Charlotte Marion Smith was out shopping in Ormskirk, West Lancashire on Wednesday donning one of her favourite t-shirts:
But, a passing Conservative supporter got cranky. She could not comprehend the t-shirt, exclaiming that David Cameron is, in fact, a brilliant Prime Minister. The Tory woman did not take kindly to another person exercising their right to freedom of expression and political protest. She informed Smith that her t-shirt was “highly offensive” – to the point where it caused her so much “distress” that she decided to phone the police.
Now, traditionally, police officers tend to be conservative rather than liberal because their position is authoritarian in nature. Perhaps the Conservative woman thought she would find solace in natural allies.
But this could not be further from the truth. The officers chastised the woman for wasting police time, stating they would fine her if she phoned them again for no good reason. Then, they told her to ‘move along’.
The police then proceeded to sit down for a chat with Smith about how Cameron has “divided the country”. They even asked if she could get them a t-shirt so they could sport it themselves.
Smith’s post is getting a lot of love on Facebook:
Police cuts run deep
The coalition government’s austerity programme involved spending cuts of more than 18% and more than 17,000 fewer police officers. Last year, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, warned that the government will continue to impose yearly spending cuts on the police for the rest of this government.
These major cuts now mean the government is set to deploy unpaid ‘volunteers’ to tackle serious crimes. Aside from it being outrageous that they expect people to work for free, this makeshift policing is extremely worrying. Unpaid civilians could be used to deal with situations as serious as terror attacks or child sex abuse.
We’re all in this together is true, but not the way the Conservatives meant it. We – the public – are all in this together. The police, other public servants and the rest of us must stand in solidarity against this arbitrary austerity programme.
Charlotte Smith was just doing her bit by continuing to expose Cameron’s policies. Now, where can I get that t-shirt?
Get involved!
-Hop on board with the People Assembly Against Austerity.
-Grab yourself a t-shirt.
Featured image via Guillaume Paumier and John Leach.
