It has been a success every year, but not everyone is happy with the upcoming Bendigo Rioters Festival.
“Rioting is about more than the troublemakers they are promoting,” states Eugene Fisk.
“There are now rioters operating in the cyber world and tagging walls in the streets.”
This year’s BRF will feature talks on how to shout slogans and about which cars are best to tip over, alongside workshops on avoiding tear gas and methods of breaking police containment lines.
“There’s so much more rioting out there,” argues Mr Fisk. “Such as the occupy movement that showed a lot but pretty much told us nothing.”
BRF event director Colin Firth does not agree.
“Those f$@%s aren’t real rioters! They use placards, billboards, and memes,” she states.
“If you have visual aids then that’s not real rioting. They’re just protesters.”
The distinction is as stark as cheese and cake, and should not be confused with cheesecake, according to Ms Firth.
“Real rioting is about having a meaning to the voice and expressing it so the message must be heard,” she explains.
The occasional violent manner this expression takes has attracted an unwanted element.
According to Mr Fisk, “Some of the festival guest speakers are no more than hooligans, who claim to have something to say but their expression is really selfish.”
Linking rioters with hooligans is a contentious issue.
“Look!” says Ms Firth. “Those f#@$ers are a fringe element, and I’d bundle the sit-down and protest whinge movement with them.”
For more about the rioting fringe, see this link to Riot on the Fringe: http://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/fringe
Including the Rioting for Performance talk hosted by Luke Morris: http://www.ncgrl.vic.gov.au/event/bendigowriterscouncilworkshop1
