Glastonbury Fayre 2002

[M Holmes]

Mahkno nestor writes:

> Nick lee writes appovingly of improved security arrangements and the succes
> of the fence stating  "they have taken the festival back from the criminals."
>
> Well  if there was something that made Glastonbury different from other
> offerings it was that the underclass could get in. This gave the event  a
> much more dangerous anarchistic counter-cultural flavour than is evident at
> the corporate  coca cola festivals-. The sop offered was inarguartion of the
> Left field. It remains to be seen wheter this will devlop into anything
> intertesting.
>
> This years glasto was dull and tame precisely because the forces of law and
> order were able to maintain thier grip. I cannot understand how sucess of
> police and security can possibly reckoned to be a good thing.

Perhaps because there are those of us who find little countercultural or
appealing about tent-theft, assault, rape and murder. I can understand
that mileages do vary. However if someone gets some frisson from the
idea that they might be raped or assaulted, they could always go for a
nighttime walk in several of our major cities.

As for the underclass, they can get in as easily as any of us. All they
have to do is either buy a ticket or work afterwards as
litter-collectors. Given that crime dropped by two thirds while
attendance dropped by half, this suggests that those locked out were
nearly twice as likely to commit crime as those paying to get in. Given
this, there's precious little incentive for the rest of us to subsidise
their stay merely for the rather dubious benefit of their company. If
they want people to pay for their company they should get honest jobs as
whores.

FoFP