Occupy LSX - Eye witness report

 

After much jazzhands and posturing via steering committees, and much lentilbake consumed, the protesters at St Pauls Cathedral have finally issued theirdemands.

1 The current system is unsustainable. It is undemocraticand unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards them.

2 We are of all ethnicities, backgrounds, genders,generations, sexualities, dis/abilities and faiths. We stand together withoccupations all over the world.

3 We refuse to pay for the banks' crisis.

4 We do not accept the cuts as either necessary or inevitable.We demand an end to global tax injustice and our democracy representingcorporations instead of the people.

5 We want regulators to be genuinely independent of theindustries they regulate.

6 We support the strikeon 30 November and the student action on 9 November, and actions to defend our health services, welfare,education and employment, and to stop wars and arms dealing.

7 We want structural change towards authentic globalequality. The world's resources must go towards caring for people and theplanet, not the military, corporate profits or the rich.

8 We stand in solidarity with the global oppressed and wecall for an end to the actions of our government and others in causing thisoppression.

9 This is what democracy looks like. Come and join us!

I visited yesterday to see what all the fuss was about. A couple of hundredof the usual suspects were there. When you are a political activist you get tosee quite a few of the same people at any protest from fox hunting to ban thebomb and sure enough, a rich seam of swivel eyed loons, frothing at the mouthand ranting about chem trails, 9/11 and fluoride in the water seemedto be the main agenda.

It became clear they had no agenda other than to simply be there in caseanything important happened. It didn’t. Eventually, the self appointed “leader”decided that everyone should huddle together and make up a list of “demands”. Seeabove.

No one is more disappointed than me. There seems to be a genuine movementbuilding to expose the connection between our corrupt politicians and ourcorrupt bankers and simply say STOP, something which always has had my fullsupport. However, much to my dismay, it wasn’t long before I uncovered theusual piles of Socialist Worker in the recycling bins along with “Stop the Cuts”and “Hands off our benefits” placards.

I sat down with a few and tried to ascertain why they were there. 50different people gave 50 different answers, all of them involved protectingpublic sector jobs, abolishing student fees and maintaining a massive welfarestate. Oh, and don’t give the banks any more money., And some unicorn tears tomake it all better. You can’t use logic to get people out of a mindset logicdidn’t get them into. Why are you at the Stock Exchange, I asked? We hatecorporations, they answered whilst tweeting on their iPads and sipping aStarbucks Latte – I was deafened by Irony Klaxons blasting in my ears. WallStreet companies were bailed out butthe London Stock Exchange has never borrowed money in my name, so why not go toParliament or the Banks, where the real cowards and thieves live? “Erm…thechurch here has been really nice to us”

Bottom line? These protesters want MORE taxes, an enlarged welfare state, abigger Government, State jobs and death to bankers – and a bath. Marx wouldhave been proud of them. I give them a fortnight at most. The Police havealready removed the portaloos and it can’t be long before Starbucks and PizzaExpress get fed up with toilets blocked by Lentil casserole and organic dysentery.As much as I hoped people had woken up from the stupor of a decade of Labour benefitaddiction, the OccupyLSX protest is nothing more than a cold turkey sweat ofthe terminal welfare junkies.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

http://bastardoldholborn.blogspot.com/2011/10/occupy-lsx-eye-witness-report.html