The sound of heads knocking against brick walls

In response to the planning permission application for The Gateway Road, one of the link roads to the Bexhill Hastings link road, I took the initiative to go and speak to local residents, writes HOT’s Zelly Restorick, to ask how they feel about the current and long-term development programme of roads, housing and business centres.

The idea of knocking on strangers’ doors induced in me a feeling of nausea. Visions of homeowners slamming their doors in my face or not even bothering to open them ran through my head, but feeling so strongly about the issue, I thought I had to try.

I spoke to people living and working in the Wrestwood Road, Pebsham Lane and Sidley area, these being some of the spaces directly affected by the development plans. Although some people said they didn’t care either way and some were absolutely supportive, the overwhelming response was that the development was not at all welcome.

 

However, the real eye-opener to me was the number of people who said that even though they heartily objected to the plans, fighting them was a total waste of time and energy. Disillusionment, frustration and a sense of ‘what’s the point?’ echoed in my ears. A sense of helplessness and a huge divide between ‘us’ – local people – and ‘them’ – the decision-makers and those in power.

“What’s the point?… we’re banging our heads up against a brick wall.” “They’ve already made their minds up, we can send in as many objections as we want, it won’t make any difference.” “It’s been going on since the year dot… they’re not going to listen to us.” “The people making the decisions don’t live here, they don’t care about us.”

My question to the people who felt their involvement or action wouldn’t make any difference was, how can things change, if this is your belief system? The situation is surely self-perpetuating? You feel you are helpless, you can’t make a difference, your voice won’t be heard, nothing’s ever going to change, so why bother? If this is your belief, how can the system ever be re-aligned to a more fair and equal balance?

And is it possible that this is something that those in power, making the decisions that affect all of us, are aware of and maybe sometimes use to their advantage? The fact that a lot of people feel getting involved is a waste of their life, as nothing will change?

It seems to me a sad reflection of our system and society that people believe their opinion counts for nothing… that decisions had been made long ago, were possibly not totally transparent and whatever they themselves thought or did, these decisions were written in stone and irreversible.

I’m aware that this development programme – due to continue through to 2027 and being submitted in digestible bites, as John Shaw said at a meeting I attended – is part of a much wider, national development programme and a much bigger agenda. Does my small local survey reflect how people feel in other areas of the country?

 

Maybe in our society, we are brought up to comply, to be subservient and obedient and to not question anyone in authority? Personally, I found it very strange when I was involved in the anti-road campaigning, when the police began talking about anarchists and anarchy in relation to peaceful campaigners opposing the development plans. People simply disagreeing with decisions, which they felt to be unjust, unfair and undemocratic.

I have often pondered about why in so many cultures and throughout history, the majority are ruled by a minority. Wondered why we get angry and shake our fists at the TV or the newspapers, but do nothing to change anything? Maybe the answer is apathy? Too busy to get involved? Our personal lives are simply too busy and so pressured that we have no time to spare? Maybe it is lack of knowledge about how to disagree with a very complicated system, using a very complex jargon-filled language? Maybe we are taught from infancy to comply and to obey without question? Within the family, school, work – within all the hierarchical, authoritarian, dominance-based systems which make up our lives? Maybe we simply don’t know what to do, even if we wanted to do something and the choices appear to be passive acceptance or outright violent revolution, with nothing in between?

One person I later spoke to, who had been directly involved in the local government system themselves, said that in order to change things, one must be prepared to give up 10 years of one’s life, become a councillor, be prepared to attend extraordinarily dull meetings and spend evenings reading reports – understanding them and responding to them – and learning about how the system works. To be on the inside of the decision-making system, not an outside, passive observer and pawn.

Another person quoted to me a verse from Shelley’s poem, The Masque of Anarchy, written in response to the Peterloo Massacre:

Rise like lions after slumber

In unvanquishable number,

Shake your chains to earth like dew

Which in sleep had fallen on you

Ye are many – they are few.

A century later, Aldous Huxley commented on this poem, saying it was not a call to arms for more bloodshed and destructive brutality, rather Shelley referred to non-violent resistance. A step towards people empowering themselves with knowledge and skills to stand up for what they value.

Inevitably, all the time we feel strongly about something, but do nothing, we must accept that our apathy and passivity have also contributed to the outcome – and we cannot blame others or abdicate our own personal responsibility. We nearly all of us have a choice and a voice – it’s up to us how and if we use them or not.

Also in: Campaigns

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450 object to ‘gateway’ road »