The vigil for Sarah Everard should be allowed to go ahead, just as the BLM protests were.

[Damnrightwrong]

I'm frankly appalled that the police are opposing the vigil, it wasn't so long ago that people were flocking to central London in their thousands to protest on behalf of black lives matter.

Black lives do matter, and women's lives do too.

AIBU

@110APiccadilly YY Many of us were sounding warnings over the last year where this erosion of civil liberties was going to end up. But we got ignored didnt we as well as called names.

Well to those who we tried to tell WE TOLD YOU SO!

@AdHominemNonSequitur

I think its bonkers that the BLM protests were allowed, I don't think they could stop them though, they could hardly use force, it would have been a political disaster. That is the case now as well but two wrongs don't make a right. It was wrong then for the people to march during covid, it is wrong now to contemplate a mass gathering.

People who otherwise wouldn't die, will die. Not a great legacy for Sarah.

Covid is still a real issue. In full lock down we are just about achieving an R number of 0.7. That means for every 10 people with covid, they pass it on to 7 other people (because of vaccination and immunity yes, but also because of isolation). That will not be the case in a crowd.

This

Rubbish, the BLM protests started because a man was killed in AMERICA. This is a woman in our own country for god sake, it’s not remotely unreasonable to compare the two.

BLM is happening because of many more layers of oppression than just the one killing in the USA.

Violence against women, again, layers and layers of oppression.

It does no good to compete.
Work needs to be done to help people to see the layers of oppression all around us, not bicker like kids over who is ‘allowed’ to do stuff.
I don't recall BLM protests being given any kind of seal of approval by the met. They were managed.

Comparing to BLM is a distraction and if you can’t see this, you need to open your eyes to the tools oppressors use against us.

Number 1. divide and rule.

@OverTheRainbow88

It should go ahead but YABVU comparing it to BLM

Why? It’s a gathering of people who are standing together for something they feel passionate about. No difference whatsoever. Or is rallying together because of the death of a white woman not woke enough for you?

[quote MercyBooth]@110APiccadilly YY Many of us were sounding warnings over the last year where this erosion of civil liberties was going to end up. But we got ignored didnt we as well as called names.

Well to those who we tried to tell WE TOLD YOU SO![/quote]
I know. People really need to wake up and fast.

Maybe we could do a national doorstep protest/vigil? 😬

YABU.

I agree vigil should go ahead. Patriarchy and keeping women in their place means, it likely won't.

However it's inflammatory to immediately compare it to BLM. It's diversionary point-scoring "yeah but Black people". & I'm sure you know anti-mask/Save Our Rights' huge protests were also going on. BLM protesters wore masks and didn't add to Covid spike.

But I digress, because it's not about BLM at all. It's about Women's safety and it's the fault of the system - not BLM - that police are banning vigil and not taking on board how women feel right now at all.

Especially given the murderer is a policeman. The police are tone-deaf regarding the depth of feeling around this.

I'm a Black Woman who doesn't live far from Clapham Common. I'll wander over to vigil point anyway. I want to light a candle in Sarah's memory.

I don't see how the police can stop us coming out. I'm going with 1 person and will be social distancing.

Let's honour and respect Sarah and not use her passing as an othering and pointless comparisons opportunity.

RIP Sarah.

AIMummy
Maybe we could do a national doorstep protest/vigil?

I hear that's what Scotland are going to do

Patel’s new policing bill is set to ban protests generally, so this may just be the start.

@110APiccadilly

YANBU, however the law has changed since then to make protests illegal. I was very concerned by this at the time, but there were plenty of people who weren't. And of course lots who weren't aware. If you were aware at the time, and were not concerned, you can't now complain that the law is being applied.

Yes, I think the legal context is different rather than it being a choice by police.

Just shows the law change around protests was wrong.

I will be going hopefully at some point and yes they absolutely should women have repeatedly been discriminated against regardless of skin colour yet white women recieve derogatory comments everywhere on social media and hardships are ignored. Despite eastern european women being sex trafficked being one of the most recent and prolific cases of slavery

I'm really angry this has been forced into cancellation.

And, yes, it's worth looking at Priti Patel's forthcoming legislation.

I'm no COVID-denier, I've kept strictly to lockdown rules.

But this decision is just wrong on so many levels.

@adeleh

Patel’s new policing bill is set to ban protests generally, so this may just be the start.

I'm certain our freedoms and liberties will never be restored

Do people really believe a vigil held outdoors where everyone is wearing masks and social distancing is going to cost lives? I've just spent my week in a crowded boiling hot school with none of those measures. Where's the common sense?

SenecaTrewe

Not surprising. It's one of their own who is accused of killing her.“

I think that’s unfair. I imagine most officers are equally appalled.

I voted YABU.

OP you forget that the BLM protests were not 'permitted'. They were actively discouraged in fact.
Also, why is it across the media and social media is it people often make any excuse to dismiss or belittle the BLM protests, even now? As if they had no right to demonstrate and make their voices heard.

Why specifically make the comparison between BLM protests and other protests?? There have been a lot of others to use as a benchmark.

That said, I do agree the vigil for Sarah Everard should be allowed to go ahead, I just do not see the need to compare it to BLM as I feel that lends itself to connotations, implications and insinuations.

Cantaloupe exactly 💯

@AdHominemNonSequitur

I think its bonkers that the BLM protests were allowed, I don't think they could stop them though, they could hardly use force, it would have been a political disaster. That is the case now as well but two wrongs don't make a right. It was wrong then for the people to march during covid, it is wrong now to contemplate a mass gathering.

People who otherwise wouldn't die, will die. Not a great legacy for Sarah.

Covid is still a real issue. In full lock down we are just about achieving an R number of 0.7. That means for every 10 people with covid, they pass it on to 7 other people (because of vaccination and immunity yes, but also because of isolation). That will not be the case in a crowd.

Unfortunately I agree with this. I’m sure the Common is huge. The problems are more likely to be on streets and at pinch points like gates or barriers. Everyone will be doing their best to distance, but in a crowd that is hard. People would have attended who are not in walking distance to include as part of their exercise as some are suggesting. If these don’t apply on the common they will in other places.

Maybe vigils are normally are collective on this occasion at door step quietly with a candle and thoughts. Also the organisers are now looking at trying to raise money instead. I don’t know how to link to a tweet. This is 2 hrs ago, I think the paste may miss the full link to fund raise

Update: We are sorry to confirm that our Clapham vigil scheduled for tonight is cancelled. Please see the full statement here.

Instead, we are fundraising £320,000 for women's causes: £10K for every proposed fine for the 32 vigils originally scheduled. justgiving.com/crowdfunding/r…

I hugely support womens rights and I don't want it to go ahead, just like I did not want BLM to go ahead. We need to get out of the Pandemic. Do it in July.

Could someone add a proper link for me please.

Hadn’t the law changed since BLM? Also the Met has been criticised for not looking after the interests of businesses and neighbourhoods regarding rallies and they have decided not to engage. They are wrong.

twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1370795656051326976?s=19

Really disappointing.

You didn't arrange a vigil for Nicole Smallman and Bibss Henry.

Covid rules specifically ban protests.
I remember those voicing concerned being shouted down as covidiots.
People protesting for a higher NHS pay rise, have been arrested under the same rules.

I was very against the BLM protests. They happened at the worst point of the pandemic when we didn’t know how bad the virus was and long before we had the vaccine.

But those protests went ahead so so should these vigils.

If BLM got to protest because a man died because of a police officer in the US, women should be allowed to hold a vigil for an innocent woman who was murdered simply for walking home.

If Sarah had been black, or anything other than white, you can bet your bottom dollar that these vigils would have gone ahead.