[g8-sheffield] Re: the right of unlawful protest

[dougald hine]

Laws are made by parliament (usually the government's rubber stamp)
and executed by the government itself.

When we protest against governments and their actions, we are
reminding them that power belongs to the people and is at best loaned
(often grudgingly) to those who exercise it.

If we accept the government's right to classify our protest as legal
or illegal, we are giving up the very power we are meant to be
asserting.

This does not mean that:

- breaking the law is good because laws are bad
- only people who break the law are real protestors
- it isn't totally acceptable for people (like Kathleen, not to
mention myself) to make a pragmatic decision not to take actions which
could get them arrested because of personal circumstances

It does mean that we should refuse to accept the discourse of
'il/legal protest(ors)'.

What should that translate to in practice? It's at least a serious argument for:

- refusing to take part in a particular 'legal protest' if the terms
are unacceptable (e.g. an arbitrary restriction on numbers)
- distancing ourselves from any attempt to define a protest which is
otherwise acceptable as a 'legal protest'


-- 
Dougald Hine
46 Alderson Road, Sheffield S2 4UD
(+44)(0)7810 650213