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Archie Grant looks at

Demonstrators and Demonstrations

Perhaps not the most widely known, but probably the best loved, of alt demonstrators was a man called Jesus. He came to a sad end, after being betrayed to the armed forces of the authorities, by a kiss from a friend who was probably the highest paid pan-time Security policeman in history. It is also perhaps fair to assume that another friend, who thrice denied Jesus, was the fore-runner of the modern social-democrats, who, almost universally, place expediency before principle.

Long before Jesus, in fact ever since men were first captured into slavery, there have been demonstrations by those who have been dispossessed of their freedom and the right to express themselves. Suppression is nothing new. Machiavelli merely restated something which had been known for centuries when he said, "Men must either be caressed or else annihilated: they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we must do a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance" and, so, down through the centuries, as one class succeeded another there has also developed organisations of those who willingly serve the existent ruling classes—the armies, the police, Churches, Judiciaries, Parliaments —and who, over the centuries have not wasted much time in caressing demonstrators, even over small injuries, but have moved in for the kill as all good Christian-Pagans should do. And that is what makes some demonstrations dangerous things to be in.

However, all demonstrations are Not Bad demonstrations. Some are good. For instance, when the Governments of the ruling classes have to brain-wash the multitude and spark off outbreaks of mass-insanity, during which sanity is regarded as treason, there is nothing, but nothing, more heart warming than the thud of the jack-boot in Berlin; the crash of the hob-nailed army hoot in Wellington, or the screams of Banzai in Tokyo. Then the ordinary pedestrian must stand aside, the motorist stall his car. Let us stand and cheer the King of Thailand, Marshall Ky of South Vietnam. L.B.J. of the U.S.A., as they sweep through the streets. The fact that this kind of honoured men and their good demonstrations have, in a brief 50 years, resulted in the murder of over 100,000,000 human beings does not matter. We have our compensations: a few more millionaires; a couple of Lords and a dozen more knighthoods; more medals for more generals; dawn parades to honour the dead and shrines for unknown soldiers. And, of course, many many more orphans and widows; much more destitution and want.

However there are Bad demonstrations. Bad demonstrations are those organised by students and workers. Students demonstrate because they want more say in the running of their universities; they demonstrate against the installation of Omega stations; they even dare to demonstrate their opposition to the war-like policies of honoured visitors. Worse, in their demonstrations some even dare to wear duffel coats; worse still, some wear beards and don't have their hair cut in the proper style—short back and sides. It was well of Mr Holyoake to remind the students in Auckland in June 1969 that "Often, too, demonstrators spill over into riots. This has not happened in New Zealand, because young New Zealanders are pretty responsible people". The compliment was well deserved because Mr Holyoake will no doubt remember that he damn near caused a riot, all by himself, in June 1968. The P.M. also did well to remind the students that "we must never forget that it is the people who foot the university bill."

The students shouldn't worry about that mild injunction because the people—the working people—foot every damn bill in New Zealand, including the P.M.'s salary.

However, again we have our compensations. Some months before L.B.J. was beaten by his Rasputin, Tricky Dick, we were advised by Time magazine that Lynda Bird (Lady Bird) Johnson had set a fashion for the "first" ladies of fashion in America by wearing two tiny bird cages with live birds in them as earrings; and, latterly, by the Christchurch Star that Princess Anne had grown from an "ugly duckling" into a "beautiful swan". Kathleen Szasz—a Hungarian writer also told us that "we will rejoice that to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the U.S.A. issued over a hundred million beautiful new stamps; and that, to commemorate the Human Rights Year (1968) issued the police forces with chemical spray, gas guns, dum-dum bullets and other sophisticated new weapons to be used against the nations "expendables".

Now for the workers: in an economic system, such as capitalism, there has to be no doubt that the working classes are to be assigned the lowly role of the producer whilst possessing only a token voice in the determination of policy. The ruling classes have always been prepared, and willing, to use force, to maintain this power relation. There has never been allowed any doubt about the role of the working class: it was to work hard and be obedient. The authorities have never been under any illusion of the dangers to their security of tenure which may arise from demonstrations and have always taken precautions and given ready illustrations of how far they are prepared to go to suppress dissident opinion.

In 1886 Herr Robert Victor Puttkammer, the Prussian Minister for Internal Affairs coined a now famous phrase "In every strike there lurks the hydra of revolution" and initiated a decree which actually banned workers strikes. Lenin posed the question "Does not the calling out of troops during strikes in all, even the most peaceful, the most "democratic" —save the mark—capitalist countries show how things will shape out in a really big crisis?"

Of course there should be demonstrations! It is necessary to educate people in discontent; to create historical circumstances in which the lower classes obtain standards of comparison by which they can judge their deprivation. More is required—the realisation is needed that oppression and poverty amidst plenty are neither God-given nor a necessary part of the other of nature, but are man-made and therefore amenable to change.

Schooling in independent action is required and the responsibility for such schooling falls upon the thinking and intelligent trade union worker, and his perhaps better educated partners, the university men and the student body. There should be a much closer relationship between the Trade unions and the universities. As Lenin said the bourgeois intelligentsia "is not an independent economic class, and therefore, is not an independent political force. . . ." Thus Lenin puts the intelligentsia squarely in the corner of the working class.

Ben Hecht said "Good people find it easier to believe in authority than to challenge it". Hecht could just as easily have referred to "good people" as the "amorphous mass".

Goethe was more correct when he said "A people no longer willing to expend their courage will be cowed".