Protesting

[Safiya]

I've seen a lot of posts on here where people seem upset/outraged/downright annoyed etc about things such as immigration, use of the human rights act and similar things. If you feel strongly about something do you make a stand and protest/petition or whatever about it or do you just sit at home and moan and complain about it?

[Mosaic]

How do you know that they don't?

[bednobs]

do you not also see all the posts about people who've been arrested while protesting?

[sara3]

bednobs, you don't mean those fairytales in Law, do you? ;o)

[Safiya]

I don't know what people do mosaic that's why I'm asking.

That's their own fault if they can't protest peacefully bednobs.

Not been in law sara, might go have a look :)

[sara3]

I wouldn't, Safiya.. I don't know how old you are but it's like a bumper version of Jackanory! (you may be too young/old to remember)

[Safiya]

I vaguely remember it, I will give it a miss :-)

[jackthehat]

I went on quite a few protest marches when I was younger.

They didn't have much impact, if I'm honest, but I always felt that at least I had tried to make a difference rather than just sat about muttering.

[jno]

I went on an anti-Vietnam war protest once when a US bigwig came to town. Didn't think it would do much good. Years later I read in his memoirs that he'd been shocked to find anger at the war had spread so far afield, and it did make him change his mind and his policies. I can no longer remember who it was though (not LBJ or anyone like that.) So that's cheering: I made a difference.

[Sqad]

Never been on a protest march in my life.......the great unwashed did a great job in my absence. Too busy studying and working for the good of man.

[andy-hughes]

Actually, I do neither.

Since my hospitalisation with psychosis twenty od years ago, I have completely re-arranged the way i deal with life.

First and foremost, I only devote any mental energy whatsoever to things that I can affect directly or indrectly - and the rest, i simply blank out.

Notions of imigration, Human Rights Act abuses etc., belong firmly in the second catagory.

I know that there is any argument for 'If everyone thought like you ...' which is valid, but i can only live my life, and my mental health has been extremely hard won, and keeping it requires contsant maintenance, so i don;t get myself worriied about things i cannot alter.

Similarly, i never join in the 'moan-fests' at which two or more Brits are such willin participants, and experts, it's just a waste of time, and makes people miserable.

I concentrate on the good things in my life, of which there are many, and put my energy into those.

[Safiya]

Thats great jno :) Im like jack in that the ones I went on didn't make much impact but at least I felt I had tried.

[Sqad]

Andy


<<<First and foremost, I only devote any mental energy whatsoever to things that I can affect directly or indrectly - and the rest, i simply blank out. >>>

I agree with that philosophy......"only worry about things that you can do something about"


<<<Similarly, i never join in the 'moan-fests' at which two or more Brits are such willin participants, and experts, it's just a waste of time, and makes people miserable. >>.

Disagree with you there, as I can see nothing wrong with the "heated " debates that are common on AB.........amusing, releases tensions and one learns a lot about oneself....for good or bad.

[andy-hughes]

Sqad - actually, as you know, I am more thanhappy to pitch in with the AB debates, but they fall outside the remit of 'moan fests' to which I referred.

These are the conversations when people are face-to-face and almost without exception, matters turn to negativity - immigrants / wars / ecconomy / future - and they are generic and pointless.

Specific questions argued with intelligence and passion - as on here - are totally different, and i am all for them.

[Sqad]

andy...LOL......I know........but life and AB are just not like that.....;-)

[Old_Geezer]

All very well, but with the number of things authorities mess up who has the will to spend their life attempting to put right that which those in power shouldn't have screwed up in the first place ? Not for just one area but for umpteen different subjects. Want to make life more miserable ? Then spend it all stressfully trying to sort out the mess of other's who are affecting us all. What an attractive proposition. Isn't it better to voice objections and hope those in a position to do something takes notice ? It's the only real alternative to banging your head against a brick wall to find you don't even make a dent. Only fanatics seem to have any sway, and who wants to be one of those?

Personally I write to my MP occassionally, usually I get a nice response, I can't think of much that has changed because of the nice response though.

[andy-hughes]

The findamental problem Old_Geezer, is that to be in a positin where you can actually make a change, you have to have already proved that you like things exactly as they are!

Hence - I am unlikely ever to rise to the post of Defence Secretary, because I have fundamental issues connected with killing people that would prevent me from carrying out the tasks required - and so on and so on ...