Another aspect of ‘normal’ life which has returned with a vengeance is public protesting. 2019 was a year that was heavily defined by protests across the globe for a variety of different issues so the question must have been raised by fearful establishments everywhere… how do the fook do we stop this? If only we could create a situation where it is forbidden for them to be on the streets and then they won’t be able to join forces and oppose our actions…cue Corona creation conspiracy theory number 46. Yet with almost the entire population of Earth ordered indoors it was clear that the potential for civil unrest had dropped significantly.
I don’t actually believe that they fabricated the existence of Covid-19 to reduce street protesting but it certainly looked like it. And when the BLM movement erupted across the entire planet in the middle of a worldwide lockdown, it not only quashed that theory but also showed that “no force on Earth can stop an idea who’s time has come”. Not even a global pandemic.
The dam has burst. And the tide of change is swept across every continent at once. And yet these protesters converged in the midst of us trying to reduce the devastating impact of the virus when it was at a crucial stage. I watched stunned as thousands congregated regardless and felt that it would jeopardise everything that we had just gone through. And so I stayed away and did what most were doing, I watched it unfold on the internet.
But, watching events transpire online is a very distorting and relatively unhealthy experience as the algorithms in place ensure that you pinball from negative story to negative story, feeding outrage, fuelling anger, creating a narrative where you feel that everything is utterly fucked and hopeless and everyone is against everyone and the world has gone to hell in a hand cart.
The initial explosion of violence in America dominated the news but if you looked deeper than the headlines, the real story was how peaceful protests across the globe, comprised of people from all demographics and all cultures, had united to stand up and declare their unequivocal support for the black community and to state it is a societal problem that will no longer be tolerated. This was a tale of ‘coming together’ not ‘tearing apart’.
As the media were busy portraying the protestors as violent troublemakers I eventually decided I had to see it with my own eyes. And still hopefully be able to keep my distance in the process. These shots were taken at a BLM rally in trafalgar square last Friday. I arrived early and found a very quiet, peaceful gathering. When I looked around at those present I could see that, for the most part, they were just young kids. They were the reps of Generation Z who mix better than any previous generation to date. They show beautifully that race is simply not an issue for them in the way it was for previous generations, and they are living proof that there has been massive progress.
These youths were not looking for a fight at all. They were extremely placid and good natured. Their presence was simply a message to older generations that they have to make way for a new society where systemic inequality is a thing of the past and racial persecution at the hands of the police is, not only, no longer sanctioned, but eradicated for good. To use an enforcement term, a zero tolerance policy is now required.
And so I stood there in Trafalgar square looking at these docile youngsters in face masks with their little cardboard banners and there was even a little stand with fruit and water for any of the protestors and it felt more like a village fete than a protest movement. And then more and more police vans started to show up and coppers piled out of the doors and onto the square. It was very surreal as their presence just seemed so out of place with the scene I was witnessing. Like sending the riot squad to break up a kid’s party. It was the very definition of heavy handed policing, the very thing they were protesting about. And suddenly there was a tension in the air. I then heard from one of the organisers that thousands of people were on their way from Hyde Park and the thought of it being boxed in with all those people made me feel very uneasy so decided not to stick around to be kettled.
The younger generation are there to guide the way. We need to listen to them. The institutions and ideals of the 20th century are no longer compatible with the modern world so we must change them in order to move forwards. The old world establishment is holding back the new era, clinging on to a broken system that needs to come down and it’s resistance and fear of change is making the transition a pitched battle. It doesn’t need to be this way.
Racism in America is a huge problem and way more prevalent and divisive than in the U.K but we still have a major racism problem within our police force here. I was always proud to be from London as, compared to most other places, it was a very progressive, tolerant and racially inclusive city. And especially in the area of West London where I live. I do know of anywhere else where there is a better mix between racial groups than in this neighbourhood and that is one of the main reasons I love living here. Yet, like all other areas in London, you see racial profiling in ‘stop and searches’ all the time and when I put my mind to it I can’t think of a single occasion in all the years I lived here when I saw them stop someone white. So even though the multi-cultural residents do not, for the most part, have any issue with each other, we are not having the same experience at the hands of law and order and that is simply unjust and must stop.
West London saw a massive influx of Caribbeans after the 2nd world war. The Windrush generation, as they are now known, were invited here by our government to help rebuild Britain after the devastating destruction of the blitz. They thought they were coming to the Mother country, the centre of the Commonwealth of which they were part. And yet when they arrived, they were treated horrendously, because there was no declaration from above explaining to the citizens of the U.K that they were here on our request because we needed them and they should be treated with respect.
The population of this little island should have been told to welcome our new residents with open arms and give gratitude to them for coming to our rescue. This declaration of intent was regretfully never sent to the population of Britain. It was immigration without information which sadly has been a consistent policy ever since and consequently, fear led to hostility and the new members of Britain suffered untold amounts of abuse as a result. But its still not too late to deliver that message. It would bring us all together and diminish the division between us. We must end the populist xenophobic politics, eliminate unlawful persecution of any race or minority and create genuine integration and unity for everyone. That might sound idealistic but it’s not actually hard to implement at all. The truth is, genuine equality for all is really easy, you just treat everyone the same.
Cheers Frank, hope you doing ok, been thinking about you. take care x
lovely thoughtful post Jon
Frank
x