Should there be a mass protest to block the Olympic lanes during the Olympics?

When’s the blockade day then?:slight_smile:

If I were to organise such a thing, which I am not, I think it would require a Facebook page, on which people could show their interest…not just as a means to show an interest but also as a public face, I think doing this underground would defeat the point of it to some extent, and I would think that choosing the most sought after day would be most advantageous, perhaps the 100m race for instance as a particular event that was well over subscribed in the ticket allocation system.

If a Facebook page did exist and it showed the commitment of a large number of people, than I think the Government would act first, rather than sit back and wait. It would be interesting to see what their actions would be, whether they would attempt to appease people by releasing some of the VIP/Sponsor tickets or whether they would try the stick approach of upping the fine for blocking the lanes or threatening imprisonment for protesting.

Of course as a political protest, it might be difficult for the Government to enforce the fines or take police action against the protesters as you do have the right to political protest in this country, and since none of the Olympic lanes are around Parliament, there would be no existing law to deny you the right to political protest.

The police would have to act in a way which was not consistent with the Human Rights Act if they attempted to remove you, the Courts would have to act in a way which was not consistent with the Human Rights Act should they attempt to enforce a fine or imprison you.

I think it would be a very interesting situation if it were to happen.

Though of course, we know it won’t, because people in this country are so very bad at protesting against anything…oh you will make me late for work!!! God forbid you are late for work for one day!

Go on then . . . go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on !

That is definitely funnier knowing your accent steve…

yeah go and block the lanes and get fined by the plod lol :smiley:

this is already winding me up beyond belief, so i’ll try my best to be nice.

+1

I BEG YOUR PARDON???does that mean that since i cant give a monkey about this kind of things and want to go out for a ride instead, I CANT EVEN DO THAT!!!:crazy: having also watched the comment on the news of somebody in charge of the decision to close some lanes for the olympics, and having seen how LITTLE OR LESS did he care about the consequences it will cause, i will be more than willing to get into any kind of protest there will be in spite of whatever the outcome will be. besides, we all know that once all the english contenders have done their bits and not won, the public interest will immediately shift away from the events, same thing that happens all the time when the world cup is on, once england is out nobody really watches it anymore.

pointless , once the lanes are in, they willl not take them out, the ticket saga will continue till the final day and never be fairly sorted out. people will miss out.

best bet, if you want to watch it , stay at home and watch it , and if you have to ride about in london , be prepared for a gridlock and loads of angry drivers/riders.

its doomed to succeed the goverment will make sure it does, no matter whats it cost.

and why suggest/pole for a protest that you are not prepared to organise ?

I think your attitude is defeatist Bluestar. If enough people were to mount such a protest there is very little the Government could do about it, we know this by looking at Governments far more anti-human rights and far more heavy handed than our Government is and how useless they have been at dealing with mass protests in the middle east.

They called it a spring revolution because the sheer number of people involved made it practically impossible for the Government to do anything, short of committing mass murder upon their own people.

Even if only 10,000 people were to mount such a protest, 1/35th the population of the Olympic borough, and do so peacefully, it would take the police several hours to manhandle them all out of the lanes, and by then the protest would have been a success because it would have done what it set out to do, which is disrupt the Olympic games.

To be honest, I think this thread was somewhat proving a point to freebitchbaby about how even though people may agree in principle to a protest, ie being unhappy at the way in which the Olympics have been organised, and being presented with a plan for a protest that would actually work to either change the way things have been done or make a point when they happen, they still couldn’t form a coherent agreement to do anything about it, with responses ranging to the way in which we are viewed by other countries, to being made late for work, or just shrugging your shoulders and saying it won’t work.

Just pointing out that protesting in this country is entirely pointless, not because the Government doesn’t act, not because the reason isn’t valid, but simply because the people in this country, while agreeing on the basic issue, can’t ever agree to do anything.

and you are absolutley right , the people of this country will never have a revolution or a mass protest that will change anything because nobody really cares that much to carry out positive action, our goverment doesnt care about us, and the organisers, apart from the rioting idiots that take pleasure in causing damage, will try and do it all as nicely as possible so as not too upset anyone. all with in goverment guidelines and the HRA. people consider they have too much too loose, if you live in a country where you have nothing , then you have nothing to loose and its worth fighting for.here, just suffer it and hope it gets better. its the british way, the blitz spirit what ever you call it, ’ dont panic and carry on ’ and these protests tend to be organised on a day when its inconvienient…i would protest but i usually cut the grass on a saturday or visit my mother etc etc.

Where’s the option for ‘I don’t care’ ?

What would a protest achieve apart from further disruption? At best re-thinking of the lanes, but I very much doubt it. Ticketing policy won’t change now, so the most that could come out of that is ‘OK, we’ll improve it for the next time we host the Olympics’ by which time I’ll be dead if it’s another 64 years (last London Olympics was 1948). Selfish, defeatest, but realistic.

There have been many protests in this country with big attendances about ‘stuff that matters’ I just don’t think people care too much about the Olympics.

I think will all go tits up anyway blackwall tunnel is f**ked up everyday anyway,and as far as helping the economy is not helping all the firms that cant work on any roads in that area for about two months so they will probably be laid off.Also my firms yard is just before the tunnel so will be chaos getting in and out.I personally think this country can cope with this sort of event,the roads are to congested,public transport is a farce think is just like the dome another huge waste of taxpayers money !

i’m appauled at the poll results - you lot are boring, Kaos i’m with you all the way, if i’m not working that day :slight_smile:

Kaos is the boring one- makes everyone think he’s up for some anarchic behaviour then says he was only asking if anyone else wanted to do it.:hehe:

The cabbies are already protesting against the VIP lane and it hasn’t done any good whatsoever. I agree with the above comments it is going to be pandemonium anyway.

Bah, and our offices are in the midst of Stratford City, not looking forward to this at all :expressionless:
Will work from home and likely take a few days off.

The massive advertisement with some sports on the side can really go and F off elsewhere…

The Olympics are a load of bollox. A massive waste of money and it has no effects on anyone’s life. The cash should be used to make living improvements.

When the date for the revolution is agreed, I’ll report it - providing I get it as an exclusive.

Agreed. The worst thing to happen to London in years. And we will suffer from it for years and years into the future.

yeah, we, but not the government or the large corporations making loads of money there, so all is fine… :expressionless: