AnarchoNinaAnalyzes<p>Although I've articulated the point many times, I think folks who essentially trust in the basic goodness of the state have a very hard time accepting my argument when I tell them that the Pig Empire establishment objectively hates the left and progressive or social justice protestors more than they hate fascists; because at the end of the day they agree more with fascists than with folks seeking equality and justice, as demonstrated by the very policies our political leaders champion and enact. Rarely however does a government body so clearly exemplify my point, as the UK justice system has in its sentencing of would-be Just Stop Oil protestors, and fascist rioters who engaged in very real, not at all hypothetical violence all across England in recent days. As it turns out however, I'm not the only person who noticed this appalling discrepancy:</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/law/article/2024/aug/10/labour-donor-calls-for-review-as-southport-rioter-is-jailed-for-less-time-than-just-stop-oil-protester" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/law/article/20</span><span class="invisible">24/aug/10/labour-donor-calls-for-review-as-southport-rioter-is-jailed-for-less-time-than-just-stop-oil-protester</span></a></p><p>Labour donor calls for review as Southport rioter is jailed for less time than Just Stop Oil protester</p><p>“I’ve seen the claim of two-tier policing [of the rioting],” Vince told the Observer. “It’s a kind of Trump-style tactic that can inflame tensions. It’s obviously bollocks. What I think we are seeing is two-tier sentencing.</p><p>“There was a guy this week who got three years for punching a copper in the face. He was photographed throwing bricks. [Just Stop Oil co-founder] Roger Hallam took part in a zoom call to talk about blocking the M25 and he got five. I think that needs to be addressed really. The difference between the peaceful protests and the rioting is chalk and cheese.</p><p>“It’s almost beyond belief that there would be any conflation or that you could get less for rioting than you can get for peaceful protest. Albeit highly disruptive – I accept that – they didn’t attack a police station. They didn’t burn down a library or set fire to police cars or injure a whole bunch of coppers. I think that’s absurd.”</p><p>Now look, as an anarchist I am deeply uncomfortable with relying on the carceral state to police society, but so long as we're going to have cops, courts, and prisons, I think it's fair to question how it's possible for a peaceful protestor to get five years in prison for merely *planning* to block traffic as a way of protesting oil companies and fossil fuel production, while a fascist rioter who advocates for ethnic cleansing, throws bricks at people, and literally assaulted a police officer only gets three years. </p><p>Furthermore, while I don't typically value the opinions of rich Labour Party donors higher than anyone else's views, I think the fact that even someone as intimately involved with the mainstream establishment in UK politics as Dale Vince is, noticed and is crying bullocks on the travesty of this situation *is* worth noting. We are after all talking about a guy who stopped donating to Just Stop Oil and decided to funnel his money into getting Labour politicians elected precisely because he didn't agree with JSO's move towards direct protest action; so he's hardly some pinko activist with skin in this macabre game. </p><p>Finally, I think it should be noted that this travesty of justice has been enabled by a law passed by the fascist former Tory government of the UK, and Prime Minster Starmer's Labour government has thus far done absolutely nothing to remedy this situation: </p><p>"Vince said the Labour government should review the controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (PCSCA) under which Hallam and four other Just Stop Oil protesters were convicted last month. Under that Act, the crime of committing a public nuisance can come with a sentence of up to 10 years.</p><p>It was enacted in 2022 in the wake of direct action campaigns, with the government citing disruption caused by the Extinction Rebellion group. The law was criticised by civil liberty groups as a clampdown on legitimate peaceful protest."</p><p>In summation, it's time for the Labour Party to either shit or get off the pot. Either the United Kingdom supports the right to peaceful protest, or it doesn't; and sentencing climate crisis activists who merely *intended* to protest to longer prison terms than violent fascist rioters sends a very clear, and repugnant signal about what will and won't be tolerated in British society. If Labour isn't prepared to step in and correct this injustice, then they own this fascist shitshow just as much as the recently departed Conservative government does; and may well face the same political consequences as Sunak's merry band of fascist enablers did in due time.</p><p><a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/UKRiots" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>UKRiots</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Justice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Justice</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/LabourParty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>LabourParty</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/PCSCAct" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PCSCAct</span></a> <a href="https://social.treehouse.systems/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a></p>