Talk:Insulate Britain protests

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A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Insulate Britain hold a press conference outside the Home Office, London (22-9-2021).jpg

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 22:37, 24 September 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 13 October 2021

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Please can you make this page less biased, including some of the issues that the protests have caused and the hypocrisy of those involved in / "leading" the protests? For example, the protests delayed a woman being taken to hospital for the first signs of a stroke for six hours and she is now paralysed / cannot talk. Furthermore, Gabby Ditton and Liam Norton have both appeared in TV interviews and admitted that they do not believe in there "cause" enough to insulate their own homes! I'm not against peaceful protesting and I do believe action against climate change is necessary, but these people are terrorists who are hurting people, causing more pollution due to traffic on the motorways and do not even believe in their own words enough to take the actions they are demanding other do! 2A02:C7F:FE9C:9200:9568:7345:562:F14D (talk) 22:18, 13 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{edit semi-protected}} template. RandomCanadian (talk / contribs) 23:42, 13 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

What reliable sources do you propose we include that are not already present? — Bilorv (talk) 20:50, 14 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Civil disobedience?

Let's just confirm that we think this article belongs in the category "Civil disobedience". According to Lexico, "civil disobedience" is defined as "The refusal to comply with certain laws considered unjust, as a peaceful form of political protest". I would assume that this meant deliberately breaking laws that they considered unjust and were protesting against rather than the casual breaking of laws unrelated to their protest as a consequence of their chosen form of protesting. Hence I propose removing this article from that category. -- DeFacto (talk). 11:17, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@DeFacto: that is original research. It doesn't matter whether you think the protests are an example of civil disobedience or not. It matters whether reliable sources think it is. A quick Google shows it's used across the political spectrum to describe Insulate Britain (though I won't link to the tabloids; also some paywalled sources that'd take me a few more minutes to check) e.g. [1][2][3]. As such I've introduced the description to the body of the article. — Bilorv (talk) 11:24, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

@Bilorv, firstly, I agree with the inclusion of that category now it is supported by the article, so thanks for that.

Secondly though, I do not follow your argument about OR. All I did was object to that category when its use wasn't supported by the article. After I removed it and was reverted with the reason "stated in Protests section", I tried to find a way of justifying it from the discussion about law breaking in that section, but as I couldn't see a fit from the dictionary definition I brought it here. There was no OR on my part. -- DeFacto (talk). 12:30, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I thought your own analysis of Lexico's definition was the impetus for your actions, but you've clarified it wasn't, and I'm glad we're now in agreement. — Bilorv (talk) 14:10, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Why block roads?

The article doesn't attempt to explain why the protesters choose to frequently block busy roads. Their demands are to the government, but none of their protests target politicians, government buildings etc. They must realise that their only effect is to obstruct, delay & annoy road users who have no political power. Jim Michael (talk) 17:35, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Have you found any reliable sources that explain the protesters' choice of tactics? — Bilorv (talk) 18:34, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not aware of them having explained either their focus on obstructing roads, nor the absence of them protesting outside government buildings, the houses of politicians etc. The article needs explanations from the group rather than mere guesswork, assumptions etc. from outside the group. Jim Michael (talk) 19:51, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Reaction

Are reactions by ordinary members of the public relevant enough to add to the Reaction section of the article - such as the instances of those who've shouted at, threatened, pushed or thrown things at the protesters? Jim Michael (talk) 19:51, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

It's maybe worth a generalised mention in some capacity, but the key should be highly reliable sources that talk about this phenomenon (rather than each individual, aggrieved, low-profile person). But I'd maybe put it within "Protests", as the reaction from the drivers is a part of the protests themselves. I gather ink was thrown at activists today in what, depending on what information is available about the assaulter's reasoning, could be a form of counter-protest. — Bilorv (talk) 20:43, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

I think the most relevant physical reaction by the public has been when they've dragged protesters off the roads, although some have stood/sat back on the same part of the road seconds/minutes later. Jim Michael (talk) 22:13, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Size

It'd be useful to know the number of members the group has, especially how many are actively taking part in protests. Jim Michael (talk) 22:13, 27 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]