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Protest without starving yourself

The sounds of protest are familiar to Oxford students; blessed indeed are those who have never woken to the sounds of animal-rights activists making their clamorously anarchic way through town. Yet few of us take the chance to kick up a fuss ourselves. To pick one recent example, the so-called ‘Siege in Bonn Square’ was notable for inspiring almost nobody – for more than a week, Oxford failed to mobilise its forces in support of the trees. The spirit of ’68 barely limps on in 2008.I would argue that this is no bad thing. To attach oneself noisily to every cause in town is simply to devalue the currency of protest. As all political scientists know, direct action is usually indicative more of a lack of political clout than of an abundance of passion or support. Why it should also be an exercise in asceticism is beyond me.A relief then, that just as much could be accomplished through eating a hamburger or, dare I say it, drinking a rum and Coke. Bizarrely, those who wish to be politically effective often choose to do so in the isolation offered by an unfamiliar crowd – it’s easy to pour scorn on discussion groups, but, for Oxford students, it seems counter-intuitive to enter the fray without a really good idea why one is doing so.None of this means that there aren’t worthy campaigns out there, nor indeed that taking direct action is always a fruitless task. The seemingly innocuous ‘Oxford Interview Office’ recently opened, in interestingly close proximity to the McDonald’s on Botley Road. The establishment of such interrogation centres, intended to vet people before issuing their first passport or – more insidiously – placing them on the National Identity Register, is certainly something to worry any liberty-loving British subject. Although Oxford students will quickly apprehend both the danger and the indignity involved in being required to go through an interview process in order initially to leave the country, and later simply for existing, it seems unlikely that the clandestine encroachment of Big Brother will motivate many to march through the streets. Far better to attend the amusingly monikered ‘BBQ for the Grilling Centre’ arranged by Oxford No2ID this Sunday. Students needn’t feel guilty if they prefer their activism to involve discussion, fun, or free food. If liberty can’t taste sweet, what on earth is the point?  Ronald Collinson is Treasurer of Oxford Students for Liberty, whose Rum and Rights events run at 8pm on Mondays of even-numbered weeks this term. A group for the BBQ will meet outside the Saïd Business School at 12.15p.m. Contact 07753463973.

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