Regarding the Poll Tax riots: the riots were preceding by three years of campaigning. The liberal Left pushed leaflets through letter boxes and collected signatures, and the complaint about injustice was shared on the street. The far left pushed leaflets through letter boxes and encouraged non-payment.

Thus when the riots occurred nobody was surprised (OK, maybe a few in the cabinet) and whilst the common worker was slightly in shock, s/he agreed with the aims.

But the G20 protests... The front page of The Guardian had a photograph of a candle holder bearing the message "No G20". Perhaps the protester did want to prevent the event completely and for us all to immersed in economic shit. I'm not stupid enough to believe that G20 solved much, but stopping it would make thing worse.

Come on, protester with the candle holder, change the daft slogan to "G20 Against Poverty", and spend a few nights posting leaflets or attend a stall in the local shopping zone. And remember that there is no point in protesting on a march unless you have people, beyond the obvious, on your side.
Charlieman | 04.07.09 - 8:42 pm | #

It's all just a nice day out, isn't it? Recreational protesting.
dearieme | 04.07.09 - 9:58 pm | #

The most effective form of protest would be if we were able to go on a tax strike. Of course, PAYE put the skids under that option a long time ago.
Monty | 04.08.09 - 9:49 pm | #