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Bad actors stoking ...
 

Bad actors stoking hate again (Southport Stabbings)

 kilo
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…there’s nothing that can be done and we somehow just have to accept it and wait for it to subside on its own.

Who said that?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:13 pm
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Anybody advocating the use of the Army here really needs to have a word with themselves. They’ve no training whatsoever in crowd control & would likely be more of a liability than any actual help. Leave this job to the few with the skill to do it. Your average squaddie is not equipped for this role in any way & being a ex-squaddie I know whereof I speak. The old bill are doing an incredibly difficult job under the microscope of anyone equipped with a mobile phone & an agenda. Add to that their massively depleted numbers & their backs are against the wall already. Armchair critics should go get a breath of fresh air bluntly.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:14 pm
timidwheeler, jameso, Scapegoat and 7 people reacted
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thought we’d be better than this

Sadly we're not.

The "this doesn't represent us" stuff that politicians trot out always annoys me. It clearly does, and we need to change it. But that approach just means they can kind of say "nah, it didn't really happen" rather than looking at the root causes (education, austerity, online misinformation, etc) and do something about them.

And remember


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:15 pm
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I’m genuinely quite shocked that some on here seem to think there’s nothing that can be done and we somehow just have to accept it and wait for it to subside on its own.

Because none of these particular riots have a legitimate grievance. There's 2 folks, and some Russian bots stirring up racial hatred , and the rest are there to see it all kick-off because they don't have enough EQ not do.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:23 pm
pondo, MoreCashThanDash, MoreCashThanDash and 1 people reacted
 kilo
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some Russian bots stirring up racial hatred ,

They’re going to get a bumper bonus in their pay packet this month- brexit and then this . They can lead the useful idiots around whenever they want.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:30 pm
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I am indeed. And I’m seeing rampaging mobs destroying property and attempting to burn down hotels etc while police stand and watch. If there aren’t enough police to maintain order (which I don’t believe) then other options need to be considered.

Police resources are shared under normal circumstances on a system of "Mutual Aid" . Forces will negotiate with their neighbours for planned events such as large sporting events, and for enormous, impactful events such as the Olympics, or G8 summits a national response can be coordinated, but spontaneous requests have to be balanced against the availability of resources.

Here's a few logistics acrobatics to think your way through. I'll use West Yorkshire as my example as I have a better knowledge of WYP's systems and demands than, say, Cleveland.

Officers work shifts. There are three shifts in a 24 hr period. So at any one time only 25% of the operational officers will be working, and of those 25% a known number will be on planned annual leave, another percentage will be on unplanned sick leave, others will be on training courses, or on court standby etc etc.

Of those remaining officers not all will be Public Order Trained.  Some will be trained to a very basic level, and then  others trained to Level 2, whereby they can be deployed to incidents requiring that level of training.

For a planned  event officers will have their rest days cancelled or re-rostered in order to leave a bare minimum number of cops in the home division to do their daily work. This Minimum Policing Requirement (MPR) is pretty well set in stone, and means, for example, that the daily abstractions of leave, training, court duties etc have to be managed to maintain that critical MPR.

In a spontaneous situation like we've seen, I would be sent a request from way up the chain demanding I immediately send a serial , six officers and a sergeant plus a van and shields, specialist kit etc,  from the officers on my team.  If I'm one of the few trained  PSU Commanders available I may have had to go myself and leave a neighbouring colleague in charge. In the meantime others will be making calls to get the next shift in early to cover our MPR, etc etc.

If that spontaneous requirement continues then the divisions supplying s serial to the event will have to call in teams from their rest days, pay overtime and so on.

That's fine on a weekday evening during term time, but on a summer weekend the complications start biting. Teams are already down to planned MPR because of annual leave, most busy town or city divisions have high demand with a busy night-time economy, there are already a load of planned events going on with Carnivals, Melas, Duck Races, Annual Shows  or whatever which increases the demand.

These spontaneous outbreaks also mean that my division with its International Islamic Teaching Centre, dozens of mosques/masjids, a large number of migrant and asylum hostels and hotels  is vulnerable itself to becoming a focus of the pointy-headed ****wits. If we all bugger off up to Cleveland there is a very real risk that Dewsbury, Batley or Huddersfield becomes the next flashpoint.

So, all leave will now be cancelled. A vast operation will be underway to send properly trained and equipped officers to flashpoints, and every bit as important, huge numbers of officers will be on visible reassurance patrols in vulnerable ares to protect communities and buildings, engage with community leaders and others to prevent the sort of local response/mobilisation we saw in Bolton.

As for the bit about "other options to consider" then you're falling into the tabloid trap of demanding troops on UK streets. We're a very long way away from that.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:31 pm
hightensionline, submarined, ahote and 21 people reacted
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Every Twitter thread on this has five or so of these bot comments promoted up to sit immediately under the OP, at least that's what I'm seeing. My block button has never worked harder, not that it will make any difference.

Walking the dog this am in our small rural town to find this and other

I thought we’d be better than this.

Careful if you're thinking of removing it, there have been reports of stanley knife blades embedded underneath racist stickers.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:33 pm
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Farage is apparently appalled by the rioting and goes on to say

"the majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration" from the BBC.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:35 pm
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**** Itch from the King Blues - he's a **** of the highest order.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/jul/26/king-blues-singer-itch-jonny-fox-suing-five-women-over-sexual-predator-allegations


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:36 pm
 MSP
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Every Twitter thread on this has five or so of these bot comments promoted up to sit immediately under the OP, at least that’s what I’m seeing. My block button has never worked harder, not that it will make any difference.

Yeah my youtube has been pushing the "protests" all weekend, seeing as I am in Germany and try and keep my youtube feed free from a lot of political subjects, I think that shows the effort being put into promoting the disturbances probably by state actors. It really is time to make SM responsible for platforming divisive lies.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:38 pm
martinhutch, zomg, MoreCashThanDash and 5 people reacted
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So, all leave will now be cancelled.

Does this just mean future leave for officers or those already away somewhere have to come back to work?

ie - if I've booked a holiday a year ago, once a lifetime sort of deal, do I then cancel that holiday & lose that money or is it a negotiable thing


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:39 pm
 Drac
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Careful if you’re thinking of removing it, there have been reports of stanley knife blades embedded underneath racist stickers.

Cheers but I removed it and the other one immediately. It was put outside a house where an Indian family lived for a few months, fortunately they won’t have seen it as they moved out recently.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:42 pm
submarined, martinhutch, submarined and 1 people reacted
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From the desk of Nigel Farage - more dog whistles than Crufts. What a **** he is.

I have been totally appalled by the levels of violence seen in the last couple of
days. The levels of intimidation and threat to life have no place in a functioning
democracy. That so many police officers have been injured trying to keep the
peace is shocking, and we should not discount the use of the army if the
situation were to deteriorate further.

In the short term, we will quell the riots, but deeper long-term problems
remain.

Ever since the soft policing of the Black Lives Matter protests, the impression
of two-tier policing has become widespread. The Prime Minister's faltering
attempts to address the current crisis have only added to that sense of
injustice.

The majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a
result of mass, uncontrolled immigration, whether legal or illegal. Yet to
attempt to debate this in the public arena leads to immediate howls of
condemnation. A population explosion without integration was always going to
end badly. I have said this for many years.

We must have a more honest debate about these vital issues and give people
the confidence that there are political solutions that are relevant to them. A
recall of Parliament would be an appropriate start to this.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:46 pm
mwg58, dukeduvet, AD and 5 people reacted
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Q: did BLM protests ever have any issues with widespread rioting in various cities around the country?

I genuinely cannot remember. My suspicion is no?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:54 pm
pondo, MoreCashThanDash, pondo and 1 people reacted
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Does this just mean future leave for officers or those already away somewhere have to come back to work?

No immediate future leave can be booked, all officers on rest days will be recalled to duty within working directive rules, many training courses will be cancelled. I don't know the rules for recalling officers actually on leave,  or stopping them  leaving for the airport tomorrow.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:56 pm
johnx2, PrinceJohn, johnx2 and 1 people reacted
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Q: did BLM protests ever have any issues

It's not important. As @PrinceJohn points out. It's just a dog whistle.

When Farage says things like

as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration, whether legal or illegal. Yet to
attempt to debate this in the public arena leads to immediate howls of
condemnation. A population explosion without integration was always going to
end badly. I have said this for many years.

What he means is "I want the black and brown people to all go away, I don't care how" . You can't have a sensible discussion with some-one who thinks like that.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 12:57 pm
hightensionline, PrinceJohn, kelvin and 3 people reacted
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The one in London looked much less violent than some of the others, but there were over 100 people arrested IIRC. While the ones in the north and Midlands have typically had single digit arrests each.

There will be many more arrests made. A lot of the trouble makers will already be known to the police.

Are you suggesting Starmer stands at his lectern and tells the country sorry there’s nowt he can do because of the tories? Whether he likes it or not it’s now his job to ensure public order and security, if he can’t do that he’s finished before he’s even started.

Of course he should just snap his fingers a another 10000 trained police officers will appear.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:02 pm
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It’s not important.”

Very much is important - context. Farage is undoubtedly dog whistling. But it’s much easier to refute his claim of 2 tier policing if you can prove it isn’t so..


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:10 pm
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A population explosion without integration was always going to

end badly. I have said this for many years.

Which is also an insult to the many people who have come to the UK from abroad and integrated remarkably well in the main.

But **** the semantics. That's not what Farage is about. He's a racist **** who has tapped into a long suppressed seam of racism and ignorance in the UK and is exploiting it for all it is worth. Bouncing Call Me Dave into a referendum was his big break and he hasn't looked back since his side won.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:18 pm
mrlebowski, AD, dyna-ti and 9 people reacted
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I bet there’s a fair bit of support for the underlying issues

Undoubtedly. And it is entirely reasonable and lawful for people to hold those views and to protest them in a lawful way. That's the 'downside' of a democracy, that those views get airtime, no matter how hateful I find them.

What we see happening currently is not lawful or legitimate - either the protesting of those that genuinely hold the grievances against the rise in immigration; setting fire to a hotel and attacking a mosque is not a legitimate protest. And the scum that have jumped on it to loot and rob, is just pure lawlessness, it's not even protest.

I don't know who I have less respect for.

And the ringleaders - the on the ground SM co-ordinators, or the big name SYL, Farage, Grimes, Fox, Tice, etc. No printable words for them.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:21 pm
fettlin, jameso, MoreCashThanDash and 3 people reacted
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What he means is “I want the black and brown people to all go away, I don’t care how” . You can’t have a sensible discussion with some-one who thinks like that.

No, but you can properly call it out for the dog whistle and lies that it is. Challenge him for evidence, show the facts that show he's wrong.

It won't change the views of many of his supporters, but at the moment his dangerous bollocks spouting is simply going unchallenged in the media and in politics.

His precious freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. Let's see comparisons for arrests, injuries and property damage between BLM, pro-Palestinian demos and these right wing idiots and their - let's be honest - any reason for a bit of action hangers on.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:22 pm
jameso, mrlebowski, jameso and 1 people reacted
 dazh
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Of course he should just snap his fingers a another 10000 trained police officers will appear.

Don't be daft, no one thinks that is the case. But as has been mentioned on this thread, there are large metropolitan areas such as London, Wales and Scotland where there is very little trouble which have significant police resources. If they're not being deployed then they should be. If they don't have any resources then other options need to be considered. Shrugging his shoulders and saying 'sorry we don't have enough police' is not an option for Starmer, I would have thought that was obvious?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:24 pm
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No, but you can properly call it out for the dog whistle and lies that it is. Challenge him for evidence, show the facts that show he’s wrong.

It won’t change the views of many of his supporters, but at the moment his dangerous bollocks spouting is simply going unchallenged in the media and in politics.

His precious freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences. Let’s see comparisons for arrests, injuries and property damage between BLM, pro-Palestinian demos and these right wing idiots and their – let’s be honest – any reason for a bit of action hangers on.

+1.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:26 pm
dazh and dazh reacted
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Q: did BLM protests ever have any issues with widespread rioting in various cities around the country?

From memory, only one BLM march turned nasty when police horses were galloped through them - I think the only other bother came from right wing counter-protests.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:27 pm
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But it’s much easier to refute his claim of 2 tier policing if you can prove it isn’t so..

and

No, but you can properly call it out for the dog whistle and lies that it is

Yep, you can if you want, but just as long as you're aware that it'll make no difference. Farage and the folks that support him, and the groups of interest he represents aren't interested in whether you think that their claims or grievances are legitimate, they don't care what you say do or think.  While you're busy with "Well, actually..." they're on to the next thing - Globalists or New World Order, or they just repeat the lie you've just refuted as if you didn't.

But worst of all, if you treat them as if they have actual real grievances that are worth you (a normal person living in the real world) paying attention to, then "Flooding the zone with shit" has worked. They need you to pay attention, they can't do what they do without you paying attention to them.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:30 pm
pondo, martinhutch, jameso and 3 people reacted
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Shrugging his shoulders and saying ‘sorry we don’t have enough police’ is not an option for Starmer, I would have thought that was obvious?

Ah, I hadn't realised that's what he has said. Anyway let's see if there's anything from this morning's Cobra meeting.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:33 pm
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Ignoring them won’t make them go away nickc. It just won’t. The cat is out of the bag I’m afraid. You ignore them & you’ll only reinforce their belief that they are being lied to by whatever group of choice is the flavour of the day.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:34 pm
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“the majority of our population can see the fracturing of our communities as a result of mass, uncontrolled immigration Tory policy and my own racist, nationalist BS”

The same old same old "no, no, don't look over here - look over there, there's your problem..". People still falling for it. Don't know what's worse, the Farages of the world or the fools who can't think who become their puppets.

Typical Farage move bringing BLM into this. What a POS.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:36 pm
mrlebowski, dukeduvet, AD and 5 people reacted
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Is it such a vote loser for a politician to come out and say it's not uncontrolled immigration, it's actually controlled via work and study visas? Is it election suicide to say we need these people to fill jobs that we don't have enough skilled workers for? Why doesn't someone point out the obvious that we stopped being allowed to let European people in for work with no issues, so we have to go further afield to bring people in?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:39 pm
bikesandboots, geeh, pondo and 5 people reacted
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Ignoring them won’t make them go away

Farage and the folks like him don't care whether you and I ignore him or argue with him. If you're not the audience, you can either be safely ignored, or used by him. those are the choices he'll make for you.

Again, I agree that Farage is dangerous, but he;  like Carlson, Trump, Bannon, Robinson, Alex Jones, Nick Fuentes even David Icke if you're sufficiently down the rabbit hole don't live in the reality you and I do, and if you start to argue with them, you've just moved into theirs.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:44 pm
jameso and jameso reacted
 dazh
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Ah, I hadn’t realised that’s what he has said

Obviously it's not what he's said, but some of the recent posts on this thread seem to be suggesting that's the case. Yes we all know the tories cut the number of police, but that's not an excuse for them failing to protect people from far right mobs.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:49 pm
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But worst of all, if you treat them as if they have actual real grievances that are worth you (a normal person living in the real world) paying attention to, then “Flooding the zone with shit” has worked. They need you to pay attention, they can’t do what they do without you paying attention to them.

100% this. Anyone with half a brain can see through it and no-one's going to convince otherwise the morons who don't. They're a minority and always will be. We shouldn't feed it all. What would I gain by arguing for the 'my' side on Twitter? Nothing, I just waste my time with their BS. It's probably like those oddballs who live online in 4chan or gaming communities that turn into weird RW cults, the only people who should be paying any attention to them are the FBI.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:50 pm
airvent, AD, AD and 1 people reacted
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The trouble is there does need to be a sensible debate about what is the right level of immigration into the Uk and who qualifies. There should also be a stronger deterrent to those who arrive illegally. The problem is that with the extremes of both sides just rioting, both sides did in mu home city over the weekend, then no debate will happen


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:50 pm
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When you’ve got priti patel coming out to criticise farage’s comparison to BLM protests, you know he’s really in another league.

Guardian article


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:52 pm
 kilo
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The trouble is there does need to be a sensible debate about what is the right level of immigration into the Uk

But we just had a sensible debate and a general election to decide this and loads of other issues.

How does one get invited to the serious debate - just keep doing dog whistles or is there more to it?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 1:57 pm
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Blimey this thread is depressing with recurring defeatism running through it. Suddenly the actions of a small handful of thugs who have been waiting a long time for an excuse to engage in mindless racist violence becomes somehow representative of the nation as a whole.

And just like Nigel Farage says "don't say I didn't warn you" they too say "don't say I didn't warn you", apparently it's all a reflection of just how racist the UK has become. Different sides using the same appalling events for their own agendas.

And to top it all the defeatists claim, completely falsely, that there is no point in challenging Farage because it won't change anything.

The 8 minute clip of Darren from Reading on this thread the other day really cheered me up and gave me hope, the stuff being posted now is just depressing soul destroying defeatism.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:05 pm
lesshaste, mrlebowski, MoreCashThanDash and 3 people reacted
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Obviously it’s not what he’s said, but some of the recent posts on this thread seem to be suggesting that’s the case. Yes we all know the tories cut the number of police, but that’s not an excuse for them failing to protect people from far right mobs.

Ah so it's police you're having a pop at not Starmer? Sorry, I misunderstood you.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:07 pm
tonyf1, timidwheeler, timidwheeler and 1 people reacted
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We had a sensible debate nationally, with a result at the polls last month; a section of society - whipped up by certain characters - refuses to accept the path the country is now on. They lost, so they've got to get over it, right?
Can't remember many riots and acts of thuggery in 2016 as a result of that collective decision. If knuckle-draggers don't get what they want, they'll kick & scream for it.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:08 pm
jameso, AD, AD and 1 people reacted
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Apparently wheelie bin woman told the court she only got involved when the pub shut? ?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:22 pm
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For clarity, both Starmer and Yvette Cooper have said that the police DO HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES

Interesting that there are large metropolitan areas with loads of spare police officers doing nothing @dazh

Can you inagine being a divisional commander in places that haven’t yet been mentioned, Cardiff, or Bradford, or Leicester, Oldham or Birmingham and thinking it would be a good idea to send all your officers to Stoke, Rotherham or Tamworth ? What happens to your division where you no longer have resources to protect the Islamic Institute, or the Mosque, and the locals start to feel really vulnerable? There’s every danger that you’ll find lads like you saw in Bolton mobilising and taking the fight out to them.  That this hasn’t happened (yet) just shows the value of meaningful community engagement

policing isn’t just about hitting folk over the head with a stick.

This raises another point I’ve been pondering.  So far we’ve seen smaller towns and cities with a visible minority of Muslims and migrants. In the grand scheme of things they’ve been pretty soft targets.  There have been no such attacks or “protests” in cities with a higher percentage of settled migrants.  Bolton is the only place where we saw Asian males counter-protesting.  I can’t imagine the carnage if the same were to happen in Manningham, or Dewsbury, or Leicester, or Ward End, or Small Heath


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:25 pm
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And to top it all the defeatist claim, completely falsely, that there is no point in challenging Farage because it won’t change anything.

It's not defeatism, it's caution about giving someone like Farage an uninterrupted platform at a crucial point.

As this thread shows, the 'Rivers of Blood' speech remains a powerful rallying call for the far-right, 70-odd years later. No-one remembers the consequences for Powell in terms of his sacking, or any of the doubtless fine speeches and editorials made in response.

The NF was defeated in the 1970s by a mass movement of social action by young, motivated antifascists and antiracists. Sadly this duty will probably fall to our younger generation again.

The groundswell of public support for Powell was immense following his speech - and it took significant political bravery to ram through the Race Relations Bill in the aftermath, bravery which would most likely not materialise these days.

The bright note when you compare the two is that public support for the racists appears to be much lower these days - still much higher than we'd like - but we are in a better place.

But, it is clear that Farage sees himself as a Powell-like figure, and is seeking the opportunity to deliver his own remix of the Rivers of Blood speech if Parliament is recalled. If he is allowed to do this, no-one will remember him being taken down eloquently by other politicians. They'll just remember what he said - and it will be used repeatedly to harm race relations further.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:33 pm
jameso, rockhopper70, Bazz and 3 people reacted
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Apparently wheelie bin woman told the court she only got involved when the pub shut? ?

In her very small world I imagine she probably views this a mitigation.

"But ah were pissed, like"...

Looking at what has been unearthed about her, this isn't her first violence/assault rodeo.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:33 pm
 dazh
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For clarity, both Starmer and Yvette Cooper have said that the police DO HAVE SUFFICIENT RESOURCES

Didn't look like it in Rotheram and Middlesbrough. Or are they acceptable 'losses' to protect more important places?


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:35 pm
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If you've been to either of those places, you'll know the answer.


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:40 pm
 dazh
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If you’ve been to either of those places, you’ll know the answer.

Wow!


 
Posted : 05/08/2024 2:51 pm
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