On the Steps of Saint Paul's.

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Saint Paul's Cathedral. It stands in the City of London. It is a symbol, known throughout our nation, throughout the world, in fact. In WW2, during the Blitz, a photographer took an iconic shot of the dome of St Paul's, rising up against the night sky, but illuminated by the fires that raged all around it. It made the front page on both sides of the Atlantic - a symbol of British defiance against the Nazi terror.

Today, the world's media again is pointing it's cameras at St Paul's, and the church is providing a backdrop for another conflict being fought in our land, and all around the world where people cherish liberty. In the wake of the movement to Occupy Wall Street, many people in the UK have decided to Occupy the Stock Exchange. The City of London, for anyone who doesn't live here, is not the same as Greater London.

London is a vast city of over 7 million people, and has extensive suburbs that stretch for 30 miles, east to west and about 20 north to south. But The City itself is a literal and metaphorical 'Square Mile' in the heart of the great metropolis. It has it's own Police Force, it's own by laws and is the heart of the Financial system in the land. St Paul's Cathedral, with it's churchyard and paved precincts, has the largest open space in the area. it is here that people encamped in protest. And the Canon of St Paul's has welcomed them and supported their protest.

It caused difficulties, it cost the church money, yet the Canon was prepared to accept that - even though many in the Church of England were not. The Cof E has decided to go ahead with a court case to evict the protesters, and the Canon has decided to quit his job in protest. Agree with him or not, one cannot knock this man - he is an outstanding example of guts and integrity in a time when we don't see much of that from politicians and people in business.

http://apps.facebook.com/theguardian/uk/2011/oct/27/st-pauls-cathedral-canon-resigns

But there is another story to be told here. According to the cops, the infra red scanners in the helicopters show hat many of the tents in the Occupy camp are empty at night. During the day, when the temperature is up near 20 degrees, the protest camp is crowded. But when night falls and the cold sets in, according to the cops, a lot of protesters slope off to their nice warm beds.

I think there is a moral in this:
If you really want something, then you really have to fight. You really have to make sacrifices. And some people are just not prepared to pay the price when push comes to shove. being cool and left wing isn't just about sticking a badge on your jacket and wearing your jeans to the office. It's about asking where your pension fund gets invested, it's about asking how much people get paid for making your clothes, and what is costs the world and it's people to make your morning cup of coffee. It is about sticking up for gays if you are straight, about fighting for anyone else who is oppressed, even if you don't belong to that group. And a lot of activists are in it for the 'coolness' and not the commitment to the cause.

Comments

[katiechainsaw.livejournal.com]

I agree partly with what you said about making sacrifices but a common misconception is that the protesters at St Pauls are all anarchos/unemployed/hippy stoners/other group that the press likes to vilify etc when a lot of them are actually employed, typical middle class folk who have families or don't live in London and have to get back home for whatever reason.

It would be amazing if more people could get down there and stay longer but the reality is that some people have to work (some are taking turns doing various shifts between themselves) and given the current climate, if you don't show up at your workplace, you'll get replaced by the 10000 other unemployed people who will gladly snap up your job! And with regards to people going home at night, I wouldn't believe everything the Police tell you - there's a lot of propaganda and spin going on to deter more people from going down to St Pauls.

I disagree with the 'cool cred' assumption - it takes a lot of balls to try and protest anything in this country with the Police intimidation and brutality (which I can only see getting worse and worse) that frequents such gatherings of people. Is it cool to stand up for something and take a beating from a guy in riot gear? Or be forced into a kettle? Really?

Anyway, kudos to Giles Fraser, it's always nice to see someone stand by what they believe in, even when they amongst so many hypocrites who sadly hold the purse strings.

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Is it cool to stand up for something and take a beating from a guy in riot gear? Or be forced into a kettle? Really?

No - if you are out there in the daytime, that is good. But if you are out there in a tent, and going home at night, why leave your tent?

For the record, I am full time employed. I went into the public sector because I did not agree with the private sector philosophy that greed is good, and envy was a marketing tool and not a sin.

We cannot have economic growth that goes on forever in a world with finite resources. But it is gonna take hard core protest with hard core actions that make that change, not just tokenism.

[katiechainsaw.livejournal.com]

I assumed that they leave their tents over night to lay claim to the space and to provide extra room for those who are staying. From what I've heard from friends and on Twitter, there's something of a rotation system going on to allow new people who want to stay overnight but don't have a tent, to use an empty one. I'm not sure if London is doing this, but over in the American cities, Occupy groups have been opening up empty tents for the homeless which seems like a good idea.

I agree that it's going to take a lot more than a tent city to change how corporations do business and bring about some kind of much needed regulation to banks and markets which have literally gone mad with greed. I think the main problem is that people don't know how to do this and these protests are just the beginning of how people will organize together and figure it out.

When you say hard core protests and actions, what are your ideas?

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

It is a good idea to laon tents and organise it to see to it that genuinely homeless people can use them. I hope that the police are proved wrong on this, but as someone who has been baton charged in the past, who has taken part in sit ins and occupations, I really feel that the workers "have to play hardball", to use a US slogan.

By all means march in protest, but don't leave it there.

Boycott Nestle. Read and learn about politics and join a political party that is committed to a global sustainable economy and a society that puts its citizens first. It means joining and actively supporting that political party with donations, and doing politics instead of soccer matches or soap operas. But like I said, real activism is more than just a hobby. It also means taking your political beliefs with you when you shop, as well as when you vote. thinking global when you are acting local.

Here is a pointer...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

Your URL requires a facebook login. Here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/oct/27/st-pauls-cathedral-canon-resigns) is a pointer without a login.

In San Francisco, a planned police raid on the campers was called off apparently at the last minute. Details here. (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/27/BAS61LN3UP.DTL) Another local paper has a news story on health concerns at the camp site.

Re: Here is a pointer...

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link and the follow up story.

Occupy is really gathering momentum. the current system cannot go on and change is inevitable. wether it will be the right sort of change and come in time as something else to think about.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

They actually use infrared scanners from helicopters!? YOU POLICE STATE!!!

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

seriously, they do, and have done so for some time. Many police departments use infra red to search for felons fleeing in the dark, to monitor traffic and other forms of surveillance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_Aviation_in_United_Kingdom

I don't mind the cops being well equipped to fight crime, but I do object to them being used by the Government to suppress dissent, though.

Far more worrying is the fact that they don't seem to mind this sort of work and sometimes appear to be enjoying it.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

In Mission London (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFFCwlN79bo), the police had implanted tracking chips in some ducks in Hyde Park. When two guys from the Bulgarian embassy stole the ducks in order to sell them, the police went after the tracking signal. But the Bulgarians found the chips in time and put them in some bread, then gave them to the swans in the neighboring park (Regent's Park, I think). When the police tracked the signal to the other park, they found the swans instead of the expected ducks, and a huge sensation broke out on the local TV: "Predator swans go on canibal rampage!!!" :-)

The funniest scene is featured in the above-linked trailer. The police chief jokes with the guy who's responsible for the ducks: "Isn't it funny? We're eating ducks, the ducks are eating worms, and the worms are eating us!..." :-))

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

I never knew this film existed - and having seen the clips, I just have to see it now !
BTW - don't I recognise the butcher in the film?
He seems to have a close resemblance to one of yr icons :)

This is not a Friday Lulz post , but thanks for all the laughs that that clip provided. Enjoy the weekend!

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

Indeed, the butcher is Kosta Banicharov - here he is on this icon.

You couldn't have known about this movie, it's Bulgarian. Only most of the story happens in London.

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Ah - that explains why I had never even heard of it.

I never realised that the Bulgarians had a film industry to rival the Australians. I must try to track this one down - it looks hilarious.

[peamasii.livejournal.com]

Today the Dean of St. Paul resigned as well.