I visited the tented village yesterday

Did all the people who took part in the Arab spring have one voice? Do movements normally have one voice? Did the women's liberation movement only have one voice? Is one voice always necessary to bring about change? JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

Lavadis. I think that you're confusing a single voice with a common cause. The Arab spring did not have a single voice. Yes, they all wanted to remove dictators but not all for the same reason. In Egypt, liberals were protesting beside religious right wingers. Furthermore, the women's lib movement didn't and still doesn't have a single voice. Germaine Greer and Camille Paglia, for instance, are both outspoken feminists but their opinions differ on a great number of issues. Did they share a common cause? Yes. Did they speak with a single voice? No. JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

Lavadis, I prefer to look at it the other way round. Perhaps these protesters are just the first wave of something larger. It's early days yet and change takes time. Perhaps,in time more waves will come and in time, the waves will wear down and wash away the old order. JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

But, Lavadis, the protest has got so much media attention. Ordinary people all over the country know about it and there are similar protests in America and other parts of the world. If it's a puddle then its a puddle that stretches across the Atlantic and a puddle that is known about throughout the world. If by 'not being heard', you mean that those in power won't listen then you could say the same thing about so many peaceful protests. Even protests that have united voices are often ignored by those in power. For example, I went on a march against the Iraq war. It didn't make alot of difference. I marched in the "Make Poverty History" march and it didn't make poverty history but I'm still optimistic that the more people see these demonstrations in the media or read about them in the paper, the more they will feel encouraged to join the demonstrations or start demonstrations of their own. JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

This reminds me of Marlon Brando in "The Wild One" Girl: What are ya rebelling against, Johnny? Marlon: Whaddya got. Disatisfaction, I think, might be the thing that links them together. A feeling that they have no voice, perhaps and that such a protest is the only way they can make their individual grievances heard. I think that the 60's is a good example of people coming together and rebelling for lots of different reasons. Some rebelled against the government; some against war, some against inequality but some just rebelled against stuffed-shirt conservatism and conformity. I don't think its true that people all have to be protesting for the same reason to make a difference. But, most importantly, to me is that they're out doing something. As a teenager in the 90's, I felt that there was enormous apathy and lethargy and I hoped and dreamed for a time when people would again feel motivated and have some courage to go out and make a statement of any kind so I'm not really complaining if they're all there to gripe about there own problems. It annoys me more when I hear so many people on the internet who sound so conservative. Like old ladies in pinnies and curlers complaining about hippies and their loud music or 'coloureds' moving into the neighbourhood. Over the past few decades the world has become a much squarer place. People think their non-conformists but they're so critical of anyone actually doing anything unconventional. So, it makes my heart feel glad when I see the tents. I'm a romantic and they make me feel much more hopeful for the soul of humanity. JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

FTSE, People got misty eyed about classical Rome and Greece and then the Renaissance happened. Even if all you said was true (Which it isn't because the 60's saw many radical social changes take place and that is just a historical fact), what's so great about now? The nineties and the naugtees were deeply uninspiring. Why not look back? I think a good idea would be to scrap Poppy day and start a Hippy Day instead so that we could commemorate all the battles fought in the 60's for freedom of speech and expression without which ABCtales. com would be a much duller website. It's not just the 60's either. It's the 50's/40's/30's/20's and even the turn of the century. They were all more exciting than now. You may tell me that the 1920's was not all flat chested flapper girls in cloche hats doing the charleston, gangsters, speakeasy's, jazz music and silent movie stars but it seems more beautiful than the age I'm living through and it inspires me. JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

Civil rights protests DID bring about change. Furthermore, Greenpeace and Friends of The Earth , which both started in the 70’s, grew out of 60’s political activism and have both had significant success in helping to protect the environment. Not every Hippy became a Yuppie. Also, a causes ‘rightness’ is not dependent upon whether it is won or lost. If the Germans had won WW2 would that have made opposing the Nazi’s any less worthy a cause? As to what you say about freedom of speech prior to the 60’s. It’s simply not true. Here’s a link to an article on the History Today website on The Lady Chatterly Trial which contains examples of just how rigid censorship was before the 60's: http://www.historytoday.com/geoffrey-robertson/trial-century-lady-chatte... JoHn - "Ex amore victoria". ("From love comes victory".)

what a bunch of rubbish you've written here. when a movement identifies with 99% of western populations, they're hardly calling for the downfall of capitalism(there are always a few radicals and that's okay, too, so long as they're peaceful.) and the protests have been very impactful and peaceful; this government message that the protests need to be shut down because of a few deaths across a vast country of millions, only one of which had any particular connection to the protests(the veteran and his suicide,) is patently absurd. The uniting thread of these protests is a feeling that our economic/political situation is unfair, corrupt, and cruel. And many solidly middle class people formerly inclined to ultimately discount such views have changed their minds because they've been swindled of their retirements while their tax money has been given to bankers for bonuses.

Interesting mention of Greenpeace, who recently succeeded in getting a European court to ban stemcell research. Genius, that's exactly what people who fund greenpeace want isn't it, an end to medical research, nobody's feeling remotely betrayed. As for the tented village, what it represents is anger and a failure of the democratic system to represent a significant portion of the popultation. Having said that, as someone who works in campaigns, it is annoyingly vague. It reminds me of the Viv Stanshall quote, "I don't know what I want, but I want it now"