2023-11-15
The Israel - Gaza situation has rattled a host of organisations, governments, politicians, religious institutions, media outlets, and perhaps most importantly, private individuals.
On the one hand there is clearly massive injustice being played out at many levels, and many feel led by their sense of injustice to demonstrate in whatever way they may feel appropriate, or in any way that may be available to them.
Due to the way in which multiple issues are over-simplified in the media with the apparent intention of mobilising support for one faction or another, rather than seeking a practical route back to a peaceful resolution, the potential for the misconstruction of motivations of those protesting has been huge - and the media at large are frankly not noted for their accuracy and impartiality in such matters.
So the question arises - is it worth demonstrating if your demonstration is going to be misrepresented?
It's not a question that has a simple answer, as many may have found as a result of the 11/11 events in London, which perhaps in spite of all the above, did go off pretty well and without the violence that some had feared. The fact that so many people of such diverse ethnic groups could march through London in such an peaceful and rather British way was a tribute to the ethos of our nation as it is today - still calm and tolerant whilst actively protesting at an extremely dark situation.
It gave us all hope for the future.
Martin Geddes did not attend, and he explains his thinking and motivation in this insightful piece.
There are times when conventional wisdom and logic seem inadequate to the situation, and that oft neglected inner facility, sometimes called intuition, may well indicate the best path forward.
