Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Non-Violent Protest...Ur doin it right

From CNN:

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A protester who wanted his message to stick managed to superglue himself to the British prime minister Tuesday evening.

Dan Glass was at 10 Downing Street to receive a charity's award for his work on transportation issues when he staged the unusual protest.

Just before Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented him with the award, Glass squirted superglue in the palm of his left hand. He shook Brown's right hand and then grabbed the prime minister's sleeve.

"I've just superglued myself to your arm," Glass said he told Brown. "Don't panic. This is a non-violent protest."

Glass is affiliated with the group Plane Stupid, which campaigns against airport expansion and climate change. He said he acted to protest Brown's "hypocrisy" on the issues.

"I just wanted a few more minutes of his time to get the message across, because he's not listening to communities affected by airport expansion," Glass told CNN on Wednesday.

The prime minister managed to free himself in about 30 seconds, Glass said.

"He can shake off my arm, but he cannot shake away climate change," he added.

Glass also claimed that some people in the room actually applauded when they realized what has happening. "I think he [Brown] knew he was outnumbered on this issue," Glass said.

A Brown spokesman called the incident "minor" and "very lighthearted."

Glass said he was allowed to remain at the prime minister's residence for about 40 minutes after the event.

"I think Brown would have been humiliated further if an actual award winner had been ejected from the ceremony," he said.

Police filed no charges.

According to their website, the Plane Stupid group formed in 2005 inspired by the anti-roads protests in Britain during the mid-1990s.

The group -- which describes itself as non-partisan --is funded primarily by donations from individuals and organizations. Members are encouraged to take direct but non-violent action against the aviation industry, a sector they describe as "one of the root causes of climate change."

I absolutely LOVE this. In the U.S., this guy would have been tackled by the Secret Service and had the shit kicked out of him. In the U.K. however, it gets laughed off and the guy is able to um..."stick around" for awhile and get his statements heard. So...which one is the Land of the Free again?

1 comment:

Bexley said...

This is awesome. Yeah, in the People's Republic of America this guy would have gotten an epic tasering followed up by ritualized aggravated sodomy at Gitmo. The PM just rolling with it and giving this guy a private forum afterwards shows a level of class that is unknown in this country.