Why people like me are taking to the streets

The Age

9 hours ago

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PROTESTS
There have been questions raised about why people take part in peaceful mass demonstrations (Letters, 5/8). I believe I can give the prime reason. We live large distances away from many of the world's humanitarian problems, but we feel an emotional connection to the people who are suffering in those places. We can't personally express our feelings to them and their rulers, or undertake any meaningful action to help the victims, but we can join together and share our feelings with other concerned, like-minded people here. It is beneficial to us to know that we are not alone in our feelings, whether of anger or grief or anything else, and in so doing feel a sense of solidarity with the far-away victims. Many people will not or cannot write letters to, or phone, our politicians asking them to take action on our behalf, but large gatherings of people are a visible sign to them of how widespread our feelings are. I remember how uplifting an anti-Vietnam march was in helping me feel that there were many others who wanted the pointless killing and destruction to stop. It was a comfort to me. That's reason enough to encourage demonstrations rather than try and forbid them or meet them with police force. That's not what our police should be doing.
Don Jordan, Mt Waverley
Who will rescue the children?
Who is to judge the so-called 'self-righteous anger of Melbourne keffiyeh-wearing performative protesters' (Letters, 4/8)? I was there at Sunday's protest, as I have been before. My feeling was not self-righteous anger, nor righteous anger. It was not anger at all, but sorrow. For the first time I wore a keffiyeh. It was not performance. It was an expression of sympathy with suffering Palestinians.
As a Quaker and a pacifist, I would much prefer the protest was in silence for that would reflect the profound sorrow I feel for the lives being lost in Gaza due to starvation, and people being slaughtered as they desperately seek food. In 1939 British Quakers were instrumental in rescuing 10,000 German and Austrian Jewish children in the 'kindertransport' trains that took them to the UK. Who will rescue the Palestinian children now?
Dorothy Scott, Macclesfield
Symbol of a nation insulted
After the burning of the Australian flag at a pro-Palestinian rally it is about time that protests that are disrespectful and disruptive to our citizens be required to meet standards – or else be stopped. Media condemnation is not adequate as a control and deterrent, it probably fuels their actions. This has nothing to do with the freedom to protest – this is about the fabric of and wellbeing of our society. There are laws that restrict what we can say and can do in a social context, added to these are a wide range of subjects that have established standards/norms of acceptable behaviour in Australia. For example, defamation is illegal and we are developing a stronger attitude and community response to domestic violence.
Burning our national flag is an abhorrent action. Will they now burn the flag of our Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders? How do our war veterans and servicemen and women feel when the flag they fought for and stand for is desecrated?
Ross Kroger, Barwon Heads
Act of shame
Unsurprisingly, the cowards burning the Australian flag on the King St Bridge wore masks to hide their identities. They should go live in maybe Iran, Iraq or Syria and see if they feel more comfortable with those countries' flags.
Geoff Lipton, Caulfield North
Widen support for action
Noting the worldwide impetus to urgently end the Gaza war and to establish a Palestinian state, could the pro-Palestine demonstrators consider tweaking the chant from 'Free free Palestine' to maybe 'Two state solution now.' This may assist in increasing more widespread support. And help disarm opposition that now is not the time to recognise a Palestinian state.
Carlo Ursida, Kensington
THE FORUM
Shift the spending
Australia is currently looking at investing more than $368 billion into AUKUS to join forces with the US and UK against a prospective battle with China that we do not seek. At the same time we are facing an existential climate crisis, and yet the US has defunded much of its climate forecasting infrastructure (' Trump cuts cast a cloud over Australian forecasting ', 5/8).
Surely now is the time for Australia to withdraw from AUKUS, and use the funds saved to provide ourselves (and the world) with detailed, reliable weather information that will identify and track our growing climate risks, and enable us to foresee and protect against the floods, cyclones and droughts which will inevitably intensify over coming years?
Chris Young, Surrey Hills