Sunday 7 May 2023
The message has been out for some time
Coronation protesters 'targeted' by police to 'stop message getting out'
Police behaviour at the coronation has been branded an 'attack on democracy'; here's what happened when protesters joined royalists on the procession route.
I'm not sure what is meant by the police aiming to stop the message getting out. Surely the republican message is already out and has been for some time, assuming the fate of Charles I wasn't some kind of tragic procedural error.
Closer to the present we have Willie Hamilton's 1975 republican book My Queen and I, which as far as I know may still be read quite openly 48 years later.
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4 comments:
In a world of 24/7 electronic communication via umpteen different channels, one has to wonder what the purpose of a street demonstration actually is. Every message is already out there, constantly updated and honed and targeted by a whole sub-class of media professionals. In the bad old days, the local newspaper might have suppressed your story, and you needed a bunch of people with placards to march up and down shouting so that people could hear your case. A bit like wacky opinions being able to be aired at Speaker's Corner on a Sunday afternoon.
Now, the only reason I can think of for a "demonstration" is a demonstration of power. i.e. "We will make life more difficult for you unless you accede to our demands!"
If you believe you are a victim (of the Monarchy, the Patriarchy, Transphobia, Islamophobia, Christianophobia, the spherical earth zealots, the lack of progress to Net Zero) then any failure to sooth your concerns is obviously an active attack on your personal beliefs... whether the 'attack' is true or not.
I imagine that the Coronation with all its symbolism was directly at odds with people who are motivated by a different set of symbolism. Well, in the real world there are plenty of sets of symbolism many at odds with others. Rather than be upset over trifles people should continue to work towards their goals (or the realisation that their goals are unreasonable).
But we are a republic, already; with a titular, powerless, hereditary Head of State. We govern ourselves via representatives whom we elect directly and personally.
Sam - I agree, it's no longer about the supposed political message, it's about interfering with the lives of other people because that's the real motive.
DJ - yes, becoming upset over trifles seems to be a very human thing and very old. At times we all struggle to assess the relative importance of things in a rational way, but for some it remains a permanent aspect of their lives, especially when they associate with others having the same perspective.
Sackers - that's it, they seem to be fixated on the symbolism rather than the reality.
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