FabSwingers.com forum: Elderly arrested again at Palestine protest

By *ingdomNightTimePleasures OP Man
34 weeks ago

nearby

Yesterdays Palestine protest officially started at 13:00. Hundreds of protesters, many of whom were clearly pensioners, picked up pieces of paper or placards and wrote messages in support of Palestine Action.

Reported 425 arrested yesterday, and 532 at the previous protest.

Last months protest saw the average age of those arrested at the August rally was 54, and the most arrests - 147 of them - were of people aged between 60 and 69.

A man aged 62, who is blind and uses a wheelchair, was one of the 532 people arrested at that demonstration.

The new law banning the support for Palestine Action appears to be affecting pensioners the most.

What about respecting the views of elders; have the government and the police got this wrong.

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By *resesse_MelioremCouple
34 weeks ago

Border of London

What about respecting the views of elders; have the government and the police got this wrong. "

They were nuts for banning PA like this. If they can think of a penalty like a 10k fine each time someone is arrested for supporting PA, then this ridiculous situation would be fixed.

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By (user no longer on site)
34 weeks ago

What about respecting the views of elders; have the government and the police got this wrong.

They were nuts for banning PA like this. If they can think of a penalty like a 10k fine each time someone is arrested for supporting PA, then this ridiculous situation would be fixed."

I don't think age makes a difference in compliance with the law. But then is this the best use of Police time and resources? Under Labour, the Police seem to be taking more of a political role. A troubling trend, but not unexpected of Socialists.

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By *resesse_MelioremCouple
34 weeks ago

Border of London

What about respecting the views of elders; have the government and the police got this wrong.

They were nuts for banning PA like this. If they can think of a penalty like a 10k fine each time someone is arrested for supporting PA, then this ridiculous situation would be fixed.

Age doesn't... Except for optics and meaninglessness of consequences.

Their tactics have been to frustrate the policing and make it as difficult as possible for the police - don't show support until the protest (write your sign at an agreed time, don't bring it), go "floppy" to make it hard to arrest, and for photo ops (police drag pensioner), don't give name and details, to force custody instead of bail, to overwhelm the system...

This has turned into old-timer protestors Vs the police system. It's entertaining but rather silly. You're right about the use of police in this government - it looks a little political. The police system does not seem to relish it, though (a good thing).

The sad thing is that the message need not be illegal, but these guys aren't doing it "for Gaza" at this point, they're doing it against PA being proscribed.

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By *hagTonightMan
34 weeks ago

From the land of haribos.

[Removed by poster at 07/09/25 08:53:05]

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By *hagTonightMan
34 weeks ago

From the land of haribos.

The police did the right thing, they warned ahead of the demonstration that anyone showing support for the group would be arrested too.

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By *ellhungvweMan
34 weeks ago

Cheltenham

I don’t know whether PA are or are not a terrorist organisation. The public perception of what a terrorist is and what the law says it is diverged a long time ago and you are now starting to get a public recognition that the law is increasingly too broad in this area.

My perception is that PA were banned because they embarrassed the RAF with their lax security at Brize Norton. I appreciate securing an airfield that size is hard but that it is the role of the military. They clearly failed.

Deflecting attention from that failure by proscribing an organisation might have made political sense then but it has clearly not worked because most people don’t believe the Home Secretary on this issue.

If people have caused criminal damage to the scale that is alleged then they should be arrested and prosecuted.

Arresting people for holding up a sign makes a mockery of the law and it is clear that the police don’t really want to have to do it. They have no option though.

The best solution is for the new Home Secretary to say it was a mistake, blame it on her predecessor and rewind the order. She can do it temporarily whilst “looking at the issues”. If the government really believes that PA are dangerous then show us by prosecution of those really causing the damage and take the public on that journey.

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By *agan_guyMan
34 weeks ago

nearby

The police did the right thing, these idiots went there to break the law knowingly and this is the consequence.

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
34 weeks ago

East Sussex

Being a pensioner or between the ages of 60 and 69 doesn't make you immune from the law however daft you think the law might be. I strongly suspect that action groups are actively recruiting older people for a few reasons.

They have more time, nobody is going to tell them to 'get a job', they think the law and the general public will look more kindly on them and some of them are looking for a mission in life.

These people know exactly what they're doing and as far as being arrested goes I have no sympathy for them regardless of the cause they're supporting.

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
34 weeks ago

East Sussex

"The police did the right thing, these idiots went there to break the law knowingly and this is the consequence. "

I wouldn't call them idiots but I agree with the rest of your statement.

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By *icecouple561Couple
Forum Mod
34 weeks ago

East Sussex

Also just because someone is old doesn't mean their views are entitled to any more respect than those of younger people.

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By *xposedInTheMaleMan
34 weeks ago

Cambridgeshire

If you were being cynical, you could say that the government has played a blinder on this one.

Rather than the demonstrations being about Gaza, they're now about a small bit of terrorism law that has no effect on normal people. And as a result they're much smaller.

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By *octor ProdMan
34 weeks ago

Constantly Travelling With Work

Fuck the Met amd fuck the government.

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