Protests gave us rights we now take for granted
THE letter ‘Lost support’ (Viewpoints, March 29) left me bewildered.
The correspondent, who declined to give their name, starts by criticising ‘the actions of protesters in Bristol.’
He or she neglects to point out that many people in Bristol say that the police started that the violence.
He or she also doesn’t mention that the police themselves have admitted that the claims they made of police officers suffering broken bones and punctured lungs were totally false.
Who made these claims? Why? Will they be disciplined for falsehoods? We will probably never be told.
The letter writer then lays into Extinction Rebellion – an entirely non-violent, if sometimes tactically inept – organisation.
How does the letter writer think that the rights we take for granted – freedom of speech, of assembly, to elect politicians – came from? The words of the abolitionist Frederick Douglas, writing in 1857, are relevant here – ‘if there is no struggle there is no progress.’
Those who profess to favour freedom and yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without ploughing up the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning.
Few giving peaceful protesters bad name
I WOULD be one of the first to defend the right to peacefully protest, but not when it disrupts the lives of people going about their everyday business who are taking no part in the demonstration,
Therefore I believe the police acted correctly in clearing the tram tracks of some who refused to move.
These few give peaceful protest a bad name
Phil Meakin, Salford
Light at end of tunnel, but plenty needs doing
LIGHT at the end of the tunnel: the phrase of the moment. When used by Boris Johnson it is to encourage us to follow the rules, it would seem that his attitude has changed and he realises that a too hasty relaxation of the regulations could lead to a spike in cases of the virus.
When we do come out we will take with us two major problems which will have to be addressed in short order. The first is global warming.
Carbon emissions have reduced during the time of the pandemic but doubtless will surge when we all start moving again. At the same time there is good news that great strides have been made by people working for Uber and Asda in the way of obtaining better wages and working conditions.
People in service jobs, the NHS, police, fire service and the myriad of less skilled but equally important jobs which underpin our society must be properly valued and supported and this means being properly paid.
Big business will have to re-design its thinking, from the bottom upwards. Those in the lowest paid jobs will have to be paid a proper living wage