Since October 15th, hundreds of people have occupied St Paul’s Cathedral next to the Stock Exchange, hoping for a future without unemployment, tax injustice and austerity (to mention a few)… They’ve been camping outside, baring these cold wintery nights, all for this good cause. There’s also been another cause in London this week – a cause for Beliebers, a cause that has broken many a teen heart, caused families to pay for therapy for these teens hearts, and these teens all gathered, for up to 18 hours, to see the one guy they’d sell their left and right arm for flick a switch at Westfields Shopping Centre.
Two totally different groups of people, two very different agendas. We met them to find out more about their causes, and also their opinions on each other…
Reverend Billy [of the Church of Stop Shopping] [Occupy London]
SS: How long are you going to be involved in the Occupy London protest?
RB: Do you have a shopping problem there, my sister? Don’t shop at Sparks and Mencers! Or is Marks and Spencers…? [The cause] is something that I’m going to be helping out with for the rest of my life, in some form. This is the site of the audacity of the consumer culture – miles and miles of computers and silent people in suits. It’s heavy.
SS: How long have you been here for?
RB: Only for three days. I just got out of jail – I was in jail for 30 hours from the Goldman Sachs action.
SS: So… what are your thoughts on Justin Bieber?
RB: JUSTIN??? JUSTIN BIEBER, THE DEVIL??? YOU’VE LOST YOUR SOUL, JUSTIN! COME BACK TO ST PAULS! STOP SELLING THINGS JUSTIN BIEBER, WITH YOUR MILLIONS OF LITTLE TEENAGE FANS! COME BACK TO ST PAUL’S, AND SAVE YOUR SOUL. WOO! HALLELUJAH!
SS: How long would you wait to see him play?
RB: Is he coming here? Is it true that he’s 4”8? I’ve never met him.
SS: Would you like to?
RB: No, not really.
Sadie, Rihanne and Georgia [Beliebers]
SS: What would you do if JB proposed to you right now?
I’d cry!
SS: Do you like Selena Gomez?
Not really.
SS: If JB was to cheat on you with her…
I’d be angry. I’d kill her.
SS: What time did you wake up for?
2am. It was raining.
SS: What are your opinions on the Occupy London event which is going on at the moment?
[Silence whilst girls look at each other]
SS: It’s a political thing…
Not sure what that is!
SS: Sing us your favourite Bieber song…
[Starts singing a song we don’t know – think it might be called ‘Mistletoe?’]
SS: Amazing, love it! What would you like to say to Justin Bieber?
Inspirational, amazing, great… I love you! I want to marry you!
Daniel [of Anonymous (UK)] [Occupy London]
SS: How long have you been here for?
D: About two weeks. We’ve got signs, we’ve got food, we’ve got people to poke continuously for entertainment, so it’s not bad.
SS: And how long are you planning on being here for?
D: Well, we’re actually already in planning our Christmas dinner – there’s going to be turkey and spuds! After Christmas – why not? I might as well wait for the end. Most of [Anonymous] are going to be here for a very long time. We have no leaders, and no one tells us what to do. We want is to be heard, and for what we want to actually be recognised – and to come up with viable options for the way things could be.
SS: So, Justin Bieber turned on the Westfields Christmas lights yesterday…
D: – Okay, interview over! Is this a Justin Bieber thing?
SS: Not really… we just wanna know how long you’d wait to see him play live.
D: Am I allowed to take firearms into the concert? If I am, maybe a few hours – until I get bored and realise that he’s not worth killing. I mean, he’s just a little girl.
SS: A little girl who’s supposedly fathered an illegitimate baby.
D: Really? Well, I’ve heard of stranger things.
(Name Unknown) [Belieber]
SS: How much of a true Belieber are you? If he proposed right now, what would you do?
U: I would turn for him.
SS: If he was a woman, what would you do?
U: Ahh, I’d do different things.
SS: What different things?
U: Illegal sort of shit, a lot of stuff…
SS: What do you think about capitalism?
U: Err, I don’t know… I don’t really know a lot about that subject.
SS: Okay, cool – how long have you been queuing today?
U: I got here at five in the morning.
SS: Were you one of the only guys here?
U: Yeah, I was.
Aaron [Occupy London]
SS: So how long have you been at Occupy London for?
A: Two weeks. It’s been going really well – very peaceful. They’ve given us permission to stay till London 2012, so I’m going to stay till then.
SS: What would you be really happy to see change as a result of the protest?
A: A moneyless society. I know it’s hard to imagine, but it’s possible, you know. How would it work? We’ll have to find that out, man.
SS: So if you’re prepared to wait till next summer for major social reform… how long would you wait to see Justin Bieber play live?
A: … Is that a joke?
SS: No.
A: I don’t know how to answer that question. Sorry.
Lily [Belieber]
SS: What do you think about Justin Bieber? Are you a mega mega fan?
L: Yeah – I’ve been supporting him since 2008, and every time he comes to the UK I have to follow him, so I beg my mum to take me.
SS: Is your mum here today?
L: Well, no.
SS: How long have you been here for?
L: About five hours.
SS: How do you feel about the baby allegations?
L: Well, I can’t say if it’s fake or true, because I don’t know… but as soon as they find out all of the details I’ll support him all the way anyway.
SS: If he came up to you right now and said, “Lilly, I wanna marry you”, what would you do?
L: I think I’d faint! But then I’d be calm and be like, “You’re joking with me”. I have tried meeting him before, but it never really worked out.
SS: What do you think about the whole Occupy London thing that’s going on?
L: [Mouths “What’s that???”]
SS: Er, so if he had no hair, would you still like him?
L: Yeah, he has a real down-to-earth personality, and he shows everyone that he supports them as well.
SS: And how about if he was a lady?
L: I’d be shocked! But I’d still be supporting him, because there’s nothing wrong with how he wants to be.
Belieber Words: Polly Salmon
Belieber Pictures: Max Gleeson
Occupy London Words & Pictures: Charlotte McManus
http://www.justinbieberofficial.co.uk
Definitely find Aaron strangely attractive