This Olympic torch thing

[barakta]

I'm not surprised.  It strikes me that the met in general and the torch guarders have crossed the line from alert to PARANOID and everyone knows it.  Local plod were probably on the look out to avoid conflict on their patch.  I do find it striking that no one has censured the met for being quite so OTT.

As for white sticks being perceived as weapons, I know a young blind person who in primary school was not permitted to take their white stick into the playground because they might use it as a weapon. I am surprised the parents stood for it cos if that was my kid SEVERE shitstormage would have happened as what my mum did when primary teachers messed with my hearing aids.  No sense of training the children that the cane was a mobility aid and not to be fucked with.  Nope "weapon" "ban it".

[LEE]

I shall try to get an Orange YACF Jersey 10 seconds of Torch fame as it winds its way out of Andover shopping centre at (it says) 16:28

http://www.bbc.co.uk/torchrelay/day54

Prizes (kudos) for anyone getting a screen shot

[mrcharly-YHT]

At the critical time, the bollards stepped forward, the met officer bounced off them and the relay continued past. Our friend's son was totally oblivious of the entire incident,

I have just seen this.

Makes me think your local coppers are bloody brilliant! Thought ahead and went out of their way to prevent a young lad's experience from being spoilt by thugs.

[SlowCoach]

They were absolutely brilliant. It just showed how two different forces dealt with the same issue in totally contrasting manners. I couldn't praise the local force more highly. They anticipated the problem and dealt with it in a novel and unorthodox fashion. It would have been much easier to order us to move out of the way. However they chose not to spoil the lad's day.

It was a pity that we didn't see the same understanding from the escorting bubble.

[David Martin]

The escorting bubble don't have the time to review every spectator along the route. They have to react at the time. Your local police had the opportunity and time to establish that the lad was clearly not a threat and to respond appropriately.

That said, the Met are not unknown for being a little on the overresponsive side.

[SlowCoach]

Agreed that they have to assess the situation quickly. However:

1) the lad is very obviously disabled. He stands extremely awkwardly, probably wouldn't even have been looking in the right direction when they first spotted him and has a continuous twitch. A white stick is normally a good indicator that someone is visually impaired. Kick the stick away and he was obviously going to go down

2) he was flanked by two uniformed police officers wearing hi-vis. They would have been in a much better position to control him should he have been about to interfere

My point is that the met police could have quite easily quickly assessed the situation and realised that the local force had it under control. There was no need for the met to veer off route and try to push the lad over. If they had just run past, the "bollards" wouldn't have had to react and run interference

[Ashaman42]

Shockingly absurd story but a huge well done to the local police. 

[Wowbagger]

The escorting bubble don't have the time to review every spectator along the route. They have to react at the time. Your local police had the opportunity and time to establish that the lad was clearly not a threat and to respond appropriately.

That said, the Met are not unknown for being a little on the overresponsive side.

This, sadly, is the oft-repeated myth. They do not have to react at the time.

What are the torch-bearers protecting? A thing that represents nothing of value to anyone but is an emblem of the power of the few. This whole thing is utter bollocks and an absurdly grotesque distortion of proper values.

Every single marathon runner is as much at risk at are the torch-bearers. Is each to be allocated a pair of motor-cycle outriders to ensure that no-one interferes with their progress?

[Arch]

Sis, Oli (4) and Max (2) went to see it today. Max waved his flags so hard, he tore them.
 

[David Martin]

This, sadly, is the oft-repeated myth. They do not have to react at the time.

Of course they do. "We saw the event happening and carried out a full investigation which will then outline the steps we need to take to prevent it continuing" Oops, sorry , over and done.
Two weeks later in writing? What is the point of having them there at all? They do have to react at the time as that is when things are happening. Reacting appropriately would be an even better thing.

[rogerzilla]

What are the torch-bearers protecting? A thing that represents nothing of value to anyone but is an emblem of the power of the few.

National Socialism, to be precise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Flame

[clarion]

Do you think they've realised how much bad publicity they're getting and decided to change policy?

[andyoxon]

Forgot about this thread, my torchy pics... https://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=61235.0

The greyed police (some on bikes) here, upstream of Reading, seemed all very friendly...

[Biggsy]

Not enough time to think?  It only needs one second to work out a reasonable course of action.  They had this second before they reached the boy on the bike.  Same for the disabled person.  Let's not make excuses for them.  Zero thought and zero tolerance makes them seem inhuman.  Machines don't get respect, people do.  So the police forces in question can expect a growing lack of respect.

Do you think they've realised how much bad publicity they're getting and decided to change policy?

No, it's not had thaaat much publicity yet.  What's needed is a stuntman with white stick on the route to deliberately slightly get in the way and tumble spectacularly when he gets barged - with the whole thing videod and given to television news.

[Cudzoziemiec]

As for white sticks being perceived as weapons, I know a young blind person who in primary school was not permitted to take their white stick into the playground because they might use it as a weapon. I am surprised the parents stood for it cos if that was my kid SEVERE shitstormage would have happened as what my mum did when primary teachers messed with my hearing aids.  No sense of training the children that the cane was a mobility aid and not to be fucked with.  Nope "weapon" "ban it".

School paranoia and arse covering, a la nuts and stuff. A white cane would probably make a pretty good weapon in the right hands. I've been hit by one (accidentally) and it wasn't pain free. But schools are full of potential weapons; pencils, footballs, big heavy books...

[Cudzoziemiec]

As for the Met vs local police; it's not a new thing. All the way back in the 80s I remember a woman involved in the miners' strike on some kind of demonstration saying that when local (Yorks) police were there, they'd knock the cops' helmets off and the cops would pick them up and laugh, but when the Met were there, they'd hit you if you did that.

[clarion]

That's certainly true.  The Strike definitely changed in tone once the Met were bussed in.

[Mr Larrington]

The local Plod called them "bananas", on account of their being yellow and bent...

[Wowbagger]

I blame Thatcher.

Good man!

[rogerzilla]

That's certainly true.  The Strike definitely changed in tone once the Met were bussed in.

I thought it was the Army in police uniforms?

[Regulator]

That's certainly true.  The Strike definitely changed in tone once the Met were bussed in.

I thought it was the Army in police uniforms?

No - they were manning the machine guns outside the collieries.

[Regulator]

Something to snigger about.

A farmer on the route of the torch in Leicester had an advertising board on his land, promoting one of the rivals to the official sponsors.  He was rather snottily told to remove it.  He told said persons to Foxtrot Oscar, as the advertising was on private land.  Apparently they Foxtrot Oscared...


...I have a vision of a LOCOG wonk arguing with a farmer, with the inevitable "Get orf moi laaaaand" followed by sound of a shotgun being cocked.

[rogerzilla]

...I have a vision of a LOCOG wonk arguing with a farmer, with the inevitable "Get orf moi laaaaand" followed by sound of a shotgun being cocked.

No-one's told these people about "Viz", have they?

http://www.farmerpalmers.co.uk/

[Bledlow]

Not enough time to think?  It only needs one second to work out a reasonable course of action.  They had this second before they reached the boy on the bike.  Same for the disabled person.  Let's not make excuses for them.  Zero thought and zero tolerance makes them seem inhuman.  Machines don't get respect, people do.  So the police forces in question can expect a growing lack of respect.

Do you think they've realised how much bad publicity they're getting and decided to change policy?

No, it's not had thaaat much publicity yet.  What's needed is a stuntman with white stick on the route to deliberately slightly get in the way and tumble spectacularly when he gets barged - with the whole thing videod and given to television news.

The bike incident was shown on national TV news in Japan. Mrs B's mother saw it.

[Efrogwr]

That's certainly true.  The Strike definitely changed in tone once the Met were bussed in.

I don't know whether or not this is true (I had emigrated to a less miserable country by then...).
There were rumours that  the Chief Constable of a northern force refused assistance from the Met because of that organisation's excessive "zeal".