The United Kingdom woke up Sunday morning to city streets covered in debris and smoldering rubbish as a weekend of far-right, anti-immigration demonstrations — stoked by conspiracy theories spread on social media — erupted into violence in seven cities across the nation.
Police arrested at least 100 people, and riot police wearing helmets and holding shields came out in force as Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to take action against “extremists.”
On Saturday, groups in Leeds waving St. George’s Cross flags, England’s national flag regularly flown by far-right groups, shouted “Muslims off our streets,” pairing it with a slur suggesting they were criminal child abusers. In the city of Hull, rioters threw bottles and smashed a window at a hotel housing asylum-seekers as demonstrators clashed with police.
What started as targeted anti-immigration demonstrations quickly descended into directionless disorder. A library in Liverpool, reopened in 2023 as an “education to employment” service for people of all abilities, was set ablaze.
I just want the Stop Oil people to see what attention-getting protests look like to everyone else.
Hate-spewing riots?
Didn’t know just stop oil was doing that, last I checked they put cornstarch on Stonehenge which washed off a day later.
No it’s the throwing soup on paintings, vandalizing museums, gluing themselves to the street, blocking the only road to the airport, etc.
There are a few people who don’t see those acts as stupid and counter-productive. When that is mentioned they go right to “you’re just like southern whites who hated the civil rights protests” which - i do hate the stupid stop oil protests but I don’t hate positive protests, in fact I like them. The stupid selfie protests are not them.
It is suggested the attention-seekers are successful because we’re talking about them. My point is - yes, as idiots. If it wasn’t written in big letters on their shirts I’d have no idea what they were doing.
They will not be moved. Throwing soup in a museum is a brave, uh, act I am assured. I suggested blowing up a bus but they never got back to me.
Disruptive protests help activists causes:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/07/disruptive-protest-helps-not-hinders-activists-cause-experts-say
Well when academics are the only political force, then I’ll agree.
“I’m okay with racist protests based on misinformation, but I draw the line at throwing soup on a glass encased painting!!!”
No
I don’t get what you’re trying to say? Is this pro-rioting? Or just against protests in general? There’s really no comparison between the two, no?
I’m consistently informed that stop oil protests are successful because they attract attention.
I disagree. As a counter-example, here are some protests that attract attention, and yet I think we could agree they’d be hard-pressed to call them “successful”.
That’s the only connection.
Okay, but that still seems like a call to inaction so far. Do you have alternative suggestions?