Well written account. Although i did not participate in the protest i did manage to get to OC around 6.30pm after work to see what was happening.
I was standing on the south side of OC when around 9pm the police in riot gear rounded up people that were not doing anything but jast standing still and herded them onto OC meanwhile another group pushed the remaining people including me back down Regent street probably to prevent us from seeing what was happening. One woman in the group that was surrounded looked like a tourist and was visibly distraught. I couldn't believe what i was witnessing, these people were treated like cattle. We can't let them get away with this, they are taking away our basic right to free assembly.
On my travels one policeman grabbed my arm and pushed me aside apparently because a police van was rounding the corner. I was standing on the pavement so there was no chance of me getting hit. This is what he said to me "d'you know how long it takes to get blood of tyres". I mean i didn't even look threatening, i had come straight from work.
I've never taking part in any protest but next year i plan on doing so!

There are three comments made in that make me realise exactly how clueless the whole thing yesterday was.

Firstly, the rucksack with "No Label" written on it. So, having no label on rucksack makes it OK? This suggests one of two thing - either it is a rucksack that had no label, or is one that had a label which was ripped off. Now, both of these would have been produced in the same place to similar conditions (although to keep costs even further down, the label-less one would probably be worse conditions). Your "no label" statement is hypocritical and is so lacking in intelligent thought, its frightening.

The second is the astonishing "six weeks notice" statement. So, six-weeks notice and therefore its OK to stop normal people's lives? Lest us not forget that the people of London had been given a year's notice of the violent actions of the protesters thanks to last year's displays. A year's notice of something the vast, vast, vast majority of people in London and across the country didn't want.

And the third comment concerning letting people know your feelings. No. No, you didn't. At no point did anyone get that group together and say "exactly what are we doing this for?". Oh yes, the usual suspects of Gap and MacDonald's is brought up, but what's the solutions? No one, but no one there ever brought out solutions or realistic changes (no, bringing down the government and causing anarchy is NOT a realistic solution). It was just a ragtag tiny minority who feel they have the right to cause panic, terror and inconvenience to the majority of people trying to lives their lives by their ideals.

I felt great empathy with Greenity Hall's experience yesterday. I was 'there' in 2000 and at the Criminal Justice Bill march in 1994. It is great to see people not being intimidated by the police tactics, it's just a pity that people have to stand up to it.

I spoke to a few people about 7.30pm round Oxford Circus and most were positive, even the Parisian tourist who was asking what it was all about.

Stay fluffy!

I am not an anarchist supporter. I am not an anti-capitalist. I did not attend the May Day protests in London. I do not subscribe to much of the rhetoric surrounding the justification for such mass-rallies.
In fact I own my own home, I drive a new car, I buy groceries in Sainsbury’s. I am a secondary school teacher. An agent for the state? Perhaps.
Until yesterday I had little more than a passing interest in the kind of drama one can expect at such gatherings of the masses. Aside from this morbid fascination in seeing something out of the ordinary on my TV, the whole proceedings held little interest for me.
However, this year I spent the afternoon of May 1st watching the events live on Sky News – corporate media. I watched with the expectation that the protestors would be vilified, their actions reported in the worst possible light and the police shown to be the saviours of society. Sky News made a valiant attempt at fulfilling my expectations, yet they say the camera never lies.

It’s true.

Much of the footage depicted skirmishes between the police and the people, in an effort to demonstrate the violence of the crowd. But that wasn’t what the viewer saw.

I saw large groups of tired, wet, cold people forced to stand outside in the same place for upwards of seven hours. I saw continued police intimidation of these people. I saw pressure applied to people who were doing little more than standing outside in the rain. I saw numerous instances of the police over-stepping the boundary of what constitutes ‘reasonable force’. I saw several people struck and injured as police tried to force 5,000 people into a space big enough for only half that number.
I was shocked. My faith in society shaken to the core. Is humanity dead? Are we living in a police state? What’s going on here? If the protestors are mindless thugs bent on destruction, and the police behaviour is worse, what is left?

But that’s not all.

Along with all of this police provocation, I also saw large groups of people who did not retaliate, despite enormous pressure to do so. I saw restraint in the face of extreme adversity. I saw, in these cold, wet, and tired individuals, strength of belief so strong and unshakeable that they did not have to resort to violence in order to assert themselves.

And all this from a corporate news channel!

What I want to say to all those people who kept their cool against all the odds is: I applaud you. Such strength is the clearest way to demonstrate your beliefs. The point of May Day is not to wreak havoc and destruction, but to stage a peaceful protest, which I am happy to report democracy grants us all the right to.
In addition to which, the average viewer such as myself, was left with the distinct impression that the police were going a little over the top. Overkill if you will. Where were these ‘mindless thugs’ that I had tuned in to watch? What on earth was all the fuss about?

As for me, my faith in humanity is restored and I may well run a class on bias in the media for my A level students. I don’t necessarily agree with the cause that was being fought for on May 1st, but I do believe in our inherent right to peacefully demonstrate.

If you do run that class for your students Jo check out:

www.mediachannel.org
www.undercurrents.org
www.peterwatkins.lt
www.johnpilger.com
www.alexcox.com

Kim, I have sneaking suspicion that it was me you were talking to ... three of us, one a French guy, me translating and telling him about what was going on, you explaining stuff to him, etc, by the lamp post... you in a green top... let me know.