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Black Lives Matter demos and protests UK, 2020-2021

What you say is bullshit! In the 1950s and 1960s we had hanging as a deterrent so obviously far fewer young people were prepared to kill each other! I actually grew up in the 1970s and 1980s and know for a fact that very few young people got shot or stabbed to death even as recently as then! It started to get really bad in the early 1990s when there was an epidemic of gun and knife crime in our major cities! That is when cities like Manchester and Nottingham got nicknames like Gunchester and Shottingham! It is laughable to say that the 1950s were anywhere near as violent and crime ridden as since the 1990s! There was virtually no drug crime in the 1950s for example.
The overuse of ! is irritating, and demonstrates a 'Daily Mail' mindset. Faux outrage abounds.
 
A crowd-funder for the 4 Bristol defendants has gone live this minute - estimated required costs are going to be a min of 12 grand (btw, if you see some money in there already, it's nothing dodgy, it's just it was opened a few hours before for some private donations in order to have it hitting the ground running at midday):

#GladColstonsGone! Bristol Topplers’ Defence Fund!

On 7th June 2020, ten thousand people in Bristol succeeded where countless petitions, articles and other public objections had fallen short, removing a century-old public tribute to racism and slavery. For toppling the Colston statue, four of the ten thousand have been singled-out to face criminal damage charges and need our support before they go to trial later this year.

...

The toppling of the Edward Colston statue was a cathartic piece of non-violent direct action that rippled across the globe, igniting debates around racism, slavery and what we consider to be our 'heritage', as well as prompting many more local organisations in Bristol (from institutions to buildings to street names) to drop the Colston name for good.

The four protesters facing charges are due to appear at Bristol Crown Court on the 13th December 2021 for a jury trial lasting up to eight days. That means hefty additional legal costs, along with lost income and other expenses that we hope the rest of the ten thousand people who brought the Colston statue down, and supporters around the world, will ensure are covered.
 
For those interested in the Rhodes statue saga, Oriel said they wanted to take it down but this would ultimately mean wasting lots of money on planning appeals eventually ending up on Robert Jenrik's desk who would pretty obviously refuse it. So they decided it would be a waste of money to try and that the funds would be better spent on student access.

Now 150 Oxford academics are going to boycott the college, seemingly ignoring the above rationale. I suspect the government would absolutely love to reject any planning appeal, so this is all good stuff for them.
 
Even if she refers it, the not guilty verdicts cannot be changed. At most, the Court of Appeal can clarify a point of law for similar cases in the future. But it's not clear what point of law needs clarification; I've not seen anyone suggest e.g. the judge erred in his instructions to the jury, and criminal damage is very straightforward. It's just an empty gesture, as a bit of political pandering.
 
Four people charged with conspiracy in relation to shooting Sasha Johnson. A trial to come at the Old Bailey.


Case falls apart. No prizes for guessing why.


 
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