Dear Family,
In the northeast corner of Hyde Park there’s a special place called Speakers Corner. It’s a place where anyone can say anything so long as they don’t blaspheme or incite violence and the weekly peak of activity is supposed to be Sunday morning. I was there on Sunday morning. 🙂
The guy above sounded very well educated and was lamenting the acceptance of the theory of the Big Bang and how this had affected people belief in God. The crowd was sizable and there was much interaction with the speaker.
This guy, well, I agreed with just about everything he said. He was half British and half American, spoke with an American accent, but looked like someone to be worried about. I try not to presume but I think much of the crowd did. He was talking about the incorrectness of the Iraq war, the errors of Bush and Blair, and the unconscionable consequences of persisting in the war. There were voices in the crowd strongly disagreed with him, repeatedly jeering him and expressing contrary views. He held is own very well and maintained his cool. I was impressed … but I can’t help wonder if how he was dressed really worked against him. This is a very diverse city so his being black was probably not an issue, but looking too “islamic” could have been.
Not too sure what he was all about but he too managed to hold a crowd.
Unlike this guy who couldn’t attract anyone much of the time. You’d think his billboard would attract an audience. “It’s now or never, come listen to me. I’m very clever. I know everything. Tomorrow will be too late. It’s now or never. My word won’t wait.” Then again, perhaps that’s why they stay away. 😉
While the last guy occasionally could draw a small audience, this guy not once had a single visitor. I have no idea what he was there to talk about. All I heard him call out periodically was, “There are more speakers. I’m a speaker.” Pretty lame, eh?
This one was weird. The guy in red was in a heated argument with the lady on the right. He was an idiot, speaking from a small mind, stating simple ideas and having no idea how the world worked. In is ignorant confidence, he’d criticize the woman who actually had a better handle on reality but wasn’t good on her feet.
So, who is the speaker? The dork with the rhino horn on his head.
He’d jump in and try to facilitate their argument but he was lame!
Believe it or not, this guy is reading a story he’d written to the crowd. While the crowd was smaller, it was a crowd that hung around. They actually listened to his complete reading and afterwards, they applauded. Now I kind of wish I’d paid some more attention!
All in all, I think it’s a great idea and I admire all who participated.
It would be a great forum for honing your debate skills.
Love ya! Dad