In the High Court, Mr Justice Lindblom has ruled that the Occupy London encampment outside St Paul’s is unlawful. The City of London Corporation are now free to evict the happy campers. Many will say “good riddance”, but in fact it is good riddance to the freedom of expression and assembly and another small step towards totalitarianism.
The first name of Mr Justice Lindblom is not actually Justice. He usually answers to the name Keith which sounds a little less intimidating. In his summing up, Keith or Justice, or whatever his name is, said:
“The freedoms and rights of others, the interests of public health and public safety and the prevention of disorder and crime, and the need to protect the environment of this part of the City of London all demand the remedy which the court’s order will bring”.
It is interesting that health and safety should be rattled at the tent dwellers when this pitiful excuse for a government is seeking to repeal health and safety legislation designed to protect people in the workplace in the name of productivity. Dead worker, dead hippy, good riddance.
There has been no disorder or crime at any of the Occupy sites other than the actions of the security forces. Who can forget the images of peaceful protesters being doused with pepper spray by overweight policemen in the States?
As for the environment of the City of London? Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. The Corporation wishes to evict peaceful demonstrators opposed to the corporate greed that has brought the planet to the edge of the abyss. The pepper spray is going in the wrong direction.
Freedom to protest and freedom of assembly is a basic human right. Keith thinks that it is not and has given a judgement that protects the avaricious and allows law enforcement agencies to hit innocent people over the head.
The Occupy movement will not go away and even now, smaller hippos have been tasked with finding the moth eaten tent that lurks somewhere in the cluttered garden shed.
Alone we whisper, together we shout. We will carry on camping.
Whilst I would agree that there has been no disorder at the occupy sites I don’t quite agree with the crime free comment unless, of course, drugs that have previously been illegal are now legal (witness sharps bins at the sites I have visited [there could be a high level of insulin dependent diabetics]) and the fact that occupying some one elses property is not actually legal. If you and the Hippos had gone on holiday and came back to me and chums camping in your back garden would you let us stay for an indefinate period because we think that ‘property is theft’?
Comment by Andrew — January 19, 2012 @ 11:06 am |