I spent my teenage years in Bristol, a normally placid city, which this weekend witnessed a full-blown riot after an illegal protest turned violent. It’s difficult to see at first what causes the rioters were supporting. Banners ranged from ones just criticising Priti Patel and Boris Johnson to more worrying ones saying “Kill the Bill” (for non-uk readers, “the Bill” is a slang name for the police). Police were attacked, police vehicles set on fire and a police station was besieged. For goodness’ sake, the police may not be perfect, but to label them “class traitors” and hurl firebombs at them is not the way to get your point across.
Was this just a case of emotions boiling over, or, like the riot in the Capitol in America, was this an organised attempt at anarchy by a group of serious agitators who swept less radical protestors up in the chaos? Under lockdown rules, protests are not considered a valid reason for leaving one’s house, and on the surface, this protest was organised to protest that protests aren’t allowed. Reports say that most of those taking part wandered off after the march finished, leaving a hard core of masked protestors who started turning the whole thing ugly. I suppose many people fear that this temporary restriction is going to end up being permanent, and that was certainly evident from some of the placards being waved around. But as one local MP said, “You don’t campaign for the right to peaceful protest by setting police vans on fire”.