Problem in Leeds Tonight

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Originally Posted by Citizen's Nephew

That's actually really offensive.

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"GB news guy.

He's a twat."

If you're going to complain about people being offensive, maybe you should think about every single post you make.

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Originally Posted by Dembe

"GB news guy.

He's a twat."

If you're going to complain about people being offensive, maybe you should think about every single post you make.

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I didn't complain about 'people' being offensive, I was referencing the reply by James to my argument. It was specific to his reply.

The GB guy is still a twat.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...-and-harehills

‘This is what a councillor is supposed to do’: Mothin Ali on false accusations of rioting

The Green party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in Leeds was accused by the far right of taking part in rioting when he was trying to calm tensions

“People still are accusing me of being a rioter,” said Mothin Ali, the Green party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in Leeds.

It is true he was there on Thursday night when a police car was turned on its side, projectiles were thrown at riot police and a doubledecker bus was set alight in a night of unrest triggered when police turned up to help social services take some children into care.

But far from being a rioter, it was Ali, and others in the community, who stood in front of police in efforts to protect them, stopped people throwing bins and crates on the blaze and ultimately gathered water from nearby homes to put out the fire.

What made him put his safety at risk? “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s my area. I didn’t want people getting involved when they shouldn’t be getting involved. Throwing a rock and ending up with a 10-year jail sentence.

“And some of the police officers over the last few years I’ve got to know and I didn’t want them to get hurt. I thought, this is what a councillor is supposed to do.”

Early in the evening Ali was accused of rioting online by members of the far right, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, who claimed footage showed the “newly elected councillor for the area rioting tonight in Leeds. Multiple reports he’s even on the streets with them.”

Though many people saw the subsequent images and video of Ali protecting the community and giving rousing speeches to those gathered, some of the lies have stuck.

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Originally Posted by jon1959

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...-and-harehills

‘This is what a councillor is supposed to do’: Mothin Ali on false accusations of rioting

The Green party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in Leeds was accused by the far right of taking part in rioting when he was trying to calm tensions

“People still are accusing me of being a rioter,” said Mothin Ali, the Green party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in Leeds.

It is true he was there on Thursday night when a police car was turned on its side, projectiles were thrown at riot police and a doubledecker bus was set alight in a night of unrest triggered when police turned up to help social services take some children into care.

But far from being a rioter, it was Ali, and others in the community, who stood in front of police in efforts to protect them, stopped people throwing bins and crates on the blaze and ultimately gathered water from nearby homes to put out the fire.

What made him put his safety at risk? “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s my area. I didn’t want people getting involved when they shouldn’t be getting involved. Throwing a rock and ending up with a 10-year jail sentence.

“And some of the police officers over the last few years I’ve got to know and I didn’t want them to get hurt. I thought, this is what a councillor is supposed to do.”

Early in the evening Ali was accused of rioting online by members of the far right, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, who claimed footage showed the “newly elected councillor for the area rioting tonight in Leeds. Multiple reports he’s even on the streets with them.”

Though many people saw the subsequent images and video of Ali protecting the community and giving rousing speeches to those gathered, some of the lies have stuck.

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The hallmark of the entire right wing movement...opportunistic bullshit! Sadly, democracy is existentially vulnerable to this well orchestrated threat.

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Originally Posted by jon1959

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...-and-harehills

‘This is what a councillor is supposed to do’: Mothin Ali on false accusations of rioting

The Green party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in Leeds was accused by the far right of taking part in rioting when he was trying to calm tensions

“People still are accusing me of being a rioter,” said Mothin Ali, the Green party councillor for Gipton and Harehills in Leeds.

It is true he was there on Thursday night when a police car was turned on its side, projectiles were thrown at riot police and a doubledecker bus was set alight in a night of unrest triggered when police turned up to help social services take some children into care.

But far from being a rioter, it was Ali, and others in the community, who stood in front of police in efforts to protect them, stopped people throwing bins and crates on the blaze and ultimately gathered water from nearby homes to put out the fire.

What made him put his safety at risk? “I don’t know,” he said. “It’s my area. I didn’t want people getting involved when they shouldn’t be getting involved. Throwing a rock and ending up with a 10-year jail sentence.

“And some of the police officers over the last few years I’ve got to know and I didn’t want them to get hurt. I thought, this is what a councillor is supposed to do.”

Early in the evening Ali was accused of rioting online by members of the far right, including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, better known as Tommy Robinson, who claimed footage showed the “newly elected councillor for the area rioting tonight in Leeds. Multiple reports he’s even on the streets with them.”

Though many people saw the subsequent images and video of Ali protecting the community and giving rousing speeches to those gathered, some of the lies have stuck.

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The comments I saw were complementary towards Mr Ali. Besides that, I don't think Yax is who he says he is.

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Originally Posted by Wales-Bales

The comments I saw were complementary towards Mr Ali. Besides that, I don't think Yax is who he says he is.

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:sherlock:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyj41w72vn8o

'Four children whose removal into foster care prompted disorder in Leeds have now been returned to stay with their extended family.'

There was some controversy earlier as Mothin Ali was speaking into tiktok and saying the Police had language issues etc, which if viewed whilst watching the violence sounds bad, but the reality was that he was quite firmly keeping people away, telling them to think about any families living near the bins being set on fire and the like. Strikes me he did a great job, and was far more active in protecting his community than the vast majority of elected officials would have been.

Unfortunately the way these things work is that algorithms and the like will only show one side - this unfortunately happens across the spectrum and is - in my opinion - why I think political polarisation has got much worse since the era of social media, although that does slso coincide with the global financial crash in 20080from which we have never really recovered. As such, some will only see a negative side, others will only see a positive. The reality is always in the middle.

Anyway, whilst the incident doesn't shine a fantastic light on community relations and the like his behaviour deserves nothing but praise