The 10 Day You Challenge : 9 Loves

There are so many things to love in the world. To pick just a selct few is hard. So, there are probably far more than this, but heres my (probably) top 9:

1. Family, Friends and my Boyfriend. It has to be top of the list. The rest are in no particular order.

2. Stories and Reading. Anything. I just soak it up, take it all in and think about my view on the subject.

3. The Smell of the Night. you know when it's about 12/1 in the morning and you go to shut your window, but instead you lean out of it an just breathe in the night air. i love that. it's my absolute favourite smell.
I have a thing with smells. I often come out with "It smells like a good night". And it really does. I know what I mean.

4. Interesting Jewellery.  I have a penchant for weird jewellery. One of my favourites is one I bought from a stall at a craft market. It's a vintage-look necklace with an old American stamp inside it (picture of it, left). I'm holding out for some battenburg earrings still.

5.  Marzipan. Everything marzipan. I will get a whole block and sit there eating it as a treat. So fattening, but sooo good. Unfortunately you don't see many marzipan fruits around England these days, but I WILL have some soon.

6. Tea. Glorious tea. I'm drinking some now in fact. No wonder us British love it.

7. Films. Films are a passion. If I've seen one I'll usually know who's in it, and what else they've been in. It's a talent that has very little use.

8. Shopping. Don't most girls? Pretty dresses, gorgeous nail polishes, delicious food treats, killer shoes : heaven.

9. Nature. Because what's more beautiful than nature? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. My particular favourite item in natture are forests. Big, English, woody, mushroomy, bluebell-filled dappled sunshine forests. With cute baby rabbits and deer.

Yay!

I Protest!

So yesterday I once again discovered something I despised.
Normal people probably aren't too bothered by it, quite a few even indulge in it, take part in it.
But I abhor it.

What is this, I hear you ask.
It's Protesting.

Yes, the human right to protest is what really pees me off.
Predominantly because protests are supposed to be peaceful, but do you really call jerking around placards (thanks to Ed for that wonderful word) saying possibly aggressive things, whilst yelling about being wronged and shouting at others to do the same peaceful?

Student protest

And that's just the usual, well-mannered protesters.

In the past, and in particular in the student population, the right to protest has well and truly been worn out. People used to protest quite a lot. And it's been getting more like that recently. People usually seemed to only protest to say that they had done it, and that was OK. It was a major part of student life. Did you really care if you didn't protest?  Of course you did, about certain things, but maybe you just didn't see the need to do things quite so overtly.

Protester and photographers

And these days, it just gets worse.
There are the ones who go out there only to attack people, to cause criminal damage and to get in the papers. And this is sometimes only for their 15 minutes of fame. To get a tiny bit of attention.
Others want to be seen to be doing something about their cause. To make it known.
But why would you need that?
If you really cared about your cause you would do something about it by yourself, make small changes to your life, and do it quietly.
For example, I care about people dying from not having working organs, so I've been an organ doner for quite a while now. I don't rave about it because I know I'd be making a difference to another persons life at some point.
Why would you want to stampede around the street gibbering like a monkey?

I think this is the same principle.
Plus, protesting for whatever it is doesn't really make too much of a difference. All it does is bring attention to your cause. Yes, this is a good thing, especially if the cause is well justified.

But the same thing would apply if, for example, MPs were inundated with letters. They would have to address the issue, whether they liked it or not. A well worded letter is a far better channel than shouting about it and possible violence.



Police and Protesters

There are also added drawbacks. One is that some people will try to hijack a protest. Certain gangs for example. And they do this with the sole purpose of causing damage and being violent.

The other is that protesting wastes police time.

Which would you rather have? A) The police using their time to catch the real criminals (robbers, murderers, terrorists) or B) The police using their time to watch over an unruly crowd of normal people protesting about, say, cuts.

So really, what I'm saying is, why protest when there are other means of doing things? You'd just have to be a little more creative.

And also, is there really anything 'peaceful' about protesting?
I don't think so.

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Some useful webpages:
-Your Rights- The Right to Peaceful Protest
-How to become an Organ Doner