Nine charged over rave violence~cop loses finger.

[fnord]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/essex/7280432.stm
Nine charged over rave violence

Officers were attacked with broken bottles and scaffold poles

Nine men have been charged with violent disorder in connection with a disturbance at a rave in Essex in which 64 police officers were injured.

Officers were attacked with broken bottles and scaffold poles in clashes with revellers in Great Chesterford, near Saffron Walden, in August 2006.

The men, who are aged between 18 and 40, are from Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.

They will appear before Chelmsford magistrates on Friday 14 March.

More than 600 people had turned up for the rave and when police tried to break it up violence erupted.

One police officer lost a finger which was cut off during the scuffles.

[Pondlife]

I'm not sure about the drugs connection here. There's no mention of drugs in the article, other than the possible assumption that "revellers" == "drugged up hippies".

I'm pretty sure that if drugs were involved, the great British media would say so in no uncertain terms.

[rainbowpup]

That's horrible! And disgusting. It makes me so sad when people like this give raves and ravers a bad name!!! Ravers are supposed to be peaceful and loving, violence is NEVER tolerated at a rave, ever!!!! This makes me sick.

Reputation Comments on this post:

couldn't aree more

[fnord]

That's horrible! And disgusting. It makes me so sad when people like this give raves and ravers a bad name!!! Ravers are supposed to be peaceful and loving, violence is NEVER tolerated at a rave, ever!!!! This makes me sick.

While a rave may be a place for peacfull times,Prohibition has been deemed a war by the united states goverment and many others,and that being so I see no problem with the enforcers of unjust and silly laws being injured while attacking a private citizens freedom or cognitive liberty.

[Pondlife]

Originally Posted by fnord

I see no problem with the enforcers of unjust and silly laws being injured while attacking a private citizens freedom or cognitive liberty.

I'm sure you don't mean this in the wrong way, but it is getting close to advocating the use of violence as a legitimate method of protest. I believe that talk like this, let alone action, is at best counter-productive.

[PingoTango]

It is disgraceful that this has happened - events like this really do give the (already beleaguered) free party scene a bad name, and of course the use of violence and weapons goes against everything the scene supposedly stands for.

I have encountered police at free parties quite a lot, and as much as it pains me to say, in my experience they have always been lenient, polite, and acted well within the constraints of the law.

If, however, the police did act differently in this case (I notice that the articile says they broke the party up, which I personally have never seen them succesfully do before, and I'd imagine "breaking up" a 600-person party took quite a bit of force), then I'd have been first in line to defend my birth right to have a good time.

[EntheogenicTruth]

Originally Posted by Pondlife

I'm sure you don't mean this in the wrong way, but it is getting close to advocating the use of violence as a legitimate method of protest. I believe that talk like this, let alone action, is at best counter-productive.

I do not think that fnord is promoting violence as a form of protest. however i think he is justifying the use of it against the governments so called "war on drugs". there was no war before. just drugs. so the government proclaims a war on it and suddenly they expect people not to be violent. If i sat here and said "i am declaring war on your being and i am going to try my best to remove you from the world as we know it." would you get a little bit violent when i actually started removing you from existence?
sorry im not trying to flame you i just think that the side of the offenders has to be taken by someone. i dislike all violence all of the time but i feel that everyones decision needs to be taken into account.

[AquafinaOrbit]

/\That us bit extreme though because you do not drugs to survive, you do need existence. A better example would be someone trying to take TV away from you.

Personally I am not so anti violence. I believe there are times for it, and times for peace. This however in my mind was not a time for it. Simply the people were braking the law (I believe, I do not live in England so please let me know if I am wrong) and officers of the law were doing their job and enforcing it. Still though if the worse case if a lost finger then things could have gone worse.

(Kind of old story is this not?)

[EntheogenicTruth]

good point. but i dont think that the problem is with the actual enforcers of the law. they are paid to do it. however supporting a law that denies people to have a good time whether on drugs or not is a denial of freedom. and we need freedom do we not?

[fnord]

i am not supporting violence,i am supporting the idea that if someone is attacking you and trying to deny you of your birthright of control over your OWN body then they have commited a violent act against you and then yes i do feel that you have the right to defend yourself.

[Alicia]

Originally Posted by fnord

i am not supporting violence,i am supporting the idea that if someone is attacking you and trying to deny you of your birthright of control over your OWN body then they have commited a violent act against you and then yes i do feel that you have the right to defend yourself.

I agree, naturally it makes things worse but still a very good point.

[truth]

i think that this was good for the ravers. I mean if someone was breaking up what i loved i would most likely retaliate. Does it really matter if this put a bad name on raves(which it wont)The thing is, even if 100 ravers saved babies on numerous occasions, the world still wont look at raves in a positive light. Its just how our minds have adapted to thinking. People are too media persuade and will believe whatever they see on tv. And we should fight back. A revolution is the only thing i believe will save us from getting raped by the government and self corrupting. imo

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yup

[Triple7]

What a difference compared to Sweden. What I heard, police may come with buses to fill it with ravers. Sometimes 90% of the ravers gets searched. 30% can be taken to the police station. Pissing into a cup is quite common. Nobody resists, all ravers obey as lambs.

[stoneinfocus]

Friede, Freude, Eierkuchen -how peacful it looks! How can we possibly destroy it, hhhhmmm, ah yes, as always, drug-laws and massive police-intervention until they feel like dancing in a concentration camp, or being m,istaken for El Kaida. Great, let´s do this until they become violent.Did that.Desrtoyed, everything´s normal again for straight forward capitalism and slavery.*muhahahaha* :P