I wrote about the reports of weapons used and the injuries caused by them. That people are seriously injured in violent crowds, is usually inevitable, but weapons that are supposedly non-lethal, which in fact can destroy limbs or cause horrible injuries like loss of an eye, just by pulling a trigger, are unsuitable for the control of public protest. The police personnel who are obliged to use those weapons, need to be considered, as much as anyone likely to be injured by them.
Stella! No…I don’t speak French like a native! I guess a better q to ask might be…,“do you speak English”!
What about the weapons used by the other side? Metal pétanque balls, baseball bats, hammers, bricks… they cause injuries too, but you haven’t mentioned these?
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morning, you strike me as someone who needs to see something for yourself. So I’d suggest you go to one of the protests. Maybe start off at a roundabout before progressing to a major city demonstration? Will it be a safe activity, probably not.
Indeed, as @anon7138442 says - how much have you seen of the GJs first hand? I had rather too much experience of them towards the end of last year so I kind of assume that everyone else has too, but it’s possible that you may not have.
Personally I found it uncomfortable. The atmosphere at roundabouts and road blocks is a kind of superficial bonhomie, GJs cracking jokes with each other and with the motorists and handing round chocolates etc, but you can’t help but sense menace not far below the surface and you get the distinct feeling that you wouldn’t have to scratch very deep for things to turn nasty. I did witness a couple of incidents where motorists simply got impatient and tried to force their way through and the GJs kicked off. One incident the police were called and the GJs refused to let anyone through until they arrived, which meant motorists were held up for over half an hour (it was already the long delay that had caused a motorist to lose patience in the first place), tempers were fraying all round and I really didn’t want to be there.
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Ironduke, thank you, I have already written about my interest in, and some small. experience of managing hostility, and the possible ways to consider how best to protect myself, and others (including security personnel). in hostile crowd situations. Roundabout demos have been local. No violence or bad feeling apparent, no unpleasantness at all from anyone…people are sympathetic to causes less than “sides”… but Im 30kms outside the capital. As I wrote, yes, I would be very interested to go to a demo but not to demonstrate anything, just as an observer.
Anne, Of those people I have talked to…I have heard of no bad feeling at all, the nearest town where the demos were in full swing, didn’t appear to me to be much affected, a bit mystified to find the supermarket closed, and I had no idea at all why the roundabout came to a standstill, but some people, Inc me, just drove through, but others were stopped. It didn’t look like a passionate demo of anything, I’ve seen many french demos, my experience (NOT in major cities), has been that French demos are usually reasonably civilized. I understand how this gj movement may have come about, I’m surprised that it has not spread more than it has, around the world but guess it may come to that. Any gross imbalance of prosperity/advantage may produce that effect…is how it seems. I don’t think of it as law and order versus disorder, imbalance in society affects everyone. Big differences in “wealth” may be tolerated…but not in privilege/justice/health etc…people don’t appear to bear that well, and in order to maintain unhealthy social privilege, police or military might, may be used/abused. Just my view!!
Having visited the Brantôme home for retired UK police horses perhaps Jeanette would like to give her pension to them or the equivalent. They are poor innocent animals traumatised by riots and then the UK government does not provide for them once they are deemed no longer useful.
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As I said, because of my work, I’ve traveled quite a bit, I’ll be back in Paris shortly, so maybe I will see more of what goes on for myself, then, but the worst demo I’ve experienced was a small one in New York, where a very passionate bloke addressed a disgruntled crowd, of maybe 150 /160 people, on the injustice dished by “supremicist? whites”. He was really interesting, very lucid and convincing, and I listened to all he had to say, but spotting me, as the only Supremicist? White person in his crowd, he directed his speech to me, then AT me…and I became an example, a culprit. .I confess to having no clues at all, at that time, how to escape., or manage the hostility. I found myself being hemmed in and glared at, and an explanation from me was expected…and if I had one, I certainly didn’t think then, that it seemed like a good idea to offer it to his supporters… Absoluement terrifiée…I anticipated a lynching, but fortunately, as it was a busy district, there were people around and one very jolly drunk supporter, staggered into the group offering his own opinion. No one was interested until he fell over, taking a couple of others down with him, and in the diversion I quietly hopped off. Nope, don’t want any more of the same…the thing that struck me, as a thought at the time, was that I probably did actually represent very cruel
discrimination, pain, sadness for that crowd, but worse still many of them might have been only a generation or two from real experience of slavery/brutality, of a kind I had absolutely no conception…maybe relatives and communities that knew the fears personally of oppression and lynching.
A bit like walking into a strange world, and I wasn’t welcome there.
Teresa, sorry, you will have to explain to me more of your pov. I love animals …and the police too, come to that! No, I don’t approve of any animal abuse, horses worldwide have a long and cruel history as disposable objects, in wars, as overworking then discarded beasts of different burdens, as if they have no feelings at all, but in fact their sensitivity is higher than dogs and chimps according to some recent investigation… I live on my pension at the moment it’s about 110? 120? Euros per wk, so have very little surplus…
Sorry, Simon, I missed your references to your family…I can understand how awful it is, to have them exposed to horrible violence and abuse…hope it will be ok to write some more a bit later…
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Ok, now I’m confused. I’m sure that in earlier posts you were considering not taking your €450 pension. I thought this would be a way of using it for good. Obviously if you need your pension then you should keep it.
Ah! Ok! That sounds like a lot of pension, too, but that’s per month, variable according to exchange rate…not per week. I’m still thinking about disposing of it, yes possibly via charity, as a moral obligation, for me.( Not for everyone!) And boosting my business instead, but that may not work well…still thinking about it…
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How about your Art … Jeanette… are you continuing to paint… are you able to paint in this cold weather ??
. Very nice of you to ask me about my favourite things! What about you? Are you working too? Yes.Im painting every day as usual! Work adjusted to weather and other circumstances. I like to do huge stuff outside…but can’t cope with frozen fingers, so now is smaller pictures time…I’ve got one of those bricomarché garden chalets, small size but ok…very warm with ancient electric blanket and oil radiator, plus masses of the easy use, foam layered silvery metallic? insulation, and WIFI! . Cat and I share it.
Sounds delightful…
Would be interesting to follow how you work…if you could start a Thread talking about your Art… 
…not sure…what kind of thread? You can suggest a topic if you like and I’ll do what comes into my head, with it? 
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Ok! Thinking about it now!!
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When you have thought… go to the Thread I have started… we are all so different, I think we shall get some interesting responses… and folk may well be able to help each other… with their Art and how to make the most of it…
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