When a tank roles out onto the street in a protest, it normally conjures up
visions of the repressive regime using force to stamp out protest, like
Tienanmen square, or maybe a military junta ousting a left wing but elected
governments .... it doesn't conjure up visions of Bristol in the United
Kingdom.
But street protests took a new turn in that provincial town, when a tank rolled down the cramped streets of Clifton to protest .... against plans for a residents' parking zone in Bristol. The Traders, angry with what they perceived as a treat to their trade have driven a 1942 Sherman tank around the streets of Clifton in protest ..... they said that they had chosen a tank because it represented a way of "defending your territory".
The local Mayor and strong arm of authority, George Ferguson was unimpressed and tweeted: "This is getting ridiculous" (does no one ever issue press statements anymore?) and added that it was "Hardly the best way of winning over the good residents of Clifton".
He did however later admit that he had laughed at the tank "prank" but that the mind "boggles at them trying to navigate it through some of our streets, which currently suffer from particularly inconsiderate parking".
Its a surprise that the Health and Safety police didn't try to stop the protest, but the real police didn't intervene, which tells you much about how tolerant we still are, in a country that's fast losing its ability to laugh, as PC policies enforce ever harsher rules about dissent.
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| Tank Protester |
But street protests took a new turn in that provincial town, when a tank rolled down the cramped streets of Clifton to protest .... against plans for a residents' parking zone in Bristol. The Traders, angry with what they perceived as a treat to their trade have driven a 1942 Sherman tank around the streets of Clifton in protest ..... they said that they had chosen a tank because it represented a way of "defending your territory".
The local Mayor and strong arm of authority, George Ferguson was unimpressed and tweeted: "This is getting ridiculous" (does no one ever issue press statements anymore?) and added that it was "Hardly the best way of winning over the good residents of Clifton".
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| The Police Saw The Funny Side |
He did however later admit that he had laughed at the tank "prank" but that the mind "boggles at them trying to navigate it through some of our streets, which currently suffer from particularly inconsiderate parking".
Its a surprise that the Health and Safety police didn't try to stop the protest, but the real police didn't intervene, which tells you much about how tolerant we still are, in a country that's fast losing its ability to laugh, as PC policies enforce ever harsher rules about dissent.
