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‘March for the Alternative’ - 26th March - London

It looked pretty cool on the news, all those people showing their solidarity against the cuts is a pretty powerful message although I don't agree with violence to people but smashing up icons of capitalism and breaking into tax dodgers businesses is fair enough.
 
It's early yet. Many will be on floors still. Trickle of news throughout the day. Luckily I'm off to see my nanna so there might be a nice big wodge when I get back.
 
I was marching right next to the Times journalist David Aaronovitch at one point. I coulda hit him with my banner but and I didn't, and that's the tragedy.
 
Steel☼Icarus said:
Plenty of people who I'm waiting to turn up to hear their stories of the day. Butchers & discokermit immediately spring to mind.
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i had a lovely stroll in good company. me and my brother popped along to oxford street later, found it full of slightly annoying kids, realised we were getting old, went home and slept.
 
Liberty legal observers: Basically pcso for the day. Agreement met suggested to tuc that liberty would be good to provide observers, and that they would relay info to the police about developments on the day. Legal observers were sat in the police control room. apparently mostly law students. Liberty agreed to be impartial observers, and to testify against both police and protestors in court, providing evidence to the police if need be. The deal w/liberty providing legal obs meant that all other legal observers from other groups were pretty much disregarded and, at one point, some were arrested. Allegedly, innit.
 
I was baby sitting yesterday and watching the coverage on 24 hour rolling news.

The reporting on all stations started off positive with a genuine attempt at interviewing protesters to find out the reasons why they were attending but by mid-afternoon onwards all that was pushed aside.

The argument against cuts has not be won yet and there is a need to enter into dialogue with people. Having some spotty yoot running around throwing paint bombs and spraying graffiti doesn't achieve that.

Violence is a tool and should not be used as a matter of routine or fetishised.
 
Divisive Cotton said:
I was baby sitting yesterday and watching the coverage on 24 hour rolling news.

The reporting on all stations started off positive with a genuine attempt at interviewing protesters to find out the reasons why they were attending but by mid-afternoon onwards all that was pushed aside.

The argument against cuts has not be won yet and there is a need to enter into dialogue with people. Having some spotty yoot running around throwing paint bombs and spraying graffiti doesn't achieve that.

Violence is a tool and should not be used as a matter of routine or fetishised.
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1. is attacking buildings 'violence'? Actually very little violence by the black bloc kiddies, police on the other hand happily baton the fuck out of people.

2. winning what argument with whom? Ed miliband talking at a tuc rally about the cuts is a bigger fucking turn off than any media fetishisation of the black blockers.

3. It's the media who fetishise the black bloc, just a bunch of kids getting on with it, don't want to be filmed frankly.

4. How is smashing up the ritz preventing you with your dialogue and winning your argument (an argument with whom? Diffrent people who are having their libraries closed? Different sorts of people who are losing their jobs, having local services cut? People who need to be "won over by the argument" (a bit of a give away there) as opposed to people angry about the cuts, the tories and ed fucking miliband's new labour media army?
 
I think attacking property is violence. I'm not condemning it, I understand it. But I think to claim it isn't violence is a bit nonsensical.
 
Of course it was violence. It actually reminded me of what happened to the May Day marches and anti-globalisation protests 10 years ago - just a set-to against the the old Bill with very little political content. It was the opposite of what was needed yesterday.
 
Divisive Cotton said:
Of course it was violence. It actually reminded me of what happened to the May Day marches and anti-globalisation protests 10 years ago - just a set-to against the the old Bill with very little political content. It was the opposite of what was needed yesterday.
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what i saw was very little confrontation with the police by the black bloc, in fact they spent most of the day avoiding confronation with the police.

I'm not in a political party so i don't know what was needed, but in terms of the march - a sense of collective purpose, that there is a mass people rather than just you in your local cuts groups trying to save the local swimming pool, who actively oppose the cuts. The fact that somewhere across town a few people expressed their rage by smashing up a few banks, doesn't in anyway take away from that does it?

Actually reminded me of the poll tax riots, only a lot less violent.
 
Geri said:
I think attacking property is violence. I'm not condemning it, I understand it. But I think to claim it isn't violence is a bit nonsensical.
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Attacking property owned by multinational corporations is not violent IMO.

(did butchers get back OK?)
 
But surely when violence is political in nature, which is what we tended to see on our screens yesterday, then this places it in an entirely different context.
 
Good march - great to see such a good turn out.

Knew it would kick off - always does and right wing press will always focus on that and it will mean that most other points of the march will be lost over the sensationalist reporting of a few paint bomb. smashed windows and a mini riot. I mean what do most people want to read in the newspaper - boring long political rants or the juiciness of riots and destruction. Your average person will be talking about the destruction on monday and what a disgrace that was entirely missing the point that the anger is vented against these business because their owners are avoiding paying their taxes.

It's good to see young people being passionate about this type of thing however we need better action than some paint bombs. If you don't like these big companies, don't buy from them!

Anyway, I could go off on a big tangent here but I won't. Well done to all who went!
 
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