If Brighton can protest peacefully so can the

[WeAreManyUArefew]

So called ‘protesters’ from the far right?

6 racists turned up to a immigration advice centre in Brighton, 2,000 peaceful counter protesters played instruments, sang, chanted ‘We are many you are few, we are Brighton who are you!’

There was no trouble, just a lot of people making a point.

So if we can do it, without racist language, violence, looting etc why can’t they? They were fine, a ring of normal police ( no riot gear needed) surrounded the bigots then removed them in a van.

YANBU - they are racist right wing thugs. It’s no real protesting.

YABU - they’re legit. And if they want to smash up the place then it’s because they’re provoked by ‘2 tier’ policing.

there is a 4th issue with this in that the town (and other towns where this was done) not the hotels rely on seasonal business, and this has been affected by putting in the immigrants and restricting the amount of holiday makers to the town.

You're right. Had missed that one.

Women who support women's single sex spaces, women who do not accept that one can identify into being a woman, do not shout down or assault those who disagree with them. They would (mostly - no-one can speak for all) would welcome civilized debate and an exchange of views. That's free speech. Shouting down people who you don't agree with and telling them to shut up is not free speech, it's abuse.

I don't think shouting 'fire' in a crowded cinema is expressing an opinion. It's an act calculated to cause severe trouble.
@VictorianBigot is correct in their explanation. Free speech means the right to express an opinion without being attacked for it. You are suggesting that free speech can only happen if nobody listening disagrees with a statement and if that is not the case they have the right to shout down opposing opinions, rather than engaging in debate.

A drug problem, well yes, it is a City, it has a population of 276000 as opposed to Blackpool that is a town and has a population of 141000. There are many residents in Brighton & Hove that are Media jobs, Actors and quite famous musicians, the average price of a house in Brighton is £505000, they are just as likely to be owned by people who have children and work in these industries because of its proximity to London! It has a huge student population and the highest percentage of the population are 20-29, this demographic aren’t the ones owning the period properties! Brighton has had an influx of people from London particularly over the last 20 years that push up the prices and it has a huge problem with AirBNBs that are just investment properties that push up prices and have made some families move away as it is unaffordable. It is disingenuous to say that those problems are comparable to Blackpool because they are not.

No. My point was that Blackpool is the gay capital of the North as Brighton is of the South. Blackpool's problems are about affordable housing, however, outside the streets behind the Central Pier and the Pleasure Beach, house prices are in the 145-300k range though some areas have houses in the same bracket as Brighton: 500k to 700k, mainly owned by people who do not work in Blackpool. There is a homeless population wished on the city by the council in the 90s-00s, and there is seasonal employment - which I expect is similar to that in Brighton among tourist attractions, hotels etc.
This one, https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150295595#/?channel=RES_BUY, is £699,950.
It's a mile or so from where I have a hotel.

I live in an area of high deprivation, and our cultural diversity is still seen by myself and the vast majority of my neighbours as a massive benefit, thank you very much! Taking your example of culturally diverse dining opportunities alone, do you honestly believe that it's only wealthy areas who benefit from this? Because the poor are all sitting in our holes on the ground, chewing on coal and resentment?

Don't you dare imply that you are doing racism on behalf of the working classes - it's a fucking insult.

This is absolute nonsense - you appear to believe that the working classes are some kind of sub-species, who don't receive education, are unable to have enriching experiences, lack emotional intelligence/resilience and can't respond to things in a "healthy" fashion.

Do you know any working class people?

I live in Doncaster 🙄

And I'm near Barnsley

It's because farage and his ilk pretend that being ignorant racist is because they speak for working classes etc. This is pure nonsense and it frustrates me . I have never been to uni I live in dewsbury and yet i get very despondent when I hear people blame immigrants on the fact the reason why the town is down fallen is because if council budgets etc being cut fir example. Immigrants are not making us poor those at the top are and that's what annoys me about other people who cant see that

I come from one of the most deprived areas in the north of England.

Not just Brighton of course - Sheffield, Liverpool, Walthamstow etc or are posters going to pretend that those cities don’t have any deprivation either????

Just to add some balance to what you have written, there are certainly areas of Brighton that are incredibly deprived with a cornucopia of issues and struggles. You could tick every box, many times over on a ‘deprived and down trodden areas’ bingo card. I worked in one of those areas for many years and in all those years the issues did not abate. Whenever I tell people about these areas of Brighton they are shocked as they only see the seafront and laines but the city is far more than that.
Sorry to derail but it is something I felt necessary to correct.

@PathOfLeastResitance well said. Brighton has so many social and mental health issues. Just because some rich people live here does not make it easy on those who have issues. Same as London, for example. FFS. People need to get over their preconceptions.

Hastings is the 13th most deprived town nationally.

It used to qualify for special EU funding targeted at deprived areas, but still voted for Brexit.

Hastings deprivation

Imagine growing up in a place with easy access to London, beach, happy holiday people, middle-class artists, pastel painted houses.

Most people in Sunderland and Hartlepool probably don't give a shit about most of those things, apart from the beaches and they have excellent beaches of their own. Ones with proper soft sand.

So-called "antifa" are among the worst fascists I've ever seen.

By this time the term "Nazi scum" simply means "anybody who doesn't agree with me."

Hastings is not Brighton!

Brighton is awesome and it is so chilled out you forget what life is like outside of the area!

This is just not true.

Brighton is a hole. And it’s sinking further. It’s utterly filthy. and people are so cracked up they don’t have the energy to cause too many problems.

just some examples from 2023 stats:

The data shows that Brighton has more people sleeping on the street on any given night than anywhere other than Manchester and Westminster.

Brighton is one of the biggest centres for drug misuse rates in the UK, with a study showing that the city has the highest use rate for Cocaine, Ketamine, and MDMA

It is a town of two halves - utter haves and have nots. It’s actually not that pleasant to be there. Yes it rides off it previous glory day’s reputation but people new to the town see it instantly - pure grot. And people who’ve lived there for years have boiling frog syndrome. When they take a second to look around are horrified. But admitting it would bring down their property prices so they bury their heads in the sand.

honestly go there. Get off the train and walk down to the sea. In one road you will see nothing lovely or easy or affluent. It’s neglected and dirty and a sad shadow of itself.

on the plus side all those drugs and people who have gone there for a party, hippie, “brighton” life do lead to imaginative protests with singing and peace signs.

sorry editors to add:

eighteen percent of the population of the city (or 44,893 people) were migrants. putting B&H at the highest percentage in south east and 15th highest nationally.

this was a few years ago now so I’m sure the figures have gone up or down or whatever but clearly you don’t know the town.

the diversity IS something brightonians old and new pride themselves on. This is what’s different about the town. This is what is keeping it hanging on by a thread. This is what helps keep tensions down. So I’ll admit it has some good. But It’s not what you’re making it out to be. Or maybe you have the boiling frog syndrome too?

@Devonshiregal I agree that the decline is maybe less obvious to people who live there. I grew up a few miles outside Brighton and then lived in the city itself for seven years in the 00’s. I live elsewhere now but still nearby. It’s a very different place now to when I left 17 years ago. Very dirty and run-down and so many lost people!

Reminds me of San Francisco which I first visited in the 80s, visited again in 2004 and then again in 2015. Each time I went back, it had become tattier and sadder there were more homeless and addicts.

Like the Labour councillor (now thankfully suspended) who called for the 'protestors' to have their throats cut. Dreadful example.

All those who shouted down the Let Women Speak women, who thus needed police protection.