AIBU to feel deeply unsettled by the Southampton protest scenes?

[HopelessPessimist]

Southampton protest against police, huge crowd, Tommy Robinson whipping everyone into a frenzy and saying "this IS about race"

Other speakers declaring that England is a Christian country. The Lords Prayer chanted by every speaker. The leader of UKIP saying he will deport all migrants and make government Christian. The leaders of the protest saying they are being pushed by the police cordon, while the camera angle shows the police haven't moved. The leaders of the protest mocking the female police officer who are taking over a shift from another police officer in the cordon "They're replacing all the men with women!"

This is awful. It feels like the start of civil war. Maybe human beings just aren't supposed to go decades without a fight.

Oh I agree bodycam footage but especially smartphones (as police frequently “lose” bodycam footage) have been great for capturing the truth of police brutality and ensuring, at a minimum that police bad behaviour is properly investigated and, where necessary prosecuted. As we just saw with Sandra Massey. Great stuff.

How is believing the non-white person got anything to do with George Floyd being arrested and ultimately dying?

It literally has no correlation.

I have not heard of multiple white dying whilst being arrested and so your point is completely invalid.

The police officers were white and the man that died was white - there was no racism towards the young man at all, so I’m not sure why you’re implying that there is.

And why does it matter if someone has a criminal record or a drug addiction issue - does that mean it’s ok for police to not seek medical assistance when needed?

Anyone who tries to compare this to George Floyd or BLM protests are dumb as fuck and have no other argument than to say “but what about…..”

My BF has studied history extensively and mentioned 80+ years without a major war involving the whole or parts of the British Isles is practically unheard of since the Romans were in Britain.
Korea was for professional military mainly, National Service ended, Falklands, Gulf Wars I & II, Afghanistan and peace keeping also professional army etc.
The 'masses' not experiencing it just isn't the norm. Few countries had over 50 years with no conflicts. Almost none over a hundred years iirc.

Exactly.

His poor parents have made it clear they want to grieve in peace and not to have their son's death politicised.

Farage and Robinson are vile individuals who are using this tragic death to push their agenda of hate and division as well as disrespecting the bereaved family.

This!!

The taking the knee business was preposterous.

When the police felled the recent stabber in Golders Green, Zack Polanski immediately waded in to complain about the manner in which they apprehended someone potentially booby-trapped as I’m convinced he thought he could lead a George Floyd moment.

Hhmph, actually our Green friends have been pretty quiet about Henry Nowak - except to mount a protest against a vigil. Lovely kind people…

And they looked for stab wounds and called an ambulance.

That's true, I think I'm realising that this is what protests of any 'wing' persuasion are like and I've just never seen it live streamed or in somewhere I know before. It's an eye opener.

Tolerate what?

one British man murdered another. It happens all over the country

why is this case the red line

by the way, I'm British and I think these "protests" are pathetic. An excuse for thugs to thug

There's nothing wrong with any religion until it starts being co-opted and leveraged for both financial and ideological reasons in largely politically secular countries and adds a layer of extra tension mired in mythology to real world problems that need addressing with cool heads for the overall well-being of real people and not to appease whichever beardy big Daddy in the sky you want to pick.

Christian Nationalism is surging in the US and Farage is chums with a good few, including staunch pro-lifers. If people want to scoff against those of us old enough to have heard from our grandparents the lessons of history, so be it. But there are very disturbing parallels in the evolving zeitgeist.

And this case is utterly appalling in so many ways it utterly beggars belief and breaks my heart.

This.

Unbelievable. They believed the racism claim over everything the white lad said. He was grey, dying in front of them. Two tier policing.

Are you saying that if someone is fatally injured it doesn’t matter how he is treated as he is dying? Because that seems to be what you are saying.

Systemic class bias? Absolutely. Fear of being seen as racist? Maybe (although stop and search figures suggest otherwise). But not empirical evidence of anti-white systemic racism in the police force. But happy to stand corrected if any posters have access to data I don’t.

Interesting to note on BBC reports of anti-Semitic attacks most or all the perpetrators were Muslim. Just an observation. Even the recent attacker was Muslim.

Indeed. The Greens show us who they are so many times.

Spain.

What about radical Islam then? Most attacks on Jews recently have been by Muslims.

It takes his dignity to use his name as a banner for Robinson and Farage’s cause.

I think there are questions to be asked about police brutality but that doesn’t have to be done in a racially charged atmosphere on the streets. It’s for his family to dictate that.

Lying there dying handcuffed. Your pleas ignored while your murderer has a chat with the police about your racist attack on them. An attack that did not happen. Your last words heard being that you wasn’t believed.

Being so let down by the people meant to protect and serve. All in the name is racism. Fake lies racism at that.

Hurty words should never ever take precedence over an alleged attack. Because as proven the words were fake while the attacked died with no dignity.

After telling him he hadn’t been and dragging him to the ground in handcuffs 🙄

where is your empathy for the poor boy?

That's really interesting thank you for sharing! It makes sense, the relative peace we've lived through in the West has been an anomoly. I am just recoiling at what that means for us now. I think I'm going to need to get a bit more resilient, that's for sure.

Do you remember when the English football team kneeled for him? A violent criminal who died in America? We’ve got the World Cup in a few weeks do you think they’ll kneel for a British teenager?

Wow isnt the empathy just pouring out of you 🙄

As the parent of two young kids of Asian ethnicity I can relate to your worry for them but I can't relate to your racism.

Just a short while ago a young Sikh woman was raped because the perpetrator thought she was Muslim. I still wouldn't agree with a protest against white people or glibly state that they are all racists.

Honestly, people who are making excuses for how this poor lad was unfairly treated make me sick! They literally have no empathy at all