4 ms·

I don't see how bringing the activist into a bar full of hunters and then announcing that you're his protector is anything like trying to diffuse conflict. Acti

I don't see how bringing the activist into a bar full of hunters and then announcing that you're his protector is anything like trying to diffuse conflict. Acting like a macho tough guy and flippantly giving a library card as a press credential when you get called out is a pretty cheeky thing to do.

pjc50 8y ago
Farmyard, rather than bar: "we drove into a farmyard full of farmhands and hunt supporters." > Acting like a macho tough guy and flippantly giving a library card as a press credential when you get called out is a pretty cheeky thing to do. Flippant, yes, macho .. not exactly. It is however extremely English, this kind of whimsicality in the face of interpersonal violence. Reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_Tatham-Warter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_Tatham-Warter carrying an umbrella about the Battle of Arnhem and leading a bayonet charge wearing a bowler hat. The British Library membership card is fantastic for this. It's almost literally saying "Don't punch me, I'm upper middle class". Given the importance of class signifiers in the whole affray, that moves him perfectly to bystander status. Probably worked better than an actual press card. Or warrant card. But as he points out, this is an extremely routine conflict, almost as if this is what these people do at the weekends rather than have fights at football matches: > "Then, I had the sense, it was all just like old times. The saboteur women screamed murderous abuse at the terrier-men while the terrier-men tried to knock video cameras from the women’s hands, there were scuffles and a good deal of debate about who started what, and vicious, well-rehearsed arguments about the bloody business of killing foxes. I wandered around asking if anyone happened to have seen my car keys." (There is probably a whole other article to be written about the dark whimsy of violence that pervades this article!)
spyckie2 8y ago
> smarmy, narcissistic, rooting for blood, lizard brain, macho guy, flippantly, cheeky Just letting you know about a blind spot you may have. These words I'm highlighting are the exact opposite of factual - they are all your opinion that the author of the article is full of himself, and for your personal growth, I'd encourage you to try not to assume that about people.

pjc50 8y ago

Farmyard, rather than bar: "we drove into a farmyard full of farmhands and hunt supporters." > Acting like a macho tough guy and flippantly giving a library card as a press credential when you get called out is a pretty cheeky thing to do. Flippant, yes, macho .. not exactly. It is however extremely English, this kind of whimsicality in the face of interpersonal violence. Reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_Tatham-Warter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digby_Tatham-Warter carrying an umbrella about the Battle of Arnhem and leading a bayonet charge wearing a bowler hat. The British Library membership card is fantastic for this. It's almost literally saying "Don't punch me, I'm upper middle class". Given the importance of class signifiers in the whole affray, that moves him perfectly to bystander status. Probably worked better than an actual press card. Or warrant card. But as he points out, this is an extremely routine conflict, almost as if this is what these people do at the weekends rather than have fights at football matches: > "Then, I had the sense, it was all just like old times. The saboteur women screamed murderous abuse at the terrier-men while the terrier-men tried to knock video cameras from the women’s hands, there were scuffles and a good deal of debate about who started what, and vicious, well-rehearsed arguments about the bloody business of killing foxes. I wandered around asking if anyone happened to have seen my car keys." (There is probably a whole other article to be written about the dark whimsy of violence that pervades this article!)

spyckie2 8y ago

> smarmy, narcissistic, rooting for blood, lizard brain, macho guy, flippantly, cheeky Just letting you know about a blind spot you may have. These words I'm highlighting are the exact opposite of factual - they are all your opinion that the author of the article is full of himself, and for your personal growth, I'd encourage you to try not to assume that about people.