The right to protest ineffectually is enshrined in the Irish Constitution and we are here today to exercise that right.

To ensure that the demonstration will have no effect whatsoever ICTU [the Irish Congress of Trade Unions] have taken certain sensible measures.

The demonstration is on Saturday.

The demonstration will be addressed by boring windbags who will make aggressive noises, satisfying our desire for robust action.

They will criticize ‘the Bankers’, in colourful terms.

They will say ‘we will not stand for this’.

This fighting talk will be followed by suggestions that demonstrators ‘lobby their TD’s’. This will direct any impulse for direct action into a suitably pointless activity.

There will be talk of a ‘campaign’. Perhaps even an ad campaign ‘to get our message out there’.

On the other hand a campaign of effective civil disobedience will….

bring a violent reaction from Gardaí [the police].

upset the IMF.

cause market jitters.

send out ‘the wrong message’.

…………………….and the nightmare scenario…..

………………………….it might actually have some effect!

From the Irish Left Review