May day is a day of ancient pagan revelry that traditionally marks the beginning of summer. In the Celtic world it is Beltane, in the Nordic countries it is Spring day. For the last century or so, it has also been the international workers day.
This Mayday in London, the usual demonstrations were held in Trafalgar Square. To my disgust, I noticed that one of the largest flags draped around Nelson's Column was the flag of the defunct Soviet Union- the Hammer and Sickle.
This was the flag of a system that killed and enslaved more people than Hitler- and under its Chinese, Cuban and North Korean versions continues to do so.
This is the flag whose false values oppressed trade union rights- crushing the Polish Solidarity trade union, and any other workers organisation that dared to challenge the vindictive power of the one party state.
The fact that so called workers representatives can rally under such a vile symbol of murderous repression is a bit more than willful ignorance: it is nothing short of a moral disgrace.
There is no moral difference between the Soviet Socialism of the Hammer and Sickle and the National Socialism of the Swastika. The fact that so-called democratic Socialists don't seem to care too much about the depravity of Stalin, while all the time, rightly, condemning the crimes of Hitler, reminds me why Socialism as a creed should be fought tooth and nail and at every turn.
In Estonia, Walpurgis night- the day before May Day- is the night when the forces of evil are exalted, rather like Halloween. Looking at the ragtag followers of the left grouped around this vile symbol, it seems that the same tradition applies in London too.
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