Today Libya celebrated its liberation from Gaddafi's dictatorship. It is a nation that has suffered under a brutal tyranny designed to entrench the leadership, and a people that for too long have been denied freedom. But today Libya is a nation that looks forward to the future and the hope of democracy. While the people remember their dead and the wounded recover, they are hopeful for better things; for simple things like the freedom to choose their leaders and freedom from the threat of death for descension. I celebrate the liberation of Libya and I celebrate the sacrifice that her people made to rebel against the rule of a corrupt man and his family.
How sad and how shameful that the Occupy protests that are taking place in London and cities in America should compare themselves with Libya and the Arab Spring.
I defend the right to protest and I applaud organisers of the OccupyLSX protest for how peaceful it has been. In recent years too many peaceful demonstrations have turned violent so it is a relief to see a well organised protest that is not aggressive in any way. However, I do take issue with this protest on a number of counts, the biggest of which is the association with the struggle of other nations where liberty and freedom are just words in a dictionary. If they think their campaign has any similarities with that of the Arab Spring, they need a wake-up call. Perhaps they should go a volunteer in Libya to get a taste of what revolution is really like.
These protests are Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Establishment, and Nihilistic. They offer no solution, no programme or suggestion for reform and many of the interviews that I have seen have revealed protestors views and reasons for joining in to be naive at best. It saddens me that these people can't see how fortunate they are. Here's a crazy idea, guys, why don't you get involved in politics - become a Local Councillor or an MP - and try to change society for the better? Or is that too much like hard work?
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