7.10.07

Rally for Iraq




6 comments:

a said...

Sounds like dissentary to me.....

Anonymous said...

have another look at the definition before using my names in vain cheeky.

Its quite a generationally literate, goodnatured and constructive movement.

Nobody is saying they are going to be overthrowing the government and terrorising people. The people have been on this issue cluster right from the attacks on Afghanistan, so its less headless chicken, more cummulative, there's even some learning in the system.

Its been a unifying, trust building and unpretentious 6 years and has built consensus across race, age, belief and national geography.

I suppose its a question of manners, taste and finesse. eg.

http://www.ifilm.com/video/2736161/subchannel/tvclips?sublisting=&sort=&&relatedPage=19&numPerPage=10

a said...

I'm sure it's a very well-mannered democratic movement as most CIVIL SOCIETY movements in the West are. However, it does cause an outpouring of dissent, which I thought was the prime quality of dissentary.

I'm glad you know of some movements in Bangladesh that fulfill the positive qualities you list above. Pray tell, what are these movements?

asikha said...

wonder how this rally will turn out given the police have banned any demos today...

wish i was going though.

Anonymous said...

Dissentary is the stuff that catalyses suspicion and social bads. Say i was running for mayor and something horrible had happened to you, and you are mute. I come to help you and extol the virtues of your struggle against the vile forces that be. I'm not out for anything but myself. You are mute and cannot help but end up getting represented by me. My peers know just how insincere i am, yet still i spew forth my righteously indignant dissentary for my own ends. I will take care to invoke your random sorrow at politically chosen intervals. Im not interested in solution, just the sorrow capital and the opportunity to be my dissenting self.

Demo
was cute, I have some bad pictures on my phone. Pensioners, students (from flipin leeds!) rather fragrant lefties, Tony Benn. I got there late (doh) so missed the speeches but got the stroll down to parliament and the family and uni reunion.

Policeman were charming on the whole. Liberty had their legal observers out, thats Shami Apas crew not the boutique.

Wasnt really feeling in the mood to yell, but the old faves were there as were new faces. Unfortunately there was little in the way of passionate nonenglish sloganeering.

The stance of 'no just get out of iraq and dont even utter the excuse that 'oh they'll just start killing eachother', in fact go there on your knees and beg for tawba, kaan dhore maaf chao' is not too fashinable now, but needs a little propelling lest gordon think his dissentary on Zimbabwe and Burma can distract us and convince us that we are kind.

Anonymous said...

how can you be late for Tony Benn! Jeebus! :p

Well, good thing nothing awful came out of today.