On pre-apocalyptic scenarios

[gominokouhai]

I watched the march along Princes Street this morning: 20,000 people turned up. I stood next to two beautiful, but very bored, police horses and watched the protestors file past in a line stretching out beyond the horizon. It felt like 1983, except it wasn't in black and white, and there were iPhones and vuvuzelas.

I couldn't join in because I had to rush off to an audition, but I'm starting to think I should get some practice in while everything's still peaceful. I'd hate for my first rally to be the one when they start throwing bricks around.

A while back, I wrote If I woke up tomorrow morning in a terrifying neo-Thatcherpunk dystopia, then so be it: start stockpiling guns then. Is it time yet?

Comments

[gominokouhai]

> I don't think any of the tabloids were involved in placards

The papers were red-topped. Hence the scenes depicted on the front page were red-topped. I was three; you can't expect detailed analysis.

> the behaviour of non-Yorkshire police seconded to Leeds reminded me of nothing so much as the Army back in Norn Iron

I heard much the same thing about the Met when they were up here during G8. I had the opposite experience during Popefest '10: the non-Edinburgh police were utterly lovely while they were restricting my freedom of movement.

[akicif]

Doh! Of course the papers were red-topped: I've such a strong picture in my mind's eye of that time that I was half assuming it was an actual picture that you would have seen - apologies!

Yeah, I saw your piece - and it reminded me indeed of the G8. Some of the police up then were great folk (I was still doing voluntary stewarding in those days - I may yet go back to it). But the Met! Apparently after the bombing down south that week someone on the Scotsman wanted to use the headline "Met Return to London: two cities feel safer"....

[gominokouhai]

During G8 I saw a bunch of coppers forming one of those line things to keep protestors contained. (Wasn't kettling; there was actual violence kicking off inside.) They all looked very young and very, very scared, so I can't help but feel a little sympathy. Don't think those ones were the Met though.