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Why social centres are pants...

cynic | 16.07.2004 00:50 | Education | Free Spaces | Social Struggles | London

Is it just me or does anyone else think that the current trend toward starting up so-called 'social centres' is a load of wank?

Whatever happened to direct action, taking to the streets, throwing a spanner in the works and fucking shit up? What has happened to the revolutionaries? Why this suden explosion of 'social centres' all over the place?

It seems that a whole generation of activists have grown soft and have aspirations to be property owners, venue managers, cinema proprietors or cafe and bar staff. What is it all for? To give a small clique of friends and so-called activists a cool )and more importantly, cheap) place to hang out?

Am I being cynical? Lets for the sake of argument imagine that these places are not simply provided for the benefit of the usual suspects and do actual get people outside of these 'activist' cliques in through the doors. What then, what is achieved? Not that I really believe these places actually succeed in attracting 'normal' people anyway, but if it were true, what radical social change do we get for showing a bunch of the middle class white kids some pirated hollywood movie or feeding them some skipped pasta for a pound donation?

Indymedia is meant to be about politics and action, not cinema night, craft workshops, gigs and art galleries and I'm feed up with reading more and more self promotion on the newswire. Just because social centre events may be s free that doesn't stop it being advertising. These social centres seem to me, to be involved in little more than self rightious wank. What we need is more active people not less - not more people going out for a good time. It's not like there arn't already loads of cafes, cinemas, and bars etc for people to go to, so why does it seem that so many people are putting energy into providing these things.

Revolution means change. As activists, we are meant to faciltate change, not change into cheap replicas of what already exists. Lets get back out on the streets and in the workplace and get on with rocking the boat.



cynic

Comments

Display the following 29 comments

  1. Infrastructure — Independent left
  2. Social Centres do work — active K
  3. You can’t rent your way out of a social relationship… — Anon
  4. social centres can work — chris
  5. Comment on the leeds indymedia article — chris
  6. on increasing levels of cinema nights and so on... — pete
  7. The point of social centres — Ian Neal
  8. the issue is this — - -
  9. A hub for social education? — charles
  10. Eton Mission in Hackney Sucks ! — The Hackney Community Centre Project
  11. I wanna be so macho — Pastaman Skip Nation
  12. ..Its not about being macho.. — Terra @udio
  13. Pragmatism and the Ideal — WM
  14. taking the money... — heather
  15. Not a Leeds Indymedia article — Leeds Indymedia
  16. Semanticism. — B.T. Fish
  17. about cynic's article — underground
  18. Moots — sean
  19. In defense of social centres — ben
  20. eton mission in hackney — simone
  21. Hit a raw nerve? — cynic
  22. I agree with the above comment and Eton Mission does suck! — Chris
  23. The Great Big Social Centre Swindle! — TFG
  24. Charging a fiver or more is taking the piss.... — Mark. W.
  25. What social centre charges entry!? — ben
  26. erm yes hello people — mozaz
  27. Response to Comment by Ben — Chris
  28. response to renting social centres — thee errorist
  29. Great Speakers Great Doers — hylsnan

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