"Hundreds defy ban to attend Clapham vigil"

Contrast

If it had been a women only event this would not have happened. Men kept to the edges with police at the back but they really did not need to be there. The terf posters and ACAB signs were provocative and nothing to do with why women were there and should have been removed. But the contract between how women are treated and men is significant.

There weren’t lots of ‘fighty men’ there

The vast vast majority of men there were with a woman

^This.

The vast majority were women and girls, some male partners were with women as allies.

The spin that the poor met police had to respond to a violent group of #WHOEVER just isn't true.

I've never in my life been on a march or rally that didn't attract some of the fruitcake fringe (and I was on the 70s march to reclaim the streets as a young teen). That has never justified disproportionate response from the police or the rubbishing of the event.

It was peaceful until the heavy handed policing started and became peaceful later on as people drifted away.

I suggest anyone who cares about the right to protest follow the bill going to the Commons on Monday. It effectively removes the right to democratic protest and has no end date.

It is so unsavoury that they have hijacked this awful event and made it about them.

Hardly surprising though. They're keen to hang on to any gains they have made in removing women's rights and safeguards. They're not going to back down now, especially if there's a risk of them losing ground, particularly as Sarah's murder has made people actually listen about male violence towards women for once. They don't care about Sarah. They don't care about any women. They just care about men's rights. And they'll stoop as low as they need to so they can advance their cause.

There are groups who will rock up to any peaceful protest in order to either hijack it for their own cause or to make trouble.
They will even do this when it's a vigil, if it is high profile enough for them.

Every march, every demonstration, will attract these people BUT they will normally be such a tiny minority that they aren't even noticed among the majority of peaceful, respectful protestors.

However, when you ban demonstrations and protests, who do you think is most likely to stay away? When the police go in heavy handed, who is most likely to leave quietly? Not the people who relish a confrontation, not the ones shouting "acab".
Which skews the crowd and the shouty-shovy lot are less diluted.

I believe Sisters For Justice have another planned event at 4pm today.

It is so unsavoury that they have hijacked this awful event and made it about them.

Last week there was violence from TRAs in Paris, I'm not sure that that is a coincidence, this has provided an opportunity.

So the event was highjacked by radical groups and Sarah's family, in anticipation if this, didn't want it to do ahead

I mentioned this, but it was just supposition - we don't know that.

I do think it likely that current surge testing for the South African variant in SW11 entered into their calculations.

The vast vast majority of men there were with a woman

The police may have done some public flower head band wearing dancing with XR by day but they were also brutal and heavy handed with XR protestors -particularly PoC - by night.

I don't believe most of the fighty men were there because they give a fuck about Sarah Everard or violence against women.

So the event was highjacked by radical groups and Sarah's family, in anticipation if this, didn't want it to do ahead?

Makes sense now, but still there was no no need for the police to be so heavy handed.

Sisters uncut definitely don't speak for me

www.womenarehuman.com/male-trans-advocates-turn-up-to-protest-at-womens-protest-against-rape-culture/

That video that you linked to... immediately after the but shown in the video, everyone was chanting ‘who’s streets, our streets’ which carried on for a while. Then ‘curfew for men’

It wasn’t some rabid anti police protest

I wonder why Sisters Uncut only shared that bit then? What might their agenda be.

the banners were there from the start (and all related to ending male violence against women)
Well that’s clearly not true from images widely shared of “ACAB” (all cops are bastards) banners and the group on the bandstand holding a banner stating “NO KILLERS NO COPS” with drawing of pigs on it. I don’t believe for a moment that the anti-police disruptors were the majority of people present yesterday but it seems odd to deny their well documented presence hijacking the event.

It wasn’t some rabid anti police protest

From what I saw, the ACAB chanting started after the police moved in. Which does make a difference IMO.

The mood only changed when the police presence suddenly increased

All the police who had previously been standing quietly on the paths leading from the roads to the bandstand walked in, pushing the crowd in as they did so, and then surged forward onto the cobbles around the bandstand.

When they outnumbered the women in the bandstand by several times, their intentions became very clear to everyone

Their ingrained racism and misogyny had got to be dealt with as a force if there's ever going to be any hope for change. You're going to attract the wrong people into the force if they see their sick attitudes are condoned and put off decent people.

There was little police involvement when it was a vigil, as intended. The mood quickly changed as it got later, and the chanting, banners weren't anything to do with SE, the police stepped in at that point.

Also, in the past the Met police saved my life when I was a victim of male violence

The police helped me on several occasions too. Let's not make this about the police as a force, it's disgusting