Not very helpful, really. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGr-dV4Mlac"]YouTube - VIOLENT: Students smashing windows, London protest over tuition fees at 30 Millbank They are our future, sadly.
and anyways, we should deal with it like the Germans. Getting a degree benefits business, not so much the government or the students themselves- the former should be sponsoring student education. After all, they are able to not only get skilled workers for nothing, but these companies are allowed to pick and choose who they deem best. We of the United Kingdom like to create trouble for ourselves.
maybe not helpful, but a sign of the times... they have passion at least... misinformed, maybe... aren't we all? besides, i like resistance... it's all ultimately a part of growth... change, as nature intended... upsetting applecarts indiscriminately... it just reconnects itself up to the next set of patterns, and moves on with it... but no, violence isn't very helpful... it just is...
Its all media spin - peaceful demonstrations aren't newsworthy -go and google warwick university demonstration for news of a peaceful sit-in that ended today. But who wants one of them ? No use for the news or political spin.
Well, yeah...true. Even left wing news has the riots too. There has been other coverage in the media, though. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/video/2010/nov/24/london-student-protests Schoolgirls join hands to peacefully stop attacks on a police van during student protests in London. Photograph: Demotix/Peter Marshall Ignoring that aspect (the peaceful aspect), I was really interested to know if violent protest works. That's what some people have been trying to convince me of recently. They say: "Look back in history. Social change was brought about through violent protest." I'm yet to be convinced. It feels like people are cherry-picking and revising history.
I dont think there's a black & white answer to that anyway - a lot depends on the circumstances and other variables. Nothing works all the time, in every situation, but maybe sometimes its what 's needed, because it may force the hand of the authorities, whereas a peaceful protest might be ignored...almost certainly will be.
I can see your point. I think in most circumstance both occurs and both could be credited. In some cases the wrong reasons are given for the victory, perhaps based on how the protests, on the whole, were perceived or the people taking part wishing to take credit. http://www.militant.org.uk/PollTax.html
1.12 must feel like a proper knob after that flaccid lame window kick..he should be ashamed of himself.
I want someone to comment on the guy at 1.12. I will post in this thread everyday until someone makes a comment about it.
maybe a bit of the window hurt him earlier as it fell and he is making an expressive statement now it is safe to do so?... arf
I have been living and breathing campaigning against the cuts for the past 2 weeks. I occupied a uni building (a sit-in, I believe) up until yesterday and I went on all but one of the marches. The reason it turned into a riot? Well the police kettling angry people is going to make us angrier, just as putting water in a kettle makes it boil. I was involved in an action against Topshop in Brighton and they sent 200 police for 50 of us and then kept us in the rain for 3 hours for holding a banner outside. We carried on protesting in our "designated protest area" until we were so wet through we went home. The media only reports the "violence" (cos it's mainly vandalism) as it's newsworthy. We're not taking these cuts lying down, and given the presence of the police, the state are scared of us!
So the kettling took place before the violence kicked off? AM I right in thinking that part of the kettling is preventing any of the people being "kettled" from leaving, so they're stuck there until the authorities decide to release them? I've been wondering about the side of it we don't hear on the news, and you're the first person I've had the chance to speak to who has taken part in the protests. From what I've seen on the news, they've been very scant on the order of events.
Personally, I think the "kettling" as a cause of the violence is a little bit of an excuse. I do not believe the majority of the violence is caused by that. It's mostly, imho, caused by people setting out to be violent from the start or taking advantage of an opportunity to cause trouble...and kettling was not being used. From what I can gather, "kettling" occurred when protesters breached the areas where the protests should have been, and to prevent areas being over-run. nyn' says that she was "kettled" but then says that she went home when it got cold and she was too wet to continue? I presumed "kettling" kept people in until the police decided it was time to let them go. It feels like any police line of defence is deemed "kettling". A majority of protesters complain about the police tactics, and then complain about the media's focus on the violence. Both seem to focus on the extreme ends of the protests. In effect, being as bad as each other. The majority of people on the protests had their protest and then went home on their own accord, imho. If there is evidence the majority of people where kept in a certain area from morning till night with out being let out, fair enough...I'll re-evaluate my perspective. Yes, I'm being a little bit of a hypocrite...if anybody wants to discuss the actual point: tuition fees...feel free to go ahead. My personal opinion is: Today it is impossible to have free education. Paying it back once you earn a certain amount seems fair. Students will have to pay their living costs, and if they can't afford this...don't become a student. Simple.
