Are the people protesting in London mad?

[JKD1982]

I agree that what happened in the USA is appalling but why would anyone risk their own health and go against all the social distancing rules to protest in London? It won’t make a difference to what’s happened and could cause another crisis in London hospitals because people catch COVID.

AIBU thinking they are mad and there is a better way (from a laptop?) to express anger

Yes there are idiots on the beaches as I mentioned in my first post as well as the idiots out mass protesting

I couldn’t agree less with your characterisation off the protesters as ’idiots’

changeitupagain

The thing is this virus doesn't discriminate”

It does appear to, unfortunately. Many of the protestors are at increased risk simply because of their genetic make up.

This murder was beyond shocking, everyone ought to be angry whatever their ethnicity, but putting yourself (or older loved ones) at risk right now needs to be very carefully weighed up.

My first thought when I saw the pictures was concern for the health of the protestors and I’m very concerned that there will be a spike in those cities in a couple of weeks.

Of course adults have every right to make personal choices, but right now their actions have implications for everyone else.

Gandhi and MLK believed strongly in peaceful protest, rather than civil disobedience.

What’s the difference?

Rosa Parks not knowing her place and sitting at the front of the BOD’s was civil disobedience

(bus, not BOD’s)

Woah, No need for that!

I was making fundamentally the same point as you.

Truth is there’s never a good way to protest. Always a reason not to.

But in the long term something has to change.

Not all protest will be peaceful. The police are firing teargas into peaceful crowds and groups and turning the protests angry.

Also even before in the civil rights movement, masked men usually white would be bussed in to loot and agitate. I'm sure some of the looters are black as people are being opportunistic and stupid.

But no one reports on the fact that not only are lots of the looters white but they are organised and bussed in to take part by the organisations they affiliate with.

For black people and those marching with them of other colours and races, it is worth it. Simple as that. Covid 19 is a smaller risk than not marching and then yet another black person dies.

Covid 19 will be gone or vastly reduced at some point but will this systemic and institutional racism? 500 years later tells us no.

The people who refuse to see, to listen, to acknowledge and who condemn even peaceful process are part of the problem.

I live in the suburbs of a large city in the US south. Lockdown is over, here. People are back to work, restaurants and bars are open, people are out and about—albeit wearing masks. If we’re out and about for the economy to be back open, then people feel within their rights to also be out to protest. This is too important to not.

In London too, there were more people hanging out on the South Bank just chilling than people attending the protest.

Yes, people are truly mad. There was a interview on the news this morning, where the talk was about highlighting unfairness through protest. In the next breath it was mentioned how many more people of ethnic minorities die from corona! Just ditch the mass gatherings and protest, don't give corona the opportunity till through our communities!!

The coverage from Hyde Park with the packed in crowds terrifies me (due to the virus - I’m otherwise quite pro protest)

Just saw a news reporter had some man try to grab her and 'make stabbing motions'. There are thousands of people there - the Paris demos have turned nasty apparently.

I’m not sure how it was earlier but I’ve just watched central London live and it looks like there’s decent amount of space between people. People are wearing masks from what I could see. It certainly looks like more social distancing than on the beaches last weekend!

I saw some pics from marble arch and it looked pretty busy. But they over the weekend it was really busy. Im just worried that it might be leary later on

@Haenow

I’m not sure how it was earlier but I’ve just watched central London live and it looks like there’s decent amount of space between people. People are wearing masks from what I could see. It certainly looks like more social distancing than on the beaches last weekend!

I'm surprised at how worrying I find the pictures from Hyde Park, there are so many crowded together, much nearer than on a beach as people are standing up, I don't know what the ideal answer is but I do hope the protests don't lead to more BAME lives being lost.

We are nearby. There has been a helicopter zipping back and forth and there are a lot of sirens honking at the moment. May or may not be related.

YABU
systematic racism is a bigger issue than covid.
It also has killed more people.

*systemic (autocorrect)

I think people are being manipulated. The authorities want a reason to bring in more control over society. Hence the random piles of bricks that happened to be randomly in situ in some US cities.

It's puppetry. Ultimately people are having their strings pulled purposely.

@Tigersneeze that is true but not over the past 2 months and if COVID takes hold again, not in the next 2.

@Smile I thought it was released (in redacted form) on Tuesday. As far as I understand it the reactions related to evidence of systemic racism in the NHS and I assume were made because the government is nervous about making people very fucking angry right now.