Student Protest

[LogicNProportion]

You obviously missed the bit where someone threw a fire extinguisher onto the police from the roof, that coulda been quite deadly.

Also, I wouldn't say the media are that up in arms about it, both bbc and sky news have made a point about saying that only a few of the protesters are being twonks and that most of the students there were being nice, peaceful and productive.

Anyway, I am very much against the violent destructive side of the protest. It undermines any serious point people were trying to make, it also causes the protesters to appear like a bunch of uncivilised scumbags.

And to anyone that says they don't think peaceful protests can work I'll ask you to remember ghandi, the guy's a household name for a reason

Ghandi is a household name for peaceful protests not because his protests worked like greased lightning, but because his was so damn large and unrelenting.

Personally, I find peaceful protesting to be a joke, at least in the 21st century. The world is too large, too violent, and has too much going on to notice a bunch of people sitting down doing nothing.

I salute these kids, as they have the balls and drive to do it. Compared to my school, so that even if a couple of us say something bad about the school around a teacher, we're shipped off to detention for a week. If the teacher's see large groups forming, no matter what, they call police around and start picking people out to make examples of.

I'm serious, my school actually does this. :/

 

[LogicNProportion]

Don't like the parties...start a new one. If you have something of value to say, you will get elected.

That is a load of crap.

Third parties are stomped out all the time, and splinter-factions are ALWAYS swallowed up by the mainstream, at least in America, or even, where I love. (NC)

Case and point. Ron Paul.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Well I can't afford the current fees; I'm going to be in debt at the end of my degree anyway. Sure it will suck if my debt is tripled but it's not as if I'm able to pay the current prices. As for the protest I chose not to attend, despite going to university in London, because I knew nothing would come of it. The Prime Minster has stated that the protest has changed nothing and that the higher price caps will not be removed: so all the vandalism, criminal damage, graffiti, trespassing and attempted murder was for nothing.

 

[Chechosaurus]

It's a small price to pay for a revolution. Also, just because were are complacent doesn't mean we don't need a revolution. Our country may not be the worst but we do put up with far too much shit. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and our "Democratically" elected government seems determined to dick all over the working and middle classes. Sure, they say it is for practical reasons but it's all ingrained in their ideology and is doomed to fail, sending us further down the drain. Cutting 25% from every public sector is not the only way to reduce our deficit but the Tories don't believe in public ownership and they just want to privatise everything. The political parties we have to choose from are Labour (They haven't represented the working class since 1979). The Liberal Democrats (Sell outs and liars). And the Conservatives (Archaic and imperialistic). What is it about our country that DOESN'T need to change? As we slide down into the big brother state that is forming around us and the bourgeois government speaks about the 'deserving poor' whilst desperately trying to keep everyone who didn't go to a private school out of university. It is actions like those of the students that show the government that they should not be so complacent and that they can't just screw everyone over. If all it achieved was that, then I salute them because at least they did something. Everyone else just stood by and watched (including myself) rather than taking action for something that we believe in and for that, we should all be ashamed. Every country in the modern world could do with some sort of radical change for the better.

If you want social upheaval so badly, than why don't you get away from the computer and do something?

How do you know that I'm not? For all you know I could be fire bombing Buckingham Palace right now. Obviously I'm not but still. Also, I don't want social upheaval, I just want change. I originally just made the point that may revolutions have begun with a simple student demonstration and then escalated from there. I then just voiced my opinion on what is wrong in this country. Furthermore, that pathetic argument of 'If you want it so much then why don't you go and do it?' is just plain retarded in any argument, let alone this one. You seem to think that it's so simple and that I can just walk out the door with a picket sign and instantly begin the revolution.

Furthermore, I saw your original post about the Che Guevara laptop. Do you even understand how fucking ironic that would be? Any way, I'm not even a radical. I'm just a socialist which (referring to your original post again) is far from 'down with the man'. I actually believe in socialism through democracy and not through violent revolution. It is just a romantic idea.

 

[Chechosaurus]

How about the fire extinguisher thrown onto the police officers from the roof?

And I repeat my self: The more fire extinguishers thrown out of windows onto cars the better.

Police officers aren't cars.

My mistake. I miss-read that. Any way, it landed on a car, not an officer. Either way, I can see that we clearly have VERY different views on this matter.

Why yes we do, but what would be the point in a debate if we both had the same views?

To be honest, I just didn't really have anything else to say. I accepted the error that I made and that was that. I was just looking for a way to finish really. Happy?

Ah still ducking I see.

And still ducking what exactly? I made my point and then accepted my error. I'm not asking any of you to agree with me.

Why yes I'm ecstatic.

Although I am enraged about you quoting me with things I didn't say

Didn't realise sorry. I was trying to keep track of like 3 different people and I didn't actually take a note of the names. My bad

 

[Wicky_42]

I hate the media for their coverage of this protest. 52000 people were present and somewhere between 50 and 500 (I suspect the numbers are growing with every telling) became violent. The vast majority of protesters remained civil but even the news sources who aren't pretending that the entire protest suddenly went rabid are focussing solely on the violence. So it seems a combination of violent yobs and our sensationalist news media have ruined any chance of a meaningful protest ever being taken seriously. Thanks guys!

That's what pisses me off too. It's 0.005% of the people taking 100% of the headlines - yay for balanced reporting -_-U