Black Lives Matter Protesters Chain Themselves To Road Near Heathrow Sparking Travel Chaos For Holidaymakers

[Fweethawt]

Now these dumbasses are putting themselves in chains...

 

 

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/black-lives-matter-protesters-chain-themselves-to-road-near-heathrow-sparking-travel-chaos-for-a3312516.html

 

Black Lives Matter protesters chained themselves to tarmac this morning blocking a key route leading to Heathrow airport at the height of the summer holiday season.

 

Ten people have been arrested after police arrived to break up the road block, with four taken to a police station and the other six still chained to each other at the scene.

[florduh]

Agree with their agenda or not, this is how you draw attention to a cause and force change. These techniques help bring an end to the Vietnam War and get civil rights legislation passed. Better than rioting, shooting cops and burning down a city, right?

[Fweethawt]

Better than rioting, shooting cops and burning down a city, right?

Sure! Because if there's one place on Earth BLM should be making such a demonstration, it's gotta be Britain.

 

I mean, just look at these stats -- Police in Britain fired their guns just seven times in the last year - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-police-shooting-statistics-discharge-firearms-figures-freddie-gray-baton-killings-homicide-a7160391.html

 

With stats like that it's damn near impossible to live as a black person in Britain. I'm surprised they didn't start their demonstrations much sooner than in the U.S.!

[Lilith666]

Black Lives Matter protest blocks child getting to hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IfyI69IQSg

 

I don't ever want to hear anyone say that Black Lives Matter blocking traffic is an "inconvenience," or that this group is "peaceful." Stop making excuses for them. I've seen videos of BLM protestors being hit by cars when they blocked traffic, and I won't revel in it, but they need to face consequences. Ambulances should prioritize and run over people who block them. This obsession with race and entitled attitude has gone beyond annoying and become dangerous.

[Fweethawt]

I've read stories of people losing their jobs because they didn't make it to work on time and things like that and all sorts of missed appointments along with the blocking of emergency vehicles.

[Guest Furball]

I don't agree with these tactics and neither do other people out here in california. They did this same thing on a major freeway at rush hour when everyone was going home. People were beyond pissed at these protesters. These people are getting a lot of press already in news interviews, they don't need to interrupt everyone else's lives at the same time. These people who were tired and just wanted to go home couldn't because these idiots blocked off the entire freeway and it took hours for the cops to sort everything out and get people out there who could cut through those pipes they have their arms in. When the people were interviewed who were sitting in the cars were asked if they thought the protest was a good thing, these people were angry as shit at them and expressed that this is not the way to get people to listen to them. I understand they want to get a message out, and doing interviews locally as well as on a national scale will do just that. They don't need to shit on everyone else and make their lives miserable at the same time. I understand why they are doing it, I just don't agree with how they are doing it. It's called tact.

[Lilith666]

Our jails will burst if we arrest everyone who does this. It will inflate their martyr complex bigger than it already is, and convince throngs of other supporters that they're the second coming of MLK and Rosa Parks and should keep doing what they're doing. Like ants: kill some, there will always be more. Please note that I'm not advocating for murdering BLM members, which is stooping to their level and will contribute to total chaos. Next time BLM interrupts a parade, security should throw them out, physically if necessary. We must send a message that attempts to control us will not be tolerated. Love drives out hate, but love also means standing up to bullies instead of continuing to let them walk on people.

[SilentLoner]

Black Lives Matter protest blocks child getting to hospital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IfyI69IQSg

 

I don't ever want to hear anyone say that Black Lives Matter blocking traffic is an "inconvenience," or that this group is "peaceful." Stop making excuses for them. I've seen videos of BLM protestors being hit by cars when they blocked traffic, and I won't revel in it, but they need to face consequences. Ambulances should prioritize and run over people who block them. This obsession with race and entitled attitude has gone beyond annoying and become dangerous.

 

Yeah, no one in the 60's civil rights movement ever blocked a road...

 

 

 

Point is, road blocking during protests is nothing new:

 

In January 1991, thousands of war protesters shut down the Bay Bridge for almost two hours during a furious day of demonstrations that led to 600 arrests and injuries.

 

But maybe the most famous bridge protest was in January 1989, when members of the San Francisco group Stop AIDS Now or Else shut down traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for more than an hour. It’s amazing to read the stories from that time — you can substitute the quotes from “angry commuters” in this week’s stories with no dissonance at all.

 

http://www.sfchronicle.com/entertainment/article/MLK-bridge-blockade-draws-on-long-history-of-6775567.php

[SilentLoner]

 Like ants: kill some, there will always be more. Please note that I'm not advocating for murdering BLM members, which is stooping to their level and will contribute to total chaos. 

 

I can't help but notice your attitude towards BLM is bordering on fanatical here. Comparing people you disagree with to insects? Nice. The reason BLM exists in the first place is because of black people getting murdered by police who gets slaps to the wrist. But suddenly its "their level?"

 

 

 

This obsession with race and entitled attitude has gone beyond annoying and become dangerous.

 

Racial issues in this country have been more than "annoying" for a very long time. Its been a downright deadly issue for minorities for decades. 

 

Do I approve of everything BLM does? Heck no. But its not a mystery why they're angry.

[Lilith666]

I added that I wasn't advocating for murdering BLM members, in hopes that people wouldn't draw that conclusion. I've also said I won't revel in BLM people being run over. But think what you like.

 

BLM shuts down people they disagree with all the time. They believe they have a right to appropriate other events because they see their issue as more important than anything else. Do I think that we should walk in their meetings and disrupt them? No. So I made a comparison you don't like. But when have I tried to silence them and stop them from spreading their message?

 

You might say that I'm doing just that by saying they shouldn't be allowed to protest wherever they want. They can exercise their rights, but not by infringing on other people's.

 

I don't care what time period it took place or what cause it was for: I don't agree with blocking traffic. It puts the protesters and others in danger. They can get attention without harming anyone. Use some ingenuity.

 

Yes, there have been black people wrongly killed by police. There are other races suffering from police brutality, too. I've heard it before: they focus on black people because they say blacks are disproportionately targeted. Does that stop them from speaking out for anyone else who is a police victim? If so, it sounds to me that they are ignoring other victims in favor of their narrative. "All lives matter" includes black people: I will defend any victim, black, white, Hispanic, or any other ethnicity, but BLM is interested only in the victims who further their interests.

[SilentLoner]

I added that I wasn't advocating for murdering BLM members, in hopes that people wouldn't draw that conclusion. I've also said I won't revel in BLM people being run over. But think what you like.

 

Yeah, noticed that, but its is easy to say one thing and imply another.

 

BLM shuts down people they disagree with all the time. They believe they have a right to appropriate other events because they see their issue as more important than anything else. Do I think that we should walk in their meetings and disrupt them? No. So I made a comparison you don't like. But when have I tried to silence them and stop them from spreading their message?

 

 

 

Which is why I agree that I don't like everything they do. But BLM is at its core an activist group, and activists have typically made their points known by getting attention by being disruptive to a degree.

 

I don't care what time period it took place or what cause it was for: I don't agree with blocking traffic. It puts the protesters and others in danger. They can get attention without harming anyone. Use some ingenuity.

 

 

 

I agree its not the most productive thing to block traffic. But one can argue that jumping in on a parade or other event causes no harm, yet you didn't seem fond of that either...

 

Yes, there have been black people wrongly killed by police.

 

 

To put it lightly...

 

There are other races suffering from police brutality, too. I've heard it before: they focus on black people because they say blacks are disproportionately targeted. Does that stop them from speaking out for anyone else who is a police victim? If so, it sounds to me that they are ignoring other victims in favor of their narrative. "All lives matter" includes black people: I will defend any victim, black, white, Hispanic, or any other ethnicity, but BLM is interested only in the victims who further their interests.

 

 

The problem with the "All lives matter" mentality is that while strictly true, its a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the main issue. I think this does a good job of illustrating why its a problematic slogan: http://twitter.com/krisstraub/status/751163631300063232/photo/1

 

 

 

 but BLM is interested only in the victims who further their interests.

 

Their interests - as in getting shot by police?

[ToHellWithMe]

But its not a mystery why they're angry.

While their anger may be understandable, what they do because of it cannot be excused.

[Lilith666]

Response to SilentLoner:

 

1. I did not intend to imply that BLM members are ants.

 

2. Hold signs? Sure. March down the sidewalks, while leaving room for other people to pass? OK. Paste up flyers and hand out pamphlets? Fine. Take over other events and stop people from going anywhere? Not OK. How would BLM react if other people disrupted their meetings and called it "getting their attention"? They would be furious. The thing is, no matter what the cause, we all have the same rights. That means that BLM and the KKK, Trump people and Hillary people, environmentalists and climate-change deniers are all on the same level. We learned in kindergarten to share and not to cut in line. We cannot throw out basic principles to spread our message, and ignoring BLM's behavior because you agree with their core idea is destructive.

 

3. See point 2.

 

4. And calling for the death of cops will fix that? Again, if you disagree with this tactic, don't support them and hold your own protest.

 

5. Do BLM see someone getting beaten by police and say, "Hmm... that person isn't black. I'll ignore it"? That is monstrous. They can advocate for black people while advocating for everyone. I shared a video of a handcuffed white man being screamed at and punched by a cop, and also shared recordings of Alton Sterling's and Philando Castile's deaths. This idea that defending one group means taking away from another is the divisiveness that causes racism.

 

6. Their interests, as in the narrative that black people are targeted by police. Are they afraid that people will see a non-black person being abused and question that black people are oppressed?

[Daffodil]

 

I added that I wasn't advocating for murdering BLM members, in hopes that people wouldn't draw that conclusion. I've also said I won't revel in BLM people being run over. But think what you like.

 

Yeah, noticed that, but its is easy to say one thing and imply another.

 

BLM shuts down people they disagree with all the time. They believe they have a right to appropriate other events because they see their issue as more important than anything else. Do I think that we should walk in their meetings and disrupt them? No. So I made a comparison you don't like. But when have I tried to silence them and stop them from spreading their message?

 

 

Which is why I agree that I don't like everything they do. But BLM is at its core an activist group, and activists have typically made their points known by getting attention by being disruptive to a degree.

 

I don't care what time period it took place or what cause it was for: I don't agree with blocking traffic. It puts the protesters and others in danger. They can get attention without harming anyone. Use some ingenuity.

 

 

I agree its not the most productive thing to block traffic. But one can argue that jumping in on a parade or other event causes no harm, yet you didn't seem fond of that either...

 

Yes, there have been black people wrongly killed by police.

 

To put it lightly...

There are other races suffering from police brutality, too. I've heard it before: they focus on black people because they say blacks are disproportionately targeted. Does that stop them from speaking out for anyone else who is a police victim? If so, it sounds to me that they are ignoring other victims in favor of their narrative. "All lives matter" includes black people: I will defend any victim, black, white, Hispanic, or any other ethnicity, but BLM is interested only in the victims who further their interests.

 

The problem with the "All lives matter" mentality is that while strictly true, its a tone-deaf slogan that distracts from the main issue. I think this does a good job of illustrating why its a problematic slogan: http://twitter.com/krisstraub/status/751163631300063232/photo/1

 

 

but BLM is interested only in the victims who further their interests.

Their interests - as in getting shot by police?

Their interests as in - only black people killed by cops. Black people shot and killed by each other never seems to be of any interest to them despite the fact that far more black people (especially young) get killed that way then by the other. Black lives matter? Only if killed by cops.

 

Also, your picture shows a march which does not permanently shut down a motorway. Chaining yourself across a road does, at least until authorities can cut the chains. An ambulance can cut through a crowd as needed, if the people are reasonable. A line of chained people, not so much.

[Chikirin]

Cops in England don't even carry guns. Maybe they do now, but when i visited in the 90s they didn't.

[Fweethawt]

When they chain themselves to block ALL traffic, I say MACE THE FUCKERS!

I thought for sure you'd say, "Speed bumps!"

[Vigile]

[Vigile]

Agree with their agenda or not, this is how you draw attention to a cause and force change. These techniques help bring an end to the Vietnam War and get civil rights legislation passed. Better than rioting, shooting cops and burning down a city, right?

 

qft

[Lilith666]

It always baffles me when people act like BLM has no recourse but to harass and endanger other people. Why don't they use their brains and come up with a way to get attention without doing either? ...Oh, right. It's because they need to control everything and won't be happy until every one of us is groveling before them.

[Vigile]

It always baffles me when people act like BLM has no recourse but to harass and endanger other people. Why don't they use their brains and come up with a way to get attention without doing either? ...Oh, right. It's because they need to control everything and won't be happy until every one of us is groveling before them.

 

Strawman much? 

[midniterider]

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

[Lilith666]

Exactly, assemble peaceably. Is getting in the way of traffic peaceable? No.

 

Reply to Vigile: My point was that BLM chooses not to use other means of protest because they want to be in charge, as shown by their taking over events and telling people there what to do, such as halting a Pride parade until the organizers signed their list of demands.

[Bhim]

I notice that some, both in this thread and elsewhere, are drawing comparisons between BLM and the protest movements of MLK as though the parallel is a foregone conclusion. I would like to point out two things:

 

1. It is not concluded that MLK's movement was successful. The fact that we are sitting here talking about race and civil rights suggests that it was, at best, a partial success. If that is so, then maybe it wasn't the right approach.

 

2. As mentioned in Vigile's own infographic, MLK protested unjust laws. Specific laws and jurisprudence allowed for Jim Crow. What law is BLM protesting? It's already illegal to shoot an unarmed person who is not posing a threat. No new law is needed here. In fact, many of the officers in prominent cases of deaths of black men have been exonerated, even in the Baltimore case where some of the accused were also black.

 

The second point deserves a bit more discussion, I think.  What BLM wants, but doesn't say often, is for white people to stop fearing black people. These protests aren't accomplishing that. You can't legislate for people to stop fearing you any more than you can legislate morality. You may use laws to control the behavior and actions of others, but you cannot, and ought not, legislate them into a new way of thinking. On the contrary, BLM's actions make me fear blacks, despite that I am more often mistaken for a black guy than a white guy. Just last month my wife had to flee a subway car because some BLM people started making threats of violence against whites and Muslims (we're also often misidentified as Muslim). Prior to that, there was a protest in my city, on the route I take home from work, where police officers were assaulted. So thanks BLM. When I was growing up in the 90s one of my best friends in grade school was black, and I didn't think of him as my "black friend" because I didn't care about race. Now, black people stick out to me like a sore thumb and I subconsciously avoid black people I don't know for fear that I'll be injured in some violent outburst directed at an ethereal and ill-defined "system." Obviously I don't like the fact that I do this, and I try my best to suppress this behavior, but it happens. Now, if someone like me harbors this sort of bias, it's not a serious issue, because if I avoid black people it doesn't affect anyone but myself. But put a gun and a badge in my hands, and I could involuntarily cause the next death of an unarmed black male. That is the problem. And while I fully admit that it's a problem, it can't be solved by passing a law.

 

Whatever the efficacy of MLK's methods, he promoted equality. BLM says nothing about equality. To put it succinctly I again reference Vigile's images. MLK had his protesters carry signs declaring "I am a man." Black Lives Matter admonishes us to "disband the police." These people should not presume to take up the mantle of MLK. Whereas he eased racial tensions in America, these people have worsened them.

[Vigile]

Exactly, assemble peaceably. Is getting in the way of traffic peaceable? No.

 

Reply to Vigile: My point was that BLM chooses not to use other means of protest because they want to be in charge, as shown by their taking over events and telling people there what to do, such as halting a Pride parade until the organizers signed their list of demands.

 

Yeah, and I'm saying that's a strawman argument for what they want. What they want is for black people to stop getting killed and incarcerated at rates 6x white people. What they want is the same aid that the rest of us get when there are disasters like Katrina, etc... IOW, they want to actually matter like the rest of us do. 

 

They aren't doing anything more than what they did in the 60s to get the Civil Rights acts passed. Today, we consider those who protested in the 60s to be heros for their effort. 

 

Also, if peaceable assembly doesn't gain attention -- and it doesn't -- then it's time to use civil disobedience. Would you rather they riot? 

[Vigile]

 What law is BLM protesting? 

http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the-problem-with-saying-all-lives-matter/

 

If you can't figure it out from this, then you won't ever figure it out. This is my last comment in this thread.