Well, I've just got back from participating in the march for a short while, from Victoria down to Vauxhall Bridge. (I didn't want to risk getting stuck on the bridge in case I was forced to listen to Jeremy Corbyn's whining, relayed over a public address system, with no chance of escape.)
And.....it was much as I expected. It was HUGE. Must be several hundred thousand. Reckon about 70% with some sort of muslim or Middle Eastern affiliation, from the Indian subcontinent or Arab. Lots of families, including young children, some in pushchairs, everyone smiling and chatting - on this so called "hate march”
. In fact, rather curiously, I found the semi-carnival atmosphere less threatening than Vauxhall Bridge Road on a normal day!
Loads of Palestine flags, lots of banners, placards and chants with with sentiments such as “Stop the Genocide”, "Freedom for Palestine” and so on. I neither saw nor heard anything aggressive or antisemitic. A lot of Friends of Al Aqsa banners. This seems to be a ginger group campaigning for Palestinian rights, taking its name from the mosque in Jerusalem.
Based on what I saw, heard and felt, I find it inconceivable there will be any violence from these people. The only troublemakers, I suspect, will be the yobs that Sunak and Braverperson have spent the last week dogwhistling to show up and spoil the party. I gather the cops have locked about 50 of them inside a pub at Victoria, hahaha.
There were a few people wearing poppies apart from me, including a young Arab-looking woman in a headscarf, with poppy earrings and a "free Gaza T-shirt, whose picture I took, with her permission. Unfortunately it seems the file is too big to copy onto this forum - ah no I've found a way:-
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It feels to me as if Sunk and Braverperson will come out of this looking like irresponsible twats, while the head of the Metropolitan Police will be the one saying "I told you so". But I suppose I shouldn't count my chickens until the day is over.