skull_bearer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
skull_bearer) wrote2010-09-18 11:22 pm
skull_bearer) wrote2010-09-18 11:22 pm
Entry tags:
Protest the Pope 2010
Wow. That was like being run over by a truck made of pure fucking awesome.
So, first I head over the Hyde Park corner, and find the place swampted with god-botherers, including a whole bunch of school-trippers. WTF? Are these people nuts? Why are they taking their kids here, haven't they been reading the news about this bastard? There doesn't seem to be anyone around. I nap for an hour.
I wake up, and lo and behold, there are a handful or so of people with anti-pope signs (anti-pope! It's like antipasti and just as delicious!). I head down to meet them with an "Aha! Finally, sane people!" He have a laugh, and I begin my tried and tested routine of human loudspeaker (I have an unusually loud voice):
"If god is meant to be all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipotent, and this is the best representative on earth he can come up with, what sort of god are you worshipping here?"
"I am here, getting ATHEIST COOTIES on you! Beware the atheist cooties! FEAR THEM!"
"You're taking your kids here? seriously? Why don't you take them to a nice museum, or the Globe? I hear the merry Wives of Winsor are playing at the Globe! Why bring them here where they'll be bored stiff? And, well, their not the only thing which will be stiff..." *obscene hand gesture*
*upon seeing a bunch of people waving England flags* "Nationalism and religion, two bad things which go WORSE together!"
Then more people turned up, bringing our quota to about a hundred. Still way massively outnumbered, but hey. We set off down to Park Lane to get ready to march, and I ran into an old friend who was totally unsurprised to see me there (I'm so predictable). After about an hour of waiting around (In which the chants of "What do we want?" "A secular Europe" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" changed to "What do we want?" "TO GET GOING!") we eventually set off.
At one point early on, a group of Catholics stood on the pavement as we went by, and waved a banner, jeering at us. The reactions ranged from "Shame!" and "SCUM!" To some complete arsehole rushign up and snatching the banner, which was they dragged into the crown and trampled. I managed to rescue it, and returned it to the Catholics, and said that those idiots were not representative of the protest as a whole. They said "Well, we should have expected it, we were asking for trouble." I said "No, really, Freedom of speech, you have every right to be here." Then shook his hand and went back into the crowd.
It was abotu then, when we'd reached a bit of high ground on our way to Piccadilly Circus, that I looked back and suddenly what I though was my friend's exaggeration, that we had thousands of people here, suddenly became not so much of one. I'd thought maybe 600 people, max. People have a tendancy to estimate more people than were actually there. It actually became a problem eventually, because the protest had been planned for 2,000 and way, way more had turned up. No one's sure how many yet.
Well, needless to say it was awesome. There were speeches made by Richard Dawkins and Peter Thatchell, and a whole bunch of others. It was loud and brilliant and although by that time my voice was completely gone I did manage to distinguish myself by screaming "BASTARD!" at all the right moments.
Then it was over. Paramour managed to scare of Richard Dawkins and we both retired to the Sherlock Holmes pub for a direly needed drink.
So yeah, it was great. There we a bunch of people with the most awesome signs (My personal favourites: "Romans go Home!" and "Down with this sort of thing!" with its companion "Careful now!") Oh, and condoms everywhere. We were using them as balloons. At one point, one of the speakers was highlighting the Catholic lie that condoms are full of holes and thus do not stop HIV, then paused and pointed out that one of these 'useless' condoms was currently being used as a balloon and thus was the perfect example of that lie. We played condom volleyball.
Absolutely bloody exhausted, but an amazing showing, and it was great to see so many awesome people. Fun all round.
So, first I head over the Hyde Park corner, and find the place swampted with god-botherers, including a whole bunch of school-trippers. WTF? Are these people nuts? Why are they taking their kids here, haven't they been reading the news about this bastard? There doesn't seem to be anyone around. I nap for an hour.
I wake up, and lo and behold, there are a handful or so of people with anti-pope signs (anti-pope! It's like antipasti and just as delicious!). I head down to meet them with an "Aha! Finally, sane people!" He have a laugh, and I begin my tried and tested routine of human loudspeaker (I have an unusually loud voice):
"If god is meant to be all-powerful, all-knowing and omnipotent, and this is the best representative on earth he can come up with, what sort of god are you worshipping here?"
"I am here, getting ATHEIST COOTIES on you! Beware the atheist cooties! FEAR THEM!"
"You're taking your kids here? seriously? Why don't you take them to a nice museum, or the Globe? I hear the merry Wives of Winsor are playing at the Globe! Why bring them here where they'll be bored stiff? And, well, their not the only thing which will be stiff..." *obscene hand gesture*
*upon seeing a bunch of people waving England flags* "Nationalism and religion, two bad things which go WORSE together!"
Then more people turned up, bringing our quota to about a hundred. Still way massively outnumbered, but hey. We set off down to Park Lane to get ready to march, and I ran into an old friend who was totally unsurprised to see me there (I'm so predictable). After about an hour of waiting around (In which the chants of "What do we want?" "A secular Europe" "When do we want it?" "NOW!" changed to "What do we want?" "TO GET GOING!") we eventually set off.
At one point early on, a group of Catholics stood on the pavement as we went by, and waved a banner, jeering at us. The reactions ranged from "Shame!" and "SCUM!" To some complete arsehole rushign up and snatching the banner, which was they dragged into the crown and trampled. I managed to rescue it, and returned it to the Catholics, and said that those idiots were not representative of the protest as a whole. They said "Well, we should have expected it, we were asking for trouble." I said "No, really, Freedom of speech, you have every right to be here." Then shook his hand and went back into the crowd.
It was abotu then, when we'd reached a bit of high ground on our way to Piccadilly Circus, that I looked back and suddenly what I though was my friend's exaggeration, that we had thousands of people here, suddenly became not so much of one. I'd thought maybe 600 people, max. People have a tendancy to estimate more people than were actually there. It actually became a problem eventually, because the protest had been planned for 2,000 and way, way more had turned up. No one's sure how many yet.
Well, needless to say it was awesome. There were speeches made by Richard Dawkins and Peter Thatchell, and a whole bunch of others. It was loud and brilliant and although by that time my voice was completely gone I did manage to distinguish myself by screaming "BASTARD!" at all the right moments.
Then it was over. Paramour managed to scare of Richard Dawkins and we both retired to the Sherlock Holmes pub for a direly needed drink.
So yeah, it was great. There we a bunch of people with the most awesome signs (My personal favourites: "Romans go Home!" and "Down with this sort of thing!" with its companion "Careful now!") Oh, and condoms everywhere. We were using them as balloons. At one point, one of the speakers was highlighting the Catholic lie that condoms are full of holes and thus do not stop HIV, then paused and pointed out that one of these 'useless' condoms was currently being used as a balloon and thus was the perfect example of that lie. We played condom volleyball.
Absolutely bloody exhausted, but an amazing showing, and it was great to see so many awesome people. Fun all round.
no subject
Also, I thought the protest was about the Pope and the things he has said (fair play), not protesting Catholicism (unfair; many British Catholics aren't homophobic, sexist, pro-spreading disease etc etc etc).
Btw, I am British. Just encase you thought I wasn't.
no subject
You're talking about hotheaded, outnumbered groups of people venting at another a larger and equally
obnoxiousideological group of people. Surely you see a difference between shouting juvenile one-liners at each other and invading a crowd, grabbing someone's property (vested with personal, symbolic and emotional meaning) and grinding it underfoot? Do you really think it's totally double standards to cheerfully do one but object to the other? Do you think all people that gather in a group to protest always share exactly the same ultra-polarized view? But "many British Catholics" are totally exempt from dangerously impractical preachings enforced by Papal Supremacy? Right.no subject
I admire rescuing the protest banner, I thought this was honourable behaviour. I would probably have been too scared to do such a thing - I don't go to protests because I find people's behaviour there very aggressive. I do see a difference between stealing people's property, and shouting at them. But no exchange of jibes is described here, it's 'haha the Pope is getting off on seeing your children'.
Are you saying I'm being rude? I always thought everything posted on LJ is fair game for discussion.