Break the knob off

[d000hg]

A man has taken a hammer to a statue on the BBC's Broadcasting House in central London.

The Prospero and Ariel statue was carved by Eric Gill and has been on display at the BBC since 1933.

There has been a campaign to have the statue removed for several years, because the sculptor recorded sexually abusing his daughters in his diaries.

Police were called to the scene at about 16:15 GMT and the man was brought down about four hours later.

My main response is... 4 hours?! The article reports a crowd gathering shouting at him but he was otherwise left to get on with it. Soft, our boys in blue are!

However my favourite part was

But when I arrived at work on Wednesday afternoon, a ladder was leaning up against the building and a man stood on the plinth above the doorway, shouting "paedophile" and attacking the statue with a hammer, feet first.

Perhaps he was some sort of former acrobat?

[vetran]

Sadly so are our courts.

Its criminal damage even if you don't like the statue of the person taking part in at the time legal commerce.

If I started lobbing bricks at the Saudi Embassy in a protest against their far larger involvement in buying and abusing African slaves a millennia before Hawkins even arrived in Africa I would be charged and prosecuted.

[d000hg]

Ah, apparently he was up a ladder. The 4 hour delay was probably while they waited for the police officer trained in ladders to arrive, nobody else was allowed nearby.

[SueEllen]

Sadly so are our courts.

Its criminal damage even if you don't like the statue of the person taking part in at the time legal commerce.

If I started lobbing bricks at the Saudi Embassy in a protest against their far larger involvement in buying and abusing African slaves a millennia before Hawkins even arrived in Africa I would be charged and prosecuted.

If you were an anti-Saudi Campaigner you would ask for a jury trial, get your experts in, convince the jury to let you off and probably succeed. Lots of campaigners have got off the way the Colston 4 have already which is why they used that defence.

However even long before you got arrested by the Met police you would have disappeared and your dismembered body may have been found e.g.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...st/1608878002/

[vetran]

If you were an anti-Saudi Campaigner you would ask for a jury trial, get your experts in, convince the jury to let you off and probably succeed. Lots of campaigners have got off the way the Colston 4 have already which is why they used that defence.

However even long before you got arrested by the Met police you would have disappeared and your dismembered body may have been found e.g.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...st/1608878002/

Yes the Judge should have advised the Jury that they were judging whether an offence had occurred not if they believed it was justified by history.

As you say the Saudis are pretty nasty and unlikely to pay reparations which is why BLM etc aren't poking that bear.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Ah, apparently he was up a ladder. The 4 hour delay was probably while they waited for the police officer trained in ladders to arrive, nobody else was allowed nearby.

That's probably not a joke.

Ever been on a ladder training course?

These days you really couldn't make most of this tulip up.

[d000hg]

I use my ladders illegally, I expect. Once I even took my hands off.

[tazdevil]

I use my ladders illegally, I expect. Once I even took my hands off.

As one uses a ladder to do stuff taking the hands off the rails at some time is somewhat required to get the job done. I've been known to hot wire electrics, replace my own window glass, erect and use scaffolding, etcetera as have many here without the necessary certification, without mishap (except the time I fell off the ladder and a few bangs from the fuse box). Or one could suck on a midget gem

[WTFH]

I use my ladders illegally, I expect. Once I even took my hands off.

How are you supposed to start a chain saw if you don't take your hands off the ladder?

[d000hg]

How are you supposed to start a chain saw if you don't take your hands off the ladder?

You mean you don't drop start yours? Far safer as you only need one hand

(although I've switched to an electric chainsaw as I am a woke greenie)