Balsall Heath Hustings - Let the transparent banners hang

Attending the hustings in Balsall Heath last night was quite interesting. It was not attended by Roger Godsiff MP who thought it would be hijacked by party activists - to a point I think it was but with the degree of pressure the government have been under to ensure that there is a real chance of engagement with marginalised Muslim communities to reduce the chances of terrorism, he could have showed his face as the others did. A problems with successful politicians perhaps, they're willing to send men to war but not willing to sample a samosa with the locals in Mary Street Church Centre.

Hypocrisy was a major issue and one which the mainstream party candidates dealt with to an extent, though having said that I did feel that Salma Yaqoob was on more solid ground than anyone else when criticising the Labour government over their policies towards Afghanistan & the Middle East. I must admit I felt it was very important to be around people who felt very strongly about the failings of US and British foreign policy with particular regard to the Middle East and Pakistan area. Why not attend the occasional hustings where you're likely to get a drubbing Mr. Godsiff if it's in the national interest of reducing terrorism?

Watching Jo Barker try to deal with the haranguing she was getting was interesting as well. There seems to be a prevailing attitude amongst Conservatives that men should still be more than willing to take verbal abuse in the line of duty and not be bothered by this in the least - which is why I think they could be so willing to still engage in forms of banter in the Commons which make most politicians look like farm-yard animals to the masses who see them on TV. Did Ms Barker feel discriminated against because the residents of Balsall Heath behaved as badly as her potential colleagues in Parliament? Do the Conservatives consider it good form to be verbally abusive towards men and think it despicable if this same behaviour is carried out towards women?

If I ask the question whether or not Parliament will be the last workplace where verbal harassment is considered part of the heritage of the location or football grounds and the verbal harassment of players the last place where harassment takes place in the UK without significant penalty I would be highlighting a sad facet of British culture - to state that it is currently more likely that football grounds will tackle this issue more likely than Parliament doing this - I would be highlighting a sad facet of British politics.

There's a slideshow on flickr showing each of the candidates who participated - Salma Yaqoob (RESPECT), Jerry Evans (Lib Dems) and Jo Barker (Conservative) and the location this took place in. Not the best quality shots but it does have it's moments. I did wonder if there was anything symbolic about the transparent flags - other issues burning through the mask of nationalism perhaps, maybe poor symbols but worth considering.