Petition calling for the dropping of charges of aggravated tresspass against Ukuncut members
On March 26th 138 UKuncut activists were charged with aggravated tresspass after staging an entirely peaceful protest in Fortnum & Mason. At the very least this has huge significance for the future of peaceful direct action and at it's worst is political policing. UKuncut has played a prominent role in bringing corporate tax avoidance into mainstream political debate and has embarressed the government as well as the powerful corporations they've targeted. The arrest of UKuncut members is an attempt to associate them with the "violence" that occured and to vilify the group in the minds of the general public, and in so doing destroy the movement. These were, as all UKuncut actions have been, entirely peaceful. Please, please give this campaign your support.
Ben Basson
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1148 comments
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Gareth Nelson
commented
Yeah, the threats are exactly why I used the phrase "violent thugs". It shows the personality of those who sympathise with the uncut protestors.
Personally, i would not go so far as Nigel - I do agree that this was a peaceful protest, but it was not a legal and law-abiding one. I've done protests myself, and at no point do you enter private property and steal stuff (and yes, stuff was stolen - protesters publically admitted this live on twitter).
If you break the law, you do so knowing that you'll likely be arrested if caught, and if you do it in public then being caught is almost certain. It isn't an unjust law either, it's a very important law that protects everyone else just as much as it protects fortnum and mason - regardless of your views on tax avoidance.
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Nigel
commented
to Sara
I rest my case "Sum" pure and simple "Ooooh we didn't do anything wring - we woz beaten up by the police and all we did was wave flowers and sing nice songs" but then when someone (like me) says otherwise I get a threat
Well FUCK OFF SARA you have no idea who I am and what my background is - fuck with me and you'll be a smear up the wall and history, You are scum, pure and simple, and I react badly to threats
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Esther
commented
The UK Uncut protesters aren't violent thugs. They did a sit in, which was totally peaceful and unthreatening. Employees were just amused, not threatened.
Protest is a legal form of expression in a democracy. Everyone has the right to express their opinion. They did so with a peaceful sit in.
They were told by police they are free to go, just to be kettled and arrested. Free to go then was interpreted as "free to go - to jail" as one police officer was heard to say. One of those arrested was a 15-year-old who was suffering severe anxiety due to the arrest.
Anyone accusing them of violence and making them out to be riminals should reassess the bankers and their excessive bonuses and the companies which avoisd paying huge amounts of taxes, including Boots, Tesco and Fortnum & Mason. "We are all in this together" only works when offloading debts on the poor. When companies and bankers make huge profits, they don't use that phrase. Hence tax slavery... -
Gareth Nelson
commented
"If you don't get that, then get out of the way because we are coming for you"
Ah, and anyone else wondering if these people are violent thugs? -
Sara Peterson commented
Nigel if you don't like this forum get off of it. We support these people because we are tired of corporatist oligarchs taking over our respective countries. If you don't get that, then get out of the way because we are coming for you.
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Gareth Nelson
commented
Look up "tax slavery", and then think what these people were protesting in favour of.
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Nigel
commented
Please don't try to link slavery with the scum that got arrested.
So far apart in so many ways.
They are scum, pure and simple, scum not innocent, not
law abiding, just nasty scum that got their comeupance, and I am delighted they did. Anyone who thinks they were hard done by is more on the scum scale than the decent citizen. Enough, they are just vile scum -
Gareth Nelson
commented
Personally I purchased some stuff from F&M immediately after the protests in order to show my support for them. I emailed customer service and said why I was ordering, the staff seemed quite surprised since they were getting so much hate mail. I find that incredibly disgusting.
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Dan
commented
I'll go with scum, unemployed do gooders, misinformed or just plain daft, they broke the law and got EXACTLY what they desreved, I have no sympathy whatsoever for as another poster put it SCUM, pure and simple
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Linda Jones
commented
There are many examples where the rules of society have been legal but immoral. Slavery is one example tax avoidance and evasion is another. It is immoral for the poorest to pay more tax than the rich and for the tax system to allow anyone to evade and avoid tax. The tax system needs to be changed so that everyone contributes fairly. For these reasons I would urge everyone to support UNCUT. And I would urge the police not to arrest innocent people on a peaceful protest.
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Nigel
commented
Scum is the short versión for them
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Nigel
commented
Scum is the short versión for them
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Again, the 'rules' didn't write themselves. They had help by human beings. Those human beings were influenced by people who wrote the legislation for them and then paid them to pass it so it would benefit them. If you participated in that event, then, in my opinion, you are guilty of operating for your own benefit at the expense of the greater good or human society. In the US, the 14th Amendment has been turned upside down by corporate attorneys who have crafted personhood for these entities that are only beholden to the bottom line and to maximize profit without regard for any other element on the planet including human beings. If you think that is 'clever' or 'correct', I just will add you to my list for the bus to drive off the cliff. This world isn't about getting just what is good for you you idiot.
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Linda Jones
commented
It is unbelievable the government are supporting peaceful protest in other countries while trying to stifle it here. I despair.
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Gareth Nelson
commented
Sara - I have an ISA, i've also ran a limited company in the past, both of these things reduce taxation and both are entirely legal and playing within the rules.
There is nothing at all unethical about not paying more tax than is legally required of you, nothing at all. -
For those of you who believe 'buying' tax breaks that specifically enhance your tax returns to the detriment of the greater part of society is playing inside the rules and is the 'smart' way to manipulate the system most probably fails to believe in a greater good of anykind and probably cheats at golf too.
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Gareth Nelson
commented
Ah, someone speaks sense finally (Nigel)
TAX AVOIDANCE IS NOT A CRIME
Come on, protesting against someone following the rules? Tax avoidance is simply arranging your affairs WITHIN THE RULES to minimise how much tax you have to pay.
This movement deserves to be destroyed, it's built on stupidity.
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Nigel
commented
They absolutely deserved all they got.
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Wendy
commented
We must defend peaceful and legitimate protesters against political policing. If we fail to stand up against this abuse of power, we allow our democratic rights to be fatally undermined.
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Aaron
commented
If you arrest people for peacefull protest that is one more reason for them to resort to un-peaceful protest - some common sense please!
