Laughable but Not Funny

17 September 2004



British Protesters Embarrass Security Chiefs

It was a bad week for the image of British security. Bad enough that some clown in a Batman suit managed to climb onto Her Majesty's balcony at Buckingham Palace, then some Hooray Henrys disrupted a House of Commons debate on a fox hunt ban (to be chased down by middle aged men in tails and knee socks). When under attack by the IRA years go or facing terrorists in the Iranian embassy on Prince's Gate, British security at least won respect and sympathy for doing such a difficult job. Today, it is a laughingstock. And the sooner it wipes the egg off its collective face, the better.

One of the joys of English life, though, is how very free from security concerns it has been over the years. Even now, post Al-Qaeda murders, there are some officers who patrol their beat armed with nothing more threatening than a nightstick. But to retain that gentle and genteel feeling, it is going to be necessary to be much more proactive against homegrown nut jobs than security people in Britain have been. Parliament was invaded by outsiders for the first time since the 17th century not by AK-47 toting foreigners, but by British polo players and amateur jockeys. Batman wasn't some Fenian bomber; he was Jason Hatch, a 33 year-old Briton who believes his divorce has cost him his children under British law.

A more responsible political system might be part of the solution. If Mr. Hatch does have a point, that fathers almost automatically lose custody of their kids under British law, that is readily addressed. In the case of fox hunting, the matter is trickier. Foxes are rather nasty creatures and the question is whether it is more cruel to hunt them down with horses and hounds, which then rip the fox to shreds, or whether it is better to indiscriminately gas them (male, female, adult, newborn).

The British political culture is at the root of the issue. On the one hand is the class structure that has taken a knock, but it is still there. On the other hand is a tradition of rebellion, from Wat Tyler and Oliver Cromwell to the Fabians and the poll-tax protesters of March 1990. Protesting, stepping outside the rules to make one's point, is as British as bangers and mash. In short, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Security in Britain already relies a great deal on video cameras and the like, but those are only useful for deterring those who seek to avoid publicity. Batman and the Fox Hunters (sounds like a band playing Dingwalls on Wednesday nights) wanted just the opposite. What works against terrorists might not work against British protesters. The extent to which Britain can distinguish between the two and create security procedures that protect against Usama and Batman (while leaving legitimate protesters alone) will determine whether Britain will remain as free as it has been to date.


© Copyright 2004 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.


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