Shiraz Socialist

…why it is that leftish demonstrations across Europe are populated, more often than not, by tens of thousands of trade unionists, whilst in the UK anti-war demos seem to be dominated by students and, more crucially, loons, goons and buffoons? There’s a place for all those I suppose, but really it would be nice to see something more substantive.

Looking around Saturday’s gathering in Manchester, the people who immediately stood out were the 9/11 rapper guy who was going on across a sound system about Tony Blair receiving anal sex from members of staff, a supply teacher member of Socialist Resistance telling an anecdote about someone punching a Spart on a previous demo, some pillocks from the “Clown Army”, dressed as… err… clowns in military uniform, some Maoists (with real Mao stuff!) and a woman with a placard saying “war kills animals too”.

I mean really, I do know that it takes all sorts, you can’t control who turns up on a demo, etcetera. However, when the right characterises the left as a gaggle of misfits who’d make a convention of Spock-ear-wearing Trekkies look politically credible, this is kinda what they’re talking about.