Monday, October 24, 2011

St Pauls protest

Why is it that the news features on the protest at St Paul's always start with "the first time since the Blitz/2nd World War/Hitler's war on Britain that St Pauls has been closed"? It subliminally suggests an association of the action of the protesters with those of an enemy of the state.It starts a discussion of the issues with a prejudicial relationship.It's fairly typical of the majority of news reporting in this area.
But who , or what, is the enemy of the state? The people who have decided to camp outside the cathedral ,or the financial interests and individuals who control a share of the world's assets disproportionate to their number, whose actions have all but brought this country and the western world to it's knees?
The big news feature has morphed from "world financial crisis"to "protesters close St Paul's".It's a bit like states seeking out external enemies and threats to divert the populus' attention from internal problems.
And have the protesters closed St Paul's?The decision was taken after St Paul's Chapter met , and decided on the grounds of that old chestnut, "health and safety".My premiere performance of Colour Beginnings at Tate Britain in 2009 was similiarly threatened because a grand piano placed in the middle of a gallery was described as being a potential health and safety hazard (this despite several grand pianos having come and gone there before).That objection ,along with several others,subsequently evaporated with no explanation.
Could the fact that the chapter is populated with many city executives have any bearing on the importance placed on health and safety?The protesters have apparently set up fire extinguishers, porterloos and were keeping a channel clear for access to the entrance and respecting service times etc.Spokespeople have been keen to say "the protesters have been allowed to make their point",and now its time to move on. As if the problem of world debt, slashing of basic public services( a wheelchair disabled friend of mine was told by her local council she was entitled to one bath per week), shocking inequality , and cavalier profiting on the markets from the difficulties of others, is now about to go away.More likely it will all carry on regardless.
Protests like this are not about giving the masses a short gestalt therapy session, so that the society can carry on its well regulated business unimpeded, its about the populus giving the disfunctioning powers that be a wake up call, other, milder attempts having failed.

Anyone who thinks that in the present communication saturated world , glaring inequalities between neighbours both in resources , opportunities and treatment(like for instance the proportion of your income you pay in taxation), can easily be ignored , needs to take a reality check.How unintelligent do the RBS bankers who picked up 950 millions in bonuses recently think its majority owners ie us , are?

I'm with the protesters.They are the people who want a just , grown up society for all, not one built on a gambling casino financial system.From what I've seen and read, the other lot couldn't give a damn.A Wall St trader said on radio 4 recently that he dreamed of crises like the present one because, "if you know what you're doing" you can make a fortune out of it.Its time for change.