So the NUS have blamed MPs and police for the riots and one of spokespersons apparently refused to condemn violence… “What we see from the protesters is not violence, it is resistance”.

Allcoppedout: Why on earth do we have to have protests like the ones going on recently?  The reason lies in a pretty dire political process that has long since failed to modernise and be representative.  Yet, in the meantime, we expose front-line police officers to what can only be thought of as abuse. This will surely get worse if other people start to protest or riot. (Read more)

I have to ask; how many of these anarchists students actually used their democratic right in the last election? Always assuming with today’s limited literary ability, that most should actually be able to manage to put an ‘X’ in a box.

Insp. Gadget said; On a cold night in December we get to meet a few thousand of the people who will elect our police chiefs in 2012. Oh but wait, they are too apathetic to go out and vote remember? (Read more)

During the aftermath discussion the comments from Facebook friends (from across the social/political divide) were indicative to the failing public support for the students;

“I think it’s fair to say the minority of students have now fcuked up any chance of empathy for the majority where fees are concerned…stupid, ignorant, selfish knob ends. Your point is lost, you will never convince me otherwise now having seen the state you have left Central London in”

“Give them a rifle and fly them out to Afghanistan then we’ll see how brave they are. Let them see real heroes at work then they may realise how they keep their freedom of expression.”

They couldn’t have been ‘proper’ students… They were out of bed too early in the morning! 🙂

People keep trying to justify the riots by saying we all have a fundamental social right to education and I would partly agree, however, do we have the right to expect someone else to pay for it? And more importantly, does anyone have the right to progress that view by means of intimidation, violence and criminal damage? It would appear that some of the student leaders think so…

The right to receive a basic education is probably fair enough, we all need to be able to read, write and do sums but even that quality of output from our education system is somewhat suspect. Higher or further education however to my mind is more a matter of personal choice and one which I object to financing from my taxes, especially when we tend to see very little nationally advantageous social or financial return on our ‘investment’.

How can it be financially viable for our society to support some muppet for three years reading comic books for their BA? Always assuming that he/she manages to get out of bed and goes to lectures in the first place. I could be more supportive of the HE system in this country if there were more tangible results and, I hadn’t listened to countless ‘graduates’ in the pub describing how “Uni was a blast”, how they got pissed all the time, went to parties but still managed a “result” and how now, “they were taking time out’ because it was soooo stressful”.

The current riots about tuition fees have more to do with jealousy and class warfare than social rights than academic choice and/or ability. Over the centuries and long before any welfare state, there are countless examples of those who have risen to greater levels of academic achievement, despite the wealth or social standing of their parentage. Originating from one of our most famous and prestigious university cities, I was always aware of students who held down jobs to support their study and living expenses whilst taking a degree. If students could work AND study then, they could do it now, instead of expecting the state or parents to provide. Always assuming they could get their lazy arses out of bed!

I suppose as a society, we could let the anarchists students have their freedom of choice/expression and see what we are left with afterwards?

Related Articles

• Filming the student fees protests (guardian.co.uk)
• Police accused of brutality by student leader (independent.co.uk)
• Tuition fees: police and students injured as protests turn violent (telegraph.co.uk)
• Student fees protests: woman claims she was beaten by police (guardian.co.uk)
• Police must not be seen as arm of the state, warns top officer (guardian.co.uk)
• Riots, fire, anger – and a defining political moment for a generation (guardian.co.uk)
• Police issue pictures of protest suspects (independent.co.uk)