From: "Dave Coull" <coull2-AT-btinternet.com>
Subject: UK Uproar/The Hee-Haws and the Anti-Wars
Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 20:13:04 +0100




Further to discussion about the two recent (very different) demonstrations
in London, this is from the regular  "Rebel Ink" column written
by Kevin Williamson in the "Scottish Socialist Voice"
Friday 4th October 2002. (Obviously, although I have 
big disagreements with the "Scottish Socialist Voice"
on some things, I am pretty much in agreement
with a lot of what Kevin Williamson says 
in this case.)


THE  HEE-HAWS  AND  THE  ANTI-WARS : it's no big surprise
who gets the news coverage

A day spent protesting is an education and a celebration all rolled 
into one.
Most folk spend the bulk of their time either on their own, at work, 
or with their families and close friends. Outside this small social circle 
the views,
feelings and concerns of the rest of the world mainly come into 
peoples lives
carefully filtered by the mass media. The tabloid press and the mainstream
TV stations, such as BBC1 and the ITV network, fully understand this.
Such media can barely conceal their contempt when they cover protests
which extol the virtues of peace, love, and respect for your fellow human
beings, and which oppose such 'necessary evils' such as war, exploitation
and injustice. Comparing the Countryside Alliance march with the anti-war
event that followed sheds light on the agendas subtly being manipulated
behind the scenes. The event organised by the rich landowners
and the fox-hunting lobby was promoted for weeks in advance,
especially in the London-based media. Countless pages of print
and televised news items whipped up support and made sure that
the whole country knew not only what issues were at stake, but
also where the march was taking place and how to get there.
This wasn't surprising given that the ugly celebration of ritualistic
animal slaughter represented rich pickings for the city of London
in terms of hotel and restaurant bookings and suchlike. One paper
estimated 28,000 millionaires took part in the march (not 30,000!)
as well as every well-to-do landowner and squire. No overnight buses
and cheese sandwiches for them. It's no wonder they were welcomed
with open wallets. Reporting of the countryside event was extensive
with special pull-out supplements in some papers before and after it.
The press even reported the day BEFORE that the attendance would
be 400,000. Exact. The organisers on the day duly claimed it was 400,000.
The police nodded in agreement. Result: a cosy politically-motivated
consensus that became received wisdom then irrefutable fact. It's what
Noam Chomsky calls the "manufacturing of consent". The anti-war event
on the other hand flew in the face of every conservative, capitalistic
agenda in this country. The event was attended by approximately 
300,000+ people   -   according to both the organisers and most 
unblinkered media commentators. The Murdoch media empire naturally 
downplayed it claiming 150,000 took part (Sky News, Sunday Times, 
News of the World). A spokesman from Scotland Yard laughably 
claimed "over 50,000" attended. A ludicrous statement which only 
Scotland on Sunday bothered regurgitating. For the mass media 
it is an unwritten policy mission, central to their very existence, 
to ensure that any sense of social anger about the bigger picture 
should remain grumbling away like a toothache, either in the family 
home, or among small social circles of fellow malcontents. That 
way it can happily dissipate into despair where it becomes harmless 
and disempowering. Once that happens you tend to find that 
many of the angriest and poorest of people tend to look for 
scapegoats and very soon easy targets emerge to blame 
for all the ills of society. And before you can chant "David 
Blunkett's Barmy Army" we have the pernicious spread
of racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, drug wars, 
and all the other modern day witch hunts. It is a subtle 
form of social control and, I suppose, a lot less expensive 
to the tax payer than constructing a police state and obliterating 
all opposition with prisons, guns and batons. The people
who attended Saturday's anti-war event will have become 
psychologically changed by the experience of taking part 
in one of the biggest protest events of the last fifty years 
in Britain. The experience will have cut right through 
so much alienation and despair at the prospect of war 
and helped induce a renewed sense of solidarity and hope.