A great big slap in the face for personal freedom

Cookie | 02.05.2001 08:35

A lone girl's take on a semi-hellish day

Wow. What an overwhelming victory Mayday was. As far as I can tell, a few police vans were defaced, a Jaguar was utterly trashed & maybe two shop windows were cracked. A lot of people got hurt, but hey, that's the way it goes, right? A glorious victory for the choking money machine - little property damage and many human casualties, which means hospitals, insurance firms, pharmaceuticals all make a profit. Even on Mayday, they make a profit. Wow.
What I saw yesterday was a whole new ballgame. Instead of protecting the stores, the police just bashed us. Instead of stopping any naughty goings-on, they stopped any goings-on at all. The right to peaceful protest has been effectively removed - sure, you can all head for a particular place, but whether we will allow you join up, never mind to actually protest, is up to us.
At one point the horse lines were moving steadily inward, we were getting crushed, people were starting to panic as they just kept herding us into a smaller space, the people at the edges were pleading with police, telling them to stop moving us in because we had nowhere to go, warning them that someone was going to get hurt. They endangered all our safety for the sake of a few shopfronts.
I say I've never seen anything like it - I lie. Back home in South Africa, we had something very similar once. It was called the State of Emergency, and that too allowed police total freedom to detain & arrest & harass & intimidate under some draconian "special" anti-terrorist law. In Joburg, they used these laws to help people commit suicide out of police station buildings, miraculously losing their fingernails on the flight down - how long will it take for that to happen here?
As we saw yesterday, it's far easier to restrain those "difficult" sectors of the public. Why bother to let them do anything wrong? Control them before they even try then nothing will get broken! Oh, terribly clever that is. What's next? Thought crime?
I did not go out yesterday with any hatred of the police force. I still do not hate policemen, I will not spit on them or deface their cars. But I am shocked, truly shocked, at how all human compassion can vanish from someone because their face is behind a visor. I felt like those damn helicopters were control centres, & all these black-clad people were cyborgs run from them. The system has removed autonomy, common sense, morality... it has made these people into automatons who will happily advance on horses, swinging truncheons, onto a peaceful friendly group.

Cookie
e-mail: vredekoekie@excite.com

Comments

Hide the following 14 comments

Reality

02.05.2001 09:20

It absolutely amazes me in the response from this site and from some idiots yesterday. Fact is the police behaved superbly and we didn't see the disgraceful scenes from last year. If you could hold a protest that didn't involve willful damage and violence you would find a lot more support, In its current state people just wish the police would go in harder, use water cannons and any other means possible.

I wasn't a protester and had no trouble form the police even though I did view several hours of the Oxford Circus farce.

Well done what a great day it was for you, you haven't achieved very much except spend a lot of public resources and lose public sympathy. The majority of public can carry on with their satisfying lives once again in capatalist heaven. We actually enjoy our life but thanks for coming. The police will be here next year for you hopefully with less than zero tolerance.

Sad

02.05.2001 09:39

Well how much longer will you have to enjoy your capitalist 'heaven' when the last rain forest is destroyed, the last natural seed is genetically modified, the last baby dies from AIDS, the last nuclear bomb has exploded? As you sit by your swimming pool, 2 billion people don't even have clean running water! While you sip your champaigne and nibble caviar, whole communities are starving to grow YOUR tobacco and coffee. When the species become increasingly extinct, Earth's eco-balance is irreversibly fucked...enjoy your open-prison heaven while you can.

Mad

There in spirit

02.05.2001 10:36

I believe in what was done yesterday against capitalism but the use of violence does nothing but to slow the growth of your cause.
People are more sympathetic to a peaceful cause.

fraz
mail e-mail: fraz15@another.com

Undermined by violence

02.05.2001 10:57

While I agree in principle with some of the protestors aims - the Critical Mass cycling demo in particular - I feel that the legitimate aims of peaceful protestors were almost totally undermined by the thoughtless violence of a significant minority.

This isn't a question of media distortion - the photographs and video footage largely vindicate the actions of the police in preventing damage and disruption. Those who criticise the police's behaviour in Oxford Circus may like to remember their friendly approach towards peaceful, intelligent protestors earlier in the day.

Wilful damage of shops and private property is thoughtless, pointless and only serves to undermine the legitimacy of the protest. The violent minority only encourages the Daily Mail-reading masses to assosciate all such protestors with mindless yobbism, violence and ignorance. While such action continues, I (and many others) would feel ashamed to be part of any demo.

Russell Middleton
mail e-mail: blueski86@hotmail.com

what a shame

02.05.2001 11:44

i can understand feeling that way, but i think it's a shame - and also a bit defeatist. if we peaceful protesters allow ourselves to be put off and marginalised by the unwarranted publicity given to the tiny minority who are intent on doing harm, then we've effectively abandoned the cause. i for one went out yesterday explicity because of all the coverage in the lead-up to the event - i wanted to show that most of us are normal people with normal lives who are just trying to change this world for the better. i think that message got across to some of the wider public - i know a lot of my friends have expressed considerable unease about the ridiculous police methods used in the afternoon in oxford circus, and it's made them think a lot more about issues such as anti-capitalism.

i'll also say that i believe a lot of people (especially younger people) who didn't demonstrate yesterday and aren't active protesters agree with a lot of what we have to say - as with any political movement, there are a lot of armchair supporters and only a few people who are really prepared to stand up for what they believe in.

i'm glad and proud i went yesterday, and it's made me determined to continue with these kinds of protest. what we have to say is important, and as long as the demos stay mainly peaceful, support for us will continue to grow. and that's why it's so important that the peaceful protesters continue to attend these events.

kate a

Wake up and smell the Starbuck's

02.05.2001 12:01

I was also in Oxford Street yesterday: trying to get to work to earn the money to pay for your dole cheques and student grants. What I saw was a large number of protesters ripping up paving slabs to throw at the police in order to buy enough time to try to burn down the Niketown store.

You are no doubt one of these little schoolgirls on holiday who went along for a vicarious thrill and then wanted to run home to Mummy when it all got a bit close to home.

Grow up.

Nobby Cheese
mail e-mail: nobby@cheese.com
Homepage: www.steakandcheese.com

Truth

02.05.2001 12:05

Wilful damage to human beings and the environment is thoughtless, pointless and only serves to undermine the legitimacy of life. The violent minority government encourages the Daily Mail-reading masses to assosciate all such protestors with mindless yobbism, violence and ignorance. It's time they woke up and smelled the genetically modified coffee, before the micro-chip kicks in. While such action continues, I (and many others) would feel proud to take a stand against injustice, rascism, intolerance and oppression.

Honesty

Get to fook

02.05.2001 12:06

The police should have gone balistic and beat ten shades of shite out of the lot of you. Timewasting idiots.

Anyone for a big mac?

Got a job
mail e-mail: don't.be@a.load.ofcunts

I love your comments

02.05.2001 12:11

"a peaceful friendly group" being harrassed by the police? Ok, brains, let's look at the alternative. Let's just say the police didn't stop this group in any way. What would have happened? Would everyone just have performed a peaceful demonstration and then gone home. Or would workers' lives be put at risk, buildings destroyed and ransacked? What we saw yesterday compounded what we saw last year. What would have happened if these protesters had been allowed to get into those finance organisations without police stopping them? Would they have just protested peacefully in the foyer. No, they would have gone into the offices, destroying things and hurting the innocent workers of the office who have their own ideals - and those ideals include working for a living. Lest us not forget, those protesters are a tiny minority. How do they have the right to destroy property and panic and injure people who think differently?

Cider
mail e-mail: me@here.com
Homepage: .

you fucking cunt

02.05.2001 12:21

get the fuck out of here you prick!! so what if a few of your crusty un-washed mates got crushed - who gives a shit - I dont, the less of you there are, means the number of dole scroungers will drop and that is OK by me!! did you see all the designer gear that you anti-capitalists cunts were wearing yesterday!! what a bunch of hypocrites you lot are!! get a job, get a life, get a belief system that actually means something and that is not an excuse for a few thousand mindless cunts to trash shops because they think it is a good idea.

dommer the great

You'd almost think the cops were posting here

02.05.2001 12:26

You'd almost think the cops were posting here...

Duncan from Australia

Times Leader Article

02.05.2001 12:29

Agreed, this is rather a defeatist attitude, but I'm disillsioned with the protests; the concentrated thuggery is undermining the cause and giving the mass media reason to paint a negative picture. The best way to change society for the better is to participate, make a contribution and to change things from the inside; although I have much sympathy with the protestors, unless they can make a contribution for the other 364 days of the year, it's difficult to take them seriously on May Day. I do realise that many people taking part work in London themselves, but, as a tax payer, I find it difficult to justify my financial support of the unemployed participants who thoughtlessly intend to deface the working environment of those who do contribute and work constructively towards making a difference.

In particular, why was John Lewis, a co-operative owned and managed by its workers, targeted with missiles, concrete slabs and graffiti? Capitalism, with all its faults, must be preferable to this show of uncivilised, reactionary violence and stupidity.

Before the anti-capitalist protests can gain legitimacy in the eyes of the public, protestors need a far clearer agenda. It is worthwhile to draw attention to the 'evils' of capitalism, but protesting against capitalism in general seems rather pointless unless a possible alternative is being proposed. Simply to suggest replacing it 'with something nicer' (as one of the banners read) is absurdly naive; the comlexities of the debate need to be understood before such apparently noble motives can be properly expressed.

Russell Middleton
mail e-mail: blueski86@hotmail.com

Hey, Duncan from Australia

02.05.2001 12:33

Not the cops, just the vast majority of people who haven't got time for the self-indulgent, reactionary, gesture politics of a bunch of wooly-headed middle-class students who will have nice jobs in the City when they get over their posturing rebellious phase.

Nobby Cheese
mail e-mail: nobby@cheese.com
Homepage: www.steakandcheese.com

Wonderful contributions

02.05.2001 12:55

Excellent article, thanks. And the standard range of responses, from the "supportive but..." to the "foaming at the mouth". To cover the first; yes, we'd all rather that the violent elements were kept away and we're wide open to suggestions on how to do that. To claim however that no-one should be allowed to protest because of them is akin to claiming that no-one should be allowed to drive/cycle because some people do so in a dangerous or even lethal fashion. While our dear expletive-ridden friend may be so intensely satisfied with his life (which after all gives him nothing better to do than seek out people to rant at) that he wishes to live in a police state, there are still many of us who would like to hold at least the semblance of a democracy. And astoundingly, most of us are employed, and wash.

It also slips the mind of many that, despite what the Mass Media may wish to portray, there are differences between anarchists, anti-capitalists, and anti-globalists. I for one am not the former, can live with the second, but find the increasing move towards global corporate power alarming, to the extent that these activities are very much
neccesary to register our displeasure and concerns.

The right to peaceful protest remains an essential element of a democratic society. Intimidation and mass illegal detentions by the police - who never missed a chance to explain they were "prepared for violence" - does not change this fact.

Wechsler
mail e-mail: imuser@fromtheshadows.com