Bloke grabbed a woman handing out sheets of paper by the neck. Pathetic, hope they throw everything they can at him. Plus, I'm pretty sure if he really thought she was armed he'd have bolted in the other direction.
A power dinner is when powerful people are invited to decide the economic future of this country. They are addressed by powerful people like the chancellor of the exchequer, because they are so powerful. If you want to make a point about unbridled greed is destroying the planet this is the place to do it A private dinner is when you invite a couple of friends round to yours for a pleasurable evening. If you are having one of these and you are infiltrated by protested it’s called unlawful entry.
I know what my defence will be in the unlikely even that I ever assault someone. “It was a split second thing and I thought he was going to hit me”. It’s on camera and blatant assault, not defending oneself against a female murder. If he’s not prosecuted it will be because he is a Tory.
You there have the essence of self defence/defence of another. He will not be prosecuted because there is no realistic prospect of conviction given what the footage shows and his assertion that he feared she may have intended harm. I don’t like Tories but they are entitled to the same fair treatment under the law as the rest of us.
It took her about 12 seconds to walk along the massive table. He had plenty of time to stand up and block her path and ask her to leave/apprehend her. If he needed to escort her out he could have restrained her via her arm, not neck. He certainly didn’t need to push her by it the whole length back along the table, out of the room, down the stairs and out on to the street. Had he grabbed her in the ‘split second’ and then moved his hand to her arm then sure, fair enough.
From my perspective, whilst ugly, there was no real harm done.If a member of security had escorted her out in that fashion then I doubt anybody would have said anything, and there's no way that police time should be spent rounding up these delinquents. I'd expect a similar reaction if members of the Countryside Alliance disrupted a Greenpeace meeting. People are upset because the bloke doesn't have an SIA licence. We've all gone a bit soft.
He didn't know she wasn't about to throw acid in someone's face though. Seems like we live in a world where the media thinks everyone in the public eye has to deal with provocative cntus and deal with them with 20-20 hindsight
I wonder, if it had been me, rather than a woman in a red dress, if he would have done the same thing. I don't know, but I suspect not. I don't have a problem with him challenging someone he believes to be in the wrong. I actually applaud him for it. I think he should stand up for what he believes in, just as the protester is doing (I actually agree with the viewpoint of the protester on this, but he's allowed an opinion on how a protester should conduct themselves and if they're allowed to be there). But his reaction is way over the top. It's not a challenge, it's violence. He's a big man, there was a small space between the table and the wall, he could have blocked her way and spoken to her. He chose to put his hands on her and he chose to do it in a violent manner. I don't doubt his motives, I think he thought he was doing the right thing. But I don't believe he thought she had a weapon, I think that's bullish1t. I think he was, probably justifiably, annoyed with her actions. I don't think being annoyed with someone's actions gives you the right to man handle them. I don't think he should be sacked. I think he should apologise, drop this "I thought she was armed" ballacks, admit he did it because he was bloody angry, and enrol in an anger management course. And his bosses should put him on probation for the next couple of years. I don't like the bloke. But I don't think sacking him addresses the issue. I think him stating why he did it, why he believe that was wrong, and how he's going to try to change does address the issue. Anger and violence are part of the human condition. Let's try to address them with honesty, remorse and forgiveness because if we just point a finger at him and call him a cu.nt, he'll get a better paid position out of the public eye, carry on in the same manner and nothing will change. If we offer him the chance to be honest and apologetic, he might take it and we might actually move forward as a species.
First of all I'm not defending him because he's a Tory - I'm just right fecked off to high heaven with the hypocrisy and double standards of the world at the moment - especially the labour party of which I am part of. So to respond to your point - In physical situations like this people deal with people they think they can fight in a different way to people they dont' think they can fight. And yes most men can fight most women - so maybe we should question the activists for sending a woman to do a mans job. However if it were you - I do I think he'd probably have stopped you - or tried. Less forcefully maybe - but he'd still have challenged you - and there'd have been a dance and more or less drama. If it were me I suspect he'd have thought he could have fought me and done the same as he did to this woman. The point is she's there as a spoiler. And all this fake outrage is as bad as the claims he needs to go on an anger management course. People need to stop fecking about or accept that pulling in a publicity stunt they might get tw@tted in the course of it. Do you honestly think these activist are sat there angry at his actions and nursing the womans wounds - or chinking their champagne flutes in celebration at the publicity - cos if it's the later he should abosolutely be given a free pass.
Not good. How much had he had to drink? Nothing like alcohol for taking your better judgment away. However you try to explain it away it seems like an unproportionate response and a big bloke grabbing a silly young woman by the neck....he should not have got involved and I am sure he regrets doing so
Some good points, but... "so maybe we should question the activists for sending a woman to do a mans job." I can't even begin to address that. I'm kind of thinking you believe there's this activists committee, all men of course, and they calculated that if they sent one of the surfs, one of the women, they might get away with it because we react differently to those we believe we can fight and those that we don't. You could do a PhD on this post. It's unbelievable and fantastical (in the genuine sense of the word) and honest and real and without malice or pretension and so wrong and so depressing and I couldn't get close to giving an answer in 30,000 words, never mind bashing on my keyboard at midnight after a skin full of beer.
Rather than highlighting what did/did not happen with this MP (and I'm very shocked at this bully's actions like everyone ought to be - as people before me have said his actions were NOT of one that was fearful of an armed person, but one of someone who was not in control of his actions) and this protester, why didn't the MP stop the speech let one of their protesters have the stand for 10 minutes or so to say their peace and then move the protesters on. I think this would have given the protesters a curve ball so to speak - it certainly would not have been what they were expecting and from the organisers of this speech would have given them (the organisers) so much more GOOD publicity than they could have dreamt of.
An outstanding post, perfectly encapsulates the grown-up perspective re the latest non-issue du jour. Utterly wasted on here of course.
Yeah - fair point about the cliche but after a skinfull myself I couldn't resist. In my own head it had a certain journalistic je ne ce quois. My point was more to say that any person regardless of sex doing this should be prepared for a rumble rather than get any special favours just because they're a "lady in a red dress" as you say. Despite the protestations to the contrary personally I'm sure Ms. Baker is no demure wall flower. I sure she's more than capable and up for the fight Without a shadow of a doubt this was planned by a committee. This was something highly planned well executed which needed a lot of organising. - I'm not sure of the sexual make up of the team. Your pre-disposition to see the sexist in the woodpile apart - I do think when deciding who would take the plunge with the "not acid" the activist committee did think firstly a woman might get under the wire more easily plus it would provoke much more fake and even genuine (if naive) outrage amongst the general populution if a woman got a kicking than a man. Am I a Conspiracy theorist - maybe. Are these activist media savy calculating kenieving sneeky feckers - definately. Ms. Bakers claims that her intention was to gently speak to the men is charge is utter ********. Ms. Bakers cynical aim was to get global coverage with some outrageous footage of herself playing the roll of a helpless young maiden getting unceremoniously marched out of the room after having been roughed up a bit by some brute of a man. It was spectacularly successful - and this too could be the subject of a very interesting and equally depressing PHD.
Said exact same. If a security guard had been in the room and done the exact same it wouldn’t have made the news
Thing is many peoples opinions on this video are ruled by emotions because it was a woman, if it was a bloke then I guess it would have got a minutes air time and forgotten about. They shouldn't have been there, were not invited, move on.