(Round 1: Information scouting)
I have for, ooh a good two years now, been interested in "Speaker's Corner". It was some mythic, strange and expectant thing (like most things I am inspired by) that wasn't exactly how I envisioned it.
I lied to impress an anorexic imbecile who works for the Student's Union that I had in fact spoken at 'Speaker's Corner' when I had done no such thing, something I will put paid to in future I assure you. I also lied and said I ran as an independent candidate a few yeas ago at a party to an overweight 2nd generation Arabic Man, who was terribly enthused. - I have an idea a bit like 'My Name Is Earl' (but not run by Scientologists) to realise all the half-truths, exaggerations and bare faced embellished nonsense anecdotes I made as a lonely, isolated adolescent teenager scared to leave my bedroom AND MAKE THEM COME TRUE. (But more about that later).
There isn't a lot about speakers corner on the web there's this: www.speakerscorner.net, and of course WIKI, a lot of which I didn't take in. Only to be furnished with the knowledge, quite informally that it, takes place 'every sunday morning in Hyde Park, nearest tube st. Marble Arch', now define Morning... I thought it would be deserted come midday, and my oversleeping, I thought it would be last knockings. But oh no... by 11:30 it was still gathering steam.
It was full of religious types shouting angrily mostly, big turn-off. Although, a Muslim New Yorker type was lovely and polite, calling everyone sir, and being quite interesting. People just gather round and stare and some talk back. I think you need to have a few friends there first time so you people go near you. Definitely.
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Beyond genuine RESEARCH, for my own 'go' at it. I.e 'where do you get the stands from?' 'Can you use amplifyers?' (Big no-no).... I got genuinely [too many uses of the word GENUINE there] inspired by the 'meeting' I attended with Dan Lambert chairing on his stand. SOCIALISM really appeals to me, in the sense that we're all part of the same human family, we shouldn't be enslaved by Capitalism and so on and so on, although I am fearful of getting locked up and such when I eventually start becoming so enthused to establish a new world order that.... yeahs... see how far my mind goes ahead! Also a young fella was there Chris, who is a member of the Socialist Worker's Party and doing 'A'-levels in Philosophy in Brockenhurst, quite near me in Bournemouth. I told them about my 'book I'm writing' (news to me...well ever since I made that promise of writing to Caroline Lucas and Peter Tatchell replied to my e-mail it's looking likelier), which is to be about POLITICAL THINKING IN THE 21ST CENTURY. It got me there e-mails which I've written to immediately. No procrastination 'ere.
So the juries out as far as SOCIALISM is concerned. My verdict: Further research required:
www.worldsocialism.org
INTENT FOR NEXT WEEK: 1 HOUR of writing (at least) per day on any project.
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Your fibs are amazing!
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I've got a schizophrenic relationship with public speakers... I find them fascinating, but most of the time, like you said, they are turn-offs, those crazy religious types... even though it amuses me to think they believe they are actually doing anything other than discrediting their beliefs by being obnoxious and pushy. Bournemouth square and Oxford High Street are good places to watch. That's when I aim to wear my Jesus loves you, everyone else thinks you're a cunt tshirt.
Having lived in "the convent" for two years, I think I've discovered the reasoning behind that town crier method, it equals cheating on an exam: there is a statement in the bible asking to become fishers of men, which obviously is open to interpretation, and while I don't like the "baiting" metaphor because it just sounds manipulative and deceptive, I think that was probably some glitch in translation/semantics. However, what a lot of those bible students thought was that once they made people face the choice of Jesus or hell, even if in that very blunt manner, they have done their duty and can go home and watch proverbial telly; it's not even fishing for people anymore, it's clubbing them and dragging them along kicking and screaming, if you get my drift.
I even knew a guy who came up with what he thought was the ingenious idea of buying 10 minutes of tv time and presenting the message to the masses, he thought it efficient (in a Final Solution of the Heathen Question way) and said "they then haven't got an excuse, so God can't blame me that I haven't tried". It's so surreal and it would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.