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NoneNude Protest Against War by Ex-Army Officer in Manchester, UK (Edited) (2001)

Warning

The following video is about a nude anti-war protest in Manchester in October 2001. It contains scenes showing male nudity from the outset. If this offends you, please do not watch it.

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October 28th 2001. On this date, James Thorne, a former Sandhurst-trained army officer and tank commander, carried out a lone, nude anti-war protest/publicity stunt in St Ann's Square, central Manchester, UK. Thorne volunteered to join the army at a time when national service is not compulsory in the UK--unlike the chickenhawks (Bush, Cheney et al) currently advocating war in Afghanistan and Iraq, who did everything they could to avoid service in Vietnam themselves. Anyone volunteering for the armed services knows that there is a high risk of possible injury or death--there is no knowing which theatre of conflict they might end up in. Thorne's duties in the army included a spell as a UN peace-keeper and also a tour of duty in northern Ireland.

His protest against the impending attack on Afghanistan was highly successful and got a lot of publicity. He was arrested about an hour after the protest began. James phoned the police to report himself in order to make sure that he would be arrested.

A few days after his protest, Thorne was charged in court with indecent exposure. He agreed not to strip off in public again and be bound over to keep the peace.

Over the next few days, his protest received extensive coverage in the local press and some coverage in the national press. When the local TV newsrooms were offered this footage on the same day as the protest they turned it down, mumbling a variety of lame excuses.

In his statement to the court Thorne said:

''I acted out of the duty of the strong to protect the weak and with self-sacrifice, as it was inevitable I would come before this court.

I acted in a spirit of service to my country in order, in my own small way, to try and bring it back from the brink of mass murder.

In the army and also through my academic work I understand what war is. This conflict will not work and will cause a huge amount of suffering to innocent people.

This war involves much unnecessary cruelty and will not stop the terrorist attacks.

A naked man is powerless and he is also casting away material things.

It is the gluttonous consumption of material things that has taken us to where we are today.

So the fact I was not wearing any clothes was symbolic but was also a good way to annoy the authorities."

Fortunately, I was there to video the whole protest.

Since this protest, James Thorne has been a leader of the anti-war movement at Manchester University and, true to his name, he has indeed been a thorn in the side of the British warmongering Establishment.

This is an edited version of the footage.

7th April 2006 Update. a new file has been added encoded with the open source xvid codec and in the open standard Matroska video container (.mkv). It can be played in Videolan Player (VLC).


This movie is part of the collection: Manchester Antiwar Videoblog

Director: None
Producer: Chris Edwards
Production Company: None
Sponsor: None
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: 9/11; war; antiwar; anti-war; Protest Films; manchester; Afghanistan; army; peace
Contact Information: chrisedwards2004@yahoo.com

Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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Reviewer: kaliman - - May 7, 2006
Subject: It's all right Ma, I'm only bleeding
I have to say I admire what is being done and said in this video. Most people do not stop to think about the philosopy and history of war. When you do, certain things become self-evident. I have just started reading American Theocracy which outlines historically why American will become in this century what England was in the last. We are spoiled by fuel (in America's case oil, in Englands case coal) and that the protection of that fuel (which only helps the rich) is always leading to war.

Fear of a naked man with a sign - is fear of thinking beyond the obvious - he may be naked but he speaks the truth.

Reviewer: 351c - - August 19, 2005
Subject: Such A Pity
A sad display of the extent some will go for their 15 minutes of fame.

Reviewer: Jim Larkin - - February 9, 2005
Subject: Essential viewing
This video clip is essential viewing for everyone. Its importance lies in the fact that Thorne comes from a military background, i.e. from a family of British army and RAF officers, and is himself a graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst (UK's West Point). When people of that kind of establishment background start stripping off in public to expose the fraudulent nature of the wars launched by Bush and Blair, it ought to give everyone cause to seriously question these insane military adventures.

See also:

UK Military Families Against the War.

Reviewer: 1HarshCritic - - January 19, 2005
Subject: Never served a day in combat
This loser perhaps pervert? Just wanted an excuse to walk around nude...He's a college boy in need of a girl