They are NOT protests, they are riots and terrorist attacks

[Stripedchutney]

AIBU to be so angry at the use of ‘protest’ when it’s clear that these are race related violent riots and terrorist attacks. I’m finding myself shouting at the TV!!

I believe some of the organisers (and attendees depending on their involvement) may have committed terrorism. Still it doesn’t matter what I think, better of listening to the director of public prosecutions, who is apparently considering this.

‘The Terrorism Act 2000 defines terrorism, both in and outside of the UK, as the use or threat of one or more of the actions listed below, and where they are designed to influence the government, or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public. The use or threat must also be for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.

The specific actions included are:

• serious violence against a person;
• serious damage to property;
• endangering a person's life (other than that of the person committing the action);
• creating a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or a section of the public; and
• action designed to seriously interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system.’

I think all but one of those can be ticked. I see it as terrorism. I guess time will tell if those laws are used.

Oh wow. I thought 3 years was a decent sentence for punching someone and hope that it might deter some people (3 years plus all the other problems that come with a prison sentence) but I didn't realise that jso got 4 and 5 years. I don't agree with their tactics and don't like being inconvenienced by them but at least they want to make the world a better place whereas the current rioters just want to terrorise people and see stuff burn.

My other worry is that so far only one guy got 3 years. Was he just being made an example of? Will his example be enough? Do the rioters even have time to follow the news amidst all their rioting?

It’s unbelievable isn’t it. If he’d punched someone on a night out because he’d had to much to drink and got into a fight, three years might feel ok. But this is organised violence. Targets are being listed with legal firms that specialise in sanctuary seeking are next. That’s the difference for me. It’s organised violence fuelled by racism. Manipulated by lies on SM but still fully responsible for their choices.

I don’t know if it will be enough. I don’t feel it’s justice for those terrorised by these mobs and far reaching consequences of that and their attacking police officers.

I had an exercise class cancelled today, in fact they cancelled all evening classes 'due to the riots' and for our safety 😧

I'd agree that they're more than protests.

This is right wing terrorism.

Marches and protests generally involve women, too. The images I've seen are aggressive white men in their 20s, 30s and 40s. The epidemic in the UK is not so much extremism or terrorism, as it is violent crime committed by men - against women, against children and against other men. When was the last time you heard of a woman stabbing infant school aged girls, or using a crossbow to murder three members of the same family?

I don’t think that too strong a phrase.

That’s awful. This isn’t something I remember ever happening in my 50 years of life.

They are just rent-a-mob and violent thugs. We’ve had them before, with various riots, and we will, no doubt, have them again.

It’s about robbing, looting and vandalism - as happened in the so called “London riots” in 2011.🙄

I've seen the message listing the targets and it's chilling. I keep thinking of the people who work there. I assume their offices are closed today but it must still be scary to be see your place of work to be targeted like this. Or your specific area.

It's not a protest. It's meant to terrorise people and i would say they are succeeding. I and the kids have stayed at home today because we we are too scared to go out and so have all my other friends who are not white. I even closed all the blinds as you can clearly look into our house through the windows and I didn't want random people walking past our house seeing that Asians live in this house. This is not how I want to live or how I want my children to live. :-(

It’s rent-a-mob, not terrorism. 🙄

I don’t remember anything quite like this.

Businesses are closing, countries are advising against travel here, people of colour are afraid to go to work/eat out/go outside. I don’t think we should minimise this.

I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. I’m sending you an unmumsnetty hug.

This is chilling. I agree. It’s horrifying and has such similarities to Germany before WWII.

We have to stand up to this.

Absolutely.
I am fucking sick of people legitimising this shit by calling them protests.

Smashing windows, setting fire to things and trying to kill people are not protests in my opinion and frankly I think it's time the police or army comes in with rubber bullets because this is fucking terrifying.

I heard raised voices in the street earlier today and I shit myself thinking people were coming for my husband and sons. They haven't left the house in days and I am sick of reading minimising, racist-excusing bullshit.

I wish we had the luxury of thinking this is not that big a deal and it'll all blow over.

So sorry to hear that. It’s so shocking in itself but also shocking the apathy it’s being met with. We must stand up to this. There are way more of us that want to live in a peaceful and tolerant society, regardless of our stance on immigration more generally.

This is JSO response to the current situation;

Just Stop Oil are calling a pause on further actions whilst civil unrest is continuing to affect many towns and cities around the country.

We recognise that the violence on our streets is endangering communities. In accordance with this and our commitment to nonviolence we do not want to stretch police resources such that they are unable to protect communities at risk.

We remain absolutely committed to the essential work we're doing – getting our government to do its duty to protect its people. They must sign a binding international treaty to end oil by 2030.

Quite a contrast!

The BBC have changed their language on the News channel now and are not calling it ‘protest’ anymore.

Correct - there is NO equivalence between these riots and JSO.

But not in the way you think.

See, the people arrested were not conspiring to riot which is why they haven't been charged with conspiracy. If there was any group of leaders behind it, then they were nowhere near these riots. The ones arrested were used by such people.

But JSO 5, on the other hand, WERE the leaders who planned a disruption so large the Judge made clear it was a threat to the maintenance of law and order.

More to the point, JSO 5 were caught live on Zoom video chat by a journalist who then informed the police. Without that key piece of evidence, JSO 5 would have had a much lighter sentence.

You don't need to minimise JSO's leaders' crime in order to make an argument about the riots. That's exactly what you've been doing rather unapologetically which is blatantly wrong.

These are two different cases with different levels of evidence involved. If you wanted to focus on the riots, you should have done that and left JSO out of it without trying to minimise their conspiracy charges and convictions.

I live in a very residential area with a pub , Tesco and pharmacy just round the corner. We've got riot police at the top of our road as we speak and security guards at the door of little Tesco , the poor staff working there are terrified. There's also more men than I've ever seen before sitting outside the pub . Protesters my foot.

My point still stands. These are riots not protests.

Sorry to hear that. That’s just not ok.

Why are you minimising these riots by focusing on the pedantic legal differences? Do you condone what’s happening? Do you support these racist thugs?

Clearly you don't remember 2011. I do as I was living close to the area and my employer said anyone who wanted to leave early to get home safe could do so. I did that because it was genuinely scary. My mum (in her 60s) remembers earlier periods of rioting too.

Doesn't make what the current thugs are doing okay though, and obviously they should be in prison.

As an aside about just stop oil - they were repeat offenders with a high likelihood of doing the same thing again. Those factors are always going to increase the sentence a person receives. And preventing people getting to their chemo appointment is not much better than punching someone on the face.