Update: WSM have put together a list of the complete set of arrests (so far) in retaliation for embarrassing poor Joan. That's us put in our place then. The cheek of us!
Now read on...
Or, as the joke has it, "now we see the violence inherent in the system". This being our own dearly beloved Republic, what we mostly see behind the dawn raids on protestors is the huffing and puffing of outraged respectability - how dare poor people not be grateful for having Her Magnificence turn up and bless their little projects? Isn't it clear to anyone who got a 2:2 in manufactured outrage that there is just a tiny step between a kid throwing a water balloon and fascism? Well ... perhaps those who want to present themselves as responsible statesmen and -women should be a bit more, shall we say, informed when throwing that particular f-word around? Not least when it comes to police cover for gangs of masked men intimidating communities on behalf of the wealthy.
It will be interesting to see whether those in charge of political policing believe their own hype when it comes to pressing charges. Do they actually think a jury will convict? Or that any of this will help the Labour Party's claims to be anti-austerity when it comes election time? But maybe they genuinely think that people in Jobstown would love Her Mag if it wasn't for all those pesky outside agitators and their sinister fringes...?
Thicks in office - the gift that keeps on giving.
[Later:]
Thinking through that "false imprisonment" stuff - presumably the implication is that Her Mag couldn't just get out and walk...?
[Later still:]
Look at that - released without charge. Just fancy.
Almost a shame - it would have been funny to watch our dearly-beloved voices of outraged respectability defending the increasingly-indefensible while simultaneously claiming that of course there was nothing political about any of this. Almost.
Apparently they didn't even bother to interview him - so much for "operational reasons"...
