Anti lockdown protests yesterday.

[Tumbleweed101]

There is a lot being said on social media but not much in mainstream news which is interesting given how many people seem to have gone to the one in London at least. I understand there were some elsewhere in the country too.

Just curious if anyone took part
and what people think about the protests.

I fully support the anti domestic vaccine passport section of it. Also I did see it being reported in the telegraph etc.

A quick google will show you that a number of MSM have reported on this

news.sky.com/story/oxford-street-shoppers-heckled-over-face-masks-as-thousands-protest-covid-rules-in-london-12285712

"People out shopping in Oxford Street were met with calls from the crowd to "take your masks off", as many protesters carried signs featuring the usual, disproven, scientifically impossible conspiracy theories about vaccines"

Also, you might be interested in this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a4227960-Tens-of-thousands-of-people-protested-in-London-yesterday-why-isn-t-it-in-the-news?msgid=106788727#106788727

Seems a bit pointless to me as we are coming out of lockdown and Boris has said no planned delays to the road map. I support the right to protest though.

Eight police injured when they refised to disperse.

I definitely don't support that bit!

I really don’t have a problem with vaccine passports, if there is a medical reason why you can’t have the vaccine then you will presumably get an exemption certificate. If you think you are too precious or spec

If you think you are too precious or special to have the vaccine then you are free to stay at home!

@Temp023

If you think you are too precious or special to have the vaccine then you are free to stay at home!

What a ridiculous comment. It's called freedom of choosing whether to put a substance in our bodies or not. (I will be getting the vaccine).

@Waxonwaxoff0 exactly! Additionally it will most likely be introduces before everyone will have been offered their second shot. How is that okay?!

Not to mention if cases are low and travelled is controlled properly, why do we need them domestically?

It’s not on the BBC, therefore it didn’t happen

But the Guardian thinks it did happen, but only a handful of loons turned up so it was worth a couple of lines in the daily Covid round up.

Sky converted it, but made sure they said that most viewers would be disgusted by the sight of thousands of people walking peacefully along Oxford Street.

The DM have mentioned it, but made sure they included something about a police officer being injured.

It depends on your media, seems to have been reported most places. Quite small with about 10,000 people. For perspective and scale; 20,000 in London protested just against Jerry Springer the musical. 6-10 million took part in stop the war protests in the UK. With the alternative of a negative test always included alongside vaccine passport plans it all seems rather ill-informed. I doubt Spain will decide not to request vaccine passports or negative tests from Brits just because a few people don't like it, they're basing the decision on reducing covid spread.

If these people want to end all restrictions sooner then they should really wear masks in crowds and be vaccinated, that's the way to get past this.

Some women were interviewed and suggested that mask wearing was akin to ‘genocide’ - maybe a bit melodramatic. Some were wearing yellow stars to indicate they’d been discriminated against

I think these protests are just a mash up of covid denial and r-w libertarianism, it is hard to take them seriously.

Yes there are concerns about vaccine passports - I oppose them myself - but it is hard to cover those protests in a way because it is partly based on a false premise that covid isn't real/serious.

Given that some seemed to think it's appropriate to wear yellow stars on this protest and attack police officers (who have not had priority access to vaccines) I do not support them at all.
Although with gritted teeth I support their right to protest, I reserve my right to also consider them to be idiots to do so over this. And it's very clear that some of them have some very nasty opinions.

Gosh there’s a few posters this morning whose inability to use Google has sparked them to post on MN aren’t there?

What do I think? I think anyone who marches alongside open racists without a murmur is despicable.

I happened to be there on my way home from lunch and had to walk against the protest to get to Westminster station. I came across a lot of unpleasant people yelling at strangers about being scared of being outside in crowds even though St James' Park was actually heaving with normal people enjoying picnics and got shouted at by a couple of people when I got near the station that I should take my mask off as " the virus doesn't exist".

Not really sure what the point of a anti lockdown protest is as we are coming out of lockdown anyway. If they don't care for the rules why not just go hang out with their friends and break rules rather than wasting time, holding up traffic and insulting people.

Exactly what @GrammarTeacher said

It's just people who are bored and want to mix in groups but restrictions won't allow it yet and these protests are their way around it.

It's always a Saturday afternoon when the sun's out that the numbers swell beyond the usual Ike cranks.

I’m trying to get my head round people who are protesting about having their freedom taken away heckling passers by who are wearing masks and urging them to take them off. Where is their freedom?

@beginningoftheend

I think these protests are just a mash up of covid denial and r-w libertarianism, it is hard to take them seriously.

Yes there are concerns about vaccine passports - I oppose them myself - but it is hard to cover those protests in a way because it is partly based on a false premise that covid isn't real/serious.

I don't know how they have the nerve given what's happening in India. It'd be one thing if we were still locked down.

I'm a bit torn on this.

On the one hand, I'm a natural libertarian and I think that (a) the right to protest is important because one day we might really need it, even though I think protest is overused (b) they should be lifting lockdown faster than they are.

On the other hand, from studying protest, I know it rarely works in the short term and often turns the public against protestors. I also just feel hugely uncomfortable with deliberate disruption of innocent people's lives, whether through protests or strikes.

I guess I think they should be the nuclear option when they are usually the first option.

What do I think of protests? I think they should be permitted.

What do I think of the subject matter? I’m troubled by the idea of immunity passports to go about one’s daily life, but these are extraordinary times. I think the government has handled all this exceptionally badly, with the exception of the vaccines task force work. I also think without the restrictions and vaccines we would be where India is now.

What do I think about people who attend these rallies, intimidate mask wearers and appropriate the yellow star? They are despicable.

And what do the anti-maskers think about whether hospital staff should all still wear masks I wonder?

Really stupid thing to protest about imho

You only need to look at India for what happens when the virus is allowed to rip through an area unrestricted. Their situation is what our lockdowns, and later lockdowns plus speedy vaccinations has prevented.

AND we're nearing the end of restrictions anyway, plenty is open now and really getting there.

@MRex

It was more than 10,000 people. At one point the crowd extended from Holborn to Westminster via embankment, a good couple of kilometres.

The protest in March had 100k and this one was much bigger.