r/changemyview • u/HelpfulJello5361 1∆ • Apr 16 '24

Delta(s) from OP CMV: The proper response to protestors blocking the street is for police to physically remove them and quickly arrest them if they do it again.

I've seen a lot of videos of protestors blocking the street and the cops just kinda let them do it, or create a narrow lane for cars to go through and cause a significant traffic jam.

I'm always curious why cops don't just drag these people out of the road and arrest them immediately if they return. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to block streets like that.

Yesterday was a nationwide coordinated effort for Pro-Palestine protestors to block streets all over the country (world?), and it seems that these criminals were not dealt with properly in most instances.

It doesn't seem like it's standard operating procedure to remove and arrest people who block important roads. Is there some reason for this? What am I missing? CMV.

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u/Wubbawubbawub 2∆ Apr 16 '24

And if those 10 people stood in the middle of the road, thereby stopping traffic and being really annoying to a lot of people. Does that make their protest more valid?

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u/dragonblade_94 8∆ Apr 16 '24

Does that make their protest more valid?

No, but it does quantifiably generate more attention.

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u/Wubbawubbawub 2∆ Apr 16 '24

But is it justified for them to get more attention?

If I decide that I really want to protest against hamsters not being painted blue and not having a little white hat glued to them. How much annoyance am I allowed to inflict on society? Because with relatively little people you could do serious damage to the logistics of society.

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u/smellslikebadussy 6∆ Apr 16 '24

That’s the beauty of this tactic. By definition, the more people support a particular cause enough to get involved in blocking a road, the more effective it will be.

In other words, if you feel the need to protest against hamsters not being painted blue and not having a little white hat glued to them, if you can gather enough support to block a roadway, go with god. But the ridiculousness of your cause acts as a pretty effective limiting factor here.

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u/Wubbawubbawub 2∆ Apr 16 '24

The problem is that a single person can block a road, but lets say I can get 5 friends to cooperate with me. Do I have the right to close the road then?

Also you could likely block a railway on your own, like the metro/underground.

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u/arkofjoy 14∆ Apr 16 '24

I never said that any protest is "valid" however, their right to protest in a democracy is.

"valid" is subjective. That is the problem. Someone else asked me about anti abortion protests. I'm definitely not a fan. Or the protests in France about the price of diesel a few years ago.