PEOPLE in Bicester have been debating about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement after protests took place across the UK last week.

While some said the demos were needed to raise awareness about anti-black racism, others said they were not necessary during the coronavirus pandemic.

Bicester resident Nathan Benjamin-Smith posted in the Bicester General Chat Facebook group expressing his support for BLM.

He said: “The protesting taking place isn’t just about police brutality. It’s about a systemic racism that is ingrained within the society we live in.

Also read: Oxford Mail reporter on Black Lives Matter and racism in the UK

“Now it may not be as overt in the UK as it clearly is in the US but there’s no doubt it’s here and exists at various different levels.

“I agree, some of the defacing of memorials and violence that has occurred on a very small scale is shameful.

Oxford Mail:

“But it really is a very small scale and it’s so important we don’t let those incidents overshadow the bigger picture of what’s at stake here.”

More than 600 comments were made on his post as people discussed how they felt about racism in the UK and the recent events that have taken place after the death of George Floyd who died in the US when a police officer knelt on his neck.

Christy Charlesworth, from Bicester, said: “This is not political, it’s not about left or right wing, it’s about basic human rights.

“How anyone could find a problem with people demanding equality completely baffles me.”

Also read: Oxford councillors demand Cecil Rhodes statue is removed

Another resident, Alice McGeever, said: “As white people we don’t have the right to tell minorities whether they’re oppressed or how to fight their oppression.”

However others said that the BLM protests in the UK during the coronavirus pandemic could potentially result in more people getting infected.

Oxford Mail:

Natalie April Ayris, from Bicester, commented: “I’m all for black lives matter, but these protests will have a butterfly effect and potentially infect a lot of people with the virus.

“I don’t see it as an achievement if getting your point heard takes lives in the process.”

Jo Williams said: “Whilst I whole heartedly respect that people want to protest, they have to be peacefully done with the social distancing being adhered to.

“If they can’t, they simply cannot happen.”