AIBU to ask what you think about the protests?

[Raspberryberret]

Genuinely interested in opinions. For those who are vehemently against schools re-opening because of the risk of coronavirus, what is your view on the BLM protests and the risks of infection across the country due to these mass gatherings?

I understand the meaning behind them I really do. At the same time the protests worry me and annoy me because of this pandemic we’re going through.
Some people who are protesting are being unnecessarily violent and I start to think that some people who are there aren’t even bothered about the meaning behind the protests and just using it as an excuse to be a dick.

This has played on my mind a lot this weekend.

I truely believe in the right to protest. I don't agree with the violence. I get the anger. But think you lose the message that way.

However I've been heart in mouth at the crowds. I can see a huge wave in London, Bristol and Manchester. Especially because SW and NW already have a high R.

But I'm also saddened by the fact it appears that the BAME community are also most likely to suffer with severe COVID. So they can't really win either way and I would imagine only adds to their feelings of oppression.

I am very pro schools opening, and whilst I wouldn't attend a protest at this time I fully support the rights and desire of others to.

To those citing violence, please be aware that 27 people were arrested in London after yesterday's protest.

The news and papers would have you believe it was a mass riot, but as per it really was just the minority ruining it for the masses.

Can't get my head around mass gatherings, but know the cause is so much greater and cuts so much deeper than the pandemic. If most people protesting feel that the risk of CV19 is a risk they have to bare to make their voices heard, then we must listen.

So many people are condemning the protestors and blaming them for any future second wave, but in the past month we have had VE Day parties and Conga lines and mass gatherings on beaches with little comment.

But sure, the protestors are 'abhorrent'

I feel like a lot of people had reached the limits of how long they were willing to stay home and feel powerless about what is happening around them. By the time the government relaxed restrictions even a little, people felt confident that they had been at home long enough to not infect each other and to start going out for recreation.

Then George Floyd captured people's attention and added passion and righteous indignation to that feeling of wanting to regain control. And of course people were going to go out and protest.

I think that people will increasingly refuse to distance now and return to normal, regardless of numbers, etc.

And yes the government have allowed this to play out, as now any second wave will not be down to them.

I support the message and I would support a socially distanced protest. But there has been no social distancing...which means these protests have acted as an ideal opportunity for the virus to spread

I just drove by a protest in our town. People just sitting there - shoulder to shoulder. Some had masks on, some not.

I couldn't hear if there was a speaker. I was really focused on watching the pedestrians that were too busy taking pictures to use the crosswalk.

I'm donating money to the NAACP or some other supportive organization.

I totally disagree with the protests. I was talking about it today to a friend of mine who is black and works in health. Her view is that given the pandemic plus the increased risk the BAME community appear to have with the virus, these gatherings are insane. The attitudes of some of the protesters is disgusting too- throwing bikes at a police horse for example, resulting in serious injuries to the rider.

Pro schools opening safely.
Anti mass gatherings - be they beach days, parties or protests.

Utter madness.

I'm not sure where people were to miss all of the comments about people on the beaches and people predicting the apocalypse because of people sitting in their gardens for VE day. There was an irrational level of rage and anger on here towards those.

It's such a shame that a small number have turned it into this:

twitter.com/mattuthompson/status/1269726006593683461

The footage of someone on the cenotaph is grim, why the police didn't get him down sooner just shows how little control they have. Overall though some scenes from around the country give hope.

YABU to compare these 2 things which have no bearing on each other.

I am very much in favour of the protests fwiw. I am against people flocking to beaches and sporting events. But again, those things are not comparable to the importance of protesting against racism and oppression. And actually, given the absolute mess the government have made of lockdown feels like the whole thing was a waste of time anyway and we all might as well go back to exactly what we were doing before.

I'm completely conflicted.

I feel protest is a democratic right and it is essential we uphold that right. I agree with the reasons people are protesting and can understand that leaving it for a few weeks might mean the momentum is lost and we need to seize the opportunity to send a powerful message whilst that momentum is there.

However we are in the middle of a pandemic and I worry an increase in covid cases and deaths will result in a backlash which will overshadow the important reasons for protesting.

It feels like a bit of a mess and I can neither condemn nor applaud the protesters.

I was at a protest today, big one, major city, good few thousand people.

I don't think I saw anyone not in a mask, they were being handed out for free as well as hand sanatiser. People stayed within their own groups and generally maintained 2m.

From where I was it was clear there was spacing between people but photos (ones I have taken too) make it seem less clear. Even police agreed good social distancing was maintained.

I think it was important to go and I am pleased there was a good turn out. Like a previous poster said this wasn't protesting about something insignificant like opening pubs. It's about people's lives.

So many are focusing on the tiny minority of protesters who did something wrong/vandalised etc rather than the thousands up and down the country that had peaceful protests.

Yes it's a shame things have been damaged but it's a travesty that the uk are sending rubber bullets and tear gas to the USA. It's a shame some of the protest got out of hand but it's a disgrace that people are losing their lives and racism is still rife. I think people are focusing on the wrong thing. Yes there is a pandemic going on and any spikes will be blamed on these protests where people were responsible rather than the thousands without face masks flocking to the beaches or queuing outside B&Q or ikea as that better fits.

I'm horrified be some of the racist things I've read surrounding these protests on social media lots of racist undercurrents.

@Millysaurus

I would apply the same criticism to anyone who is not socially distancing. The majority of people on beaches are keeping 2 metres apart- I'd have no issues or the protesters did the same, but they are shoulder to shoulder.

The current infection rate in community is 0.1% or 1person in 1000 so 999 people in 1000 are not covid positive and therefore can't spread it to anyone. If we assume half of infected people have symptoms and stay at home and half are asymptomatic and go out and about, then 1 in 2000 will be asymptomatic but covid positive
so at a protest of 10,000 there will be on average 5 people with Covid, as the protests are outside with most wearing masks and most attempting social distancing the chances of picking it up are small, as most people at protests are younger even if they get covid their chances of being seriously ill are less than 10%, so this is now like a 1in 20,000 chance of being seriously ill and the chances of a younger person dying are even less than that. I reckon that most protestors think that this tiny risk is far outweighed by the gravity of the protest, they are not breaking the rules to visit a boyfriend to get drunk or get a new t shirt they are protesting about something that is long term far more dangerous than covid. It may not be your decision about risk but it's a valid decision about risk just like sending your kids back to school is a valid decision even if you chose not to. Life is never completely safe not even for kids, approximately 6 young people / children between 1-20 die in the UK everyday the biggest cause being accidents, we take precautions seat belts car seats etc but there is absolutely no 100% guarantee that every kid that gets in a car today will return home safely but we consider it a tiny tiny risk worth taking. The protestors consider it a risk worth taking

I support the protests.

And you know what else breaks my heart - the sheer cost of this weekend’s damage. Councils will have to clear it all up, using money they don’t have. With the recession we’ll face when all this dies down, there won’t be a library or surestart centre left in the country. And the cost of policing too, at a time when their resources will be cut to the bone too.

I walked to a protest today in my town. We were spaced out and all had masks and lots of sea air. We really only walked close(ish) to 2 other families the whole way. It lasted an hour, then we walked down a side street and came straight home. I’m very glad I went and am extremely proud of the peaceful turn out today here. Enough is enough.

I am concerned for any rise in cases however beaches have been packed in recent weeks. This was so much more important than a sunny day out.

I think plenty of people condenmned the mass gatherings on beaches, and ve day idiocy. Protests during a pandemic are totally irresponsible. I feel for the NHS workers, it seems all the appreciative clapping counts for nothing, while more innocent lives will face the suffering that this virus can bring. I am angry that people can be so stupid.

Minty people are fighting for their lives. They don’t care about the bloody libraries!

I'm disgusted that people are doing this. They are risking all the work over the last few months. All of those NHS workers who have died to save us, and they're just throwing it all away.

Everyone should have the right to protest, but they're showing absolutely no regard to social distancing or PPE at all.

So many are focusing on the tiny minority of protesters who did something wrong/vandalised etc rather than the thousands up and down the country that had peaceful protests.*

Unfortunately that is (wrongly) what happens, and it's not even just the media. It's people uploading videos of themselves throwing bottles and fireworks at police, which is aborhent and a big FU to those thousands upon thousands who have engaged powerfully but peacefully. The tiny tiny monitory are going to cause bigger divisions and drown out the positives.

@Crunchymum And how many more would have been arrested if the police had the resources to do so? Not getting arrested is a pretty low standard to measure behaviour against.

It’s also interesting to me that we as a nation are up in arms about teachers going back to their work place (if they hadn’t worked through the lockdown), yet who cares about the police?!