Anyone want to name an example of a protest march that a) acheived its aim...

[SpringchickenGoldBrass]

within living memory and b) achieved its aim better and quicker because some fuckwits people actually took their very small DC along?

Because it was such a mainstream march I knew it would be safe, she wanted to go, it was a good experience for her and the cuts will directly affect her. Safety was my primary concern and I researched it thoroughly to make sure we'd be safe.

BTW the recent happenings in Egypt are a good example of effective protest.

radical, spidey? The plan is to turn this country into a sort of 'Portugal without the sun'. There is no concern for people's welfare, purely about how much can be bled from them. This is Thatcherism with bells on.

how can people think that a march like this will be safe, we know what went on, so its not a safe at all, please, people has to think about their children before thinking about themseves.what can a child do their.

eh?

Montagsdemos - the Monday evening demonstrations in Leipzig, Dresden and eventually across the East (and West) of Germany started as small protest marches, arranged by the church, attended by families.

So

a) achieved aim - pretty much - fall of Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany

b) better and quicker because of children - who knows? But I don't have a problem with it.

Anyone who could see trouble brewing (or in the case of the ski-masked anarchists in London, see them coming) could go out of the way. I would be po-faced about anyone staying longer than 5 or 6pm with children, but why should they not go?

and Solidarnosc in Poland.

spiderslegs it is not 'maybe', it is definitely. Otherwise I wouldn't have said it. And just because EMA was a relatively new benefit does not mean it is not needed. I'm sure 'many kids managed without it before', but that's because the poorer ones left school to start jobs. Remember when young people got jobs?????

From the reports on Twitter, there was very very little violence this afternoon. It has been massively overstated in the press. This evening looks to be a bit dodgier, but then those with kids would hopefully have gone home.

'Portugal without the sun' good lord Rohanda, where did you pick up the hyperbole from? We are far from being Portugal, we could learn a lesson from the Scandis, as we are trying to with Free Schools. We are far from Thatcher when it comes to our current welfare state - she would be horrified.

Orangebernard: If your DD is old enough to want to go and discuss it with you, fair enough. What I really object to is people taking babies and toddlers on demos - given that demos in themselves are not exactly that effective, if you have a small child and can't get a babysitter, find another way of registering your opinion.

portugal - not hyperbole.

Thatcher? no we are being pushed well beyond her 'vision', assisted by Blair. She would only be horrified by how long it took. But now we are being put on some kind of 'accelerator'.

Although some sections of the media are trying to portray it otherwise, the tuc march was very peaceful and nothing to do with the anarchic violence later. The met's press statement says so.

My dd is 7, and we had some great discussions in the lead up to the march.

Bella - my husband could tell you a little about that, he would have been a recipient of EMA but finds the concept ridiculous & harmful, he worked from the age of 10 to get money, dead mother, absent father, went to a redbrick - through his own merit, worked his way up & now is extemely sucessful. He would HATE to feel he neeed help.

i've got 3 more examples of successful protests

The anti Vietnam protests of the 60s
The American Civil Rights movement
The anti Apartheid movement
All in my lifetime.

Look, all the examples you are giving are of movements that involved continuous, different methods of trying to effect change. So my point remains that it's fuckwitted to take toddlers on demos just because you can't get a babysiter, and even more fuckwitted to think it's a good idea to 'let them be part of it'.

Not all demos turn to violence. I don't recall the Stop the War march turning that way. I walked part of that march with my son (who was a baby at the time) to show solidarity to friends who were walking the full march and because I felt extremely strongly about this issue and didn't want to sit on my arse and write a letter or sign a petition.

When I was a kid my mum took me on anti-nuclear protests. No harm ever came to me. I think you're point is your just you're opinion, which you are entitled to parp on here but it isn't a universal truth.

It's also likely to be pretty alarming for babies and toddlers, even if there isn't a full on ruck. THat many people, that much noise, that much strong feelings in the air..
It just is wanky. It's Look what a Caring Person I Am.

Have you ever been on a march? Your description bears absolutely no relation to any march I have ever been on. The Stop the War March was a peaceful, sunny day, it was not dissimilar to having a stroll along Embankment with my son.

Perhaps marches and demonstrations would have a greater effect if more people got up and supported them. The fact is those who march are in a minority, if the apathetic majority actually got up more often, if we had a decent culture of protest in this country perhaps our politicians wouldn't ignore us.

I'm with you on this, SGB. A lot of people go on these demos for the wrong reasons.

And, if the library closure protest I went on locally is anything to go by, they are strongarmed by the local Socialist Worker types who seem positively delighted that their 13 years of mild tutting (Iraq War aside) are now over and they can get back to full on red-blooded class-war hatred.

UQD - Been on one march have you and decided you know all about it.

What a sarcastic little sod you are, thx. Get back in your box.

Little Sod. Haha. PMSL. Is that the sound of your Mail on Sunday dropping through the letterbox.