Very tenuously P: London marches and revolt

[Johnny Marr]

On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 3:35 PM, Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net> wrote:

> Just listened to Tony Benn on DN. The ex British labor parliamentarian
> spoke at this event and has plenty of ideas and credibility. The idea is
> simple anyway- Don't bailout the bankers and charge the people. How is it
> democratic when leaders defy 80-90% of the people and serve the
> billionaires?  Why is capitalist thuggery and anarchism ok  and credible,
> and the angry response not?


Because it would be more effective not to stoop to their level. The sense of
righteous anger gets lost amongst a torrent of smash and grab pillaging. And
great though Tony Benn is I'm afraid his track record in actually achieving
an effective policy change is fairly negligible. Perhaps his most
significant act in office was actually to shut down pirate radio stations
which rather runs contrary to his libetarian-socialist reputation.



>
>
> On Apr 2, 2009, at 8:23 AM, Johnny Marr wrote:
>
>  Felt like something of a non-event, although someone has died as a result
>> of the police cordon so perhaps there was more trouble than I picked up on.
>> There seemed to be the usual gaggle of contumely trouble makers without a
>> coherent message to protest behind. I'm not pleased with the way the world's
>> heading either but too many of the protestors were malcontents looking for a
>> fight and an opportunity for vandalism - there wasn't any particularly lucid
>> attempt to solve the global financial crisis, just a lot of sensationalist
>> placards about Eating The Rich and Fucking The Banks.
>>
>> Again, there is a genuine and valid sense of discontent with world
>> politics across most of the country, in particular what seems like the blind
>> reward or salvation banks regardless of how well or how poorly they're being
>> run, but we wouldn't want to associate ourselves with basic thuggery,
>> malevolence and inchoate 'anarchism'. Sub-sixth form parades like
>> yesterday's undermine themselves by being so full of hot air and so lacking
>> in ideas and credibility.
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 2, 2009 at 11:58 AM, Guy Ian Scott Pursey <
>> g.i.s.pursey at reading.ac.uk> wrote:
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Was anyone else in London yesterday for the protests?
>>
>> Interested in hearing what people made of it.
>>
>> Guy
>>
>>
>>
>
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