Shame

It's a rainy Saturday, and while I should be doing my tax, I am instead writing about a pretty shameful day for Melbourne, with an excessive show of violence from our police force – breaking up a peaceful protest by dragging off and arresting 100 protesters – as the city square apparently needed to be returned to the public. (It is today closed for maintenance and filled with Police and their dogs).

Yesterday violence erupted as about 400 police evicted demonstrators who had been camping in the square since last weekend. Police used capsicum spray, horses and dogs to push the hundreds of activists out of the city centre, with officers dragging some protesters away. [www.abc.net.au]

Occupy Melbourne. I visited during the occupation, and witnessed many people getting a positive interaction there. Perhaps not all the usual paying customers to the neighbouring businesses, but still, a broad selection of the people of Melbourne in their city square. There were free plants, gardening tips, guided tours of Melbourne, conversation and a soup kitchen, alongside the tents. For this to be violently shoved into a rubbish truck, the square fenced off and people trampled by unwilling horses after a peaceful week of protest seems entirely unhelpful and reflects pretty poorly on our Mayor. Of course they don't love the untidy mess of all this, but surely there are better ways of negotiation. Particularly when the whole thing was organised to encourage discussion and idea's towards a more egalitarian society. Surely relocation could've been better handled than by sending in the riot police after a week of peaceful and harmless habitation. Depressing. The Queen is coming. I'll just go finish with the tax.