in the police. I agree with you, Bert.

Thing is, Bert, unless the public is loud enough, in a democratic sense, things are not going to change. Elected Members of Parliament don`t seem too concerned about blatant law breaking. Neither, it seems, do elected Police & Crime Commissioners. Politicians don`t want to spend money on policing - it`s a very difficult area to quantify in terms of evidencing success/value for money, because more money spent doesn`t correlate to more votes gained.

Are the police out of touch with their public ? I rather suspect that in many ways, they are. But how can ordinary folk change things ? You say that everyone you talk to wants zero tolerance and imply that the general view of the public is at odds with police strategy. You may well be right, but we`ll probably never know as people don`t tend to get out in numbers to vote for how they want their police to police their community.

I`m about to go-on a bit now, Bert. "Leaving it at that" is probably a sound decision so you may not want to read on, i`ve a wordy minute or two coming on.... !


Is there a way that ordinary public voting could genuinely influence police strategy ? Well, yes, there is but the occasion, when it comes around, draws very little public interest. I`m not talking about General Elections, i`m alluding to the election of Police & Crime Commissioners (PCCs).

Appointment of PCCs goes pretty much unnoticed by the community they are supposed to serve, even though successful candidates have to "win" a public election to gain the post. Whilst (IMO) PCC`s were only brought in so that Home Secretaries have someone downhill of them to blame when things go wrong (Preservation planning!) they are bound to act in the local interest.

On an annual basis police forces have to put together a Strategic Plan for the upcoming year (how they intend to prioritise their resources). The strategy documented shows how the police will deliver the PCCs Policing and Crime Plan formulated by the elected PCC. Prior to putting together the Policing Plan, and throughout tenure, the elected PCC usually does a tour of the county to gain views from the public as to how it should spend on policing. This is the chance for folk to have their say, but it rarely happens in anything other than sparsely attended village halls with small numbers in attendance.

An opportunity is possibly being missed here; either by independent (PCC) candidates bold enough to go for the role and mandate some actual change. Or, by potential groups willing, able and large enough, to effectively lend their views during annual canvassing by the PCC.

Whilst the above is the theory, the reality is that nothing much will change. For the time being, we`ll just have to rely on letters to The Times and a consoling, stress relieving pint in our "local" with like-minded friends and equally frustrated acquaintances.......
 
I must say that the PCC for Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez, is very high profile and has been sinced we moved here.
She’s constantly on the local tv news for one reason or another.
Whether she actually makes much difference is open to debate I suppose but certainly everyone knows who she is.
 
This is where reality comes in.

If you do not allow non violent protest then steam will build up and the boiler will burst therefore the 'letting off of some steam' is required.

Otherwise the boiler will burst and terrorism or violent protest ensues.
 
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