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FAIRFORD POLICE NICE!

ttroughton | 27.01.2003 15:51

Puzzled by reports of violence...

Although one person was roughly arrested when around 50 protestors successfully entered the base at Fairford, it was my impression, and the impression of most people there, that the police on the whole behaved in an uncommonly polite & gentlemanly fashion. One chap who entered the grounds was hugged by the policeman pursuing him and told "well done, mate, I think what you're doing is excellent". As one former Greenham protestor put it "Even police can be against this war. This is about everyone. There are Daily Telegraph readers here today - we are representing most of the country."

ttroughton
- e-mail: tabitha64@hotmail.com

Comments

Hide the following 11 comments

It was fine until the cavelry arrived

27.01.2003 16:26

The police were on the whole very friendly and supportive, the only problems arose when the second gang of reinforcements arrived, and immediatly piled on the first guy they came accross. There were 4 or 5 police all piled on one guy, and that's when there was some violence. But on the whole I'd have to agree that the police were very good

Psycherelic

Greek Police very nice!

27.01.2003 16:41

My friend in Athens told me that there was an anti-war demo in Nafplio, Greece at the weekend, during which police lines were broken through by, geuss what, 500 off-duty cops!
Eleftheria e thanatos!

James Thorne
mail e-mail: squatticus@hotmail.com

what the hell are you on about

27.01.2003 17:06

Some of the cops were nice, but as someone pointed out above the second lot were violent arseholes who arrested 3 people, not one in the incident you describe, which leads me to believe that you either weren't actually there, or weren' in a position to see what was going on.

It doesn't matter if cops are against the war or not - while in uniform they're going to do what they're told - to stop any direct action and make sure that the war machine is running smoothly.

ice

what the hell are you on about

27.01.2003 17:06

Some of the cops were nice, but as someone pointed out above the second lot were violent arseholes who arrested 3 people, not one in the incident you describe, which leads me to believe that you either weren't actually there, or weren' in a position to see what was going on.

It doesn't matter if cops are against the war or not - while in uniform they're going to do what they're told - to stop any direct action and make sure that the war machine is running smoothly.

ice

Weren't 'nice' to me

27.01.2003 19:14

I didn't get any fluffy friendly treatment from the police - nor did my mate who got a bloody nose for staging a peaceful sit down.
There are always some who will have a joke and a laugh, but I came away with more thana few bruises for just sitting down and protesting by the fence just after a guy got arrested and beaten by another group of police.
Far fro being hugged by anyone inside the base I was told to stand stock still and not move or a police dog would 'rip my face off'.
When I did what he said and told the cop that I was a peaceful protestor who didn't want any trouble the dog got released on me anyway and the threat of a mangled face or a chewed off arm was repeated.
As I walked back to the hole in fence the same policeman continually and in a very intimidating way drove around me in his car at speed in circles.
I was then picked up and more or less thrown through back through the hole in the fence.
If you want to aplaud the few you should also get the full story about the violent behaviour of the others.
The police that were all too quick to get their truncheons out should be ashamed at the way they were willing to lay into a bunch of peaceniks, and the unquestioning way that they were protecting the US war-machine.

llantwit

Weren't 'nice' to me

27.01.2003 19:17

I didn't get any fluffy friendly treatment from the police - nor did my mate who got a bloody nose for staging a peaceful sit down.
There are always some who will have a joke and a laugh, but I came away with more thana few bruises for just sitting down and protesting by the fence just after a guy got arrested and beaten by another group of police.
Far fro being hugged by anyone inside the base I was told to stand stock still and not move or a police dog would 'rip my face off'.
When I did what he said and told the cop that I was a peaceful protestor who didn't want any trouble the dog got released on me anyway and the threat of a mangled face or a chewed off arm was repeated.
As I walked back to the hole in fence the same policeman continually and in a very intimidating way drove around me in his car at speed in circles.
I was then picked up and more or less thrown through back through the hole in the fence.
If you want to aplaud the few you should also get the full story about the violent behaviour of the others.
The police that were all too quick to get their truncheons out should be ashamed at the way they were willing to lay into a bunch of peaceniks, and the unquestioning way that they were protecting the US war-machine.

llantwit

Nice & Nasty

28.01.2003 10:57

I encountered both nice cop & nasty cop there. Arrived at the fence hole too late to get thru, but saw the ruck when loads of them piled on to one person, that bunch were only too keen to
pull out batons, push people around (including kids) and generally throw their weight around. On the other hand the MOD
police I met were quite friendly and fluffy (and so were some of the Glos cops I saw later)
You're always gonna get a few who joined up so that they could
act like agressive twats - & its possible these were sent in so the media got some footage of aggro happening - after all, what better footage could the establishment hope for on teh evening ITV news? "peace protestors turn violent" etc

gnome

a cop thing

28.01.2003 11:27

point is all coppers are 'nice' if they see no threat (either to the power they command or the authority they endorse), as soon as you are perceived as a threat you will be beaten, abused, threatened, intimidated & treated like shit all under the banner of 'law & order'. There is no such thing as passive authority. Remember: the copper who hits you with a stick is scared shitless of what you might do, the copper who stands by & smiles knows exactly that you will do nothing.
Respect to the cardiff lot - stars of the day.

bruised wrists

The last resort of the state is vilences.

28.01.2003 14:58

Interesting replies to your post I think the last one makes a lot of senses... when you actually threaten social change, vilences will be used agenst you. The monopoly on the use of violence is the last resort of the state. It might sound abstract but it has a lot of historical truth behind it.

hamish
mail e-mail: hamish_campbell@hotmail.com

The "State" is all of us.

28.01.2003 18:54

Only last century "we" were hanging people for killing other people. People can change the way things are done. They can try and change them violently (in which case what, precisely, separates them from their antagonists, apart from an abstract idea?) Or, as at Fairford, they can try and change things peacefully and with an appreciation of the true nature of the people (fundamentally decent and peaceful in anarchist philosophy and in practice - otherwise you wouldn't be able to walk down a London street). Policemen are human, as one person above notes - a few (thanks to background, trauma, or other psychological factors) are bound to be aggressive and violent. It was a pleasure, at Fairford, to see that the majority weren't. (Whether the Met recruit from the same wide spectrum is another question).As to the "Authorities", good grief, they are only a few blokes. They may be, as Fromm suggests, made up of the most anti-social elements of society (ten per cent in his view) but they're not immutable, unchangeable, a god. So what if their last resort has always been violence? They're learning that it doesn't work, and it never has. It's an ongoing process...

ttroughton

...or their job

29.01.2003 12:08

>a few (thanks to background, trauma,
>or other psychological factors) are
>bound to be aggressive and violent.

... Or nearly all of them, at certain times, because it's their job.

fred