Doctorkenyon’s Weblog

Gaza Peace Protests in London

Last night a close friend was telling me about his experiences taking part in the Stop the Gaza Massacre demonstrations held in London on Janruary 10. He said he’d had an inspiring time and the atmosphere had been electric with Muslims, Christians, old and young all marching alongside. He left the event elated.

He was very dissaponted to discover that the news coverage of the event over the next few days didn’t show an accurate portrayal of his experiences at all. It concerntrated on what he believed to be one or two isolated instances of violence or trouble when generally the protest had been peaceful. He didn’t read or watch any mention of the politicians, celebrities or church members that spoke at the rallies, instead he saw the same old tired images of riot police walking the streets and angry young men shouting.

I think it’s a shame if the overall message and experience of the event has been lost because violence and anger sells more papers.

Looking for news coverage of the event myself, I’ve found what seem to be more balanced articles online, in particular some user generated content seems to capture both the peaceful and tense moments of the marches well.