Fascists to Invade Sheffield. £500K Bill For Policing

[adrea]

As happened in Birmingham where just 50 EDL boneheads were sentenced?

 

"English Defence League supporters who brought terror to the streets of Birmingham have been jailed for more than 75 years after violence flared at a protest.

 

"Fifty men have appeared before Birmingham Crown Court over the past five weeks to be sentenced for violent disorder after ugly scenes were witnessed by police and visitors on July 20 2013".

 

 

 

There was over 2000 EDL protesters, 1000 police and 300 people wearing balaclavas from Unite Against Fascism on that day, the violence broke out after the EDL were attacked by UAF, 20 arrests were made in total with supporters of both factions being detained for public order offences. During the disturbances some suffered head injuries and the EDL claimed the injuries had been caused by riot police wielding batons.

 

Would violence have broken out if the 300 UAF protesters had not caused trouble which resulted in the 1000 police moving the EDL protest? Probably not.

Edited July 4, 2015 by Ms Macbeth
Fixed quote tags

[unbeliever]

Freedom isn't free.

If a bunch of bigoted, small minded idiots want to share their idiocy in public we have to let them and treat them like everybody else who wants to hold a rally.

By all means, if they become violent or destructve, throw the book at them.

 

We can't bill them for policing. That would be profoundly wrong.

Freedom of speech has to include the right of people we don't like to say things we don't want to hear.

If we deviate from that principle, we become the fascists.

[cassity]

Yes you / they can hold a counter demonstration if they wish. I'm defending EVERYBODYS right to free-speech which includes the EDL's. The right for them to say these things is freedom of speech and is one of the cornerstones of a free society.

 

Free speech must be protected at all costs. The point of free speech is that it’s for EVERYONE! Even the speeches which you, I or others consider to be racist, hateful, over the line and unbalanced.

 

If free speech is only for polite persons with mild temperament within government policed parameters who have money, then it isn’t free at all.

 

A demonstration is not a viewpoint, it's a means to how you conduct yourself. Considering almost every if not all EDL's protest end in violence then property and people should be protected. If you wish to express an opinion by tearing a pub up or putting a bin through a shop window then expect a baton around the head. Free speech is fine but as soon as you put people and property at risk by actions, you've then lost the high ground.

 

Would violence have broken out if the 300 UAF protesters had not caused trouble which resulted in the 1000 police moving the EDL protest? Probably not.

 

Protests apply to everyone. The EDL do not need an adversary, they can't keep order amongst themselves let alone some other element being involved..I've yet to witness UAF turning in on themselves.

Edited July 4, 2015 by cassity

[eckby]

This is an interesting interview.

 

Martin Smith (UAF) speaks to BBC 5 live after UAF violence in Bolton.

 

[LeMaquis]

There was over 2000 EDL protesters, 1000 police and 300 people wearing balaclavas from Unite Against Fascism on that day, the violence broke out after the EDL were attacked by UAF......

 

Yeah right. And Poland invaded Nazi Germany.

 

Could you explain how 300 people attacked 2,000 people, avoiding 1,000 other people in the middle, and got away. And could you use facts rather than immature lies.

[Stoatwobbler]

Freedom isn't free.

If a bunch of bigoted, small minded idiots want to share their idiocy in public we have to let them and treat them like everybody else who wants to hold a rally.

By all means, if they become violent or destructve, throw the book at them.

 

We can't bill them for policing. That would be profoundly wrong.

Freedom of speech has to include the right of people we don't like to say things we don't want to hear.

If we deviate from that principle, we become the fascists.

 

Yep. If you do this to groups like the EDL whom we disagree with, then the principle will also be applied to those groups who we do agree with. And in the long run everybody loses.

[eckby]

Unite Against Fascism vs UKIP on daily politics.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rm7NmIsjsk

 

UAF show themselves to be the fascists.

[Jonny5]

Freedom isn't free.

If a bunch of bigoted, small minded idiots want to share their idiocy in public we have to let them and treat them like everybody else who wants to hold a rally.

By all means, if they become violent or destructve, throw the book at them.

 

We can't bill them for policing. That would be profoundly wrong.

Freedom of speech has to include the right of people we don't like to say things we don't want to hear.

If we deviate from that principle, we become the fascists.

This really is an excellent post.

[eckby]

“The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”

 

Thus, if we engage (civilly) with controversial or offensive ideas we'll either discover we have been wrong the whole time - which is, of course, beneficial to us - or we'll show the dissenter he or she is wrong - which is also beneficial, since more people will now benefit from having more robust ideas. What helps no one is silencing one side, since those ideas are now denied to everyone. If those ideas are wrong, we should be able to simply point out how those ideas are wrong; if the dissenting ideas are in fact better, then we've done the world a disservice by locking up good ideas.

 

http://bigthink.com/against-the-new-taboo/john-stuart-mill-and-the-dangers-of-silencing

[Guest sibon]

This really is an excellent post.

 

It is, isn't it.

This is turning into a decent debate. Lets hope it doesn't get derailed by the usual suspects.