寒いせいもあるけれど、今日は一歩も外に出ていない。テレビをつけても、ジョン・レノンの暗殺から30年、明日の国会での決議を前に学生による学費値上げ反対24時間デモ（BBC記事/日本語関連記事1/2/保守党案の解説）など、あんまり興味をそそられるニュースもない。特に学生デモ！見ていると非常にイライラする。値上げの是非はさておき、偉そうな事を言っている割に、暴徒化してお店や物を壊したり、任務を遂行しているだけの可哀想な警察官相手に罵声を浴びせて得意顔。変な格好で街に繰り出し、ドラムを鳴らしたり踊ったりして、通行人の邪魔をする。メディアが来ると急ににこやかに写真目線でピースサインと、どうも緊張感と真剣さが足りない。外の集会の場では音楽流して踊ったりお喋りに興じ、立ち去った後はビールの空き缶や食べ物の残りなどゴミが散乱。これで、どうやって一般大衆の同情を得ようというのか。どう考えても騒ぎ目当てか面白半分か、値上げされたら欲しい洋服も買えないし、パブで飲んだり遊んだりできないから反対！ぐらいにしか見えない。世論を味方にするには、今のやり方ではあんまり効果ないような。
It is cold and gray today as usual and I’ve stayed in my room all day. What I have seen on TV is 30-year anniversary of John Lennon’s assassination or 24-hour student protest against tuition fee rise before the vote tomorrow (BBC article/Tory’s Tuition Fees Fact web), and nothing exciting. Especially all those student protests!! Put aside the debate of tuition fee rise, I don’t say all of them, but the ways some behave in their protest are quite irritating. Some students shout at policemen who just do their job (in fact it is not their fault at all) and vandalize shops and police cars, and they are so triumphant. I will be arrested if I do the same! Some come out in strange costumes or bang drums, and annoy pedestrians. On occasions of media photos and TV footage, they show big smiles with peace signs or waves hands – no seriousness whatsoever. At the meeting place, they just dance with music or chit-chat with their friends, and leave beer cans, food packages, cigarette butts and trash all over. How do they believe they can earn our sympathy by acting like ASBOs?! All what I feel is they just do this for fun, or because they can’t buy the latest stuffs at Topshop or can’t have fun at a pub or a night club. They should behave better if they want to win people’s heart!
すっかりタイトルから脱線してしまったけれど、今日見つけた何だかほっとするBBC記事「In pictures: London – short and small」。チューブ（ロンドン地下鉄）の最も短い区間、最も小さいアパートやパブ、教会など、ロンドンで見かける小さいものを集めている。小さいものは日本の専売特許だと思ってたけれど、ロンドンにも意外とあるものだ。一番最後の、日光・東武ワールドスクウェアのバッキンガム宮殿の写真、ロンドンじゃないけれどご愛嬌。
I completely derailed from today’s blog title. This BBC’s “In pictures: London – short and small” that makes me feel a bit better among all. It is a collection of photos of something short and small in the big city of London – shortest tube journey, smallest flat, pub and church etc, etc. I thought small and short is a copyright of Japan, but there are many in London as well. But at the end, here it is – the Buckingham Palace in Tobu World Square in Japan (not in London, though) !
レスター・スクウェア駅とコベント・ガーデン駅の間は、たったの300m。
It’s only 300m (0.161 mile) between Lester Square and Covent Garden station.
物置を改造した、ノッティングヒルにあるアパート。居住空間は、キッチン、シャワールーム、クロゼットを含めても、229cm x 102cmしかない。
The converted cupboard in Notting Hill. The living space is only 229cm x 102cm (7ft 6in x 3ft 4in), including kitchenette, shower room, and wardrobe space.
everydaylife.style 
You sound like quite anarchistic. Illegal acts are illegal, in any circumstances. So if I angry about social injustice, I can kill someone so that I can get attention? It is ridiculous. If you want to get more attention, use your creativity, rather than just throwing anything to the poor police, just doing whatever they are told to do by the government. By the way, they are the taxpayers as well, helping the students to study. If you need a coverage, you don’t have to go for unlawful way, but just think what you can do smarter – use internet, artwork, singing, make your own newspaper or whatever. You don’t have to act like a jail riot. I though students are “educated” and “better” than that. People may acknowledge the violent protest with the same attention to the war and crimes, but they don’t vote for it, and therefore, it won’t work.
I think Natty is very supportive to the fellow students, and just wiser than other students who put themselves in trouble for no positive outcomes. Look at the guy who goes to jail for 32 weeks for throwing the fire extinguisher from the top of the building! If actually it killed someone, he would go even longer.
It’s not about “winning people’s hearts”! It’s about making our voices heard!
Unfortunately you don’t get much coverage if you simply walk down the street quietly. Then other people are asking “why is there a crowd? are they marching for something?”.
Take France for example – when they protest about something, they do it properly! They don’t apply for permission to protest or to go on strike; they just do it. They create a mess for days and days and they normally get their point across very well – both in the media and with the government.
In England the government is walking all over us in this so called “democracy”. If you look up the meaning of “democracy” it means “voice of the people”. When the people here say “we don’t want this”, the government usually don’t listen and they do it anyway. As with the student fees for example. That’s not a democracy in my eyes. Hince the riots at the student protests. They are angry; we are angry. Frustrated that we feel the government is not working for the people anymore. The taxes are rising at the same time they are cutting back on the same things the taxes should be used for (education and care being the most important ones), to then instead use for paying off some debt they have put us in.
My point is – a peaceful, quiet and “polite” demonstartion/protest is a lame one which no one will acknowledge and we should keep showing the government and everybody else that this is not ok.
Natty – I think you should support your fellow students, you’re all supporting the same cause. Some are just a little more passionate than others.
Yes, that’s the reason I don’t fancy any sort of demonstration, not only student protest but G20, climate change etc, etc. It is great that you have a opportunity to let your voice heard, but should have a manner. At the end of the day, tax is spent for cleaning up the aftermath – it is a waste. I am sure that many students marched peacefully and in a good manner, but unfortunately, media prefers more sensational scenes – that’s a big trap. It is a pity, if other people have bad image on students because of some bad apples’ bad behaviors, and it damages the students’ voices as a result. Psychologically, people don’t get a good impression from angry people – if you want to gain people’s heart, the best way is to be as reasonable as possible and more than that, tear jerking stories and messages will definitely work better.
“On occasions of media photos and TV footage, they show big smiles with peace signs or waves hands – no seriousness whatsoever. At the meeting place, they just dance with music or chit-chat with their friends, and leave beer cans, food packages, cigarette butts and trash all over. How do they believe they can earn our sympathy by acting like ASBOs?! All what I feel is they just do this for fun, or because they can’t buy the latest stuffs at Topshop or can’t have fun at a pub or a night club. They should behave better if they want to win people’s heart!”
The rubbish left behind happens at all protests, although i think people shouldn’t leave a mess, even at the “make poverty history” march there was a huge mess. I would say thoses who would worry about not being able to buy clothes at Topshop are not the types who go to protests! XD I feel like the rioters are giving us students a bad name, i’m sorry! Even though i am agaist the raising of the cap on tution fees i think violence is wrong. We students should follow in the footsteps of peaceful protesters like Martain Luther King Jr. or Nelson Mandela if we want the MP’s on our side.
p.s. About the making an irrataing noise with drums and such, if that is near your home you should call the police to make it stop!! That kind of noice tends to come with protests, it’s a kind of tradition, but that shouldn’t mean people should be allowed to annoy people in their homes!!
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