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

@ChilliCheese123 please stay away from your friends kids if you're identifying as an "anti dementor"

@ToffeeYoghurt very well said

It's far too soon to confidently state London's clear of Covid. Certainly today's mass gathering won't have helped. It takes time for infection to spread widely. We'll see in one month's time.

London has daily flights arriving from highly infected countries like Sweden. Passengers heading off unchecked and unquarantined onto the busy tube and buses. And Commuters (and protestors) coming in from the rest of the UK.

he lives in a block of flats in Brixton because you know life's expensive in London.
Very expensive area nowadays. Talking of protests, Brixton was the focus a couple of years ago for anti gentrification protests.

Even if he lived in a mansion does it make it ok for him to get stopped by police when going to a McDonalds driv thru at night or going for a jog early evening?
How does putting lots of black Londoners at increased risk from Covid help?

Why not protest somewhere else? Somewhere less vulnerable.

Black lives do matter...however so does everyone elses . We are allowed to go to the beach and observe social distancing.

@schoolsoutforcovid what are you on about ? I’ve not been any where near them, they’re shielding, although I’ve sent treats etc

The anti dementor threads were to take the mick out of some of the early absolutely ridiculous posts on mumsnet about people screaming at jogger, hiding in bushes and calling the police because a neighbour got two amazon deliveries in one day. They were pretty hilarious. Not been on them in weeks through don’t even know where they are on the site now.

However doing a big demonstration like this is foolish in the UK...

He was born & raised in Brixton, so what?

Where & how should he protest?

Both Waterloo and Charing Cross (the two neatest stations) were complete ghost towns for the entire afternoon. I have photos of them, not a single other person. London Bridge was also empty the two times I passed through it.
You were there all day?? From dawn until last train?

"Both Waterloo and Charing Cross (the two neatest stations) were complete ghost towns for the entire afternoon. I have photos of them, not a single other person."

You were the only person there? And stayed at both all afternoon? They each had several thousand people pass through them, as they do every day

White people protest for their right to a hair cut in a pandemic = “very good people”

Black people protest for their right not to die in the streets at the hands of the police = “thugs”

That’s what the president of the USA said, then he threatened to shoot.
And now he wants to turn anti fascism into terrorism.

It’s terrible bloody timing, damn right.
It’s a huge risk (I’m shielding, I’ve an idea about personal risk). But you know what no one has listened to black people, no one has done anything worthwhile maybe this time it will work? I haven’t seen this level of outrage at people targeting us in my entire life.

Yes the virus terrifies me but the never ending, widespread disregard for the lives of black people scares me all the more.

Yes it does seem idiotic...Lets protest about the death of someone by gathering together potentially causing the deaths of others.

So right on!

"Black lives do matter...however so does everyone elses . We are allowed to go to the beach and observe social distancing"

What has going to the beach got to do with it? You're in the UK for a start. Please avoid the beach

@frazzledfatty I certainly agree racism and subsequent acts of violence and everything that goes along with it have killed more people than covid. But I suppose what I’m trying to say is that on here and (moreso) on social media there’s either subtle or overt posts from people basically saying if you don’t join in the protest you’re part of the problem. I’m disagreeing with that and saying that if you CAN’T because of your health or disability, or your child or partner’s, because the risk is too great, then that’s O-K. I’ve got a young girl on my Instagram from an old workplace who has recently had heart surgery and was very ill. She’s completely tying herself in knots trying to justify why she didn’t attend a protest today.

Black people protest for their right not to die in the streets at the hands of the police = “thugs”

Yep & don't forgot they are the ones going to cause the second wave not the international travellers & obviously everyone on the beaches, parks & shopping this weekend have been observing social distancing at all times 🙄

It won’t make a difference to what’s happened

No but shows we are angry about how this world sees people of colour, it’s a global issue not just an American one.

Lots of bored white people looking for something to do

Supporting our friends and family doesn’t mean we’re bored. It means we’re doing something.

You all have rights due to protests - the suffragettes, so it’s time to support others.

The tubes are not “busy.” Even during what used to be rush hour Mon-Fri they are still mostly empty. Buses are more full, but mainly local buses.

I sat in Waterloo Station for over an hour after the protest ended (at the exact time you’d expect to see protestors starting to make their way home) and perhaps five people entered the station in that entire time period. I also chatted with station staff who told me it’d been a ghost town all day.

Before lockdown I used to attend protests regularly. I know what is normal for London on protest day, and am very familiar with seeing crowds of people with protest signs pouring out of trains from other parts of the country.

What I witness today was a stark change.

I don’t know why posters are so invested in pushing the “today’s protestors weren’t from London” agenda but there is absolutely ZERO basis to make that claim.

@frazzledfatty

He was born & raised in Brixton, so what?

Where & how should he protest?

How does increasing the risks of catching Covid help? He wants to protest against racism by putting the lives of many black people at risk?

"I sat in Waterloo Station for over an hour after the protest ended"

Why did you do that if it wasn't busy and the protest had ended?

@ChilliCheese123 I don't agree with that point at all as everyone has to weigh up their own risk. Some people are more vulnerable & shouldn't be judged for protecting themselves.

I just find it ridiculous that some posters can't understand that racism is far more of a threat to some people's lives than Covid is.

[quote ChilliCheese123]@amusedtodeath1 I think it’s a good thing too. But the phrase ‘putting Coronavirus aside’ doesn’t make any sense. You can’t just pretend it doesn’t exist ?[/quote]
I get that, in the next sentence I said I hope they were careful regarding Covid though. There's no point taking unnecessary risks, but I find it hard to condemn anyone for what is such an important issue. Far more important than a family BBQ, that so many are planning right now.

They are good people.

@ToffeeYoghurt you didn't answer my question as to how you deem it ok for him to protest?
Plus I've not said the manner or protest he's been involved in. Why are you assuming he hasn't used caution or social distancing? You're not extrapolating what you've seen on the media to all black people are you?

He wants to protest against racism by putting the lives of many black people at risk?

Wow

This pandemic will one day reach its end but there isn’t an end point where people facing systemic racism and violence will be safe. Protest organisers have been stressing the need for masks and keeping your distance from others. The general consensus now seems to be that most people have been breaking lockdown guidance to see family and friends (before it was allowed) and this seems to have been widely encouraged across threads, but if the whole country is doing that, surely that’s just as dangerous?