#and i often think about how miscarriages of justice against working class british people are exactly the same as | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mariemariemaria · 10 months ago

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The new channel 4 documentary on the miners strike is fantastic. It covers different points of view, from the striking miners, to working miners, to the women in striking communities, to the police. It also shows how the Battle of Orgreave on 18th June 1984 was planned and initiated by the police, and how the media (BBC and ITV) covered this up and showed only the police's side, while positioning them as being the victims of miners' violence (which was very minimal to non existent in reality), who simply retaliated because the "restrained...traditional British policing way" (I have to laugh) didn't work.

I also didn't know until watching this that Gareth Peirce, who represented the Guildford Four and the Birmingham Six, also defended mineworkers who were victims of police brutality at Orgreave. What a woman!

#british history #working class history #miners strike #acab #im so interested in this period of history + chose this topic specifically as part of a british history module last year #so im really glad that this docuseries was made for the 40th anniversary and i hope it is never forgotten #and i often think about how miscarriages of justice against working class british people are exactly the same as #british miscarriages of justice against irish people. i was thinking this when watching #at one point an interviewee even says something like 'obviously i'd seen this happen in northern ireland but i never expected it to #happen in england!' and the way the police acted obviously made me think of what they did in the north of ireland #and the gareth peirce connection just confirmed it. but how many people saw those connections?#how many of the miners who were beaten by police saw the same things happen to irish people but didnt care? or thought they deserved it?#this isnt to blame them..they were fed lies that the irish were terrorists...but it suggests to me that this oppression is connected #also similar is how RE the post office scandal a lot of people were shocked that british justice had failed #a man in the drama even said that it was britain and he was british and that british justice wouldnt let them down #and you just think like...do you not know what british 'justice' did to innocent irish people? do you think they deserved it?#did you think you were immune because you were british? in ireland we know there is no such thing as british justice.#but british people never seem to learn this history lesson #what a better world it would be if working class british (and irish) people could recognise our similarities and joint sufferings as a #result of the british state. its quite frustrating to watch british people constantly put faith in their gov/justice system #learn from your own history!! they dont care about you!!

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