| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Since when did husting mean barracking? | |
| Posted by: | Anthony Waller | |
| Date/Time: | 23/04/10 17:46:00 |
| My Father took me to a hustings at I think Acton Town Hall where harold Wilson was among several Labour speakers, in I recall the early '70s. There was certainly a fair amount of barracking and jeering, but no bad language. Bear in mind that it was a public offence to swear in public until1968 and people were more polite and less likely to swear. Those who threatened or swore were ejected but heckling was almost encouraged. It was not unlike the House of Commons, And any Politician should be used to it. The difference I found between now and then is that Mr Wilson and I think Woodrow Wyatt or Michael Foot, addressed the hecklers and answered them, clearly and concisely. The trouble now is it is all stage managed and PR controlled and it is bad for democracy. Especially as this kind of control although called 'American style' is a direct technique of both Stalin and post-Stalin communists and the Nazis. Quite why Mrs. Keen chose to stay at home is bizarre, it just fuels the doubts and questions and plays her straight into the hands of Gordon Browns words about MPs with question marks over them. |