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Educating who about what?

fys | 30.09.2004 22:01 | Analysis | Social Struggles

For some anarchy is about social change, for others it is about social status. Anarchism has its subculture figureheads, who tell us from stages and with lights shining on them that hierarchy, rock 'n' roll, and the status it gives to them pop idiots is wrong...



Educating Who About What?

The Circled A and its Parasites

parasite n 1. an organism living in or on another organism for its own benefit 2. something or somebody depending on something or somebody else for existence or support without making a useful or adequate return

Ninety percent of the anarchist movement is a joke.

Anarchism has come to be used to describe anything but anarchism.

Anarchism, as a movement in Britain, is just about nonexistent. Anarchists have no influence whatsoever within the working class, although we see anarchist principles at work all the time throughout our class. The best parts of our lives normally exist outside of anybody's control. Human nature is good; the conditions most of us grow up in are bad.

"Anarchists" get a buzz out of feeling part of some anarchist tradition. They romantically look to Spain as proof that anarchist society is workable and desirable by a mass of people. Yet for some strange reason these people appear to be completely detached form the mass of people who would make anarchism a reality. Maybe it is fear of being pushed out of the way by real people, making real change that keeps the supposed anarchists to their weird little worlds. Jealous of their specialized subject being taken from them by those it's really from and for.

People appear unwilling to face up to the realities of our present society, wishing instead to bury themselves in empty rhetoric and totally empty and useless supposed anarchist organizations that struggle like fuck to sustain themselves. Anarchist groups today appear to be social clubs for society's misfits, where all kinds of weirdos discuss matters they have no connection to, in the grand name of anarchy.

University educated politicos, with absolutely no valid experience of a working class existence, talk emptily about capitalism and class from a position of privileged detachment and every other load of bullshit imag9inable except for anything of value, such as...


1. The middle class's involvement in politics, its contradictions, and the damage done by wevolutionaries and wadicals, their insincerity...
2. How come the anarchist (?) groups who profess to have right lines, have everything but members? Are people thick or is their method of working wrong? (How come very little anarchist propaganda strikes a chord in people?)

People do not want to look at the obstacles that need considering. To look at society and to realize the reality of the situation that we live in is something very unpalatable for most supposed anarchists. Most supposed anarchists haven't the bottle or desire. Until discussion begins that privileged idiots and boring politicos do not hinder, we haven't a hope in hell of getting anywhere.

We know in anarchist politics that most people give up at the first hurdle out of frustration and defensiveness. People dig themselves into a corner - staying put in their road to nowhere; groups producing crap papers no one seems to want to buy or read.

Most political shit that gets produced bears no relation to people's lives. Most of what is produced assumes the reader is a political bore with plenty of knowledge of irrelevant and pathetic political language, half of which comes from another classes' view of things. The middle class is very inarticulate; they try to hide this by their use of words. When we understand the words the academics use, the fuckers have no hiding place. They have nothing to say and no reason to try to say anything 'political'.

The academics (bored people who sit on the sidelines of any class conflict), who profess to be revolutionaries, have main priorities which seem to be making almost, but not quite, stimulating books and magazines for very unstimulating people - kind of like pseudo intellectual shit to have on your coffee table to impress impressionable fools with and to help the purchaser to feel that they are concerning themselves with the world's ills, when really they are not. There's actually comfort in such 'politics' for some people.

Turning a blind eye to unsightly reality will not further anarchism in any way. The anarchist exists in irrelevant groups as a shield to protect them from reality. It's avoidance of accepting that they're ignored and powerless... and realistically, up to nothing of any value.

Is it Trumpton we live in, or England?

One anarchist (?) from the Solidarity Federation said at a recent meeting of the Northern Anarchist Network, "I'm sick of hearing about the middle class - there are only bosses and workers." In the cartoon world of his organization this is maybe the case. A very simple and romanticized view of things. A very, very inadequate view of society, outdated by maybe 70 or 80 years or so. We know this view is the basis of all anarchist groups - out of date left wing rubbish.

Everyone else knows society has changed and does change, but not the politicos. Concrete realities that clash with their views they choose to ignore.

Millions of us are on the dole and don't have bosses as such, yet we do have middle class people affecting out lives, breathing down our next, held up to us as successful people and role models. Our managers and controllers - but not necessarily our bosses.

What world do some people inhabit in order to come up with such a line? Some people's vision of society is basically addled by their involvement in 'politics'. The critical lack of class analysis that exists within supposed class politics enables ex-public schoolboys and all other shades of liberals to stand along side working class revolutionaries without it seeming peculiar. Questions are not asked, which spares the impostors embarrassment and creates a very weak and bastardized movement. We don't speak up 'cause usually we don't want to make fools of these clowns who are supposedly on our side. This should end, though. Politeness is the art of non-communication.

Talking about fighting back today is like talking about rope in the house of a hanged man. Thanks to the wonderful politicos - everything they touch turns to shit.

Middle class people elbow their way into wherever there's room. Their behavior is selfish, causing the people who really do give a fuck to move away to look for something more real. If you're sick of the bastards who we are up against as a class, and you try to do something about it, you end up finding the bastards exist in the same roles in politics as they do outside politics - controlling and dominant. Middle class behavior in politics is disgusting and it's no wonder people move away from it. Their involvement is an embarrassment. Our class is blessed with common sense and can usually suss out bullshitters a mile of and stay away as a result.

Some people start fires or cut themselves up to get attention while other people join bands.

"The revolutionary and social goals of anarchism are suffering and far-reaching to a point where the word anarchy will become part of the chic bourgeois vocabulary of the coming century - naughty, rebellious, but deliciously safe."
- Murray Bookchin, "Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism"

For some anarchy is about social change, for others it is about social status. Anarchism has its subculture figureheads, who tell us from stages and with lights shining on them that hierarchy, rock 'n' roll, and the status it gives them to pop idiots is wrong (what needs to be said about that?). They sing the praises of people involved in struggle yet remain at a comfortable and well-maintained distance themselves, because what they are and what they would like us to believe they are are two entirely different things. It is only that the audience isn't meant to discuss or see that bit. Go on, you've achieved your five seconds to say something pretentious, stupid and embarrassing and pretend it's somehow related to anarchism.

Read the full text here -  http://www.openlyclassist.org.uk/

fys

Comments

Hide the following 8 comments

Oi! U Thik Twat!

01.10.2004 01:31

Bit of a rant there mate!

And you seem to think the enemy is the 'middle class', not the ruling class..... And you seem to think that its cool to use inverted snobbery rather than class analysis or take part in the actual class struggle.

Reminds me of a disease that used to infect uni dropouts in the left wing sects of the '70's called 'prolier than thou'.



But what really made me piss myself was this following gem as a link from your website:
 http://www.openlyclassist.org.uk/contain.html

"2003 WORKING-CLASS ACADEMICS

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

It is time for the Eighth Annual Conference of the Working Class Academics organization

To be held at Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK - July 22-25, 2003

Details of location can be found on the University web site  http://www.brunel.ac.uk/ This interdisciplinary conference provides a forum for support, networking, and theorizing about the production of knowledge in academia, assumptions that structure our interaction with colleagues, and our interaction with the world at large, from the standpoint of being an academic from a working class or working poor social background. Since the intersection of class and academia is fluid in nature, there are often many different types of papers from a multitude of disciplines. Given that our conference will be held in the UK, papers on the cross-cultural aspects of class would be especially pertinent.

We invite proposals from students, faculty, organizers, and activists in all fields, rom literature to social work, history to filmmaking, union organizing to neighborhood activism. Along with papers, we invite roundtables, and presentations of all kinds.

Each year, we emphasize the themes of the Working Class Academics group in our conference presentations. These themes have included "coming-out" in the classroom, navigating the academic maze, affirmative action using social class, negotiating social and work roles, research on class, film, culture, and a myriad of other topics pertinent to our experience.

Presenters should describe their projects with suggested presentation format (panel, roundtable, reading, workshop, etc). Proposals should be no longer than 500 words".

mmmmmmmmm

Now....

If you are an academic, are you 'middle class' or working class? I think the majority of academics form part of a culturally priviledged section of the working class. - (And these sections of the working class do tend to impose themselves as (mis)leaders on the rest of the workers movement).

But these 'openly classist' types might think that academia is inherently 'middle class'? Please would you explain?

So who are working class academics, and how do they differ from 'middle class' academics?

Are they just academics who were formerly from a working class background?

Or are they some sort of special section of academics who don't own their means of production and are exploited by an academic bourgeoise?

Who cares? Coz whatever they are, I bet you'd call em a 'middle class tosser' in a meeting!....coz they use language like: " theorizing about the production of knowledge in academia"

You complain about middle class language games and then exhibit the same tendency all over you website...so you are going to print 'spectacular times' and you like homocult....well of course these movements were sooooooo manual, without an intellectual in sight!

Your Funny! Keep it up! Well done for raising a smile!

Bazza K


Oh dear

01.10.2004 02:16

Oh dear. A middle class attack.

HA HA HA

String the twats up!!

kfm


Before I top myself...some comments

01.10.2004 09:59

There is some truth in both of these postings and some sweeping generalisations.
Class equals classification. Who's doing the clasifying? e.g. A working class english person bumming arounbd India - are they now working class or a rich consumer class?

I agree that most anarchist ( and marxist ) groups don't appear to connect with day to day sturggles effectively except that..

1./ a lot of anarchists/ex anarchists/activists that agree with anarchism but don't call themselves anarchists/ quasi-marxists etc. seem to be full of people caught in the struggle to survive themselves and this is time-consuming ( you know what it's like doing a 70 hour week in a shit job followed by periods of unemployment and just holding your neck above water...). As do people that otherwise might get involved. Don't just assume that evberybody is middle fucking class.

2./ Alienation - particularly in the cities and in particular London. A lot of people do not actually 'go out' as such whether to parties, meetings, social gatherings, info nights, debates, the cinema, on holiday etc etc. They spend their time paying off debts/fines/keeping the council at bay/arguing with the wankers at their kids school/trying to keep a roof over their heads etc/ as I have done and still do.

3./ Media and education play a strong part in influencing peoples perception of alternatives to the state drudge. I have had plenty of arguments and fights with working class fascists e.g. NF - some of whom I have grown up with.

4./ I agree that their are a lot of middle class poseurs and hippies in the movement and people slumming it on a long term holiday/party particularly in the squatting movement.

5./ I know some people from a pretty rich background that have done a lot of good shit and been supportive and have learned from and take part in working class struggles. Some have not and have merely done the 'gap year sow your oats arguing with yuor folks who can bail you out if things get relaly tough before you sell out and become a lawyer' shit.

6./Define middle class with any clarity. Is it the crane Operator on several grand a week or the arts administrator on £350 a week. Not easy basing a persons identity soley on their income? I find it also dangerous judging people solely on their job label as well.
We could look at cultural, social, economic capital here etc but then we spend too much time getting bogged down with theory.

7./There is, on the whole, too much partying and flowery rhetoric and not enough support on the here and now. And not enough carefully placed petrol-soaked rags, hacked systems, defense of ordinary people being fucked over by the state /school /council /pigs /lawyers /bailiffs etc.etc.

8./ Purism - a problem of exclusivity in all ideologies and also some behavour in anarchist groups. Don't have naything to do with that lot because they are, they're not etc etc..

9./ Still a shit load of ageism and sexism in anarchist groups. Who can get anway with what?

10./ Oh well, be the change. you what to see and if you don't like what's going on ( or a PARTICULAR TACTIC )
( which I am pretty well depressed with ) do something else - like see a psychatrist/neighbour.


11./ Group dynamics and mental health.................................

These are just a few notes and some stuff has to be better qualified but shit needs to be sorted.

Long-term-unemployed class


the system

01.10.2004 12:23

... the system kills ...

... the system propagates itself - top down ...

... people look after the system, the sytem does not look after people ...

Free yourself (singular) first.

No.1 rule in destroying the system:

... Don't get caught.

No.2 rule in destroying the system:

... Be your own leader you feeble burke.

No.3 rule in destroying the system:

... Understand that you are a bio-electric-magnetic phenomena and you are GOING TO DIE - Free yourself before this happens.

No gods, no masters

karen eliot


Good

01.10.2004 13:04

Good critique of modern day anarchists. Social centres etc are a perfect example of detaching oneself from everyday struggle.

Ulyanov


Openly Bonkers

01.10.2004 15:47

I used to think Openly Classist were a piss-take. Now I realise they're serious it's even funnier!

How about IMC sponsoring the 2004 Prolier-Than-Thou Awards, we could put up Openly Classist, the IWCA, the Liverpool SLPers and that bloke from Brighton Unemployed Workers Centre and watch them denounce each other as middle-class wankers for the rest of time?



;-)


Who are Openly Classist?

23.02.2005 18:59

Openly Classist is Terry Morgan and Brandon Spivey.

Mr Terry Morgan


great rant!

30.03.2006 13:34

i'll say it again; great rant - some of the comments were rubbish though - for instance:
unable to handle the fact that he's a middle class so-and-so who's been exposed along with many others,
bazza k insists on doing what his class does best: talking down to people.
you patronising wanker.
and what his class does worst: trying to take the piss / trying to be funny! Don't bother...
everytime you lot open your mouths, I hate you more and more.
Jason

Jason


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