NationStates Jolt Archive

Shocking scenes of violence at a protest by your usual lot of damn hippies...

When climate camp protesters descended on the site of the Kingsnorth power station for a week-long summer demonstration, the scale of the police operation to cope with them was enormous.

Police were accused of using aggressive tactics, confiscating everything from toilet rolls and board games to generators and hammers. But ministers justified what they called the "proportionate" £5.9m cost of the operation, pointing out that 70 officers had been injured in the course of their duties.

Outrageous disrespect of our boys in blue, 70 injured, I thought the refrain was 'make love not war', why is it always the peaceful hippies who cause so much damage, where do they get the energy given they subsist on Tofu?

Let's list the extent of the injuries...

Papers acquired by the Liberal Democrats via Freedom of Information requests show that the 1,500 officers policing the Kingsnorth climate camp near the Medway estuary in Kent, suffered only 12 reportable injuries during the protest during August.

Oh, just 12, but I'm sure they were horrific given the amount of officers required and the money spent...

The other injuries reported included "stung on finger by possible wasp"; "officer injured sitting in car"; and "officer succumbed to sun and heat". One officer cut his arm on a fence when climbing over it, another cut his finger while mending a car, and one "used leg to open door and next day had pain in lower back".

'A possible wasp'? Is this some sort of quantum wasp?

Norman Baker, the Lib Dem MP for Lewes, who had called previously for an investigation of police tactics, said: "I personally witnessed unnecessarily aggressive policing, unprovoked violence against peaceful protesters, an extraordinary number of police on site, and tactics such as confiscating toilet rolls, board games and clown costumes from what I saw to be peaceful demonstrators."

I'd better write to the Home Office to warn them of an impending LG taco invasion...

Nick Thorpe, a spokesman for the climate camp, said: "Policing of peaceful protest has become increasingly heavy-handed. We saw thousands of officers swarming around a legal camp in a colossal waste of public money. The police and the government claimed there was a 'violent minority' of protesters but this Home Office admission reveals this as a complete fiction.

Link (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/15/kingsnorth-climate-change-environment-police)

My opinion is that you can never be too heavy-handed with hippies but what does NSG think?

1,500 police officers, isn't that a bit of an overkill?

Those must be some hippies commanding the power of quantum wasps and the power of the sun to injure police from heat exhaustion. Not to mention commanding fences to reach out and cut them, no doubt the use of telekenesis.

My advice is be careful not to attract their attention.

'A possible wasp'? Is this some sort of quantum wasp?

Don't try to measure it, we may never see the injured again!

In all seriousness, though, a toothache? Honestly? Reporting this seems more like grounds for dismissal rather than a case for an injury report...

1,500 police officers, isn't that a bit of an overkill?

What part of 'Hippies' do you not understand?

What part of 'Hippies' do you not understand?

The part where all logic, reason, and lawfulness must be thrown into the rubbish bin to deal with them.

The part where all logic, reason, and lawfulness must be thrown into the rubbish bin to deal with them.

You're probably the type to think Guantanamo is unlawful

*eyes suspiciously, sends in 200 police to deal with Maduland*

You see, what they were going to do is lure the fuzz into a false sense of security with the board games, leaving them unaware of the more fanatical changing into their clown costumes to hide their identities. Then, after throwing enough spades and toilet paper rolls at them to incite a retaliation in full riot gear, those disguised would cover the plant in highly flammable glue, and, using the generators from camp, pass a charge through the streams of glue so high that it would instantaneously ignite most of the factory, which would eventually burn the entire factory to the ground while the fire squads were on their way to the scene.

... Or they were just trying to camp out. I dunno. Somehow, a 5.9 million quid ($8.9 million, says Google) operation needs justification.

What part of 'Hippies' do you not understand?

Wasn't Charles Manson a hippie at one point? Serious, question BTW.

Wasn't Charles Manson a hippie at one point? Serious, question BTW.

Technically yes, he was a nutter in hippie clothing.

Technically yes, he was a nutter in hippie clothing.

Then the hippies could've been a group of Charles Manson! :eek:

1,500 police officers, isn't that a bit of an overkill?
Eh power stations are pretty fucking vital to keep open, my man.

Those must be some hippies commanding the power of quantum wasps and the power of the sun to injure police from heat exhaustion. Not to mention commanding fences to reach out and cut them, no doubt the use of telekenesis.

My advice is be careful not to attract their attention.

They achieve that through tofu.


Btw, Genova 2001. The episode which defined what I think of the police, expecially the riot control squads.

Quite honestly, wouldn't using that money to buy marijuana for all of the hippies be more effective?

Quite honestly, wouldn't using that money to buy marijuana for all of the hippies be more effective?

It would only encourage more to sign up, we'd have an entire nation of hippies.

injured sitting in a car!?... how..why?

injured sitting in a car!?... how..why?
Strained his eyes staring down godless hippies. Possibly.

Strained his eyes staring down godless hippies. Possibly.

That's quite a possibility. Alternitively, I'd think he bumped his head on the dashboard picking up a pastry..

Shocking scenes of violence (.........)
My opinion is that you can never be too heavy-handed with hippies but what does NSG think?

Its New Labour, Tough on Dissent, because its sponsored by the causes of dissent.

Fuck, I despise them....

Frankly, when it involves hippies, you should skip the foreplay and go straight to neutron bombs. That'll teach those long hairs...

Its New Labour, Tough on Dissent, because its sponsored by the causes of dissent.

Fuck, I despise them....

Indeed.

injured sitting in a car!?... how..why?

Wanker's cramp

It would only encourage more to sign up, we'd have an entire nation of hippies.

I see nowt wrong with that man!

I'd better write to the Home Office to warn them of an impending LG taco invasion...

Oh yes, they are in real trouble now! *plots*

perhaps the hippies shouldn't camp out in front of power stations.

though the real solution is let the power station privately own the land.
Then when the Hippies come to camp out charge them 100 pounds per night. the hippies lacking money will move on. that failing then the police are with in all right to evict them.

REAL "hippies" were never violent. (long haired party-eistas who thought they were imitating real hippies were occasionally another matter entirely) THEY (the REAL hippies and protestors, not the banwagon joiners on, valuable as they my prove to be at the polls and in the poll of public opinion potentially by their numbers) were the people who actually gave a dam about the kind of world we all have to live in. and in reality, held the moral higher ground. the negative rap comes from fashist mackiavellians paranoid of not being able to con everyone into violence for their personal symbolic accumulation.

whatever corporate media is labeling 'hippies' today, is trying to dis two reps with one deception.

perhaps the hippies shouldn't camp out in front of power stations.

Why not?

Why not?

environmental damage.

Then the hippies could've been a group of Charles Manson! :eek:

And Hitler was patriotic for his country, so everyone who is patriotic for their country could become another Hitler!!!:eek2:

hey isn't this the power station back in November where a hippie snuck in and shut off one of the generators
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/11/kingsnorth-green-banksy-saboteur

environmental damage.

Since when has camping caused any serious environmental damage?

Act single-handedly cuts UK carbon output by 2%
Holy crap.

Holy crap.

2% of what? Probably 2% of what would be produced while it was off.

Holy crap.
Yeah, for four hours. Otherwise this one power station would produce thousands of percent of the UK's emissions in a year.

Since when has camping caused any serious environmental damage?

go to a place where people have camped unregulated. grass is trampled often killed. If there are trees near by those will be chopped down to use as fire wood and for cooking.
If it rains while the protesters are there or anytime before next spring the site will become a mud pit and an eye sore.

Also thing of all the cat holes dug for deification that can affect the ground water, along with the multitude of people urinating on everything they can.

go to a place where people have camped unregulated. grass is trampled often killed. If there are trees near by those will be chopped down to use as fire wood and for cooking.
If it rains while the protesters are there or anytime before next spring the site will become a mud pit and an eye sore.

Also thing of all the cat holes dug for deification that can affect the ground water, along with the multitude of people urinating on everything they can.
These are environmental, pure vegan hippie types. They are not going to be cutting down trees. As to it being an eyesore - it's next to a fucking power station, come on. I don't support what they're doing myself, but they're not going to be damaging the environment if possible.

2% of what? Probably 2% of what would be produced while it was off.
I was highlighting my surprise that a single turbine produces 2% of Britain's climate change emissions.

Yeah, for four hours. Otherwise this one power station would produce thousands of percent of the UK's emissions in a year.

Yeh, I know. I'm not defending it, I'm just sayin'.

I was highlighting my surprise that a single turbine produces 2% of Britain's climate change emissions.
I dunno, it can power a city of half a million. That's quite a few people.

These are environmental, pure vegan hippie types. They are not going to be cutting down trees. As to it being an eyesore - it's next to a fucking power station, come on. I don't support what they're doing myself, but they're not going to be damaging the environment if possible.

yes they are it is too many people walking on the grass over a period of time. now there is no grass on that field until next spring. And camp with pure vegan types every year at various music festivals, trust me they cut down trees. They might rationalize it by cutting down only a limb or two ,then the next guy cuts another one down, the third guy finds just the trunk sticking out of the ground and says well this tree is going to die anyways.
And this si a site with porta johns. I cant imagine a non porta poddy site.

go to a place where people have camped unregulated. grass is trampled often killed. If there are trees near by those will be chopped down to use as fire wood and for cooking.
If it rains while the protesters are there or anytime before next spring the site will become a mud pit and an eye sore.

Also thing of all the cat holes dug for deification that can affect the ground water, along with the multitude of people urinating on everything they can.

this is less a problem with philosophy as with overpopulation in general as a whole. guess what happens when infrastructure breaks down, or in places where it has been destroyed by invasion 'for the good of the people there'!

protest isn't a hobby. its something neccessitated by the thoughtlessness of others and the short sighted myopia of decision makers.

this is less a problem with philosophy as with overpopulation in general as a whole. guess what happens when infrastructure breaks down, or in places where it has been destroyed by invasion 'for the good of the people there'!

protest isn't a hobby. its something neccessitated by the thoughtlessness of others and the short sighted myopia of decision makers.

Hippies are the among the worst for camp ground maintenance of the groups I have camped with. Hunters understand the value of leaving a clean camp site and packing out everything they packed in and are among the best. they also realize they aren't going to catch anything if there are 10,000 people in a single square KM.

Hippies are the among the worst for camp ground maintenance of the groups I have camped with. Hunters understand the value of leaving a clean camp site and packing out everything they packed in and are among the best. they also realize they aren't going to catch anything if there are 10,000 people in a single square KM.

again this is a matter of what is being defined as hippies. but yes, i've had THIS experience too. but i've also lived in relatively wilderness settings, where everyone stayed indoors on the first few days, or even weeks, of hunting season, to avoid being shot at 'by accident' by drunked up 'hunters' shooting at anything that moves. not all 'hunters' have the good sense described either, although the ones who actually catch anything have to. but those are really a very small percentage of the number of nuts who go out there with guns just because there's a season that, along with a permit, says they can.

Hippies are the among the worst for camp ground maintenance of the groups I have camped with. Hunters understand the value of leaving a clean camp site and packing out everything they packed in and are among the best. they also realize they aren't going to catch anything if there are 10,000 people in a single square KM.

Hippie hunting - its the only solution (though they probably already do it down in Texas and the like..)

go to a place where people have camped unregulated. grass is trampled often killed. If there are trees near by those will be chopped down to use as fire wood and for cooking.
If it rains while the protesters are there or anytime before next spring the site will become a mud pit and an eye sore.

Also thing of all the cat holes dug for deification that can affect the ground water, along with the multitude of people urinating on everything they can.

Which is vastly less environmentally damaging than the power station they're camping beside. The grass that was there was killed, and replaced with concrete so it won't grow back in the foreseeable future. Any forests between the nearest main road and the site would have a road cut through them. And I dare say it wasn't designed with aesthetics in mind, so tick the eyesore box too.

Which is vastly less environmentally damaging than the power station they're camping beside. The grass that was there was killed, and replaced with concrete so it won't grow back in the foreseeable future. Any forests between the nearest main road and the site would have a road cut through them. And I dare say it wasn't designed with aesthetics in mind, so tick the eyesore box too.

precisely! not to mention the big holes in the ground full of unhappy dead people wars make that are protested. sometimes i forget to mention things because what is obvious to me, i too often forget isn't neccessarily obvious to others.

Now they see BOARD GAMES as a threat!? At least they're not using unarmed civilians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadou_Diallo) for target practice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Bell_shooting), but...

It would only encourage more to sign up, we'd have an entire nation of hippies.

Better that than a nation full of Bush voters! (yes, I know, Bush is on the other side of the atlantic, but....)