Plain Talker Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 being a pensioner I use my bus pass sparingly, last week I took the bus to RHH as I sat there watching the multi racial passengers getting on and off (of all ages) the only people I saw pay a fare were the white ones, the rest had bus passes. so if the gov. can give the rest of the world passes I say fight on oap's you may have been like me and worked until you were 65 and earned one Wildest of wild assumptions there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susie1 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) I know I'm slightly off topic, but I would like to say that, as a 66 year old woman who was fortunate to be able to retire at 60 on a state pension, I am very uncomfortable with this protest. Our generation has been very fortunate, in general. The bus and rail concessions were/are just that ie concessions, not a right nor entitlement. Society, education and working life have all changed, in the majority of respects (but not all) for the worse over the last 50 years and I feel that the generations after mine are having a very tough time of it. Our post WW2 working class generation was brought up in a time of financial hardship, but the spirit of community and the sense of support and security which that engendered is mostly gone now. My children, now in their 30s are going to have to work until they are 70 or older. Nowadays, most couples with children find it necessary for both partners to work; the luxury of having the choice to be a stay-at-home mum is not possible for most people. Working life itself is, for almost everyone, so much more stressful and precarious than it was even 20 years ago. I could go on, but I'll finish by saying that one should count one's blessings and, at a time when the country is struggling to balance the books and everyone is feeling the pinch, losing the concession of free rail travel and a reduction in the hours of free bus travel isn't, in my opinion, something that warrants such a level of protest nor justifies the attendant cost of police time. Edited June 23, 2014 by susie1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No User Name Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I know I'm slightly off topic, but I would like to say that, as a 66 year old woman who was fortunate to be able to retire at 60 on a state pension, I am very uncomfortable with this protest. Our generation has been very fortunate, in general. The bus and rail concessions were/are just that ie concessions, not a right nor entitlement. Society, education and working life have all changed, in the majority of respects (but not all) for the worse over the last 50 years and I feel that the generations after mine are having a very tough time of it. Our post WW2 working class generation was brought up in a time of financial hardship, but the spirit of community and the sense of support and security which that engendered is mostly gone now. My children, now in their 30s are going to have to work until they are 70 or older. Nowadays, most couples with children find it necessary for both partners to work; the luxury of having the choice to be a stay-at-home mum is not possible for most people. Working life itself is, for almost everyone, so much more stressful and precarious than it was even 20 years ago. I could go on, but I'll finish by saying that one should count one's blessings and, at a time when the country is struggling to balance the books and everyone is feeling the pinch, losing the concession of free rail travel and a reduction in the hours of free bus travel isn't, in my opinion, something that warrants such a level of protest nor justifies the attendant cost of police time. The Police would have been there because the "protest" would have been classed as a "disturbance", as I highly doubt that BTP/EMT/National Rail or whoever would have given permission for it. They have a presence down at the station anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 being a pensioner I use my bus pass sparingly, last week I took the bus to RHH as I sat there watching the multi racial passengers getting on and off (of all ages) the only people I saw pay a fare were the white ones, the rest had bus passes. so if the gov. can give the rest of the world passes I say fight on oap's you may have been like me and worked until you were 65 and earned one Ah, a fantastic piece of casual racism.... Must have missed the requirement in the terms and conditions of the Disabled English National Concession pass to be black or foreign. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 The two people arrested were 64 and 65. Look at the video again, watch his rucksack and how he keeps swinging it at the police. This wasn't someone who was willing to come quietly being forced down by police brutality. It's clear from the video, and the witness who posted on here that he was giving as good as he got. i never saw his rucksack swinging aggressively, sure were watching the same video? it was hanging down cos his head was pushed that far down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Bynnol Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 being a pensioner I use my bus pass sparingly, last week I took the bus to RHH as I sat there watching the multi racial passengers getting on and off (of all ages) the only people I saw pay a fare were the white ones, the rest had bus passes. so if the gov. can give the rest of the world passes I say fight on oap's you may have been like me and worked until you were 65 and earned one Pensioners who have ENCTS SY issued bus passes have half price train travel and want it free again. Not once have I heard these people support their fellow pensioners who will not even get a bus pass until they are 67. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I know I'm slightly off topic, but I would like to say that, as a 66 year old woman who was fortunate to be able to retire at 60 on a state pension, I am very uncomfortable with this protest. Our generation has been very fortunate, in general. The bus and rail concessions were/are just that ie concessions, not a right nor entitlement. Society, education and working life have all changed, in the majority of respects (but not all) for the worse over the last 50 years and I feel that the generations after mine are having a very tough time of it. Our post WW2 working class generation was brought up in a time of financial hardship, but the spirit of community and the sense of support and security which that engendered is mostly gone now. My children, now in their 30s are going to have to work until they are 70 or older. Nowadays, most couples with children find it necessary for both partners to work; the luxury of having the choice to be a stay-at-home mum is not possible for most people. Working life itself is, for almost everyone, so much more stressful and precarious than it was even 20 years ago. I could go on, but I'll finish by saying that one should count one's blessings and, at a time when the country is struggling to balance the books and everyone is feeling the pinch, losing the concession of free rail travel and a reduction in the hours of free bus travel isn't, in my opinion, something that warrants such a level of protest nor justifies the attendant cost of police time. There are arguments as to the wider benefits to society of offering free train travel as well as bus travel to pensioners, funded by the taxpayer. We also live in a society where it is considered a democratic right to voice opinion and campaign for or against things. However, in this case, the right way of doing things would be to lobby their MP and councilors to increase funding to the concessionary travel scheme to pay for train travel. These so called Freedom Riders are little more than persistent thieves. They are regularly using Northern Rail's service with no intention of paying for that service. It is the equivalent of having a meal in a restaurant then doing a runner without paying. At the same restaurant several weeks in a row. They shouldn't be surprised after several weeks to find a policeman waiting for them. It also is no surprise that when said thieves behave in a vile manner when threatened with arrest that the policeman isn't nice in return either.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Se7enhills Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Ther is also the point that the Railway is private property, not public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dosxuk Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 i never saw his rucksack swinging aggressively, sure were watching the same video? it was hanging down cos his head was pushed that far down Look at around 40s in to the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy C Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Look at around 40s in to the video. I'd be more interested in seeing what happened just before this clip begins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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