It was great to see some new faces at the April meeting of Welwyn NWR.
The topic of discussion was: Have you ever been on strike, taken part in a protest/march or know someone who has? There was a mixed bag of points of view and experiences.
Some said they had never been involved in a protest and didn’t think that they made a difference, others spoke with pride about a family member who was part of the Extinction Rebellion blockades and another spoke about how she was removed from parliament whilst protesting for equal pension rights and the campaigning she was involved in.
We considered the similarities and differences between the Suffragette movement, who took extreme steps to further their cause, and the Suffragists who believed in utilising peaceful and democratic processes. Who was ultimately more successful?
It was agreed that the right balance needs to be struck between the right to having one’s voice heard and allowing people to go about their business without disruption.
Does the media portray protests accurately? One member felt that the protesters are presented negatively by the media, another spoke of inaccurate coverage – it was reported that a news reader was late due to heavy traffic, but in fact it was due to a large protest this member was involved in and it was not covered in the news.
As usual, the conversation veered off in different directions and an enjoyable evening was had by all!