# Roger Waters is a tankie **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 7, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234 "2022-08-07T05:05:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2023, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/301 "2023-11-17T02:13:27Z")
One of these days, I’m going to cut you into little pieces! ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/302 "2023-11-17T02:32:40Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > They accuse him of anti-Semitism for supporting Palestinians: But, to be clear, he did a bit more than express support for Palestinians. As I said upthread, he lost me at JAQing over whether the 7OCT attacks were a false flag. That’s straight up batshit and might well betray some genuine antisemitism. > [@bobot](#): > > Hey, I came here to read quoted Pink Floyd lyrics. _Mother do you think they’ll try to break my balls?_ To which we may now answer with an emphatic _yes_. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/303 "2023-11-17T03:05:32Z")
_If I go insane, will you still let me join in with the game?_ No, Roger. No. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/304 "2023-11-17T23:39:20Z")
_All that you whine_ _All that you rant_ _All that you spew_ _All you blurt_ _And all that you yell_ _All that you cry_ _All that you spiel_ _All you grunt_ _And all that you brag_ _All that you boast_ _All that you gloat_ _All you fingerpoint_ _And all that you snarl_ _All that you bark_ _All that you shout_ _All you pontificate_ _And all that you shout_ _All that you scream_ _All that you snap_ _All you self-martyr_ _And all that you shriek_ _All that you rave_ _All that you storm_ _All you barf_ _And everything under the sun is MEEEEE_ _But the sun is eclipsed also by MEEEE_ ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/305 "2023-11-18T00:21:29Z")
Send that to him! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/306 "2024-01-30T21:31:09Z")
> **[BMG Splits With Roger Waters Over Pink Floyd Co-Founder’s Comments on Israel...](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bmg-splits-roger-waters-over-165813623.html)** > > BMG has parted ways with Roger Waters, the Pink Floyd co-founder who has made inflammatory comments about Israel, Ukraine and the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/307 "2025-07-17T21:05:55Z")
Update: he could be facing criminal charges for support of Palestine Action, which takes direct action against insufficiently pro-palestinian organizations, including attacking airplanes on an RAF base: > **[Legendary rock star could spend more than a decade in prison](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/legendary-rock-star-could-spend-123710425.html)** > > His political beliefs could land him in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Palooka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/palooka/32/2902_2.png) [@Palooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palooka)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/308 "2025-07-17T21:12:09Z")
The person in charge of security on that base is probably also going to have a bad time. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/309 "2025-07-17T21:38:20Z")
Reading up on Palestine Action, I’m not quite sure that they’re the best example of a terrorist outfit but, that said, the only solution to them would be for Elbit (or other targets) to start shooting or otherwise harming people that try breaking in to their property. It’s probably better for Palestine Action to be shut down than to have their target move to the stage of starting to defend itself. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2025, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/310 "2025-07-18T05:31:02Z")
G Roger Waters is eight-freaking-one years old. If they put him in the dungeon for a decade, he will almost certain not be going home. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2025, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/311 "2025-07-19T05:29:35Z")
fagettabouit!. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2025, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/312 "2025-07-19T22:43:15Z")
I don’t know squat about Palestinian Action. And am not particuarly fond of what I hear about Waters politics, but his law seems a straight up catch 22. They can designate an organization (lets say the Tory party) to be a terrorist organization, and then if anybody says, “No you got it wrong the Tories are not in fact terrorists”, they can be prosecuted and jailed for supporting a terrorist organization. There doesn’t appear to be any valid recourse once you’re on the list. Prosecuting those who send the organization money, provide material support, and recruit on their behalf seems reasonable, but from the article it appears that all Waters has done is make public his disagreement with the UK putting them on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2025, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/313 "2025-07-19T23:03:39Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > I don’t know squat about Palestinian Action. And am not particuarly fond of what I hear about Waters politics, but (t)his law seems a straight up catch 22. According to Britain’s [Terrorism Act 2000](http://legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/part/I), Palestine Action appears to qualify as a terrorist group. Their "direct action’ has involved not just serious damage to property, but also [attacking police with deadly weapons](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mnnje4wlro). Whether the law should punish people who just say the group is nifty but don’t send them money and weapons is another issue. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/314 "2025-07-20T00:48:25Z")
Laws against terrorism are themselves highly problematic. Once an organization is designated as terroristical, it becomes like calling them treasonous, in terms of traditional monarchic rules. They lose all their rights, being enemies of the state, and become equivalent to that mountain lion that killed someone and thus needs to be hunted down and eliminated.        The specific individuals known to be part of a terrorist-designated organization at that point have basically nothing to lose, which makes them even more dangerous. You cannot have discourse with them at all, you just have kill them – before they kill you (or your family). And so the state has closed the issue to debate, at least as far as that group is concerned.        Sympathizers not identified as belonging to the terrorist organization are free (and likely) to start some other organization that may express similar but sufficiently divergent ideals, to continue to speak to the issue. Because, invoking “_Terrorists!_” does not resolve an issue or somehow make it not matter. In some cases it can make the situation worse. Imagine where we would be, in the US, if anti-choice activism had been designated terrorism (for which there could be a fair argument). ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/315 "2025-07-20T01:48:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > According to Britain’s [Terrorism Act 2000](http://legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/11/part/I), Palestine Action appears to qualify as a terrorist group. …it absolutely needs to be pointed out that the sort of direct action that Palestine Action takes were debated extensively at the time and the crafters of the act assured that _it wouldn’t include them_. Also Starmer defended activists that have done the very same thing. [ https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/palestine-action-gaza-zarah-sultana-challenges-starmer-b2781375.html ](https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/palestine-action-gaza-zarah-sultana-challenges-starmer-b2781375.html) And in the past activists who broke into RAF bases and caused damages to disrupt and prevent war crimes received either slaps on the wrists or outright acquittals because “their actions were reasonable in the context of trying to prevent war crimes.” And its important to note these happened 3 years _after_ the Terrorism Act 2000. > **[Fairford Five](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairford_Five)** > > The Fairford Five was a group of five British protesters (Paul Milling, Margaret Jones, Phil Pritchard, Toby Olditch and Josh Richards) who broke into the RAF Fairford military air base in 2003 and disabled equipment in order to disrupt military operations at the start of the Iraq War. The group was given its name by supporters and by articles in the press reporting on the event and the judicial trials which followed. Two members of the group had previously been members of Trident Ploughshares... > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Their "direct action’ has involved not just serious damage to property, but also [attacking police with deadly weapons](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mnnje4wlro). Attacking someone with a sledgehammer, even a policeman, is hardly a terrorist act. It’s something in this particular context would be more likely to have happened in the heat of the moment. The sledgehammers, as can be seen in the image used to illustrate the article, were there to cause damage. The more important thing here is exactly how many Palestinian children Elbit Systems Ltd are responsible for killing. And how _complicit_ the government of the UK are in those killings. (Side note: I couldn’t care _less_ about Roger Waters. Whether or not he supports Palestine Action is utterly _irrelevant_ to the proscription of Palestine Action. ) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/316 "2025-07-20T02:43:03Z")
“the heat of the moment” 😃 😆 😂 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/317 "2025-07-20T02:43:48Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > Attacking someone with a sledgehammer, even a policeman, is hardly a terrorist act. Uh, what? I’m just responding to this bit, but you could _absolutely_ commit a terrorist attack by bashing people’s heads in with a sledgehammer. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/318 "2025-07-20T02:50:18Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “the heat of the moment” 😃 😆 😂 🤣 Who hasn’t swung a 20 lbs weight at the head of a police officer? Boys will be boys. (/s, no-so-obviously) ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/319 "2025-07-20T03:30:22Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “the heat of the moment” 😃 😆 😂 🤣 …“17,000 dead Palestinian children” 😃 😆 😂 🤣 I’m glad you could keep focused on the important things here. The types of injuries suggest what would happen as a result of a skirmish where there was some resistance. It doesn’t suggest deliberate intent. If you’ve got a sledgehammer and intended to use it as a weapon with terroristic intent, _you’d be dead_. Or at least severely injured. Not “treated at the scene.” Not “discharged” after staying overnight. I’d stop worrying about a bit of damage to a few planes and start thinking about what those planes _were actually doing_. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2025, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234/320 "2025-07-20T04:40:23Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > I’m just responding to this bit, but you could _absolutely_ commit a terrorist attack by bashing people’s heads in with a sledgehammer. I think it depends on context. If you bash a guy’s head wuth a sledgehammer while declaring publicly in some manner that all cops who show their face in an area will be similarly attacked, that seems like an act of terror. The act on its own without any other messaging seems like battery on law enforcement. Otherwise every violent action is terrorism and the term has no meaning. But certainly, the fact that it’s a sledgehammer and not a gun or bomb doesn’t mean it’s not terrorism. You could even assault someone with your bare hands and it could be terrorism. The relevant part is that you’re trying to enforce change through terror backed by violence. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/roger-waters-is-a-tankie/969234.md?page=17)