The Metropolis

Brian Haw - hero or crank?

Mike Pollitt | Monday 20 June, 2011 12:13

Brian Haw has died. He will be remembered for the unique commitment and stamina with which he stood against the wars of this decade. His exceptionalism testifies to the strength of his beliefs, and the extent to which they outran those of mainstream society.

Rikki Blue, quoted in Pennie R Quinton’s piece at Al Jazeera, puts into words Haw’s core belief, with which none of us can argue:

“Brian demanded that the world stops killing kids. He was such an angry man but when he smiled it was like the heavens opened. He suffered so much persecution and violence during his time in the square – but nothing could shake his belief that killing kids is wrong.”

But was he really, as the piece’s headline has it, an unsung hero? It’s a strange term to use about someone whose protest was geared, quite understandably, for maximum publicity, and who directly inspired a Turner prize winner. That artist, Mark Wallinger, writes an impassioned memorial in The Independent

“Over time, Brian has been proven wholly right. It’s pretty obvious to everyone now that we went to war on a lie. In many ways he was the guilty conscience of all the complacent, lazy people who hadn’t taken a stand or examined their views at all.”

Brendan O’Neill at The Telegraph disagrees. He thinks Wallinger and “the chattering classes” used Haw as a proxy for their own beliefs, so they could feel like they were protesting without having to endure any of his privations.

“Artist Mark Wallinger won the prestigious Turner Prize for recreating Haw’s camp inside the Tate, which had the added bonus of allowing those liberals who claimed to love Haw but would never dream of visiting his increasingly grotty camp to visit an exact replica of it in the rarefied environs of Pimlico instead. In flattering Haw, in providing him with both bodily and political sustenance, the chattering classes ensured that he stayed put. Thus could they relax at home, sipping organic apple juice as they watched Channel 4 News.”

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