
The day Violent Thugs were driven out by Hippies with glowsticks - tehwalrus
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jan/01/the-day-violent-thugs-were-driven-out-by-hippes-with-glowsticks
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johnchristopher
> I had used peace to beat the thugs around the head.

Oh no, you did not. You used the full power and latent savagery of a crowd. It
might have turned out very differently (but made a better story to tell much
later on).

And the girlfriend is not a peace seeker. She did not help defuse the
situation at all.

~~~
swift
How would you have handled this situation? I think the author handled it
extremely well and I'm proud of him for doing so.

~~~
johnchristopher
I would have left the party and then see if my friend/girlfriend was okay and
if she needed support (professional or not).

I would certainly not try to get strangers into a bigger brawl.

~~~
tehwalrus
But what he did was not get them into a brawl. He simply challenged them
publicly. This is the very purpose of free speech!

I also object to the characterisation of the crowd as a mob. Democracy and mob
rule are the same words (etymologically), we simply pick which one we use
based on whether we like the application. This was unquestionably mob rule for
ethical purposes, aka democracy. I don't think the tyranny of the majority can
be applied to the defense of attendees asked to leave a party for assaulting a
guest.

~~~
LordWinstanley
>>I also object to the characterisation of the crowd as a mob

What about the characterisation of the other group as "violent thugs"?

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danharaj
They sexually harassed someone? That's violence.

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LordWinstanley
Allegedly [!] one of them did. So the rest are 'guilty by association'?

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tehwalrus
Actually under the law of England and Wales they would be.

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_purpose](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_purpose)

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rvdavis
Did nobody else notice the author claimed to be on acid at the time? That is
an awfully vivid recollection of events for someone out of their mind on LSD.
I highly doubt he remembers the event as clearly as he presents it, and it
really begs the question as to how much of this story he fabricated. I don't
see the purpose to publishing this story other than as an exercise in virtue
signalling.

~~~
chillacy
Are you actually familiar with the effects of LSD? At least at lower doses its
extremely non impairing compared to a few shots of vodka.

It may however have boosted the author's perception of unity with the crowd,
as a mild empathogen.

But the author would have to be on godly doses to dissociate with reality
entirely, and at that point their trip will not be anything as normal as a
confrontation at an event.

~~~
rvdavis
The author of the article doubted his faculties enough to mention his
hesitation to act due to impairment. My familiarity with the effects of
ingesting the substance is irrelevant.

~~~
chillacy
Your perception of your abilities often has little to do with your actual
abilities, otherwise the loudest most confident people would always be the
most qualified ;)

For instance, one of the side effects of weed is paranoia, which can manifest
as self doubt. It doesn't change your abilities, it just adds self doubt.

~~~
rvdavis
Did you just make me doubt myself? :)

~~~
chillacy
Well I've heard that Hacker News can be mind altering

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Animats
Inciting to riot?

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stuaxo
Ugh, the comments on the guardian are poison.

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throwaway049
The Guardian is just the thinking man's Taboola. Without the comments
following the click bait articles it would probably have closed down.

