On Protesting.

Wow. What a day. To my shame I've never been to a protest before, but I'll put that down to previously having lived too far away from any major city to get involved. Of course, that's just a cowards answer, and obviously if I cared about a cause that much I should just get involved. I did care, but up until now, I just hadn't done it.


I'll admit, I don't really know what I was expecting from today. I kept updating throughout the day via twitter, posting pictures and generally telling people where the march currently was. Our first setback came when as we approached the tube station nearest to the march site, and was informed by the train announcer that it was closed. We hastily rescheduled our plans, and took a longer route.


I know as a journalism student, I should be impartial. But I abhor racism in all its forms, and would rather give up writing than compromise my stance.


We arrived at Malet Street, bang on midday. Milling around for a bit, my friend and I picked up leaflets, signed petitions and generally got a feel for where we were. There was a great vibe surrounding the whole thing. We bought whistles and hoodies, and were given a protest placard.

With music playing from out the side of a truck, and people dancing, the fun and friendly atmosphere was in full flow. Before long, the music died down and several key figures from Unite Against Fascism and Love Music Hate Racism came up on stage to talk. When the speeches started, I suddenly became aware of just how many people there were surrounding my friend and me. I also noticed there was a large number of photographers. Now, the EDL have a habit of being rather nasty to photographers, and I can't imagine how their cowardly minds would deal with such a heavy photographer presence.

                                       People milling around before the march.

The march got going, after a lot of stopping and starting. I'd been standing up for a long time, and ever since the Chuck Ragan gig a few weeks ago, my back has really started to play up. Still, I kept smiling and marching. The small police presence that was there when our demonstration was static became much larger once we were mobile. There was also a police helicopter that circled overhead. I felt that this was unnecessary. The majority of us were clearly content with shuffling along, chanting and singing to the delight of many bemused tourists.


Though we started towards the back of the protest, I guess we walked much quicker than most people, and soon ended up toward the front. As I passed through the crowd, it occurred to me that there was so much diversity here. Young and old, black and white, and people of all faiths. The demo itself was backed by the Muslim Council of Britain and the Trades Union Congress. But I saw much more than that. The were banners for the National Union of Teachers and National Union of Students, Unite Union, Socialist Workers Party, and a host of various organisations. This proved to me that there are so many opposed to the EDL and the BNP. It was an amazing realisation. The UAF website said that over 5000 people attended today's march.


A very heart warming thing happened when we passed by the picket line for the NUJ (Nation Union of Journalists). The procession stopped and we cheered, shouted for them, and generally made as much noise as possible in support of them. This especially touched me, as it's likely that I'll be joining this union at some point in the future. There's a picture I've seen that shows an NUJ member swapping a placard with a UAF marcher.

Passing the NUJ picket line

The procession moved past Downing Street and the crowd jeered and booed. Though I felt this detracted from the message of the protest, I couldn't help but agree with the sentiment, and joined in.


We ended up in Parliament Square, where a large Love Music Hate Racism screen was set up waiting for us. People applauded the protesters as we arrived. I didn't stay around much longer than this. I did watch George Galloway's speech, which I admit I was very, very impressed with, even if I can't shake the image of him dressed up as a cat on Celebrity Big Brother from my mind.


Leaving the carnival, looking for a place to sit down, my friend and I ended up in Trafalgar Square, admiring Nelson and his column. I was minding my own business, when a Muslim family came up to me, and told me that they were so proud of me. I almost didn't believe what I heard. They told me how important it was that all members of society came out and fought the menace of fascism. I agreed with them. They moved on, and left me with a big smile on my face.
 
 

                                           Passing the Houses of Parliament.


Like I said, I've never been on a march before, and now, I have no excuse not to go to many, many more in the future.

Update: Within about an hour of me posting this blog, the UAF website was running it as a story. I'm honoured. I'd like to thank again UAF and LMHR for putting on the march.