Protest section 4 Police Bill.

Putting something on social media is not the same as turning a blind eye. Putting things on Facebook is an incitement to take matters into your own hands. Phone the Police. If they don't come, complain.

We're not living in some kind of medieval state where justice is meted out by the people who think they've been wronged.

Sorry, I missed a "not " there; Not putting something on social media is not the same as turning a blind eye

Thank you so much for the people who have offered support, or maybe learned something new.
I would never condone what these people do, and agree it's criminal, so let's prosecute the guilty without including the innocent.
I've been mailing as many MP's as I can find, it might be futile, but I need to try. There were 29 MP's signed against but none of them were Conservative.
So anyone who was asking how they can help, please try the Conservative MP's.
May thanks again, and sorry for those who can't see the wood for the trees. I hope you don't want to stop for a picnic anywhere without the owners permission. i.e calling the local council before you stop and asking them.
Or, don't moan when you see homeless people not allowed to sleep rough, they just have to keep on walking.

After what has happened at Rutland show ground with travellers taking over a religious festival and using intimidating behaviour including spitting at people not many are going to have much sympathy for travellers and will be in favour of the Bill.

When there is any large gathering of people there will be a small minority who cause trouble. This happens at big music festivals and do we say that all festival-goers are anti-social people? - no.

I have looked at the reports of this event and it is clear that the organisers have co-operated fully with the authorities, produced proper covid risk assessments, and are now co-operating with the police to deal with the anti-social elements. What more can they do to keep people happy?

If you forget that they are Travellers and simply see them as a large religious gathering where the organisers are trying their best to deal with the anti-social fringe, it puts a different perspective on it all.

The religious festival has not been "taken over" by Travellers - they are the organisers! It is a Traveller religious festival.

Tried to find this on the BBC news website but they'd sooner sit at their desks and tell us about Naga Munchetty having her coil fitted and the new cast of Love Island. All the really important stuff. ?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-57544937

Here's the story on the Daily Mail website. Whatever the original intentions there are 1,500 travellers there and a lot of troublemakers causing problems.
Daily Mail Article
Quote: Oakham was in a 'state of panic' amid anti-social behaviour, assaults, high-speed drag-racing reminiscent of the Mad Max films and claims gangs of men were 'driving around the villages looking for things they can take'. Several supermarkets and other businesses in the town in Rutland closed early following claims of looting and toilets being left unusable for customers, while witnesses said maskless youths terrorised staff and diners in the local McDonald's and went behind the counter to grab meals and hurl food and drink.

So the DM has played it up and the BBC News has played it down, so somewhere in the middle is the truth.

I saw it in The Sun online which said it was Mayhem with 1,500 travellers and Macdonald having to shut its doors, amid complaints that the festival was allowed to take place when Covid restrictions are in force. I do what kind of paper The Sun is - not oneI usually look at but wanted to avoid DM

I don’t know not I do

The Mirror said residents of Oakham were too scared to leave their homes.

*visitors “come down here for the week and trash the place as if it is a holiday park.” They continue to explain that “I have heard of people who don’t get tickets, just causing havoc”. This statement is supported by Avon and Somerset
Constabulary. The report in which was written shows the increase in crime around the area during the festival. Participant 4 corroborates with participant 5 and the
report by explaining a neighbour “lives on the border and somebody broke into her house. They were on some sort of drugs and they went over her fence”. They continue by saying
that “I have heard there are many intruders whilst the festival is on that rob the local houses”. This shows a clear correlation between the secondary and primary research suggesting that criminal activity does exist within the area and the festival does encourage negative behavioural consequences.*

The above is a quote from a report into the Glastonbury festival and its impact on the local community.

No Travellers there - just a huge gathering which attracts anti-social elements that disrupt the local community.

I am in no way condoning the behaviour of the small minority of Travellers who are causing such disruption in Rutland. I am just trying to point out that the problem is with people, not specifically with Travellers; and with large gatherings of non-Travellers creating similar problems.

The Travellers who have organised this Christian gathering have done everything by the book and will be as horrified by the anti-social element as we are - probably more so as they know how their reputation will be tarnished.

I’m afraid prejudices will have been reinforced against all travellers at Oakham and possibly elsewhere.