TACTICS - WHY NOT JUST SIT DOWN?
T | 04.12.2005 12:39
On the climate change march yesterday, a group of intrepid marchers suddenly took it on themselves to become "sitters". They all sat down in the road, and the police were unable to stop them. Why is this peaceful tactic not being widely used and encouraged, and why has the SWP (sorry, the Stop the War Coalition) consistently failed to even come up with the idea?
It's not brain surgery. Imagine the impact of the Stop the War marches if, instead of trundling obediently through the capital and out again, even a tenth of the people who came just sat down and refused to leave.
That would be people power. They could then demand a face to face meeting with the politicians, instead of just humbly delivering a "petition". They could demand a televised debate. Or they could demand the immediate withdrawal of troops, say.
But no. Instead, we have the same sorry spectacle of self-elected "leaders" with microphones telling everyone to go away, that the show is over. At the climate change march, a man who said he was something to do with the march's inner committee rushed up and told the sitters that what they were doing was not allowed; that the tactic hadn't been sanctioned, or words to that effect.
Now, why? Who are these people "leading" the people, and why are they not trying to actually be effective? It's no wonder that the peace movement hasn't actually produced any results, apart from signifying that the British people are widely against invading other countries illegally. You have an army of hundreds of thousands of people and you collect them together and then you tell them to go home again? Great.
Sitting down is an incredibly effective and peaceful tactic which left police at the climate change march apparently baffled. But to be successful it needs to be done by lots of people, which is why the Stop the War coalition - seem to me to be almost criminally culpable for not having seized the opportunity presented to them by the people. They seized the microphones, the money and the power, but not the opportunity.
Time to question them about it, I think. Perhaps it actually didn't occur to them?
That would be people power. They could then demand a face to face meeting with the politicians, instead of just humbly delivering a "petition". They could demand a televised debate. Or they could demand the immediate withdrawal of troops, say.
But no. Instead, we have the same sorry spectacle of self-elected "leaders" with microphones telling everyone to go away, that the show is over. At the climate change march, a man who said he was something to do with the march's inner committee rushed up and told the sitters that what they were doing was not allowed; that the tactic hadn't been sanctioned, or words to that effect.
Now, why? Who are these people "leading" the people, and why are they not trying to actually be effective? It's no wonder that the peace movement hasn't actually produced any results, apart from signifying that the British people are widely against invading other countries illegally. You have an army of hundreds of thousands of people and you collect them together and then you tell them to go home again? Great.
Sitting down is an incredibly effective and peaceful tactic which left police at the climate change march apparently baffled. But to be successful it needs to be done by lots of people, which is why the Stop the War coalition - seem to me to be almost criminally culpable for not having seized the opportunity presented to them by the people. They seized the microphones, the money and the power, but not the opportunity.
Time to question them about it, I think. Perhaps it actually didn't occur to them?
T
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