You don't need to be a Mystic Meg to predict a little physical violence may occur at next years G8, even though it is, I am sure, the intention, of most to demonstrate as peacefully as possible.

But nobody can sensibly argue against helping the Scottish tourist industry (except the Anti-Tourist League)., so, I would suggest that putting Scotland on TV's around the world for a few days, by creating an elephants bollocks of a riot will please all Scott's MSPs.

And so too should Tommy Sheridan, I hope. It is well to remember another famous British demonstration that he attended about which his opinions were somewhat equivocal.

On 1 April 1990 Tommy Sheridan appeared on TV the day after one of the biggest riots in political history - The Poll Tax Riot - and when questioned about violence and riot instigators said he was prepared to 'names names'.

Sheridan was later defended by the claim that 'naming names' did not mean identifying rioters to the police. It would be interesting if Tommy was asked about this again, and what his opinion is now.

Pater Taafe, the leader of the Militant tendency' of which Tommy was a member at that time, gave a complete denial in the (The Rise of Militant' Militant's 30 Years 1964-1994, Peter Taaffe). Taaffe doesn’t state what Sheridan did say in the interview, which definitely took place, because I for one saw it.

At the time the riot was almost universally condemned; only miniscule minority praised it. But times have changes, and maybe so have attitudes. The question about the riot was not that is was significant in getting rid of the Poll Tax, but how significant.

If the massive demonstrations in London against the war had turned to violence against government property, e.g., the Ministry of Defence, I certainly think more attention would attention have been paid. And realise that this violence against objects would have had a beauty next to the massive, unimaginably ugly, indiscriminate violence of the war in Iraq.

So I hope, like many other people, Tommy has realised that it is legitimate to challenge the many forms of state violence, which constitutes most of the severe violence in the world. It is no longer enough for serious lefts to just want to win over and take control of that violent machine.

They should begin to realise that it is at least sometimes legitimate to challenge state violence, especially now that it is so evident that democracy is a sham.

Nice polemic - totally agree. Pro or anti-violence positioning is really rather useless unless looked at in the context of what it is up against, and what it will achieve. And calling the destruction of property violence blurs the whole idea of pacifism more. Ghandi advocated burning down police stations - do pacifists realise this? He advocated it for cultural reasons and because it would be effective in challenging British rule in India.

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