A few observations about what happened in London on Armistice Day

Firstly, I feel for those who went to the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Armistice Day (Saturday 11^th November) to quietly pay their respects to the war dead, who then found themselves having to contend with the antics of a mob claiming to be there to 'defend' the monument. The perceived need to 'defend' the Cenotaph came about because of the massive Palestinian solidarity protest that took place in London on Armistice Day.

Despite repeated statements by the organisers of the solidarity protest that the route of their march from Hyde Park to the US embassy in Nine Elms wasn't going anywhere near the Cenotaph, fears were being stoked for more than a week beforehand that it would be targeted by protesters. There were numerous press articles and opinion pieces stoking up these fears, including one in the Times by the now former Home Secretary, Suella Braverman.

There was also a lot of tension stoking taking place on social media, including posts on X from the actor and founder of the Reclaim Party, Laurence Fox, making what can best be described as a call to arms to 'defend' the Cenotaph. It turned out that Fox wasn't actually present at the Cenotaph to 'lead' the 'defence' as he was on a plane over the ocean at the time! Not exactly what you'd call leadership is it? Then again, what else can you expect from an opportunistic charlatan. It should be noted that Fox wasn't one of those calling for the Palestinian solidarity protest to be banned - as a free speech campaigner, to call for a ban would have involved some pretty painful mental gymnastics!

With all the disingenuous shit stirring that was going on, it was hardly a surprise that a mob comprising a number of 'patriot' groups turned up at the Cenotaph on Armistice Day to 'defend' it against a non-existent threat.

The mob seemed to think that their role of 'defence' meant that they had to be physically right by it. The Metropolitan Police in a bid to preserve the dignity of the occasion thought otherwise. The inevitable scuffles accompanied by chanting, swearing and insults broke out as the mob battled with the cops to get to it. This all came before the two minutes silence. By that point, the mob had got the message that their place wasn't at the Cenotaph and those that hadn't been arrested duly observed the silence. However, by then, the damage had been done...

The newspapers and media outlets responsible for stoking up tensions over the perceived 'threat' to the Cenotaph, seeing the disorder caused by the mob clashing with the cops duly started to walk back on some of their rhetoric. As for Suella Braverman and her rle in stoking the tensions with her piece in the Times, in a damage limitation exercise by the government, she paid the price by being sacked as Home Secretary and relegated to the back benches. Doubtless, she will be causing mischief and quite possibly at some point, starting to make a leadership challenge.

A last thought on the mob at the Cenotaph. Were any of them agents provocateurs? Given the increasing dystopian weirdness we're having to endure, I wouldn't rule out the use of provocateurs to further an agenda.

Namely, creating the justification needed to clamp down on any future dissent and protest, regardless of where it comes from. Bear in mind what the bastards have lined up for us and why they want us divided and compliant: The Anti-Human Agenda – Twitter (X) Thread - OffGuardian | 6.11.23.

As for the Palestinian solidarity march, as I didn't attend it, I can only rely on accounts from people I know and trust who did go, and reports from the few news outlets I still have a modicum of trust in. It was massive, at least as big as the protest against the impending war in Iraq in 2003. A protest that despite its size, had zero impact on stopping the ensuing war. Whether the Palestinian solidarity protests will make those who presume to rule over us pause for thought is a moot point to say the least. What is noticeable is that there are now some qualifications being added to the verbal support being given to Israel as they go about obliterating Gaza.

As for the marchers, they ranged from those angered at the carnage the Israeli military is inflicting on Gaza, Jews outraged at what's being done supposedly in their name by Israel, all the way through to a minority of Islamo-fascist anti-semites.

A protest as large as the one that took place of Saturday 11^th November will attract a large range of people and inevitably, there will be some very dodgy people turning up. Should they have been confronted and dealt with as some commentators have said? It would be interesting to know how much experience these commentators have had of stewarding massive protests, plus what their action plan to remove people with questionable views without inflaming the situation would be. It's very easy to say that people with blatantly prejudicial views should be removed from solidarity protests, it's a lot harder to actually implement that.

Should the march have taken place on Armistice Day? As it was part of a global wave of protests expressing solidarity with the Palestinians enduring the Israeli onslaught in Gaza, it would have been very difficult to have called it off. Particularly in face of the demands that were being made to ban the protest. However, not backing down to the demands to call it off and going ahead did give a lot of ammunition to the Zionists and also, to those who for various nefarious reasons, want to stifle any form of protest. There are no easy answers to this one...

Regarding arrests, the initial focus has been on those of the self styled Cenotaph 'defenders'. If anyone thinks that's where it's going to end, they're naïve. As I write, the Metropolitan police will be reviewing images and footage of the march, picking out and identifying anyone deemed to be saying, chanting or holding a placard with anything deemed to be offensive. A definition that could well go beyond Islamo-fascist anti-semitism. Arrests will undoubtedly follow.

What the run up to the protest, what happened on the day and the aftermath has done is to further entrench divisions in an already fractured society. Divisions in a fractured society lead to tensions.

How these will manifest themselves is as yet, unknown. Suffice to say, they will be exploited as a justification for a further clampdown on any kind of dissent and a ramping up of the surveillance and monitoring we already have to endure. To facilitate this, the divide and rule tactics such as the 'culture wars' will be intensified. We all need to stand firm in the face of this and not allow ourselves to be manipulated, played and used to further agendas that are working against us.