10-11-10: The ConDemNation

It was after the last large-scale protest I attended, the G20 marches at the Bank of England last year, that I first had the wish to create this blog. I was appalled by the tactics used by the attending police officers, whose brutality led to the death of innocent bystander Ian Tomlinson. I myself was kettled for 9 hours, without access to food, water, or a toilet. More to come on that particular experience in future posts.

Two days ago I was fortunate enough to be one of the 50,000 or so protestors on the demonstration against the proposed cuts to the higher education budget. I arrived out of the tube at Westminster having missed the earlier meet-up due to a prior commitment, and immediately felt as though the atmosphere was completely different to that at the G20 march.


We were pleasantly surprised at the large turn-out, but the atmosphere for me was too jovial - a waste of such a successful student mobilisation. It was an event which was too easy to be brushed aside. Until we got to Millbank.


Now, most of the time, I am an advocate of peaceful protest. I believe that if possible, it is much better when confronted with injustice to be the 'bigger person', and to assert your rights in a dignified and educated manner. However, there has to be an impact from your actions. The non-violent resistance of advocates such as Ghandi, Vàclav Havel, and Martin Luther King Jr. worked because of their ability to succesfully mobilise and to draw positive attention to their causes. In each case, a subjugated people were emancipated through the recognition of their humanity and independence. In our media-saturated world, public opinion (as defined by the media portrayal of your cause) is extremely important, and this is why nonviolent and reasonable protest is a good way to show that "we are human too, and we deserve our rights the same as yours".


However, sometimes there is a need for direct action. Sometimes, sitting-in or peacefully demonstrating isn't going to cut it. With Cameron out of the country, and facing the deepest cuts and the hardest shafting we as a nation have ever faced, it is my opinion that our voice needs to be felt, and not just heard. We do not need a peaceful protest. This is not about emancipation or about winning public opinion. This is about showing the government that we, as the younger generation, are not willing to lie down and pay for the mistakes our elders have made, that we are not willing to face a lifetime of hardship so that they can maintain their comfortable lifestyles, that we are not willing to be lied to by a party who portray themselves as 'different' from New Labour or the Tories, and that we are willing to mobilise and to fight the impositions about to be placed upon us. For me, the difference in the type of the fight justifies a difference in the weapons used in that fight.


I am proud to see that the European spirit of direct action has not completely been washed from these shores by the English Channel. I am proud that my university, Goldsmiths, has stood up and defended the actions at Millbank (see links at bottom of page). And I am proud of the students and activists who took action on Wednesday 10th November.


I am not going to use the oft-cited line of defence that "it was only a minority" who sought direct action, and that the majority of the protest was peaceful. For me, that is a failure in the majority of the protest. If Mr. Porter and the rest of the NUS wish to distance themselves from the scenes at Millbank, then so be it. The careerists can have their careers. We will have our protest. We will have our say.


So, don't worry about the media condemnation. Do worry about the future, as outlined, in the ConDem Nation.


Sam Bailey




Statement from Des Freedman and John Wadsworth at Goldsmiths: http://hutnyk.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/todays-demo-gucu-view/


Evening Standard reaction to this: http://bit.ly/92nIoM


Guardian coverage of demo: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/nov/10/student-protests-conservative-party-hq-occupation