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RIP Brian Haw
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Posted 11 months ago #
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Sad to hear of the death of someone who stood up for his beliefs and principles despite the best efforts (and some dubious tactics) of the Police, Parliament and various London authorities to stop his protests. Perhaps some of our politicians could learn something from him.
RIP
Posted 11 months ago # -
Notean
Posted 11 months ago # -
Not being harsh as i thought this every time i had to drive his peace camp. It was a disgrace it looked filthy and what must the tourists have thought. What did he think he would achieve? Has anything been achieved by a passive protest. If the Government had climbed down in anyway it would only have been for the eyesore to be removed. It was like a Jimmy Boyle or Maze prison protest.
Posted 11 months ago # -
" Has anything been achieved by a passive protest." the name gandhi springs to mind
Posted 11 months ago # -
Gowan alba23, be harsh. I'd love to hear it. Don't hold back.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Did Gandi just sit there looking dirty?I thought he led protests and strikes against the brittish. All non violent, did a bit off violence not happen after the brittish left? And I'm Scottish not brittish so nor proud of the old empire. I didn't go to Uni and cant be bothered to google so I'm pre paired for the Internet police to abuse me.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Why is being British or Scottish got anything to do with the old empire?
Posted 11 months ago # -
Why would it not ? My step father (scottish) and father inlaw ( English) are very proud of The Brittish Empire and hate what the Uk has become.my comment was meant as a sweetener if any body thought i was being negative or even racist towards Gandi as I am not proud of what was achieved. badly worded post to an Internet forum and all hell breaks loose.hope this makes sense if not I'll delete myself
Posted 11 months ago # -
If he managed to make one other person think about how ridiculous war is then he achieved something.
Posted 11 months ago # -
That is sad news. I now remember going past his protest a few years ago. My Uncle who I was staying with commented that he had been there a considerable time. Remembering the day, I have dug out the image. I just had to take a photo of him and the camp as he just sat there staring (he is just to the left of the yellow and blue tent). I recall being mesmerised by it all. I can't say his protest looked untidy though, as the photo proves.
It is sad that he spent his final years on a pavement struggling to fight the minds of governments that don't give a sh1t.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62438453@N05/5849755745/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Posted 11 months ago # -
It was a disgrace it looked filthy
Brian Haw's protest never looked "filthy" to me.
and what must the tourists have thought.
Maybe something along the lines of, "not everyone supports the actions of the government" ?
Posted 11 months ago # -
alba23 - Member
Not being harsh as i thought this every time i had to drive his peace camp. It was a disgrace it looked filthy and what must the tourists have thought. What did he think he would achieve? Has anything been achieved by a passive protest. If the Government had climbed down in anyway it would only have been for the eyesore to be removed. It was like a Jimmy Boyle or Maze prison protest.The actions of those that tried to remove him through illegal means were disgraceful. How dare he not toe the line and just get on with it!
Posted 11 months ago # -
Ah, Brian Haw. There's a thing, I was reading about him only yesterday.
http://gimpyblog.wordpress.com/2011/06/19/brian-haw-and-the-false-cures-of-quackery/
Short version, he eschewed cancer treatments after a bunch of nobbers packed him off to Germany to have bicarbonate of soda injections instead.
Posted 11 months ago # -
And I'm Scottish not brittish so nor proud of the old empire.
shame when so many of your predecssors were so actively engaged in building it
Posted 11 months ago # -
" Has anything been achieved by a passive protest." the name gandhi springs to mind
Hardly. Peaceful and passive aren't the same thing.
Posted 11 months ago # -
If he managed to make one other person think about how ridiculous war is then he achieved something.
That would be a great payback for 10 years work, that's be a real target to aspire to.
Posted 11 months ago # -
that's be a real target to aspire to.
Despite your ridicule, it is indeed a target to aspire to. If everyone who recognised the futility of pointless war managed to convince just one other person, then the eventual result would be an overwhelming majority. It simply requires everyone to match that target.
Posted 11 months ago # -
It wasn't pointless, lots of people made lots of money.
Posted 11 months ago # -
The Military Industrial Complex is pointless.
Posted 11 months ago # -
proper inspiration -
nothing but respect from me
the way succesive governments and borris tried to boot him out was a disgracePosted 11 months ago # -
the futility of pointless war
So you agree some wars aren't pointless? Maybe there are wars that are necessary?
Mr Haw, 62, set up a camp in London's Parliament Square in 2001 in protest against UK and US foreign policy.
So he sat on his arse for ten years and did nothing? Paid no taxes, didn't contribute to society etc, just sat there and protested against something as broad reaching and generic as 'US and UK foreign policy'?
Sorry exactly which parts did he have the problem with?
Posted 11 months ago # -
There's a book called 'I fought the law' by Dan Kieran which tells, amongst other things, some of Brian Haw's story. It's quite a good read.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Sorry exactly which parts did he have the problem with?
I'm sure he'd have been happy to tell you if you'd asked him, but it's a bit late now.
RIP
Posted 11 months ago # -
Despite your ridicule, it is indeed a target to aspire to. If everyone who recognised the futility of pointless war managed to convince just one other person, then the eventual result would be an overwhelming majority. It simply requires everyone to match that target.
Irrespective of views on the war, I think it's a waste of anyone's life sitting for 10 years on a protest, the Iraq war had finished and sanctions lifted, go home and get on with what's left of your life. Maybe he couldn't face going back to real life after all that time, like people in prisons and institutions who worry about fitting into a normal life on release. He become a target for ridicule by not knowing when to call it a day IMO. He could have achieved more with his time and made more of a difference to peoples lives by doing other things in 10 years.
Posted 11 months ago # -
It was a disgrace it looked filthy and what must the tourists have thought.
Who gives a flip what the tourists think? Not me. London's my home town. It's what I think and anyone who is opposed to the senseless slaughter of innocent people in pointless wars that matters. Sorry, but forget the tourists. As a Londoner, I was very happy to see Brian and others standing up for what they believed in, and making their voices heard publicly. That's Democracy after all, no?
didn't contribute to society etc
So, what exactly have you contributed to society that's more significant than Mr Haw's campaign?
RIP Brian. Good on yer feller. We need more like him, and less whinging cowards who sit on their arses consuming and do bugger all to help Humanity.
Posted 11 months ago # -
So, what exactly have you contributed to society that's more significant than Mr Haw's campaign?
Er how about the large amounts of tax I've paid that allows for education, social welfare, the NHS, the wages of everyone who works in the public sector etc.
Then there are the seven years I spent as a volunteer working with deprived children in South London.
Then there was the aid missions to a war zone (Nagorno Karabach) where I was part of a team distributing food and medical supplies to remote villages that had been cut off because of the fighting.
And now I'm a father to my son, the future generation, and a husband to my wife.
Now, do I get an OBE and an obituary?
Posted 11 months ago # -
So, mostly no more than loads of other people then. Hats off to the aid missions thing though, fair play. More than I've ever done. Was that as an aid worker?
As for the father bit; Mr Haw fathered seven children. So trumps you there.
Pretty petty and disrespectful swipe at someone who dedicated a big chunk of their life to try to raise awareness of the destruction caused by Western Imperialism. Where did that come from? Jealousy at the lack of recognition for your own efforts? Just seems a bit bitter, mate.
His campaign was pretty significant. I'd say that was a pretty decent contribution to society.
Posted 11 months ago # -
No not jealousy at all. I enjoyed every last minute of the things I've done to 'give back' even if some of them were pretty tough experiences.
The swipe comes from a genuine belief in a misguided view of the world (I really don't have much time for the 'Western Imperialism' bit, but that's a whole other kettle of fish, which I'd be happy to debate over a beer).
No it comes more from a notion that it looks like this guy really did just sit outside Parliament for ten years because he didn't like the way the world worked. Well jeez, life's tough.
The aid mission? Yes I was a volunteer aid worker for about 4 weeks. Doesn't sound long but the war was actually still happening around us at the time so people weren't spending long there. It was 1994, shortly after the break up of the Soviet Union and a really nasty little ethnic conflict broke out in the encalve of Nargono Karabak. You can look it up. Baroness Caroline Cox, speaker to the House of Lords on human rights was the organiser.
Posted 11 months ago # -
TBH I don't actually want to argue this issue with you; I understand your views, think you've made some fair points, but I believe Brian Haws did make a positive contribution to society. As do many others, I'd guess.
So, praps best to agree to disagree.
Posted 11 months ago # -
Yep I think you're right. Good call.
Posted 11 months ago # -
....the Iraq war had finished and sanctions lifted, go home and get on with what's left of your life.
I can't speak on behalf of Brian Haw but I think it's fair to say that his anger was not solely concerning the suffering of the Iraqi people. Like the Stop the War Coalition, which he supported, Brian Haw was concerned with Britain's involvement in all the US initiated wars, and the US's quest for Full Spectrum Dominance. Plus future 'still to be fought' wars, such against Iran. The struggle against the new western hegemony is very far from over.
He become a target for ridicule
By whom..........Rupert Murdoch's war-loving publications ?
I didn't see Brian Haw as a figure of ridicule, I saw him as someone who commanded enormous respect. And I'm clearly not alone the Independent for example, saw fit to publish his pic on today's front page. According to an accompanying article in the Independent "in 2007, Brian was awarded the Channel 4 News award for Most Inspiring Political Figure of the Year". I wonder how that compares with Tony Blair ? .......what do you reckon Dobbo ?
geetee1972 - Member
So you agree some wars aren't pointless? Maybe there are wars that are necessary?
Yep, I am not a pacifist - I fully support wars of genuine liberation and against hostile foreign aggression, but that's about it. And only when all other alternatives to war have been fully exhausted and absolutely no other cause of action can be taken. Other than that, I oppose all wars.
Posted 11 months ago # -
[When you descend to insults you lose the right to have your view heard - Mod]
Posted 11 months ago # -
what my predecssors(your spelling)
Oh I see what you've done there......you've repeated his typo where he's missed out an "e", and drawn attention to it. So it makes him look "stupid" whilst you on the other hand are obviously very clever.
........yes clever you
Posted 11 months ago # -
alba23 - Member
And I'm Scottish not brittish so nor proud of the old empire. I didn't go to Uni and cant be bothered to google so I'm pre paired for the Internet police to abuse me.
so does that account for your feeble grasp of written english?
and did the scots and irish not constitute the largest number (not proportionally, but overall) of british citizens emigrating to the new lands of the empire?
Posted 11 months ago #
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