The Metropolitan Police have shown they are unwilling to stand with the public. Video footage shows a police officer manhandling a frustrated member of the public trying to clear protesters from ‘Animal Rebellion’ off the road they are blocking, but police have been unwilling to use similar force and aggression against the cretinous protestors themselves.
These stupid protests have gone far enough. The demands are unreasonable and unachievable. Perhaps that is the point. Perhaps these perpetual activists are addicted to their self-righteous drama and achievable demands put them at risk of having to pack up and go home. The latest demand is that “government severs ties with animal farming”. That is simply not going to happen.
You may recall that in previous decades, deranged activists were ‘kidnapping’ the mortal remains of the deceased family members of scientists and researchers linked to animal testing. Despite these mad antics, the public was broadly sympathetic. It is one thing arguing against pouring chemicals into a bunny’s eyes. It is quite another convincing Joe Public that a boiled egg is murder.
The police are charged with maintaining public order. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the more they humour these ‘protestors’ at the expense of the average person going about their daily lives, the more – not less – likely it will be that a riot erupts. Put bluntly, it is the police’s failure to act swiftly to clear roads blocked by zealots that causes a breach of the peace.
But as we have seen, police officers are happy to push and shove non-protestors while cooing platitudes into the ears of those with irrational demands blocking the roads.
If the police won’t uphold the law for the common person, is it any surprise that the law is taken into the hands of ordinary people who simply want to get on with their day, which includes, inter alia, going to job interviews, doctor’s appointments, fetching children from school, shopping, and simply making a living. If the police cannot appreciate that this pointless disruption angers people and that people look to them to act swiftly and decisively, perhaps the police need a change of leadership.
Citizens should start exploring democratic ways to achieve this outcome. We need ‘regime change’.
UPDATE: The Metropolitan Police have clarified that their job is to protect the protestors from the public. In a tweet they say “A man who today assaulted a protester on Westminster Bridge by dragging them off the road was arrested for assault and is being investigated. The officer intervened to prevent any harm. We won’t tolerate any form of violence or abuse and will robustly tackle such offences.”
The police seem to have forgotten who they serve. Why did the police not “intervene” earlier to stop the illegal blocking of the road and the intentional provocation which led to this breach of the peace?
