Does anybody think that protests are becoming more irrational these days?

[Lencoboy]

After yesterday's pathetic attempts by the antivaxx mobs to hijack the BBC, whilst at the same time failing to realise that almost all of their operations relocated to another site elsewhere in London back in 2013.

Also despite almost all of England's Covid restrictions finally being jettisoned from 19th July, anti-lockdowners still continued to wreak havoc across central London on a couple of occasions after that date.

Are people just protesting for the sake of it and purely for kicks of late?

Really makes a mockery of genuine past causes such as the Miners' Strike, the Poll Tax Riots, Marches for Jobs, numerous high-profile job losses over the years, etc, IMO.

[WiredIncorrectly]

I've always viewed protests as an illusion of freedom. Protests today rarely work to achieve their intended goal.

Rather than a protest, why don't these groups write their argument with an effective social media marketing strategy? Pool their money. That would make far more sense than chanting through the streets. Protestors of today are more like sheep following a Shepheard for some radical objective. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these protests are planned and funded by fat-cats for nefarious reasons. George Soros anybody?

You're right, it does make a mockery of the genuine protests.

Edit: I watched a documentary where poor people in a country I forget the name of, were paid small amounts of money to attend protests and chant. I will try to find it again.

[Lencoboy]

I've always viewed protests as an illusion of freedom. Protests today rarely work to achieve their intended goal.

Rather than a protest, why don't these groups write their argument with an effective social media marketing strategy? Pool their money. That would make far more sense than chanting through the streets. Protestors of today are more like sheep following a Shepheard for some radical objective. I wouldn't be surprised if some of these protests are planned and funded by fat-cats for nefarious reasons. George Soros anybody?

You're right, it does make a mockery of the genuine protests.

Edit: I watched a documentary where poor people in a country I forget the name of, were paid small amounts of money to attend protests and chant. I will try to find it again.

I completely agree with much of what you have said there WIC.

It does appear that protests in general have been overdone over the past 10-15 years or so to the point of losing much of their true meaning, with many now probably thinking when they switch the TV news on, 'just another ruck in central London (or whatever other major city), and inadvertently, another borefest'!

[spectrum123]

I went to the poll tax riots, that was a fun day out.

Free bus organised by the student union, with some free booze supplied. The ironic thing was, as students we were exempt from poll tax should it have been introduced!

The truth was though, there was a festering anger that had been bubbling under the surface for a number of years, between the government/police/authorities and the youth of the time. Raves, new age traveller's, and environmental protests were getting heavy handling from authorities.

The poll tax protest was mainly an excuse to kick back, so actually the poll tax itself had little to do with the riot it turned into.

Personally I had a fantastic day.

[Pamplemousse]

I went to the poll tax riots, that was a fun day out.

Free bus organised by the student union, with some free booze supplied. The ironic thing was, as students we were exempt from poll tax should it have been introduced!

The truth was though, there was a festering anger that had been bubbling under the surface for a number of years, between the government/police/authorities and the youth of the time. Raves, new age traveller's, and environmental protests were getting heavy handling from authorities.

The poll tax protest was mainly an excuse to kick back, so actually the poll tax itself had little to do with the riot it turned into.

Personally I had a fantastic day.

Best bit of direct action this country has seen in decades - one that saw a positive outcome.

[Lencoboy]

I went to the poll tax riots, that was a fun day out.

Free bus organised by the student union, with some free booze supplied. The ironic thing was, as students we were exempt from poll tax should it have been introduced!

The truth was though, there was a festering anger that had been bubbling under the surface for a number of years, between the government/police/authorities and the youth of the time. Raves, new age traveller's, and environmental protests were getting heavy handling from authorities.

The poll tax protest was mainly an excuse to kick back, so actually the poll tax itself had little to do with the riot it turned into.

Personally I had a fantastic day.

Actually, the Poll Tax did come into force in April 1990 by the late Thatcher administration but by 1992 had been jettisoned by Major and replaced with the less controversial 'Council Tax', which still remains today.

I seriously don't know how I would have had a fantastic day in central London on that day in the early spring of 1990 when all hell was letting loose. I would have been petrified witless!

But like you said, there was a fair amount of underlying anger and resentment amongst society over a plethora of issues that had already been festering under the surface for several years prior to 1990, especially the chronically dire unemployment situation in this country back then.

Of course, football hooliganism in this country was allegedly at its peak around that time, of which many used to to vent their pent-up anger and frustrations, not only at the matches themselves, but also in the pubs and clubs where the matches were shown on live TV, where epic punch-ups would be commonplace.

Raves have made a bit of a comeback over recent years (even pre-dating the pandemic), and so have environmental protests (a la XR), plus of course we had the BLM protests last summer, so things do have a tendency to go around in cycles.

At least we don't seem to hear of the EDL and 'Occupy' movements of late, which were all the rage about 10 years ago, nor have we heard of any May Day protests in this country for several years now, despite their still being very much an annual ritual in much of mainland Europe.

[Lencoboy]

Best bit of direct action this country has seen in decades - one that saw a positive outcome.

I wonder what the reaction would be now if Bozzer announced he was reinstating the Poll Tax from spring 2022?

Would this country be up in flames or would most people be more indifferent towards it nowadays and possibly play the Labour 'whataboutery' card?

N.B, the first paragraph is just a hypothetical scenario BTW.

[spectrum123]

I seriously don't know how I would have had a fantastic day in central London on that day in the early spring of 1990 when all hell was letting loose. I would have been petrified witless!

I was 19 almost 20, a student, plenty of booze, a few drugs and in the middle of it. That cocktail makes for a great time when you're caught up in the thick of it. It's like letting all your inhibitions go at once, hell of a rush.

[Lencoboy]

I was 19 almost 20, a student, plenty of booze, a few drugs and in the middle of it. That cocktail makes for a great time when you're caught up in the thick of it. It's like letting all your inhibitions go at once, hell of a rush.

Brave man!

I would have been the biggest wimp ever.

[Lencoboy]

It does seem that the Covid non-believers, anti-lockdowners and antivaxxers are the ones shouting the loudest right now, whereas I'm surprised there hasn't been any reports of any protests by pro-lockdowners and pro-vaxxers as yet.

Mind you, it would involve a complete lack of social distancing, especially if all crammed together on the ever-crowded streets of central London, so would most certainly be considered hypocritical, and indeed ironic, in many respects!