Are the G20 frightened? Are the city workers frightened, with the howling, laughing mob under their windows screaming for them to jump?

They should be.

Very nicely written piece but – whoah there horsewoman!

Although I am not a “city worker” I both live and work within 500m of Bank.
There was nothing whatsoever today to be frightened about.
Half the crowd were journalists.
And even Russell Brand turned up at one point – wow, scary!
Other than the ritual bit of broken glass, the whole thing was a damp squib.

Just how heavy has the policing been? Reports vary, from the heavy-handed to the outright appalling.

Well Laurie.

I can honestly say I have rarely read such hobby horseshit in my life.

Grow up please. The demo was a disaster.

Not sure protests are ever that effective myself. Worth doing as they will always sway some opinions, but whether they will ever sway a) enough or b) more than the alternatives are both questions which are sensible to ask.

It may be rubbish but beautifully written rubbish

Rather a nice contrast to Sunny’s account!

Looks to me like a bunch of people demonstrating to each other how much they care, and how much they agree with each other.

“…and how much they agree with each other.”

Demonstrating collective grievance and ambition, eh? How utterly…sensible.

“Just how heavy has the policing been? Reports vary, from the heavy-handed to the outright appalling…”

Let’s just say that they were fairly intent upon not being the next Sergeant Howie…

I’ve just returned shaken and appalled at the policing tactics employed at the G20 protests in the City.

It is only thanks to my NUJ press pass that I managed to (eventually) escape the terrifying crush imposed by aggressive police. By that point I had spent at least two hours rammed in with other peaceful protesters, bursting for the loo and battling against a resurgence of a phobia of being trapped in tight crowds.

Before the police cordon around the roads leading to the Bank of England was implemented, I (along with another Haringey Green) had already decided not to proceed any further into the protest as it was becoming clear that the police had one thing in mind – to pen everyone in. However, when we tried to retrace our steps and move away from the crowds, we were prevented from doing so by a row of officers who ordered us to ‘move on’, aggressively pushing my colleague in the process.

Mob mentality always puzzled me. To express your views on issues is something that should be encouraged, but when you put that many people into the same place, things can get out of hand too easily. I kinda like the trend of ‘virtual protesting’ that quite a few folks are adopting. That way, you have something tangible and the ideas could actually be developed.

See: http://www.newsy.com/videos/g20_protesters_take_to_the_streets/

Yes, TDoc – I’m reminded of Inspector Kemp’s riot warning to the frightened villagers in ‘Young Frankenstein’ (starts at 07:00)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qil3iFpgWdM&feature=related

Just watched the news and the main story regarding the protests was to do with attacks on property and fights between masked demonstrators and police. Nothing about any symbolism or horses or anything.

I’m sick of heavy handed policing and the extension of police powers in this country – but quite frankly I think they were reacting quite reasonably in resisting the attempts of the few idiots who thought damaging property was a valid form of protest.

As I recall, the ‘Old Religion’ of ‘The Wicker Man’ was invented by Lord Summerisle’s father in order to control the local peasantry, and the crops were destined to fail whether they gave the cop the martyrdom he craved or not.

Still, don’t let that spoil your fun.

Actually, it turns out that that whole entire thing was just a film, and never really happened at all. Hobby horses did and still exist, though.

By contrast, I am increasingly sceptical about the wisdom of these sorts of demonstrations.

My moment of revelation was probably when I was on the Summer 2006 march calling for Israel to stop bombing Lebanon. I suddenly realised that a lot of the people around me were claiming “We are all Hezbollah”, when I most certainly wasn’t.

It is difficult for a mass protest to translate into specific policy demands and it’s often the loudest (and maddest) people who dominate the protest’s image.

This has been a major problem with the recent G20 protests. I’m not entirely sure what the protestors want. Are they wanting key issues to be discussed by the G20 leaders, or are they against the entire concept of the G20 meeting (as some of the nihilist anarchist bunch appear to be)?

As you say, it was slightly more clear that the Saturday marchers had a more realistic political agenda, but it was all still very muddled.

The end result is that the general public is going to remember this protest primarily for the tiny number of violent nutters who went with the express purpose of attacking the police and trying to storm a bank. Although I expect pictures of the drippy-hippy facepaint and juggling types will get printed in tomorrow’s papers and produce many a snort of derision and comment about “soapdodging crusties”.

There’s something about these sorts of protests that smacks of self-indulgence rather than genuine political reflection and engagement, and I don’t like that.

And of course there’s Russell Brand, a man recently deemed by many here to be lack the competance to talk about the celebrity of Jade Goody, but who is now an expert on economics and ecology.

Sorry but I can’t take a bunch of well-meaning people in silly costumes seriously. John O’Farrell in his amusing book “Things Can Only Get Better” summed it up perfectly – when the people see a bunch of middle class twats riding unicycles and wearing floppy missile costumes they’ll think “what a bunch of twats”!

I think the right-whingers have misjudged this one. Not to say anything about the rights & wrongs of the demonstration, which I won’t go into, just picking on the narrative.

In a normal year, you could write in the Fail & the Scum about how decent, upstanding bankers just like us have been victimised by left-wing scum, etc. etc. Indeed, the bloggertarians have been pushing this line.

But when you actually consider the fact that many who used to be in well-paid jobs are redundant & angry, many working-class people are seriously getting enraged at banker scum like Goodwin mocking them, & so on, it won’t wash any more.

These are not normal times, & even if I don’t agree with some vague aspiration towards “abolishing capitalism” or “DOING SOMETHING!” I’m glad to see people taking an interest & hope they will be engaged, both with conventional politics & with various campaigns aimed at bringing our lords & masters to account.

I believe in the liberal order, which probably most of these protestors don’t. But if they bring about a debate in this country & the uprooting & challenging of accepted practice, as we try to hammer out a conclusion as to how things should be done differently, they have scored. & I am glad to see the right-whingers wrongfooted.

Asquith, you are completely deluded. There were no enraged working-class people marching yesterday. I stood outside a pub near trafalgar Sq, as some of the Stop The War, Free Palestine, Free Sweets for Kids, rent a socialist mob strolled past. They were all middle-class students looking embarrassed as they were cat-called and jeered. Us working-class chavs had slipped away early from work to have a few beers before the England game (where incidently 90,000 people were singing God Save the Queen). We were laughing at you. You are a laughing stock. These demos are just a day out for students, tired worn out activists and soap-dodgers from seaside towns. Just think half the people out yesterday will be quaffing expensive wine in City/West End bars once they’ve graduated and got jobs with the big bad capitalists. The whole thing is hilarious!

is this a parody?

Chav, I wasn’t there. I live on a council estate in Stoke & can hardly just sod down to London, & even if I could I wouldn’t have wanted to. I don’t identify my interests with those of the protestors. I think they are rather incoherent. What I’m saying is that your sneering strikes the wrong tone with those who are losing their jobs in this recession (perhaps you know some such people, or perhaps not) & those who will lose their jobs in the years to come, including those well-connected students who won’t be able to get jobs in the City when it is shrunk to a realistic size & no longer reigns supreme.

All I’m saying is that you right-whingers can’t keep your man of the people acts up much longer, unless you feel like going into these pubs you frequent & talking about how good bankers are & how the rest of the country should kowtow to them.

What is it you actually fucking do for a living, if you’re that working-class?

If the only thing that people all agree on is that they dislike the current system, this is a boon for extremists of all kinds – communists, national socialists, libertarians etc.

Which of these systems would you prefer to see come to power?