Are we truly Free

[joudon]

Woke is the past participle of the verb "wake" .It is wrongly used as a noun to describe people who consider themselves ",aware". Aware of what I am not privy to that , but non woke people are branded " racist" and far right, not right but "far right,"

[jackspratt]

Can anyone on here explain to me what their definition of "woke" is ......

I'm happy to go with the generally accepted, and historical meaning of the word ie

: aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woke

I am also aware that some on the left seem to want to take their "wokeness" to extremes, which provides a convenient whipping boy for the conservatives and RWNJs.

Who are generally totally ignorant, or wilfully blind, to racial and social injustice.

And then there are those, even on this forum, who have NFI as to the correct meaning.

[Kenr6583]

So individuals who use the term "woke" in a negative context truly don't understand what the term really means. And I wonder if these individuals who use this term as much as they do knew that this word is an adjective derived from African-American Vernacular English they would continue to use it.

[noosard]

correct meaning of words is pretty arbitrary and a lot depends on where and who one is
goes for the spelling as well

[jackspratt]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought this one was pretty much on topic.

Civil liberties groups criticise police over arrests of anti-monarchy protesters

Series of incidents in Edinburgh, London and Oxford include woman being charged after a protest outside St Giles’ Cathedral

Civil liberties campaigners and others have expressed alarm about the response of police to anti-monarchy protesters after a number of incidents, the latest of which included the arrest of a man in Edinburgh for apparently heckling Prince Andrew.

The advocacy group Liberty said that new powers recently given to the police to curtail protest, and how they were being enforced by officers, were a cause for deep concern........

...... In London, a barrister and climate activist who had held up a blank piece of paper in Parliament Square said he had been threatened with arrest by a police officer under the Public Order Act.....
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... death-individual

EDIT: Forum censor strikes again. An alternative link which doesn't include the naughty K word, but still gives a flavour of the Guardian article. https://news.yahoo.com/anti-monarchy-ac ... 09800.html

[Whistler]

pratty the link goes nowhere

[jackspratt]

Predictably, give the cops new powers***, and they will abuse them.

Police accused of ‘alarming’ attack on protest rights after anti-monarchist leader arrested


Scotland Yard has been accused of an “incredibly alarming” attack on the right to protest after police used new powers to arrest the head of the leading republican movement and other organisers of an approved demonstration just hours before individual Charles III’s coronation........
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... on-protest

***the new Public Order Act

[Whistler]

Predictably, give the cops new powers***, and they will abuse them.

Police accused of ‘alarming’ attack on protest rights after anti-monarchist leader arrested


Scotland Yard has been accused of an “incredibly alarming” attack on the right to protest after police used new powers to arrest the head of the leading republican movement and other organisers of an approved demonstration just hours before individual Charles III’s coronation........
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... on-protest

***the new Public Order Act

It's enough to turn me into a conservative! Hang on, the government in the UK is conservative with a want to turn fascist. Quite literally shifting towards being a police state.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

Predictably, give the cops new powers***, and they will abuse them.

Police accused of ‘alarming’ attack on protest rights after anti-monarchist leader arrested


Scotland Yard has been accused of an “incredibly alarming” attack on the right to protest after police used new powers to arrest the head of the leading republican movement and other organisers of an approved demonstration just hours before individual Charles III’s coronation........
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... on-protest

***the new Public Order Act

It's enough to turn me into a conservative! Hang on, the government in the UK is conservative with a want to turn fascist. Quite literally shifting towards being a police state.

Do you really believe what you just wrote?

I believe if the protesters were going to disrupt the procession and/or throw paint on monuments, it was the duty of the police to arrest these people.

[jackspratt]

If the police are going to form "beliefs", they should be based on disclosable evidence/intelligence.

In this case, and straight from the horse's mouth:

“Our duty is to do so in a proportionate manner in line with relevant legislation. We also have a duty to intervene when protest becomes criminal and may cause serious disruption.

“This depends on the context. The coronation is a once in a generation event and that is a key consideration in our assessment.”

Which I guess follows predictably from:

The Met police had tweeted earlier this week that they would have an “extremely low tolerance” of those seeking to “undermine” the day.

52 arrests according to the article. My prediction is that very few charges, and even fewer court appearances, will result.

[Whistler]

LYM, read the article. Amongst those who were arrested were simply delivering placards, no paint, no blocking the procession, an entirely different circumstance

[tamada]

I'm hearing on the radio that a lot of the related charges have the key word "intent" in them. They all got bailed, the charges will vanish so nobody's going to the Tower. Members of Republic claim they weren't ever planning on anything more than peaceful protest so I guess that's why they brought at least one megaphone.

As the friendly bobby suggests, "Nothing to see here, move along now."

[Laan Yaa Mo]

All's well that ends well.

Freedom under the law carries the day.

[stattointhailand]

[Whistler]

All's well that ends well.

Freedom under the law carries the day.

I am not convinced those arrested, for no valid reason, will share your sentiments. I would be right pissed off being wrongfully arrested and having the charges dropped. The police should be charged with wrong arrest/abuse of power etc.

[jackspratt]

Thanks statts - an enlightening, and eye-opening vid.

The UK is not Syria, Iran or Russia - yet......

As for the police being charged, that doesn't even happen in cases where verifiable fit-ups and verballing have led to lengthy wrongful imprisonment, and in extreme cases, execution.

[Laan Yaa Mo]

All's well that ends well.

Freedom under the law carries the day.

I am not convinced those arrested, for no valid reason, will share your sentiments. I would be right pissed off being wrongfully arrested and having the charges dropped. The police should be charged with wrong arrest/abuse of power etc.

I am sure most of the protesters knew what was going to happen including the dropping of charges. Sleep peacefully, democracy is alive and well in the U.K., and probably in Scotland and Australia too. The police did their job, and all's well that ends well.

[tamada]

Thanks statts - an enlightening, and eye-opening vid.

The UK is not Syria, Iran or Russia - yet......

As for the police being charged, that doesn't even happen in cases where verifiable fit-ups and verballing have led to lengthy wrongful imprisonment, and in extreme cases, execution.

Execution? In England? Say it ain't so.

The blackguards wanted to be arrested. To them it justifies their futile flailing at the establishment. They get charged they'll gurn. They get released without charge, they'll gurn louder.

[stattointhailand]

If THAT is the Police "doing their job" then someone had better put democracy into the "obituaries" section.

[tamada]

If THAT is the Police "doing their job" then someone had better put democracy into the "obituaries" section.

Oh, puleeeze. Next thing we'll be uttering the word fascist and trotting out the STASI tropes.