The Biggest Betrayal of Them All.

Protesting is surely the most immature way to try to promote change. The problem we face is that most of the people in power think that the views of young people are not worth listening to; they court us for votes and then screw us over later without a care in the world. Why not take advantage of us while our brains are so addled with weed and vodka that we probably won’t even notice?

Now of course this view is rubbish. There are a lot of political issues which we want and need to weigh in on because they directly affect us, like the fees issue. Others of us might be political in other areas too, because of questions arising around abortion, religion, benefits or, yes, drugs, which we also feel strongly about. However, our delightful government refuses to view this large, educated pressure group of reasonable twenty-somethings as anything other than a band of rowdy, drunk kids.

Well, thanks a lot ‘#Demo2012’, because you’ve just proved them right.

The interesting thing about us is that we’re divided into two groups; those who were old enough to vote in the election in 2010 that sparked this outrage, and those who weren’t. I certainly went to my local school and put my vote in, and felt smug (and felt smug later too, when ‘broken promises’ became the most used phrase in the country) and, not to put too fine a point on it, this is doing democracy the right way. Lots of other people my age did it too, and a few weeks later had every right to feel betrayed, but taking to the streets isn’t going to solve that. Unfortunately, the thing with elections is that you have to wait another four years to register your feelings.

The other group, the freshers, who were too young to vote at the time, are living their political life in a kind of suspended childhood, throwing big, public, embarrassing tantrums in the middle of London in the hope that somehow the government will be frightened into changing things. Frightened by all those slightly drunk, Jack Wills adorned teenage girls, who slightly fell in love with Nick Clegg two years ago and now feel, ‘like, really angry’. Who just were along for the thrill of painting signs and drawing peace signs on their faces and shouting along.

They say that everyone at university should go on at least one protest. It’s part of being a student to get misguidely involved in some campaign or another, whether it be peace on earth or militant vegetarianism, but if I could speak to this week’s batch of misguided protesters I would simply say; please, stop. This week’s example of kids crowding together awkwardly in London, shouting at no one about something they can’t change, which will never change now; what does it do? What is the long term effect of a disorganised, poorly attended march, which ends in infighting and disinterest? It’s more years where the big dogs don’t take us seriously. It’s another election where young people get fucked, because they’re young and they’re stupid and they don’t matter.

Perhaps the Lib Dems did betray you. We can all accept that. But now, worse, by making us look so irrelevant and unimportant? You’re betraying us yourselves.