Political equality @ Glasto...

[tom22]

who is being narrow minded? or are you just on a wind-up?

 

comments about "the only good tory is a dead one" etc.

 

Nice to know we can all live and play nicely together.

[pecks]

The whole thing is hahah! There is OTT more so than others, obviously, but IMO the responses shown here prove the message is no less serious..?

 

I don't doubt they mean it for a second. But Shangri-La is for late night funtimes, if you want a debate, you'll not find it there. 

[pecks]

comments about "the only good tory is a dead one" etc.

 

Nice to know we can all live and play nicely together.

 

I don't think that's narrow-mindedness, I think that's strength of feeling. 

 

edit: and some jesting. I don't think they are actually advocating murder. 

Edited July 10, 2015 by pecks

[Winslow Leach]

comments about "the only good tory is a dead one" etc.

 

Nice to know we can all live and play nicely together.

 

Sticking people's heads down the toilet doesn't count as playing with them.

[fur_q]

Also...

Creative, artistic people are almost always left-wing/liberal.

I'd like to think it's because if you've got the imagination required to write a song or make a piece of art, then you can more easily imagine what its like to be unemployed, a minority, etc.

So I expect you would struggle to find the people to create a right-wing shangri la.

I think your partially correct there, there's lots of research that shows a strong correlation between intelligence and holding left of centre political views, but I think the other self determinant for poeple who work in the arts/creative sector is that essentially somewhere along the line if that's what you choose to do with your life you have to accept the possibility that may never really earn much money.

[funkyuk]

I bought the Guardian every day and got a free backpack

[fur_q]

Do journalist not bother checking their facts nowadays

No c.f. the w*nkyballs festival

[DeanoL]

I think this better illustrates my point. I really enjoyed the idea of the CND peace sign and the like as collective, positive action.

 

I just perceived the Shangri-la sort of stuff as a bit hate-fuelling (I understand that there is actually a lot of hatred, just making observations) and divisive. In comparison, everywhere else in the festival is massively pro-diversity in all forms, and at least a tolerance of differing political opinion. 

 

You realise they were protesting the organisation of the afterlife and the over-corportization of Hell right?

[jiffy]

I don't doubt they mean it for a second. But Shangri-La is for late night funtimes, if you want a debate, you'll not find it there. 

 

Maybe the acid had me thinking about it too much..!

 

Anyways, I've rather enjoyed this discussion, regardless of the opposing views

[Bisque]

I bought the Guardian every day and got a free backpack

Those back packs were brilliantly handy for cans etc

[Glastoboy]

It's Michael Eavis' festival. He is a lifelong Labour supporter and stood (unsuccessfully) as the candidate for Wells in 1997. He has given a platform and money to CND, Greenpeace and Oxfam. He went against Labour briefly and told people to vote Green in 2004 in protest to the Iraq invasion.

Michael is a leftie. He built Glastonbury. And I love him for it.

The festival (due to the current attendees) is nowhere near the counter-culture melting pot that it was pre-2000 but the heart is still there.

To answer the OPs point directly though - I get forcefed neo-liberal bullshit the rest of the year, Glastonbury is not the place for it. (See my signature).

Edited July 10, 2015 by Glastoboy

[pecks]

It's Michael Eavis' festival. He is a lifelong Labour supporter and stood (unsuccessfully) as the candidate for Wells in 1997. He has given a platform and money to CND, Greenpeace and Oxfam. He went against Labour briefly and told people to vote Green in 2004 in protest to the Iraq invasion.

Michael is a leftie. He built Glastonbury. And I love him for it.

The festival (due to the current attendees) is nowhere near the counter-culture melting pot that it waspre-2000 but the heart is still there.

To answer the OPs point directly though - I get forcefed neo-liberal bullshit the rest of the year, Glastonbury is not the place for it. (See my signatute).

 

Need upvotes etc, nice one

 

edit: correct: we get right wing propaganda from all angles every day of the week. Glastonbury is supposed to present an alternative, that's kinda what it does

Edited July 10, 2015 by pecks

[giantkatestacks]

The politics of the Festival is intrinsic to the heart of it - it is one of the things that has both created and allowed it. It is rank hypocrisy to enjoy Glastonbury and then criticize the forces that have created it. 

[PabloCoke]

I don't think that's narrow-mindedness, I think that's strength of feeling. 

 

edit: and some jesting. I don't think they are actually advocating murder.

Not advocating murder, just expressing a view on when Tories are at peak usefulness to the world.

Maggots 1 Thatcher 0 hallelujah

[pecks]

Not advocating murder, just expressing a view on when Tories are at peak usefulness to the world.

Maggots 1 Thatcher 0 hallelujah

 

always focussing on efficiency, good work

(let's not upset the poor boy any further ;-) )

[frostypaw]

Glad this provoked some debate anyway.

 

Politics would never put me off going to Glastonbury, it's far bigger than that, but interesting to see how narrow minded some people are about their views.

Whoa whoa whoa

Gotta pull you up there on a classic right-wing mistake. From the lofty heights of the successful right wing where things are calm and peaceful, because all the messy dross have been shoved to the bottom, it might appear that there's a lot of snapping dogs in the left - but that is a helpless reaction to the aloof indifference of the right.

When you dismiss very strongly felt beliefs and feelings as "narrow minded" you are aggressively fuelling the fires that lead to that anger and snapping in the first place.

This might be why you're not getting the anger and rage in some of the festival's fringes. Those people on the fringes have been through hell - I'd strongly recommend having a read up on the Battle of the Beanfield and imagining how that would affect your feelings - have a look at other great tory moments such as the breaking of the strikes and the criminal justice act....

These things are nigh-on incomprehensible from a peaceful upper-middle class existence with a nice house and garden and peaceful surroundings - but it's a small percentage who get to live like that and the majority are easily forgotten when they're out of sight and earshot. It's not even intentional - it's just how life is if that's what you're used to. You have to breach the comfort zone to find it then suddenly there's a wall of raw emotion and deeply upset people

When someone's really angry it's best to see if you can work out whether they've got cause before dismissing it - outbursts of anger aren't always a sign of weakness, but often a sign of having to bottle it up for too long.

[pecks]

I'm not 100% convinced this isn't a wind-up. "I went to Glastonbury and found my right-wing views under-represented"? Either that or incredibly naive. 

[russycarps]

I'm not 100% convinced this isn't a wind-up. "I went to Glastonbury and found my right-wing views under-represented"? Either that or incredibly naive. 

 

 

I thought that, but then I remembered some people really are that thick.

[tom22]

I'm not 100% convinced this isn't a wind-up. "I went to Glastonbury and found my right-wing views under-represented"? Either that or incredibly naive. 

 

Not a wind-up, and not something that upsets me, as I say it's just an observation of the possible hypocrisy of this utopian place where all is good with the world and everything's good, yet there's such tight control on the messaging that comes from the festival.

 

I don't think it's a bad thing, it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the festival and I don't think it should change at all, it's just an interesting contradiction of freedom vs only one opinion is right. 

[pecks]

first, I don't think that the "message" of Glastonbury is that "all is good with the world". Have you spoken to any of the Greenpeace volunteers? 

 

second, politics and freedom are rarely the same thing. 

[paulmuchmore]

I personally love how lefty Glastonbury is. Too much right wing bullshit in today's society.

[GlastoSimon]

Not a wind-up, and not something that upsets me, as I say it's just an observation of the possible hypocrisy of this utopian place where all is good with the world and everything's good, yet there's such tight control on the messaging that comes from the festival.

 

I don't think it's a bad thing, it doesn't affect my enjoyment of the festival and I don't think it should change at all, it's just an interesting contradiction of freedom vs only one opinion is right. 

 

Unfortunately for a lot of people involved with Glastonbury historically, those 'opinions' of the right you allude to turned to violence and discrimination. Surely you can understand why there is contempt towards the right at Glastonbury given the way the right has treated travellers/Glastonbury goers in the past?

 

For every political part of the festival, there are many non-political parts - those who are critical of Glastonbury bring this up all the time. Its not forced down anybody's throats. 

 

 

first, I don't think that the "message" of Glastonbury is that "all is good with the world". Have you spoken to any of the Greenpeace volunteers? 

 

second, politics and freedom are rarely the same thing. 

 

This is spot on as well!

Edited July 10, 2015 by GlastoSimon

[frostypaw]

Not a wind-up, and not something that upsets me, as I say it's just an observation of the possible hypocrisy of this utopian place where all is good with the world and everything's good, yet there's such tight control on the messaging that comes from the festival.

There's your error - it's not a utopian place where all is good with the world and everything's good.

It's a place where we get to escape the nonsense of outside where someone who's slaved all their life with great effort can end up penniless while his neighbour who's done little but twiddle through his father's company can end up on the top of the pile.

This is, of course, rather at odds with the sort of politics that increases the inheritance threshold at the same time as cutting benefits. Surely that's an inevitability - and somewhat down to someone's naivety if they don't expect that.

Go to Ascot and you'll see the opposite. Or Glynebourne, probably the total opposite of Glastonbury, and see the difference. You try staging a protest there see how quickly those views are silenced in what is a right-wing paradise....

I can see how it could look like hypocrasy but dig deeper, there's a lot of history here

[tom22]

There's your error - it's not a utopian place where all is good with the world and everything's good.

It's a place where we get to escape the nonsense of outside where someone who's slaved all their life with great effort can end up penniless while his neighbour who's done little but twiddle through his father's company can end up on the top of the pile.

This is, of course, rather at odds with the sort of politics that increases the inheritance threshold at the same time as cutting benefits. Surely that's an inevitability - and somewhat down to someone's naivety if they don't expect that.

Go to Ascot and you'll see the opposite. Or Glynebourne, probably the total opposite of Glastonbury, and see the difference. You try staging a protest there see how quickly those views are silenced in what is a right-wing paradise....

I can see how it could look like hypocrasy but dig deeper, there's a lot of history here

 

Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly to you, I went to Ascot (not Royal enclosure) this year for the first time and had a great time, much as I had a great time at Glastonbury. 

 

Maybe I'm weird for being able to appreciate all sorts of different cultural events and enjoy them for what they are. 

[pecks]

Interestingly, and perhaps unsurprisingly to you, I went to Ascot (not Royal enclosure) this year for the first time and had a great time, much as I had a great time at Glastonbury. 

 

Maybe I'm weird for being able to appreciate all sorts of different cultural events and enjoy them for what they are. 

 

or maybe you were just drunk