I had to go to work today. I don’t really mind working Saturdays. I’m never really productive on a Saturday so I may as well spend them at work earning my pittance. To get to work, owing to the weirdways of Saturday public transport, I had to pass through the city. More specifically, I had to pass Town Hall. I walked past as my bus seemed to be going places I had no intention of going. I walked past and through the APEC protesters as they were assembling at Town Hall. I walked past and around the altogether too many police. I had a little policeman herd me onto the sidewalk with the protesters as I attempted to avoid the crowd by walking on the road of a dead street. Clearly the police weren’t about to let a single possible protester escape.
There were I few things I really noticed about this huge and terrifying protest.
The first is that there weren’t that many people there. At 9am I was able to get a seat on a bus in Enmore. This may not sound like much but when there are big protests on, like the anti-war one of a few years back, it is impossible to get into the city by bus from where I live. With the anti-war one we had to walk – along with hundreds of other people – because the public transport, which is inadequate at the best of times, was absolutely woeful. Today, one or two or three people got on at each stop until, of course, we could hold no more.
The second thing I noticed, as we got off the bus, was the guy wearing a helmet and pulling up a scarf to hide his face. I noticed him particularly because I thought he was being oddly paranoid and then I realised that his intent was, unquestionably, bad. He certainly did not fit the vibe of the day. Everyone else was as relaxed as people can be when they are corralled by people with guns. I really wondered about that guy when I heard about the neo-nazis later on.
The third thing I noticed was the all people with prams and little kids. It was obvious at that point that the bulk of the protesters were planning all manner of violent and nasty stuff.
The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh things I noticed were all the police. They were lined, a couple of meters apart, along
* The last time I mention APEC, honest.
8 comments:
Hey, you were basically part of the protest march then!
Yeah but no.
The third thing I noticed was the all people with prams and little kids. It was obvious at that point that the bulk of the protesters were planning all manner of violent and nasty stuff.
Good to see you are recognising the fundamental connection between babies and evilness and perfidy of every stripe.
Yeah, earlier this year when they had some big protesty thing in Melbourne the kids got all happy and smashed some truck windows in, or something. Tim Blair showed some happy snaps on his website later that day, and I recognised one of the kids - I'd sat on the tram across from him the night before. He was some red-headed cherubic-faced Fitzroy anarchist wearing black leather and a t-shirt with the usual 'Fuck the State' slogan on it. From what I can gather, most of the time during the protests, people just sat around and congratulated themselves for being all anti-capitalist and revolutionary and stuff.
As for me, I wouldn't be caught dead at a protest, unless it is a protest against evil babies and/or flatmates.
I would say that for that particular person all evils probably stem from being a bloodnut. Root of all evil, that.
I do protest. Not because I think it really gets us anywhere because it doesn't, not really, but then we live in quite a lenient society so I suppose that's okay. I protest when I feel very strongly about something - such as the Iraq war. I think it sometimes helps to get the message across even if it's not quite the message intended.
Also, you know, fodder for the old asio file ;) There's nothing more fun than fucking with the government.
When I was watching the news the other day and saw the footage of the south korean president with bush, I couldn't have been more proud of my heritage. :)
Here's the young chappie, the anarchist directly behind the masked bandito. I think he may have just been there to have a good time, and let all the masked dudes get up to the smashin'.
Tim, bandito? lol
Were there any adults there? They all look very young - or perhaps I am getting very old...
Loved tho mohawk kid though - nice work!
Ah, Julia, he got better and better. Aside from confusing APEC with OPEC and Australia with Austria and renaming Sydney, of course. We were all proud for you - in between hanging out head with shame at Johnny Jackboots in a drizabone [an image I would like permanently eradicated from my mind].
Oh crap, I seriously only just noticed that that title on this is the same as my post the other day. S much for the memory...
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