Rupert Murdoch, it seems to appear, is the epitome of everything that freedom and democracy are not. From his newspapers or TV channels that attempt to the twist the political agenda of whichever country they are operating in to suit Murdoch's personal agenda, to the intimidation of workers who wanted to form an independent union that could operate in the places of work that he lords it over; from the unashamed tax dodging operations that not only avoided being classed as illegal but actually conformed to the laws that he and his kind subverted for their own gain, to the demonisation of ordinary working people to make them appear to be the enemy, when in fact it is Murdoch himself who should be identified as such.
For myself his character is summed up by the ugly covers produced by his primary UK tabloid, the Sun: such as "Gotcha!", the eulogising of the murder of Argentinian sailors who posed no threat to the British blockade of the Falkland Islands during the war to reclaim that territory in the early 1980s, or the "Will the last person to leave Britain please turn the lights out (or to put it another way You'd Better Vote the Way I Tell You To)" before the 1992 General Election. Or the ugliest cover of all (for me), the one that screamed "The Truth", before going on to tell bare faced scurrilous lies about the conduct of the supporters who had suffered in the worst disaster that befell British football since the wars. For all these reasons and more I felt extremely strongly about this cause and knew I had to be part of it and bear witness. The fact that it was taking place within a few minutes walk of where I work made my attending of this event as easy as it was imperative.
With this in mind I arrived at the site (the protest was being held in the "valley" between the Shard and the News Building, opposite London Bridge Station) on Monday evening at around 6.30 in the evening, full of curiosity at what I might find. At that point there weren't that many people there. It was a windy, cold and rainy evening, and I'd just missed the speaker who was due to address the crowd (Shahrar Ali, deputy leader of the Green Party). However I did pick up two important things from this first night's activity:
1) There is now a Code of Conduct that governs behaviour during any direct action that Occupies Spaces. This revolves around mutual respect, sobriety and non-violence towards your fellow occupiers, any observers whether they are sympathetic to your cause or not, and representatives of the authorities including the police. This code of conduct is very important I feel because ultimately, whatever "uniform" we may wear, we are all part of the "99 per cent" (i.e. the part of the population that does not comprise the elite/super rich/robber barons/choose - your own description). In this context we are united by what we have in common far more than anything that may divide us.
2) Occupy Rupert Murdoch have created a rough list of suggestions as to how the Press could be democratised and given true independence from monied interests and corporate advertising in order to give it some semblance of objectivity.
It was these two points that dominated our first assembly on that Monday night. The new "Independent" press framework was very much in its infancy at this stage and I'm glad to say I was able to contribute to the discussion on how its "rough edges" could be "smoothed". It was a very interesting and thought provoking discussion, and I was so absorbed in it, standing there in the wind and the rain, that I barely noticed that I was becoming ill.
This meant that, alas, I missed most of the subsequent days (aside from a quick "hello" on Tuesday when I dropped off some Jaffa Cakes for sustenance). When I went back for my next 'proper' visit on the Friday evening the wind and rain returned with me. But I did turn up in time to see Des Freedman do his thing, and experience a curious moment of synchronicity. I had been on the underground earlier that day reading a book about "The Bully from Tom Brown's Schooldays" and an organisation called "The Chartists" were mentioned. The Chartists were the first to put press freedom to the front of the agenda in British politics. This was the first time I had learned about about this movement, and in the book they were a bit of a confounded nuisance to the leading character (who is a professional upper class bounder). However I found their mention fascinating as I am very interested in the roots of what we would call socialism or left libertarianism, and the Charters appeared to be an important landmark in this history. Des Freedman addressed the Occupiers, and gave us a history lesson about... The Charters. It's funny how these coincidences come up.
Since I wasn't 100% yet, I had to leave after this address, but I swore that I would return the next day, the day when Occupy Rupert Murdoch would truly live up to its billing.
28th March 2015
I missed the "People's Trial of Rupert Murdoch" which is a pity as it sounded very entertaining, but arrived in time to see the tail end of some musical entertainment. People were waiving Anarchy flags and there was a feeling of expectancy in the air. At this point the event was still taking place in the little public square opposite London Bridge and the Shard - but it wouldn't be for long.
After the music finished the Code of Conduct was read out again, and Donnachadh McCarthy, the organiser of the event, made sure that everyone who was to take part in the direct action that was about to ensue listened, understood, and agreed with this Code of Conduct. After this we marched towards the heart of Rupert Murdoch's demesne - our intention was to knock on the door, and, see if we could gain entry.
The number of security guards and police lining the doorway of the News Building let us know that our presence was not welcome.
However, the protesters were not to be denied, and while the police and security guards were distracted by the main body of protesters marching up to the front door, they didn't see a couple of "insurgents", including Donnachadh himself, sneaking in behind them, having scaled a wall and come at the entrance from a different direction. Once they did spot the "intruders" that had been stealing in a different way, the police and security guards moved to bar their entry and began to struggle with them. It was at this point that the main group (us) pushed against the line surrounding the News Building; and for a few moments pandemonium ensued.
I stood in front of the line of police and security guards, and saw that apart from a bit of pushing and shoving, no violence was taking place. A couple of people did look like they would lose their heads at one point, but they were quickly removed by the protest leaders, and the moments of chaos culminated in all of us peacefully sitting down, linking arms, and beginning to chant "Peace! Love! Respect!"
Things settled down somewhat now, and speeches began by the protesters, as the loudspeaker was passed from person to person. Poems were recited, songs were sang by one or two people or by all of us, and testimonies were exchanged, engendering a feeling of togetherness as the police looked on. I believe the non-violent tactics of the protest leaders were very effective that night; and also the fact that Donnachadh was at pains to stress that the police were also part of the "99%"and so our battle was not with them. And eventually at around midnight, the police withdrew from the scene of the protest, to much cheering and celebration from those that were taking part.
By now we were down to the "hard core" of activists who were prepared to stick it out for the night.
Two events broke up the night - first Russell Brand popped by to wish us well, and he turned out to be a very nice chap who knew his football. About an hour after that some guy appeared and started to (attempt) to hand out warnings (via a very unofficial and hastily assembled looking notice) that we were trespassing on private property. Nobody took the flyer that he was trying to hand out, and after having "Peace! Love! Respect" chanted at him continuously for a while, he skulked off.
I didn't really get any sleep. The wind howled through the skyscrapers that surrounded us, sometimes threatening to blow away the little tents that sat defiantly in the front of the mighty News Building. As morning dawned, I could see the workers being ushered into an alternative entrance to the building (we never pretended this was anything more than a symbolic protest).
And so my experience ended. They were still planning for another day's protest when I left them to it mid morning on 29th March.
So what did I learn from the experience of Occupy Rupert Murdoch?
I learned (and still am learning) about the truly damaged state of British democracy.
I learned that there are people of real courage and integrity prepared to stand up to the forces causing that damage.
I learned (and still am learning) that there is something we can all do to play our part in this struggle.
I learned that I have so much still to learn.
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I met some very inspiring people during the brief time I spent protesting with them. And I didn't take pictures of any of them. Because I'm crap like that. However I did take a lot of pictures of banners! A selection of them can be seen with this blog.
I have taken two photographs from the Occupy Rupert Murdoch week records. I hope the good people who made it happen will not mind.
Links
http://occupythemedia.org.uk/ - The main website for the Occupy Rupert Murdoch Protest
http://www.theprostitutestate.co.uk/index.html - The book I'm currently reading, written by Occupy Rupert Murdoch organiser Donnachadh McCarthy. And an eye opener to be sure.
https://www.facebook.com/?_rdr#!/groups/610896625686974/?fref=ts - Occupy the Media Billionaires. The Facebook space for the group for people willing to help out in the battle against the corporate interests that threaten our future.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1542806512652040/ - Occupy Democracy May Event - The struggle for real democracy continues. Get involved!
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