Man-handling climate change protestors

[Leafyhouse]

Anyone else watch with horror as a climate change protestor was forcefully removed by Mark Field from the Mansion House speech? I mean, I'm no fan of political activism, 'direct action' and so on, but she wasn't presenting him with any direct threat, just shouting and being annoying. AIBU to think that his behaviour was totally unacceptable there?

Hammond carried on and made his speech without running and hiding

I thought he displayed admirable sang froid, actually. He actually went up a couple of notches in my estimation.

But how does someone know what a persons intent is until they do it? What if on your deathbed after getting knifed in the chest you say oh well I thought she was going to hand out some leaflets?

Indeed. Next time I pass someone handing out election leaflets for the Tories I'll just grab them by the neck and push them against a pillar. Given their track record, how can I know they haven't got a knife in their pocket just waiting to stab someone who might once have voted Labour?

she had intent to not be 'nice'

The day not being "nice" becomes a criminal matter, they'd better build one hell of a lot of prisons! I'll be inside so often, they'll have to have a revolving door put in for me.

She intruded on a private event and got what she deserved.

got what she deserved

Wow. You’re an asshole.

@FlippingTheLid Wow, there's a phrase I haven't heard for a long time.

But then I tend not to hang out with victim blamers.

I personally think he could well be guilty of some of the accusations people are making and him not truly believing she was a killer and being aggressive.

But the double standards are ridiculous and it’s basically been boiled down to Labour supporters / MPs railing against the nasty conservative MP but then have opposite opinion the other way around saying the female Labour MP was lucky to survive the nasty attack from the far right.

Jo Cox did get murdered by right wing Britain First man. Labour MP Stephen Timms almost got murdered by a little ditty harmless small Muslim lady protesting about the Iraq war. No doubt people would criticise any prior intervention questioning why would someone be worried about a harmless young lady and that the bodyguard was a racist or an Islamaphobe.

Not defending the bloke. But people are using this as political capital rather than giving an unbiased view. I’m neither a Tory boy or Labour supporter but can see faux moral outrage when I see it

IcedPurple the point being made is she was not hanging around in the street handing out leaflets but was in a private event closed to the public. I know it sounds like I’m this mans fanboy but really am not but it’s disingenuous to conflate protesting where you have a right to do it and where you don’t.

Next time a bunch of super religious pro lifers raid a conference for a feminist conference on abortion rights I hope you’re cool about it

"It's been a massive PR disaster for him, because the UK is soft as shite on crime." And yet...zero awarwness of the irony, hypocrisy and contradiction in this short statement! I despair!

And it's bloody offensive to align peaceful protestors with muggers and terrorists!!

Exactly what kind of country do you think is the kind to disallow peaceful protest? Certainly NOT a transparent and open democracy!

True freedom, liberty comes from the allowing people to say things that others even the majority disagree with.

We lose that at our peril!

"The circumstances would have been the same except for a weapon...." That's a crucial difference and extreme whataboutery! She posed no threat, was completely unarmed, didn't even fight back when assaulted.

Seriously we stifle peaceful protest and we will most definitely be in the police state we are slowly, blindly walking into.

"You either start from a stance of "Law and Order", or start from a stance of "Anarchism is OK". Personally I prefer law and order." Nonsense! There's a middle ground. Besides which peaceful protest is legal (for now)

And I notice those defending this BULLY studiously avoiding responding to the multiple examples of when MP's were confronted by MALE protestors who weren't touched by anyone!

"in law she is guilty no matter how you try to dress it up." Of what exactly? Please DO TELL?!

"Trespass.
Disturbing the peace.
The is another one about political events.. but not sure of the wording..." Trespass is a civil offence and we have no evidence that she was trespassing given she'd have gone through security and it's a public building, disturbing the peace - you're seriously reaching there! If what she did counts as disturbing the peace in your eyes you'd last about 2 mins round here on a fri night at letting out time!!

"Thank God you weren't around at the time of the Suffragettes. We'd never have got the vote." Hear hear!!

"If she had never moved from the main body of the group she would not have been in this position...." Ahhh 'wimmin & lower classes - know your place!' That what you teach your kids?

"They only do it here because the UK has no backbone." Even trump has been heckled and confronted by protestors.

They (protestors) CAN do it here because we have (currently) protect their freedom to do so. That's far more courageous than the likes of north Korea and China where dissent can and does lead to death, because the leaders there don't have the guts to allow people to even speak against them. If you really think that other countries who stifle protest are better places to live, by all means feel free to live in one of them!

"Lol...well, i now know according to views on here I can turn up at a private event march around the room shouting and no one can touch me as it will be an assult...." And why shouldn't you be able to?

"What you can't do is what Mark Field did" exactly!

"I watched with incredulity that a gang of at least 20 protesters were able to walk in and disrupt a high profile event, walk out again, with no action whatsoever being taken against them, and no apparent action taken to either stop them coming in, or stop them leaving" that would be because THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO PROTEST! we still (currently) live in a democracy (or at least the pretence of one though clearly that pretence is rapidly disappearing)

Mbosnz fucking hell! And this is what it's come to our country being run by known and open women beaters and with the fucking police covering it up!!!

seriously WHAT THE FUCK is happening to our country?!!

You know what at this point I want to scream

JOURNALISTS! WAKE THE FUCK UP! get these stories fully investigated, don't be fobbed off by politicians or your bosses that are finding their political campaigns DO YOUR JOB!!!

To quote George Orwell (who would be astounded how bad things have become despite his foresight)

Journalism is printing what someone else does not want published; everything else is public relations.

IcedPurple the point being made is she was not hanging around in the street handing out leaflets but was in a private event closed to the public.

And my point is that there was no reasonable cause to believe she posed a threat. I and others have explained why mulitple times so I'm not going to repeat. Which is why all the increasingly absurd '"What ifs..." on this thread make little sense.

Next time a bunch of super religious pro lifers raid a conference for a feminist conference on abortion rights I hope you’re cool about it

Speaking of increasingly absurd "What ifs...."!

But since you want to indulge in hypothetical scenarios, while I dout the attendees at said hypothetical conference would be 'cool' about said hypothetical 'raid' (?) I also highly doubt that random hypothetical attendees would take it upon themselves to eject non violent hypothetical 'raiders' using disproportionate force.

If they did, I would certainly not be 'cool' with it.

I know it sounds like I’m this mans fanboy

You're a boy?

Some people here probably think Julie Bindel should have been allowed to get battered by that TRA in Edinburgh and that security shouldn’t have stopped her/him. They might have just wanted to give her a leaflet

If anti-abortionist or TRAs invade a feminist meetings, it would be very unwise for a feminist to (wo)man-handle any of them

Wait for the professionals - except as we can*t afford security, we'd just leave

An MP can probably get away without charges
I doubt if a feminist would

Mark Field told her:

"This is what happens when people like you disturb our dinner."

Not the kind of remark you make to a suspected terrorist

But how does someone know what a persons intent is until they do it? What if on your deathbed after getting knifed in the chest you say oh well I thought she was going to hand out some leaflets?

Fortunately that's not the criterion used by the law. Otherwise we could all go out and assault any random passer by and claim that we thought they had the intent to attack someone.

@Leafyhouse
Or even the intent to not be 'nice', as a previous poster put it. Crime of the century.

Fucking hell saying fanboy doesn’t mean I’m saying I’m a boy. It’s a colloquial term but you’re probably being deliberately obtuse rather than lacking intelligence. Anyway I know there’s no point in arguing/debating/challenging you now as you’ve made your mind up completely and are now resorting to portraying any phrase out of context willingly in order to gain support but most sensible people will think that approach is pathetic rather than just argue your point

Hope they offer equal support Tommy Robinson and his followers storming into a Mosque. It’s their right after all

Yup, if they storm into a mosque I expect any action taken to eject them to be lawful. I'm applying precisely the same standards.

Fucking hell saying fanboy doesn’t mean I’m saying I’m a boy. It’s a colloquial term but you’re probably being deliberately obtuse rather than lacking intelligence.

"Fangirl" is also a colloquial term, one usually used by and for females.

most sensible people will think that approach is pathetic rather than just argue your point

I woudln't dare to speak for 'most sensible people' but I've been arguing my point here all day. Without the need to resort to bizarre hypotheticals.

I’m not defending the bloke. He seems a nasty shit. I just can’t bear the double standards and politicking. There’s a shit loads of really nasty violent people on the far left and they get a free pass from the Guardian. They have no problem with people waving baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire saying ‘Kill all Terfs’ for example then suddenly proclaim themselves feminists because of this horrible Tory MP. Whilst it looks bad she was laughing whilst she was pushing her out. It’s a great result for her and the negative press coverage it’s genratsd

There’s a shit loads of really nasty violent people on the far left and they get a free pass from the Guardian.

Huh? Who gives a shit about The Guardian? This is Mumsnet! It's hilarious how people reveal their real motives on this thread!

Whilst it looks bad she was laughing whilst she was pushing her out

What the hell? She certainly was not laughing. But you've abandoned all pretence now.

It’s a great result for her and the negative press coverage it’s genratsd

You can thank Mark Field for that.

Jo Cox did get murdered by right wing Britain First man. Labour MP Stephen Timms almost got murdered by a little ditty harmless small Muslim lady protesting about the Iraq war. No doubt people would criticise any prior intervention questioning why would someone be worried about a harmless young lady and that the bodyguard was a racist or an Islamaphobe.

That just isn't an argument that works. Jo Cox was murdered by a man with a hunting rifle and a knife. Timms was attacked by a woman carrying a knife. No-one would criticise any prior intervention, not least because it would be provable that a potential offence had been averted.

This protester wasn't carrying any weapons and couldn't have been, having gone through security screening and having nowhere where she could hide one. More importantly, obviously none of the other 400-odd people thought she was carrying a weapon, otherwise they wouldn't have been sitting at their tables watching her. Field can't claim to have reasonable grounds to believe she was dangerous when no other witness thought that to be the case, and when he let her go once she was outside.

In the words of Chesney Hawkes I’m a man and not a boy but of course I’m lying and actually a 6 year old

I see the point about security screening but wouldn’t entirely rely on it. Much of the criticism is fair but the agenda isn’t. Facts are protesting publicly isn’t the same as breaking in / through deception at a private event. He was overzealous (in retrospect) but she shouldn’t have been there.

We’d be having a different discussion if she stabbed someone or launched acid in someone’s face but because it didn’t happen then everyone seems to be making them hero’s.

I think they shouldn’t have been there. Would feel the same regardless of politics. I’m consistent but the coverage isn’t

DuMondeB

You think I give a fuck what you think?

We’d be having a different discussion if she stabbed someone or launched acid in someone’s face but because it didn’t happen then everyone seems to be making them hero’s.

Yes if something entirely different had happened we'd be having an entirely different discussion. But because that did not in fact happen we are not in fact having that discussion.

Some posters here have a future in stand-up.