LGSM News
It's quite illogical to say ‘I’m gay and I’m into defending the gay community but I don’t care about anything else.’ It’s important that if you're defending communities, you’re defending all communities and not just one.
Mark Ashton
It's quite illogical to say ‘I’m gay and I’m into defending the gay community but I don’t care about anything else.’ It’s important that if you're defending communities, you’re defending all communities and not just one.
Mark Ashton
LGSM has backed the call from the Peterloo Memorial Campaign for a permanent memorial to commemorate those who died or were injured by a British Cavalry charge on 16 August 1819 with a message of support in advance of their mass picnic on Sunday 16 August in Manchester. Full details of the event are here. Christopher Eccleston, Maxine Peake, John Henshaw, John Thomson and many more will be there in support.
Our letter said:
… We wholeheartedly support your call for a fitting memorial to be erected in memory of those who were injured or died on 16 August 1819 at the hands of the cavalry at Peterloo. It is a sad reality that our society rarely recognizes the sacrifices made by ordinary people in history. Our modern day ‘leaders’ have a long record of bestowing posthumous honours and providing memorials on those who previously held power in our country – politicians, generals, wealthy philanthropists and royalty. Inventors and intellectuals, artists and those who made huge personal sacrifices in their work get an occasional look-in, but the thousands and thousands of ordinary working people who fought for the civil rights we all enjoy today are too rarely recognized for their sacrifices.
Those who gathered at Peterloo in August 1819 were examples of the downtrodden, taking steps to defend and extend the civil rights extended to them and deserve to be honoured for their efforts. Their treatment at the hands of the British cavalry was a national disgrace and their story buried, to a greater or lesser extent – which is another disgrace.
LGSM send this message of support to you with our best wishes for your campaign.
