I went to Parliament Square in London on Monday to gauge the strength of resistance/outrage to the draconian legislation to be voted in on Tuesday (mandatory vaccination etc.). It wasn’t a great turnout in terms of numbers but significant enough given that it was a weekday.
Yesterday, I went into central London with no great expectations but when I arrived in Parliament Square shortly before 12 noon was nevertheless disappointed. There didn’t seem to be many more there than on Monday, in spite of it being a Saturday.
I walked around meeting and talking to people, taking photographs and giving cards out. I was encouraged by the diversity and understanding of the people I spoke to, including Jill and Tony in the image above; there were many others. While engaging in conversations, I became conscious that the numbers were building.
As time passed, it became harder and harder to move around the square, particularly at the junction between Parliament and Whitehall. It took me a number of phone calls and much manoeuvring through the crowd to find George who I’d not seen for a while; George introduced us to the work of Dawn and David earlier in the year.
Sometime after George and I met up and had talked to a number of old friends and new acquaintances, the crowd seemed to sense that it was time to march. The crowd morphed into a procession down Victoria Street. It didn’t seem to be planned but the obvious thing to do.
Once we were a short way down Victoria Street, it became clear that we were part of a huge crowd and the positive energy was both invigorating and infectious. I’ve been on many demonstrations over the last 20 years and have never felt anything like this. The nearest I’ve ever come to such an experience was when I went to the only major football match I’ve attended (I don’t follow any spectator sport). It was in the Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid in 1982, England versus Spain. The sensation when I entered the stands was “electric”; I couldn’t describe it any other way. Yesterday, that feeling of electric vibration was even greater but embracing a purpose that united everyone, irrespective of their circumstances or perspectives.
The reason I’m writing this article is to say something quite simple but so rich in meaning that I can’t begin to explain it in words. It was a feeling that was shared by many in the crowd.
Yesterday, the tide turned. We are winning this war.
This feeling has been growing among many and yesterday was a milestone on our journey of self-discovery and acquisition of autonomous but interdependent power. The power of self-organisation.
Progress will not be linear. There will be setbacks and more casualties along the way but know this. we will win this war. The forces that would enslave and kill us cannot prevail over this rising tide of energy and awareness.
Update
“WE WILL NOT COMPLY” | London Marches for Freedom 18/12/2021 | Oracle Films (video 7 minutes 26 seconds)