Yes it sounds so seemingly nice doesn't it? BUT, for example, how can you say its democracy when you fly the hammer and sickle, when you propagate what is in reality a symbol of pain, torture and murder. Can't you see the discontinuity there, the illusion that you are living?

So far you have expressed support for and a willingness to do business with:

The pigs,
The monarchy
Murdering Soldiers
GLA
BBC

and with no solidarity shown at the arrest of Haw etc...

What is going on?

Are you guys working with the state? Obviously yes!

Your buddies the Trotskyists>>>>>

Support for the pigs? Possibly, I guess, in that there was a poster saying 'we love the police' - perhaps that was ironical, perhaps it was simply a recognition that plenty of coppers are relatively alright, apart from the profession - a baton is just a stick with a worker at either end. Willingness to do business with them? If you call being civil and non-violent towards them doing business, perhaps. But what would you suggest? Missiles blotting out the sun for the sake of making a point, only to have the stormtroopers roll in and beat the shit out of everyone? Compromises have not been made on their terms. You're mistaking toleration for fraternising with the enemy.

Support for the monarchy? I can only assume you've no idea what you're talking about. A mock-crowning is hardly a great Royalist statement. As for working with the monarchy, I'm yet to hear of Bess coming to visit.

Support for murdering soldiers? Again, you're mistaking the collective for the individual in a way that is neither helpful nor accurate. On the grounds of their profession, they're hired killers, and there's no debating that. But if you just look at the army as a faceless inhuman mass, the militarists win. They want the people to believe that the soldiers are robots sent out to do noble battle from Freedom™, Democracy™ and so on. In reality, they're the product of a society and a militaristic system that indoctrinates and targets the poor and impressionable to use them. The individual soldier has the same relation to the war machine as the worker does to capitalism - their role as part of it is proof of their exploitation by it, not evidence of their submission to it. And to be honest, as long as they're on Parliament Square being peaceful and not abroad killing kiddies, I don't see the problem with being friendly. One of the angles that the Village is taking is that we need to treat the armed forces with respect - their leaders certainly don't, and unless we do they'll have no reason to join us. As for working with them, everyone who comes to the Square and takes part in the talks is part of the decision-making process. That's the point of collective consensus. If you start saying that they can't work with us because they're soldiers, then that's coercion of the most hypocritical sort. Besides, just think of the messages they will be able to take back to their comrades.

Please define how in any way the Villagers have been supporting or working with the GLA, who have been aggressively proprietorial and dismissive of our rights from day one (literally - I woke up in the early hours of May 2nd to find a shouty letter a council gremlin had left under cover of darkness).

Again, no support for the BBC has been shown. It's the same issue as with the cops - should we take our beliefs to the extreme and reject all the media attention, and end up being folk devils, soap-dodgers squatting on the square? Or do we take the chance to stick to our guns and show that anarchism is far more than being inflammatory behind the mask of the internet, throwing cartoon bombs and having brilliant curly moustaches. By treating journalists as human beings, our views get out. They're not sacrificed; no-one's selling out to the media.

And if you were at the camp, or even involved in the discussions in the various online media, you'd know that there's been a great deal of anguish about the assault of Brian. The consensus, as best I can judge it (and I'm not able to be at the Village for a month or so), is that the Concerned Citizens are angry at his dubious arrest, especially so near to his anniversary. I can't make any promises, but I would be very surprised if the 2nd goes past without event.

Blaming State involvement is a pretty puerile and pointless accusation, without any base in evidence. Bearing in mind the keenness of politicians all over the shop to come over all self-righteous over the Village, it's just silly speculation to go for the all 'MI5 inside job' chestnut.



That said, I'm totally in agreement with you over the Marxoids. I can only assume that as a race they are so dazzled by their shiny badges and pretty red flags that they've forgotten that Stalin was worse than Hitler, Lenin had a hell of a lot to answer for, Trotsky was a mass-murderer of his side and the others alike, and Marx was a pretty rubbish historian. If anything, the long-lasting endurance of capital-C-Communism™ is a tribute to their incredible propaganda machine. After the Kronstadt Mutiny was suppressed, any hope for the Revolution was lost.
Anyway, now we're in agreement on something, all I can say is that you should get down their and see what it's like. If you find aspects of it so hateful, get down there and discuss it. As Bunyan said, 'Are you a doer or a talker only?' Something like that anyway. Feel free to email me if you wish.

C.

....because you represent yourselves and not the views of the many. You need to learn what the word 'democracy' actually means. From what I can see aside from the odd placard for other issues, this is an anti-war demonstration that is filling the entire square. What if there was another Sri Lanka situation or another Gaza/Israel situation? Will you vacate for others?

So the village is undemocratic because someone else might want to protest about something? I think if that situation arose you'd be surprised by how accomodating the village people would be.

great to see debate being stirred up by this challenging protest.
mind the trolls and the paranoics though.
in the meantime, i'd just like to correct the bbc timing if anyone's interested. the programme is on at 11AM on sunday not PM, though there's of course no guarantee the interviews and story will get past the beeb editorial team. on the other hand, seems like they'd made the decision to cover it, so it may well be there


.
ok, carry on with your trolling folks!