The right way to share your message?
There’s a chap whose name I come across fairly often – Charlie Veitch, activist and head of the Love Police, a group who engage in various publicity stunts involving members of the public and police, and publish them online. This particular one left me fuming:
I want to like what Charlie Veitch is doing, and the point he is trying to make, but the more I see, the more I form the opinion that he’s a self-aggrandising buffoon who enjoys the sound of his own voice. It pissed me off to see how he fucked up some old man’s day just to prove a point. I know he’s trying to show that this is how governments are treating people, but why propagate the same behaviour in doing so? That guy probably went home extremely angry and upset because of how Charlie Veitch treated him.
I wonder what the other people who were troubled by Veitch that day actually took away from the experience – is his approach a good one?
At around 1:09 you can see the very angry guy standing in “the cage” with a big grin on his face as the rich people are let through the border.
I dunno, Dan. I think it’s reasonably effective. It may be a spot of bother, but the majority of people seem to understand that it’s not entirely serious, and that, actually, all they have to do is say, “Oh, don’t worry, I AM rich!” or something, and they’ll be waved through.
I think I’d probably find it thought-provoking in some way, although, as a public performance, there sadly appears to be very little context and statistical information given, so the reasons behind it might be a bit opaque.
I’m not sure it gets me too annoyed. I guess it makes me more annoyed that apathy about important issues is considered acceptable, so that people at large always want someone else to prove to them why they should care – as if you were a salesman rather than someone who’s just bringing something important to attention.
I guess, though, charity muggers annoy the hell out of me, and it might be argued there’s a similar principle at work there, so maybe I’m being inconsistent. I’d want to argue that charity mugging – and institutional charities – are not particularly effective ways of combating real world problems, whereas I see awareness raising activities as more direly needed. But I might be susceptible to argument on this point.
On a side note, I admire greatly your tracks on important issues. Thanks for them. Your Wikileaks song is still the best piece of music having to do with all that.
On another note, do lots of people in this video sound Irish to anyone else?
Well its better than handing out soggy leaflets which will be dropped on the floor 10 feet further on, but he should have perhaps backed off or explained the situation when people were getting particularly upset with the whole thing, also he should watch where hes putting his hands there he technically assaulted loads of people. Saying that, he does have a point to make because hes one the of the guys the coppers targetted for ‘preemptive’ arrested at dawn for nothing in particular and detained without charge for 24 hrs during the royal wedding hoohah for something he MAY have done, because he is known to the police for pulling stunts sometimes. They didnt even tell his GF where he was being held, he just dissapeared. Thats far more fucked up than what amounts to a bit of street theatre really.
I’ve always thought he’s kind of a cock. If for nothing else, that fact that he is a fully paid up member of the 9-11 truth brigade.