Fathers 4 Justice members arrested in US

[T_i_B]

Source: Independent

Two British Fathers 4 Justice activists were arrested as they protested at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC yesterday.

The men, wearing Captain America and Batman costumes, had scaled the memorial and unfurled a banner which read: "For the Fathers of the Nation: Fathers 4 Justice has arrived."

US Parks Police officers evacuated dozens of tourists from the memorial, which has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" address.

The men were later identified as Jolly Stanesby, from Ivybridge, Devon, and Mike Downes, from Manchester. Both men have been arrested in the UK for similar protests.


Read more: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2876543.ece

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Not a group you want taking off in the US I can assure you.

[T_i_B]

1. Some more background info - via Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathers_4_Justice

Fathers 4 Justice (or F4J) began as a fathers’ rights organization in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom branch was temporarily disbanded in January 2006, following reports of an alleged plot by members to kidnap the son of then current Prime Minister Tony Blair. Just months later the group bounced back, taking the BBC's live National Lottery Show off air.

Fathers 4 Justice was founded by Matt O'Connor, a marketing consultant and father of three. O'Connor had become incensed with family law after a court temporarily barred him from seeing his two young sons outside of a contact centre, following separation from his wife in 2000. On 17 December 2002, O’Connor and a small group of supporters staged their first protest by storming the Royal Courts of Justice dressed as Father Christmas. In January 2003 O'Connor officially founded Fathers 4 Justice. Initially the group targeted the homes of family court judges and family lawyers' homes and offices with traditional protests.

F4J is well-known for its campaigning techniques of dramatic protest stunts, usually dressed as comic book superheroes and frequently scaling public buildings, bridges and monuments. However, some members of F4J have a documented history of intimidating attacks on CAFCASS and court staff.

[ananda]

2. Wiki?

I don't trust that source.

[dipsydoodle]

3. I no longer trust it either

but in this instance what it says is correct. One of their stunts is to climb onto motorway gantries so's the police have the shut the motorway incase they fall. Their issue is with regard to fair access to their children.

[T_i_B]

4. How about the BBC profile then?

It's not like you can't find out about why this group should be avoided. Personally I find it quite daft that these people think that dressing up in a superhero costume and climbing up buildings is in any way going to convince people to give them custody of children.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3653112.stm

[Benhurst]

5. Oh, I don't know. Any nation which would allow itself to be taken over

by the likes of George W. Bush and his gang of thugs is pretty well up for grabs and likely to believe anything.

[EST]

6. You have to divide the attention getting part from the policy part.

F'rinstance, I had never heard of this group until I read it here and it only made it here because they did something out of the ordinary, something, whatever else we might think of it, that they must be very skilled at.

I get an automatic negative for them, not because of their attention grabbing stunts, but because of that stupid name: like they don't know the difference between for and four, or they are careless, or they are lousy students and therefore certainly incapable of teaching children, themselves.

Growing up in a rural, relatively uneducated area, I am familiar with the "4 sale" signs and the jokes, cartoons, and general hilarity using that as an unfair general condemnation of a certain group of people. This, alone, should disqualify them, as the use of such poor judgment makes them less than capable.

Oh, yeah, I guess I should include the :sarcasm: and the :evilfrown: and the :silly before this goes too far.

[Berry Cool]

7. Keith Olbermann has featured their stunts on his Oddball segment a few times

He obviously thinks they're idiots.