"Eco-Warriors" at Stanstead

[flip_flop]

If the idiots at Stanstead had caused your holiday flight to be cancelled, on a scale of 1 to 10 how painful would you like their torture to be?

[Octavius]

I do protest jno, I often drive my fuel guzzling 4x4 into the city centre every day in remonstration. I claim back the fuel and parking from the company and save myself a packet. Is this what you meant??

[LoftyLottie]

Is this another no-knowledge joke!

[jno]

that's what I meant, Octavius. In fact your company forwards your bill to me and my children and their children's children to pay. We pay up out of our love for suffering humanity.

[LoftyLottie]

I would agree. Have you really been to Stansted today though. I can only admire you if you have - I like people who do something about their beliefs.

[Octavius]

Well actually jno it gets paid out of my government expense account, so I do like to feel that in some way we are all contributing to my protest.

Power to the people.

[jno]

that's okay, Octavius, I get it all back from social services anyway.

[The Sherman]

L ike peole who try to get to Ireland to bury their fathers. Istead they missed it because of plaine stupid idiots who dont know what they're talking about and have just probably-instead of endearing people to their cause have probably just alienated themselves even more.

[Octavius]

Me too jno, who do you think paid for my 4x4?

[VHG]

>I can�t help thinking that the Suffragettes might be
>turning in their graves at the thought of being
>compared to a handful of eco-protesters calling >themselves Plane Stupid.

I was not comparing the merits of the protesters as such.

I was commenting how the media portray any protestor as a crank or misguided at the time of the protest, then years later, when perhaps laws or opinions have been changed, the protestors are seen in a different light.

[LoftyLottie]

So a protest shouldn't inconvenience people then, or spoil their plans. Surely that's what protests do - they disrupt and make people think. It is very sad if people have been unable to attend a funeral, I will agree, but I'm afraid that's the way of the world. Whether or not these protesters are right, then believe very much in what they are doing, they have not endangered lives, but they have made people think.

The world would be in a sorry state if people had never protested or joined revolutions.

[VHG]

>The Suffragettes are still seen as cranks. Largely >because they weren't just a pain in the bum - they
>also damaged peoples property and attempted
>violence against public figures.

I seem to remember Nelson Mandella advocated blowing things up and actually made some bombs I believe.

That is why he got such as long prison sentence.

He is now seen as a "freedom fighter" and is seen as a hero all over the world.

[Octavius]

Oh yes, I had a right laugh when I need to fill up my 4x4 during the fuel protests. The government expected me to be all over the place, but I couldn�t get anywhere so I had to charge them for abortive time spent sitting in queues outside my local Shell garage. Also, I had a boot load of toys for the local children�s hospice but I couldn�t get to them, so I had to set up a car boot sale in the queue and flog them all off for a nice profit.

VHG, I realise what you meant. I would hope that the protestors are seeing things in a different light now, quite possibly under a spotlight with the words �ve haff vays of making you talk� being shouted at them.

Lofty/VHG, I don�t really see them as cranks, but I think there are far greater tragedies in the world that would merit disruption and inconvenience. Would you be equally tolerant if they were muslims protesting over the incarceration of people at Guant�namo?

[LoftyLottie]

There probably are more important issues to you Octavius, but perhaps to them this is a major issue. It is to many people by the way, but they just don't physically try to do anything about it. It's not a major issue to be, but I can see their point.

Any protest about any issue is going to inconvenience people in some way.

[Octavius]

Maybe it is the capitalist in me, but whilst I do see the expansion of the airport as a burden on our ecological environment (think of the wildlife) and the environment generally (increased traffic, air pollution etc), I also see the opportunities such as more jobs (construction, transport, airport operations, shops etc). An increase in flights equals an increase in tax revenue (airport tax, fuel tax, green tax) and a potential increase in tourism and business activity/investment in the UK due to increased access gives rise to wider reaching jobs and opportunities.

[Playbill]

Leaving aside the question of whether airplanes are contributing to air pollution, global warming, noise and ruining the landscape with need for more runways, what about the fact that we are constantly being told oil is on the way out?
By the time any more runways are built they had better have developed some amazing batteries to power the planes.
Ryanair upset? Couldn't have happened to a nicer company-;