In a society of stifling control and endless pro-cedures, protest can strike a rare spark of surprise.

Art is often planned and deliberated far in advance, such as that seen during the Brighton Festival.

This can lead to a loss of spontaneity, since the art becomes another cog in the general machine.

For every sculpture, there’s a security fence. For every street performance, there’s a steward in a fluorescent waistcoat.

Coming on Bank Holiday Monday, the Smash EDO protest certainly added the unexpected touch.

An excess of art and over-deliberated kitsch should not make us forget serious issues. However, in acting so randomly, the pendulum swung too far the other way.

Smash EDO now seek to outdo their last demonstration each time, so the protest becomes an act in itself, a leery version of the children’s parade, with beer cans instead of cola.

Direct action is justified at times, but the target should be clear. The two Reclaim the Streets demos in Brighton, back in 1996, caused traffic chaos – but at least cars were the target. A clear end was attained.

When angry anarchism took over Reclaim the Streets in 2000, condemnation of the Cenotaph graffiti brought that movement to an end. The protesters had something to say but not the principles to say it with respect.

A campaign cannot be fought on deliberate stupidity, conflating every aspect of life to an anti-war, anti- capitalist cause.

We all spend money somewhere, after all. And the beer cans being drunk at sunset by the pier were hardly local produce.

Peter Poole
Eastern Road, Brighton