On a personal level - I managed to appear behind police lines at a Stop the Tour Demo many years ago. I could not understand why the nice little piggies would not part like the Red Sea to let myself and a few of my navigationally challenged protesting friends through to join the revolution. I'm not sure the world is much of a better place for my feeble efforts in Student Politics, Local Government or Mutual Societies. However, it was cheering to read of the UCL protest and the things that they wanted in addition to their demands on fees :-
for the university to pay UCL cleaners the London living wage, to bring outsourced support staff in-house and to change the composition of the university council to get rid of the majority of corporate non-UCL members (they'd like a quarter each of management, students, tutors and support staff)It is good to see some thought, humour and non violence in demonstrations for change. (I have to admit that I get no joy from seeing buildings trashed or people pulled from wheelchairs, the dinosaurs on both sides do themselves no favours by such.) It is interesting to see the use of technology and the internet to co-ordinate, organise and disseminate. Does it make the protest more effective? It certainly captures transgressions and makes them available for all to see. We may not know who you are, we may not know where you live but we know the cowardly, vicious and violent things that you do and so does everyone else.
Still, as Jody McIntyre said:-
'Why is it so surprising that the police dragged me from my wheelchair?'I suppose it is a mercy that he is not Brazilian or a vendor of newspapers.
