Brendan O’Neill Brendan O’Neill

The double standards of the London protestors

Black Lives Matter activists protest at Trafalgar Square (Photo: Getty)

So now we know. All the things said about Dominic Cummings – that he shattered the lockdown, that he thinks it’s one rule for him and another for everyone else – are far truer of those protesting at the big Black Lives Matter demo in Trafalgar Square on Sunday, than they are of Cummings.

The demo’s message was clear. It shouted to the nation that the virtuous and right-thinking are more important than the rest of us. Their views and their rights count for more than ours. So while people will be shamed for sitting on a beach or taking part in VE Day celebrations, those who have the right opinions can press the flesh in a huge public gathering with seeming impunity.

Politically, the gathering on Sunday was a confused affair. Quite what the British government can do about the brutal killing of George Floyd in a country 3,000 miles away is anyone’s guess.

Brendan O’Neill
Written by
Brendan O’Neill

Brendan O’Neill is Spiked's chief politics writer. His new book, After the Pogrom: 7 October, Israel and the Crisis of Civilisation, is out now.

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