Whatever you think about the actions of the Belgian brewery workers, threatened by redundancy, who for two weeks in January defended their livelihoods, by blocking roads, setting fire to beer crates, kidnapping managers and handing out free beer.
Please note, by getting their bosses back to the table, they won that round.
Our pub business, in its dealings with the Government and its neo-prohibitionist hangers- on, could take a leaf from the book of these workers.
There are similarities in the two positions after all. Both groups have their livelihoods threatened and in both cases, it could be argued, they are threatened on pretty dodgy grounds — the brewery workers because the employer was making profits and they could, therefore, see no reason why they should be fired.
In the case of our industry so many of the allegations against it are patently such complete bunkum that any independent assessment would see the neo-prohibitionist case dismissed out of hand.
The difference is the brewery workers were totally focused on what they had to do and had the guts and leadership to see it through. Our lot on the other hand, in the face of the Health Select Committee report on alcohol and the mandatory code seem to do nothing but make placatory noises to the enemy.
The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) don't protest, but welcome minimum pricing and who knows what the British Beer & Pub Association think.
We need somebody to get out there and tell the world that alcohol consumption is falling and so is the incidence of underage and binge drinking, as well as alcohol-related crime.
For too long we have allowed the neo-prohibitionists to set the agenda.
For too long we have been unquestioning of anything the British Medical Association says, even when it's patently rubbish (for instance that anybody who drinks more than the recommended daily unit is a "hazardous" drinker).
We have to fight back — another leaf we can take from the Belgian workers' book. Being Mr Nice Guy just doesn't work when you are dealing with bigots and fanatics.
In addition to exposing their lies, we need to bring home the benefits that alcohol, particularly alcohol consumed in pubs, brings to millions of people. We are talking about a vital, life-enhancing experience, not the joyless dystopia these latter day Puritans would impose on us all. Let's set about defending it now before it's too late.