How Protesters Can Defeat Democracy and Themselves
I'm about to do something I've never done before. I'm about to stick up
for the Prime-Minister-before-last Tony Blair. Not for his policies, you
understand, and certainly not for his decision to take Britain into the
war in Iraq. But for his right to publish his memoirs and, in
particular, his right to attend book signings in this country. Believe
me, as far as I'm concerned the less we see of Blair on our tv screens
the better, but I was appalled that he'd felt forced to cancel two
signings because as he'd entered a Dublin bookshop for a signing,
protesters had hurled not just abuse, but eggs and shoes too.
I understand and support their desire to protest. But they did nothing
for the cause of democracy. Blair pulled the plug on his London events
because he was afraid that a similar, or worse, reaction would put
innocent members of the public at physical risk and because he was
mindful of the potential cost to the public purse of policing what was
after all 'only a book signing'.
The protesters may well feel that they've succeeded, but I believe
they've failed. This wasn't someone preaching hate or offending public
morality. By provoking this decision the protesters haven't only denied
members of the public the right to attend, they've silenced their own
voices. No signing = no protest. In the UK we live in a wonderful
democracy; one that we all tend to take for granted. Our right to
peaceful protest is one of the most important aspects of that democracy.
But by stepping away from peaceful protest and moving towards physical
attacks those Dublin protesters have not only robbed their colleagues of
the opportunity to speak out, but robbed the British public the chance
to weigh up both sides of the divide.
Protest by all means, rail against what you object to. But don't be self-defeating.