Someone threw an egg at my house. Is this a political rite of passage?

The other night someone threw an egg at my house, and then ran off. The window it hit didn’t smash and cleaning everything up the next day only took 20 minutes or so, so no big deal.

Hubris obviously makes me want to think that someone was making a political point about my being a Lib Dem activist. Realism makes me think that it was kids drinking on the Common having a laugh and we were randomly targeted. Who Knows?

Anyway, it did make me ponder the nasty side of politics. The side that, as Caron points out on her blog, means that a 14 year olds experience of her first national conference was to be sworn and spat at by protestors. And to show it works both ways – the alleged use of inappropriate language by a Lib Dem to describe protestors, who will be mainly decent, well meaning people who just happen to have a different view from us (thanks to Lisa H for blogging on this).

I wonder how many more good people, across the political spectrum, are put off getting involved in politics because of behaviour like this?

I’m struck by how few people who read my blog actually feel like they can leave a comment – it’s way less than 1%. Now obviously a lot of people just don’t want to comment – but I do wonder how many others just don’t want to put their heads above the parapet, for fear of the response they will get.

We moan a lot about the low regard politicians are held in this country, and obviously there are ample examples of poor behaviour from national politicians who have got us to that position. But unless the rest of us can behave in a more civil manner, a lot less people are going to involve themselves, and the country will be poorer for it.