To worry that things will kick off in London this week?

[sunnydaytoday0]

By that I mean civil unrest? I certainly hope not but is it a worry given the simmering tension around things like peaceful protesters being warned they'd be arrested, people being reminded they're living in an incredibly unequal society during a cost of living crisis, the anger surrounding the police shooting of an unarmed man recently etc.

I image police officers are being drafted in from all over the country in near record numbers, but is anyone else worried a few heavy handed arrests over the next few days could actually tip the balance into serious disorder?

The street is a public place, not a place of worship- although I accept that people were gathered to pay their respect.

I could argue that people have every right to be appalled and angry that a man against which there is overwhelming evidence so suggest he has been party to some disgusting crimes is parading about in such a public way, with full approval of the royal family and ministers.

Expecting people to keep quiet about this type of thing is one of the reasons that awful abuse from people in trusted positions including teachers, police, clergy, famous personalities etc has gone unchallenged in the past.

It sometimes seems incomprehensible that some people got away with ongoing abuse for so long, aided by people turning a blind eye or not wanting to stir up trouble especially when the perpetrator was a 'respected' figure of 'authority'.

We are in danger of being part of this by feeling squeamish about calling out deeply suspicious behaviour because of Andrew's royal connections.

Blimey. That’s a leap there from guidance people, not sure it’s a good idea ;

Conversely you usually see people say go to your GP if there’s say a war monger stirring up trouble (as on a previous thread)

Most things could just use some reasonable discussion to talk down fears - sometimes you get that on here there was a good poster on the Putin thread with insight, or you get the opposite and a building up of the extreme

Same old Mumsnet hyperbole, a revolution every week.

The 'ooh what about a riot' posters don't care about any of the issues. Give it two weeks and they'll be back with another thread with a different 'cause' for rioting. It's just about creating drama and arguments online. Riots don't come from wishing about them on MN
The people who genuinely care about the issues whether that be republicans; institutional racism; the justice system; poverty; wealth disparity actually do stuff. They're running soup kitchens. They're campaigning. They're writing white papers. They're not whining about revolution on the internet.
But there aren't going to be any big changes whilst people keep voting the Tories in and Labour are condemning strikers and pretending they don't know what sex is. It's the political class who are completely failing the country. And as a staunch republican, I'd rather have Charles as figurehead than Boris mark 2. At least there's a possibility of getting land and resources back from the monarchy. There's no chance if Boris or his ilk get to sell everything to their friends and funders.

I live in london and havent felt any unease or a sense of unrest coming. Its been calm and peaceful

Plenty of people have too much money. The issue republicans have with the current hereditary set-up is the covert (and inordinate degree) of power the Windsors have, coupled with a huge PR-drive aimed at convincing the populace of the contrary, the misuse and abuse of that power (several documented cases of this), power over their representation in the media, power to veto laws that don't serve their interests, power in terms of the monarch's position of influence over our elected PM, having weekly meetings the contents of which remain secret, being 'above' the law, and total lack of any kind of accountability, including and especially democratic. Republic.org do admittedly have a problem with the cost, but my own objections are mainly based on the above.

I doubt there will be riots, at least not in the organized sense. Republic are a protest group but they will not be staging demonstrations and have already publicly stated their intention of keeping a lid on it until the funeral is over. What we're seeing now is a few lone voices, but those voices have multiplied in the wake of the completely disproportionate response to their exercising a completely fair political view. It's possible there might be small-scale scuffles if the same happens and others in the vicinity show resistance.

I was mildly surprised to see any form of protest at all right now, but the police response seems to have resulted in the growth of those dissenting voices. The 'blank sign' protestors are appearing more frequently, there's been a freedom of speech demonstration in Edinburgh, and at least one football match has booed the 2-minutes' silence.

People are generally respectful of the rites surrounding death. What they don't like is enforced, performative mourning, black banners everywhere they look even when they're internet shopping, having their holidays disrupted, their loved ones having their funerals cancelled (a particularly despicable move) and having extreme privilege forced down their throats, along with the assumption that they'll instantly defer to it.

I'd say the garden-variety apathetic were a far more commonplace breed than republicans, albeit we are growing in number, or ardent monarchists, who after Elizabeth's demise are more likely to diminish. Those questions have already begun, and they're not going away any time soon.

We shall see.

I did think it was odd advice but, because I was stressing about parenting issues, thought I'd give it a try...
I guess social media is what is the same whichever way you choose. 🤷

😮

I just want to say how lovely it is to read the reasoned opinions on this thread. I wish we could all be sitting round a table in a pub together! (Well, I'd just be listening.) You lot are great!🙂

No. The UK doesnt do rioting, civil unrest, or protests.

However I imagine the anti terrorism security levels have been ramped right up.

Clearly, you don't like losing an argument.

It would help to talk to other people in the discussion in a more respectful way, as a start

We are pleased you feel it has been beneficial to discover that there are people who are so much worse than you.
They are untreatable, they have nowhere else to go.

@lenny17 There are places on mumsnet that are supportive. However, the Am I Being Unreasonable threads are quite...robust and argumentative, so might be the right place now?

Very sorry if you've been feeling fragile, hope you feel better soon.

@MelodyPondsMum
It's the political class who are completely failing the country.
In a nutshell …
I agree with the rest of your post too.

@herecomesthsun

How very Trumpian of you! Levels of self confidence that even Donald would be proud of!

The UK certainly does do protests. Where there is enough strength of feeling (poll tax, war in Iraq) we do huge-scale protests.

The real problem arising in the wake of COVID restrictions, as those expressing reservations about these draconian measures have always feared, was the curtailment of our right to protest. We were assured that legislation would be revoked, but what's predictably happening is that the police are still carrying on as though it hasn't been. Calling on people posting legit political tweets to 'check your thinking', when those tweets are entirely legal, yet ignoring the myriad tweets making threats to kill, which are not. Then there was their heavy-handed behaviour at the #BLM protests, not least one of their biggest disgraces, the appalling response to protests against their horrific misogyny at the vigil for Sarah Everard. Despite the public strength of feeling about that, they've gone on to prosecute those involved anyway. Now there's their behaviour toward republicans silently holding up placards protesting against the proclamation, and one lone voice daring to call out an establishment figure for appalling misconduct and association with sex traffickers, which seemingly everyone else has been more than happy to rugsweep.

Britons can and will protest when protest is called for.

Erm, this isn't really very topical to this thread is it?

I have explained my point of view pretty clearly elsewhere re the thread you are presumably referring to, so let's leave that out of this, as Mumsnet prefers we don't talk about one thread on another thread.

Back to the point I was making here.I would suggest that it doesn't help discussions to use derogatory words like "bleated" and "whined" about other people's opinions, and this applies on mumsnet but also in other areas of life too. If you recognise that in your writing, then you might think about it further. (I was quite surprised that you took that comment so personally, but there you go). It is a hallmark of poor writing.

WELL…

I want to say no, but, unfortunately I have a very uneasy feeling because of what I witnessed yesterday.

I was in Belfast for the arrival of the King and Queen. The atmosphere was wonderful, respectful and the people beside me, total strangers, all sharing their thoughts and feelings about the Queen and the RF, all very positive.

And then last night I went on the Reddit NI pages and was sickened. I’ve attached screenshots of the things being said. Let’s not forget what the IRA did to Mountbatten. I think there’s a real threat from those lot.

@MarieIVanArkleStinks
War in iraq protests were 20 years ago now, poll tax riots 30 years ago. If you look across the channel and eg the gilets jaunes, clearly the UK is not a country of protest.

And a few more…

The lyrics of that song are insanely apt in the current climate.

I have to say that I would welcome civil uprising and would be marching at the front of the parade.

I was most surprised to discover that armed police appear to now be 'on the beat' rather than responding to specific incidents. This is an interesting article from 5 days ago in relation to the murder of Chris Kaba.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/armed-police-patrol-on-the-rise-people-are-terrified-black-communities-b2162596.html

The full article is worth reading, but here are some of the bits I found most alarming.

Mr Kaba’s family had requested for it to be cancelled, urging well-wishers to “ respect our wishes as Chris’ family and allow us to coordinate the various activities we expect in the coming weeks”.
“With the changes to the law around protest it is important to ensure that all gatherings are not only peaceful but also legal. Black communities are often over-policed under the misconception that we act violently, disorderly and with criminality,” a family statement issued on Thursday reads.

“People are worried about armed patrols; If we’re starting to have more gun patrols then we need to know. At the end of the day, this is going to alter people’s behaviour. It’s going to alter mine and I haven’t done anything wrong!

Mr Kaba is the third Black man known to have died following contact with UK police officers in the past three months.
Oladedji Omishore, 41, fell into the Thames after being Tasered on Chelsea Bridge in June, whilst he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
A 35-year-old Black man who lived in a care home died after contact with Devon and Cornwall Police in July.

I genuinely was not aware that some police on patrol were armed.

I also recently watched a film called Battle in Seattle or something like that (I watched it as it had Channing Tatum but he only has a minor role in it as it turns out). It's about a fiasco during protests at a meeting of the WTO. Based on real events. Worth a watch actually.

I am personally becoming increasingly opposed to British policing. I am personally nervous about my health and money! I would love to organise a riot myself. Well, maybe not a riot. I think there are a lot of different pots which are coming to boiling point. If they all kick off together, it will be difficult to settle them all at once.

My personal feeling is that policing is the thing most likely to cause rioting. If they get it wrong this week they're utterly fucked. Disarming them (if that's on the cards - I wasn't sure whether the poster who mentioned that was joking or real) is probably the wisest thing that they can do this week.

No but I do thinkmputin may use the distraction to do something bad to Ukraine. Hope nothing

Oh and it is now a murder investigation.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/chris-kaba-murder-inquiry-shot-police-b2164012.html

Nah, won’t happen as you describe because like yourself they are all armchair activists, too busy posting on Internet forums to organise anything.

The terror threat from the IRA on the other hand…

agree
I am puzzled why anyone is bringing up 2011. I still worked, lived, breathed Central London and it was totally out of the blue. We were recovering from recession. There wasn't a potential powder keg like the cost of living crisis.

in fact, if you strolled along the Southbank during the recession years prior, you'd be forgiven for thinking "what recession". The difference between the area in the 90s recession and then the late 2000s is massive.