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April 02, 2009
Protestor or Terrorist?
The G20 Protests in London have gone down the route I expected. There is no such thing as a "peaceful" protest, any and every protest I have ever witnessed has turned into an excuse for the violent fringe to make trouble. But there is now a much more sinister element at work here, look at the pictures in any orf the papers or on the TV News and you see the protestors dressed in dark "hoodie" fleeces and with their faces hidden by masks. If they intend a "peaceful" demonstration, why do they feel a need to behave like the Mujahedin, Al Qaeda or the IRA's "soldiers" who routinely hid behind masks.
I do not believe in "gestures" which is what these mob marches and "protests" are and find myself very much in agreement with Bounaparte who famously surveyed a rioting mob in Paris and ordered that they be treated to a "whiff of grape shot". It certainly stopped the riot and it rapidly restored order. This is the problem with "protests" and "protestors" - they seek to force governments and elected bodies to change policy or ideology by riot rather than through persuasion or the ballot. Any government that kowtows to it is surrendering to the rule of the mob and that is one step away from tyranny and oppression of everyone the mob's incitors decide is "an enemy of the people". We live in a democracy, not perfect, but still a democracy. It has institutions and powers to address the needs and desires of the electors - and mobs have no place in such a society. Yet, since the 1960's (and most of our present government are of that mindset) the idea has grown up that governments can be forced to change any policy or to adopt the agenda of a small and usually very unrepresentative, but vociferous and frequently violent mob.
Mobs have never yet brought peace, fairness or justice, they bring anarchy and do immense damage to our society and the fabric of our instruments of wealth. What is more the most violent of these "protestors" are frequently unemployed and have no intention of being gainfully employed. They are parasites feeding off the generosity of the very society they attack. Gestures are one thing, letting my MP and his or her Party know what I think of any policy or proposal is another, but mob rule through riots and "protests", "peace camps" or any of the other plethora of Hippy generation claptrap is unacceptable.
Isn't it ironic that the organisers of these riots are dyed in the wool "socialists" on the extreme left who want to create a unitary party state ruled by socialism - their brand of course - the very antithesis of democracy and the least likely type of state to ever permit their antics.
Posted by The Gray Monk at April 2, 2009 03:38 PM
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