#Demo2012 - Loud & Proud
Top Noise! | 21.11.2012 16:05 | Education | Policing | Public sector cuts
Great turn-out considering the horrible weather - and, on reaching Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, protestors did a good job of spreading-out their march across Westminster Bridge for as long as possible, maximising the disruption around Parliament and minimising any chance of police kettling on the bridge.
The worst criticism any genuine radical could level at a march like today's would be to say that it didn't happen - and, for any trolls who might post smart-arse comments about how A to B marches don't achieve anything, posting stupid comments on Indymedia doesn't achieve anything, but what protests like #Demo2012 do achieve is to keep the protest movement alive, when expenses-guzzling MPs and the right-wing media are just desperate for the anti-austerity movement to die. Great work!
Obviously there's been criticism of the NUS, often leveled by people who didn't organise anything better, but congratulations also to the National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts for putting the work into organising the feeder marches.
Main criticism would be calls for a "free" education. In terms of pro-active political engagement with the general public, it's important to communicate the fact that that no-one wants "free" public services. We want the public services our taxes, our parents taxes and our grandparents taxes have already and continue to pay for - resources which a manifestly corrupt government are clawing back in order to subsidize the multinationals, the bankers and the super-rich who profit from exploiting the infrastructure our taxes have also paid for.
The worst criticism any genuine radical could level at a march like today's would be to say that it didn't happen - and, for any trolls who might post smart-arse comments about how A to B marches don't achieve anything, posting stupid comments on Indymedia doesn't achieve anything, but what protests like #Demo2012 do achieve is to keep the protest movement alive, when expenses-guzzling MPs and the right-wing media are just desperate for the anti-austerity movement to die. Great work!
Obviously there's been criticism of the NUS, often leveled by people who didn't organise anything better, but congratulations also to the National Campaign Against Fees & Cuts for putting the work into organising the feeder marches.
Main criticism would be calls for a "free" education. In terms of pro-active political engagement with the general public, it's important to communicate the fact that that no-one wants "free" public services. We want the public services our taxes, our parents taxes and our grandparents taxes have already and continue to pay for - resources which a manifestly corrupt government are clawing back in order to subsidize the multinationals, the bankers and the super-rich who profit from exploiting the infrastructure our taxes have also paid for.
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