glennmac
Veteran Member
The first time I went to London, in 1969, I had the most impressive experience in cultural differences.
Remember, this was the time in the US of civil rights marches, racial hatred, anti-war marches and protests, student sit-ins and uprisings, Kent State, the Chicago Seven, police brutality, rubber bullets and water cannon used by police against demonstrators, mass jailings, violence, and riots in LA, Newark and elsewhere. The land of the first and second amendments.
So, I'm in Hyde Park on Sunday. I find Speaker's Corner. This is a corner of the park where for a few hours on Sundays anyone can stand on a speakers platform and say anything they want. Thousand of people are there, picknicking and listening to different speakers rant on about different subjects.
I was listening to a red-bearded fellow named Axel. He was orating as eloquently as anyone I have ever heard--all the time nipping from a quart of Scotch. His subject was a tirade against the police. How they abused people, intruded on liberty. He advocated uprising, revolution and violence. He was mesmerizing. The crowd was cheering and cheering. Some tried to heckle him but Axel devastated them with his brilliant rhetorical skills. The goverment must be overthrown, Parliament must be torn down brick by brick. This guy was serious. He sounded like a British Adolph ******. The crowd is screaming with both approval and hatred.
All of a sudden a Bobbie standing there catches Axel's eye and taps his watch. Axel stops in mid-sentence, says he'll continue next Sunday, and steps down from the platform. The crowd politely disburses.
One word leaped to my mind: CIVILIZED.
Remember, this was the time in the US of civil rights marches, racial hatred, anti-war marches and protests, student sit-ins and uprisings, Kent State, the Chicago Seven, police brutality, rubber bullets and water cannon used by police against demonstrators, mass jailings, violence, and riots in LA, Newark and elsewhere. The land of the first and second amendments.
So, I'm in Hyde Park on Sunday. I find Speaker's Corner. This is a corner of the park where for a few hours on Sundays anyone can stand on a speakers platform and say anything they want. Thousand of people are there, picknicking and listening to different speakers rant on about different subjects.
I was listening to a red-bearded fellow named Axel. He was orating as eloquently as anyone I have ever heard--all the time nipping from a quart of Scotch. His subject was a tirade against the police. How they abused people, intruded on liberty. He advocated uprising, revolution and violence. He was mesmerizing. The crowd was cheering and cheering. Some tried to heckle him but Axel devastated them with his brilliant rhetorical skills. The goverment must be overthrown, Parliament must be torn down brick by brick. This guy was serious. He sounded like a British Adolph ******. The crowd is screaming with both approval and hatred.
All of a sudden a Bobbie standing there catches Axel's eye and taps his watch. Axel stops in mid-sentence, says he'll continue next Sunday, and steps down from the platform. The crowd politely disburses.
One word leaped to my mind: CIVILIZED.
