Bill's Comments

This item appeared in the news last week, but the details are in this article in TCS. It seems that Greenpeace wanted to mark the start of Kyoto by bringing the International Petroleum Exchange to a halt. Here are some descriptions of the outcome:

The trespassers were set upon by traders, most of whom were under the age of 25. "They were kicking and punching men and women," said a photographer, according to The Times of London. "It was really ugly. … They followed the [Greenpeace] guys into the lobby and kept kicking and punching them there. They literally kicked them on to the pavement."

"Sod off, Swampy!" shouted one tardy trader, steadying himself against the railings of the balcony of the pub across the street as his colleagues threw the protesters bodily onto the sidewalk. (Swampy was an enviro-protester who gained fame by living unbathed in a tunnel for eight months.)

Meanwhile, other traders inside the building were punching and felling men and women with a politically correct lack of sexual discrimination. Those who had already been punched onto the floor were shocked to look up and see traders trying to overturn heavy filing cabinets onto them.

A laconic spokesman for the IPE said, "We are dealing with the situation."

Twenty-nine activists were arrested by the Metropolitan Police and taken to police stations throughout London. They were later bailed. Two were taken to hospital, one with a suspected broken jaw and the other with concussion.

The whining of the protesters about their treatment was plain funny:

"The violence was instant," reported one aggrieved recipient of a rain of blows to the head. "I've never seen anyone less amenable to listening to our point of view."

The protesters who had violently breached private premises and attempted to halt a legitimate activity expressed themselves aggrieved with the rules of engagement. One of them told The Times, "I took on a Texan Swat team at Esso last year and they were angels compared with this lot. They were Cockney barrow boy spivs. Total thugs."

We need more of this.

It is time protesters quit getting a pass on breaking law and violating property rights in the name of some cause and free speech. It is also time to cease the persecution of the victims, as when someone retaliates or defends, that person gets jail time and/or a fine.

If a protester chains himself/herself in a tree to prevent its being cut down, that is theft. Give them fair warning and cut the tree down. They depend on our being civilized when they aren't. Let them find out that real justice is harsh. The minute the protest goes beyond a peaceful gathering on public property, start smashing heads and arresting people.

I don't have a problem with disagreement, I have a problem with it being forced on me against my will.