r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	CopperPetra85
Comment	I just want to point out a few errors of cognition here. 1) 'it's their/our right to protest' Yes, it is a right, but rights can and should be restricted if they violate other people's basic human rights. Articles 9, 10 and 11 (all relevant here) are qualified rights and can be restricted by public authority if it violates others rights to safety and if it results in a crime. Orange Walks repeatedly violate the rights of others by harassing, threatening and assaulting Catholics. By having their routes pass Catholic churches they are actually actively choosing to violate fundamental human rights and the police and council are also culpable by not using their power to protect their citizens. Source: [Can a public authority interfere with your human rights](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/civil-rights/human-rights/when-can-a-public-authority-interfere-with-your-human-rights/) 2) 'If we ban Orange Walks then soon our rights to free speech will be stripped away completely' This is what is called a 'Slippery Slope Fallacy'. If you are making this argument then you are trying to evoke fear in people to manipulate them into siding with you, hence why it is considered a fallacy. There is no evidence that banning a march (which as previously discussed violates human rights) will result in a 1984 dystopia where all of our rights are stripped away by the government. Stop making this argument, it makes you look stupid and like a tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorist. [Why we should avoid the slippery slope](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/02/why-we-should-avoid-the-slippery-slope) 3) You can't restrict people's opinions/religious freedoms Similar to point 1, but I want to take it a little bit further. I firmly believe that Orange Walks spill over from an expression of religious celebration, into the relms of terrorism. Terrorism is defined as "Violent, criminal acts or acts of intimidation committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature." The goal does not necessarily have to be of a political nature, they can be wider than that e.g. 'we don't like Catholics, our goal is to make Catholics go away' Assault is a violent criminal act, and I doubt many people could argue that planning a route to pass Carholic churches is NOT an act of intimidation. Put those two things together and you have textbook terrorism. I could debate all day long about why this isn't dealt with in the same way we deal with international terrorism but that has a lot to do with whiteness and failures in the system, which is for another thread completely. Ending this with a series of links for your perusal: [Attack on Catholic Priest](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-44762725) [Death threats](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/bid-block-orange-march-dumbarton-21448023) [Brief history of rising tension due to Orange Walks ](https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/07/11/orange-order-parades-cause-growing-tension-in-scotland)
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/ppetrg/call_it_out_accusing_both_gcc_and_police_scotland/hd6o8c1/
Created	Fri 17th Sep 2021 9:32am
Status	normal ()

I just want to point out a few errors of cognition here.

1) **'it's their/our right to protest'**
Yes, it is a right, *but* rights can and should be restricted if they violate other people's *basic* human rights. Articles 9, 10 and 11 (all relevant here) are qualified rights and can be restricted by public authority if it violates others rights to safety and if it results in a crime.

Orange Walks repeatedly violate the rights of others by harassing, threatening and assaulting Catholics. By having their routes pass Catholic churches they are actually actively choosing to violate fundamental human rights and the police and council are also culpable by not using their power to protect their citizens.

Source: [Can a public authority interfere with your human rights](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/law-and-courts/civil-rights/human-rights/when-can-a-public-authority-interfere-with-your-human-rights/)

2) **'If we ban Orange Walks then soon our rights to free speech will be stripped away completely'**

This is what is called a 'Slippery Slope Fallacy'. If you are making this argument then you are trying to evoke fear in people to manipulate them into siding with you, hence why it is considered a fallacy. There is no evidence that banning a march (which as previously discussed violates human rights) will result in a 1984 dystopia where all of our rights are stripped away by the government. Stop making this argument, it makes you look stupid and like a tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorist.

[Why we should avoid the slippery slope](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/02/why-we-should-avoid-the-slippery-slope)

3) **You can't restrict people's opinions/religious freedoms**

Similar to point 1, but I want to take it a little bit further. I firmly believe that Orange Walks spill over from an expression of religious celebration, into the relms of **terrorism.**

Terrorism is defined as "Violent, criminal acts or acts of intimidation committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature."
The goal does not necessarily have to be of a political nature, they can be wider than that e.g. 'we don't like Catholics, our goal is to make Catholics go away'

Assault is a violent criminal act, and I doubt many people could argue that planning a route to pass Carholic churches is NOT an act of intimidation.

Put those two things together and you have textbook terrorism.
I could debate all day long about why this isn't dealt with in the same way we deal with international terrorism but that has a lot to do with whiteness and failures in the system, which is for another thread completely.

Ending this with a series of links for your perusal:

[Attack on Catholic Priest](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-44762725)
[Death threats](https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/bid-block-orange-march-dumbarton-21448023)
[Brief history of rising tension due to Orange Walks ](https://www.economist.com/britain/2019/07/11/orange-order-parades-cause-growing-tension-in-scotland)