Police charge peaceful students with horses

[Rannaldini]

Not on the news surprisingly

here after about a minute

[earthworm]

For those who can't be bothered watching, let me offer a summary :

Some police on horses trot forwards.

A woman cries for no apparent reason.

[PortlyBlackSantaUpTheChimney]

earthworm

I feel sorry for the horses...

[Takver]

My sympathies are very much with the students, but it must be said that the Met always charge protesters with horses, it's what they do (that & kettle 'em).

Twas why I didn't believe it when I read a report in the paper somewhere that they were planning to get rid of the horses on cost grounds.

[RamblingRosa]

I was just talking to someone who was there who said it was absolutely terrifying.

[Takver]

Its true, earthworm - these things are very different at ground level from seeing it on video, especially as the kids won't have had any idea what was going to happen next.

[Rannaldini]

earthworm
not exactly necessary and v frightening to be trotted into when you are stationary ffs

[earthworm]

Only terrifying if you are a cowardy custard, otherwise par for the course for a protest I would've thought.

I'm sure protestors used to be a bit sturdier.

[scurryfunge]

Agree with earthworm.

Basic police tactic -lot of hysteria about this for no good reason.

[MitchyInge]

It's hardly a dr zhivago style trampling of the proles is it

[Takver]

TBH, I would say that so far it looks like it's all been very much par for the course, though scary for young people who've had very little experience of 'police tactics'.

But looking at this article it does look like the police are laying the ground for coming down much more heavily.

[Takver]

I would imagine that many of them were students who felt that they had played by the rules - found a political party who they supported, voted for them, and seen them get a significant role in government. And who then saw said party saying 'ah, we didn't really mean it'.

[PortlyBlackSantaUpTheChimney]

Ah you've got to love predictive texting....DMum sent me a text earlier from her smartphone which said "Dying your hair. do you want me to come Monday or tsunami?"

I assume she means Tuesday

[granted]

For more dtails on same story, it's the Guardian's leading story:

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/26/student-protests-police-under-fire

Absolutely disgraceful and entirely unnecessary.

[thereiver]

should have rode over the scum

[Takver]

thereiver - do you have teenage children? Do you really think that all the schoolchildren and students who went out to march are scum?

Even if you think they are wrong & misguided, that seems to me a really horrible way to describe them.

[pinkstarlight]

i found it shocking it was reported on the day in the news that not only was there students but many secondary school children.

[Kaloki]

"I'm sure protestors used to be a bit sturdier."

They also used to not be school children

[newwave]

"I'm sure protestors used to be a bit sturdier."

Maybe, maybe not but I suspect they will come better prepared to defend themselves next time or at least I hope so.

[MrsVidic]

there are always many people protesting peacefully, within the law and non violently.

However, there are also some protesters who cover themselves in their own feasus (know to have very contageous diseases), stuff their pockets with contamenated hyperdermic needles and try to kick the shit out of many hard working police officers who are just trying to do a hard job.

I am not saying the tactics used were appropriate or right but please dont assume that public order policing is easy. You think the only people terrified are the protestors?

Did you not see that lad throw the fire extinguisher off a building trying to kill the police?

Every time a member of the public raises a complaint their is an investigation (rightly)_ regardless how vindictive (or not) that accusation is, which can destroy careers.

I think that just as the police should view protesters as individuals perhaps we should start to view the police as people too and not just another thing to complain about.

[kate1956]

The problem is that there's double standards though isn't there - I mean police officer kills a man (Ian Tomlinson although there have been many others) and nothing happens - idiot throws fire extinguisher that doesn't actually hit anyone, and press and others start screaming about violence - what's that all about then? It's blatent hypocrisy!

[earthworm]

The police officer who pushed Ian Tomlinson to the ground is facing a gross misconduct investigation, so until the outcome of that is known it is probably too early to be talking about double standards.

There is a difference between pushing a man to the ground (with unforseen but terrible consequences) and throwing a fire extinguisher from the roof of a building onto people standing below.