What is an example of British people having too little freedom?

Posted by Cakeyhands@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 13 comments

I bought a paddle board A few years back, however can't use it near where I live without either paying somebody at least £17, or getting a licence. I feel that not being able to go out on the lakes and rivers of your own country is a step too far in terms of restricting our freedom. So in true American style, in what other ways has our freedoms have been unfairly taken from us?

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13 Comments

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

Part of me wants to say wild camping. But then on the other hand I just know if we were free to camp anywhere drunk twats would ruin the countryside.

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LiquidPurpleStars@reddit

Brace yourself, people in the comments are going to start defending the Government and attacking you for suggesting you shouldn't need a license.

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All_within_my_hands@reddit

Knee jerk much? Meanwhile here reality people are simply pointing out what the money is used for and that the money doesn't go to the Government.

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BannedNeutrophil@reddit

That'll be interesting to see, because it's not the government imposing the licence. Inland waterways in this country are maintained by a trust.

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irishmickguard@reddit

Dont hate me, but i think this country got worse when duelling was outlawed.

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Iamamancalledrobert@reddit

I think freedom can be a slippery concept sometimes— one man’s “I don’t have the freedom to go on the rivers!” is another’s “I don’t have the freedom to get that man out of my river, with his unsettlingly cake-covered hands.” It’s why I kind of prefer the idea of rights to freedoms. With rights, there is the idea that everyone has a basic minimum standard of what they can say, and do, and have. I always worry freedoms end with one person having the freedom to do more or less anything to the rest of us— that at some point the only freedom left is the one which the tyrant holds.

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Harrry-Otter@reddit

Considering how big this country is and how much of it has almost nothing there, we’re only allowed to walk on about 8% of it.

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BannedNeutrophil@reddit

The licence isn't some Big Government shenanigans cracking down on the little man. Inland waterways need a lot of maintenance, and that isn't free. That's what you're paying for.

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MilkaulyCulkin@reddit

Eh, a waterway licence doesn't bother me. People don't respect our waterways, with or without a licence - so at least we (the royal we) can generate some income from it toward their upkeep

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ZombieCupcake22@reddit

If you link arms with someone else and at a peaceful protest you can both get 6 months in jail and an unlimited fine.

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