@JoeGrowling @Geri @ChrisMayLA6 I don't think it's a lack of understanding. It's a lack of consequences. If all of those arrested sue the police and win in court, what's the actual outcome? They'll each get a couple of grand in compensation, and every single officer involved will carry on as they did before.
So, in effect, stamping on freedom of expression is just a cost of doing business for the police. Especially as it will have pleased the govt.
@localzuk @JoeGrowling @Geri @ChrisMayLA6
On this occasion. Not to be taken as a rule outside actual coronations.
@kennethb @JoeGrowling @Geri @ChrisMayLA6 history seems to tell us otherwise. Policing of protest has been fairly consistently heavy-handed for as long as I can remember and from my own experience. This isn't limited to the policing of the coronation.
@localzuk @kennethb @JoeGrowling @Geri @ChrisMayLA6
There is an episode of Star Trek: voyager, Random thoughts, where Torres is charged with thinking a violent thought.
The way the new law works seems to be if they police THINK you are going to do something they can arrest you.
While this appears to set a dangerous presidence, however the police have been doing that for years, by pulling over BLACK people, due to officers being racist and applying racial profiling.
So I can see the issue getting worse for people not better, all this simply alienates the police from the people, increases mis trust, the MET poice are in enough trouble as it is.
@zleap @localzuk @kennethb @JoeGrowling @Geri
Phillip K Dick, Minority Report (1953) covers the same stuff - later turned into a Speilberg/Cruise film