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Some thoughts on M26

Anarcho | 27.03.2011 11:50 | Public sector cuts

Just some thoughts and personal experiences from the day.

First off, I am not the most articulate, so bear with me, and I hope this reads ok.

Something felt different on Saturday to the student protest in which the Milbank building was occupied, I tried to put my finger on it, then twigged this morning - spontaneity.
No one really expected the outpouring of anger that resulted in the trashing and occupation of Milbank, especially not the police. In contrast it was fully expected on M26, I was up at Oxford circus before the black bloc arrived, and saw police talking to the public about it. The bloc were organised to some degree, and I don't think it unfair of me to say the actions were loosely planned. The same with UK uncut, their occupations and targets were planned.

Something the black bloc, as (mostly) experienced activists do better than first-time or less experienced ragers is to not get caught. The tactic of concealing identity and looking like everyone else in the bloc is effective in this. Incidentally, even though experienced activists try to pass on the tactic of concealment, or 'masking up', it is a sign that anger has gone beyond 'activists' when people don't follow this tactic - unfortunately this is followed by witch-hunts, and the targets of dealt harsh sentences (Milbank, and the poll tax demos).

So the spontaneity (as I have defined it) didn't really manifest, why is that?

Compared to the whole of the poll tax campaign, I feel that with then people felt more empowered, in communities there was resistance to bailiffs, mass burning of bills, and a strategy of dragging court cases out, so they could not get through them all. Are these smaller victories what gave people the confidence to 'stick it to the man' on the streets?

Likewise with the student protest, and occupation of Milbank had they not already had a taste of feeling like thy had the power with university occupations, and walkouts?

It feels like we leave a whole area of resistance to the unions, who at a stretch would call a one-day strike, and who get Ed Milibank to address a Rally.

Anarcho

Comments

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Aversion, Subversion & Inversion.

27.03.2011 13:23

"First off, I am not the most articulate, so bear with me, and I hope this reads ok."

That's ok, it reads fine.

"Something felt different on Saturday to the student protest in which the Milbank building was occupied, I tried to put my finger on it, then twigged this morning - spontaneity."

What you might have felt was a sense of De Ja Vu. A sense that everybody was repeating a tactic that had already been tried earlier on. Not having been in London yesterday I can only give an insight into how it looks from an outsider POV.

Your day was split into three parts.

First, the lead up to the day in question. A good deal of speculation about what would happen on the streets on the day including some aggressive questioning of how the Labour leader could justify attaching himself to a march that was likely to turn violent along with him defending himself and his party on a tactic of "I fear the politics of division" are being used by the coalition. This is in fact, Labour party policy, turned 180 degree clockwise and directed at the Con-Dems.

Second, the TUC march itself and its distancing of itself from the "anarchists" and "troublemakers" prior to arriving at destination. While much of the media concentrated on scenes of violence, Ed Milliband was giving a speech to the TUC march bulk setting out how the Labour party would go about opposing the coalition on a policy of more "responsible" public cutting of public services. The strategy outlined effectively amounts to complete political non-representation of any person that is opposed for instance, to the deployment our the armed forces in Afghanistan and Libya at a time of enforced austerity at home. This "strategy" is underlined by...

Thirdly, any group that decides to take matters into their own hands by going into London to smash shop windows, can easily be controlled and managed by the police, who are themselves, looking toward the political party that will best represent their long term funding interests.

"So the spontaneity (as I have defined it) didn't really manifest, why is that?"

Essentially, you tried to hijack a Labour march of Labour party members, paid for with Labour funds planned to provide the Labour party planners with the required publicity to put forward the Labour parties own "austerity regime". Which ultimately is a mirror of the coalitions own policy.

"Compared to the whole of the poll tax campaign, I feel that with then people felt more empowered, in communities there was resistance to bailiffs, mass burning of bills, and a strategy of dragging court cases out, so they could not get through them all. Are these smaller victories what gave people the confidence to 'stick it to the man' on the streets?"

This is a profound and compelling insight into the tactics needed to oppose this policy of stripping the people of their household income and public services, in order to continue to fund foreign intervention of other nations, post financial collapse. Organising street actions was of use when the austerity regime was announced, but is of very little use now beyond providing the opposition with their own opportunity to announce and manage their own "austerity" policy. Which they have announced on the back of your organising "energy".

"t feels like we leave a whole area of resistance to the unions, who at a stretch would call a one-day strike, and who get Ed Milibank to address a Rally."

It feels like that, because that is indeed what has just happened. You simply ensured the media's guaranteed attendance and guaranteed they had pre-planned and cleared schedule time to broadcast the event.

I have no idea who you are, or if you are a genuine anarchist. But I find it impossible to believe that the anarchists who were on show yesterday, did not have the sense to work out who's hierarchical political interests they were representing on the day.

Collectively, among the anarchists, political parties, media and commentators, this nation is now politically "single issue" as far as political representation is concerned. If you oppose this "austerity regime", you now have no political representation at all! Every mainstream party has now adopted the same policy.

I really do apologise if this is offensive or annoying for you. Its just how I see it.

anonymous


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