An Account Of The Right To Work March And Rally In Words & Pictures
Stalingrad O’Neill | 06.10.2010 16:49 | Public sector cuts | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Birmingham
Meanwhile SWP'ie Central Committee Member Chris Bambery took time out for comradely consultations with the Old Bill in order to remove one Anarchist block from the head of the march. Then that all sorted, the Platform, sensing their speeches coupled with the unceasing downpour, had aptly dampened the chances of any embarrassing n' uncurbed militant aberrations from the marchers, finished with the Clarion cry "Organise for May's TUC callout!" echoing from the stage
Er..Organise f'kin' what exactly! The mythical 70,000? and use the brilliant time honoured n’ tired useless tactic: the long foot slog to Hyde Park to hear veteran diversionist Tony Benn once a bloody 'gen, or one of Labour's Left-wing Bros McDonnell-Corbin, along side Dead Woodley and Ba Ba Barber bleating "Massive turnout! Blarty Blarty Blah! We showed them this, we showed Cameron that" but sssshh lets keep the fact of Millband cacking all over us, under our lick spittle hats, coz we're still picking up his tab! After all we're going to need an elected Labour to give the Bosses a loud vocal rebuke, whilst cravenly and completely agreeing to the CBI's sweeping demand for new laws to curb increasing industrial unrest and powers to recruit strike busting scabs!...........
Or put into Ba Ba Barber speak "It is particularly disappointing for the CBI to take a one dimensional view of industrial relations" Well Chris added to your one dimensional view of industrial struggle: Do mainly nothing! I'd say u had a solid two dimensional view there, which when added to the Labour Party View: Fuck the workers though look like we’re caring, would give u the full metal jacket of a complete 3D sellout! Don'tcha think!
So there we were then, off on the road to no where, to God knows where. Well… as it turned out the Rally point, was the location of the failed Edgbaston Shopping Centre on the Hagely Road, a tad up from the Five Ways roundabout, now a delightful bulldozed n' levelled site serving as a mud and puddle filled car park, its massive plywood fencing completely screening it from the outside surrounding roads. Arriving, the marchers were marshalled through one of its two entrance points
Conspicuous and spineless in its absence from the Rally platform then (like the organisers could have failed to be aware) was any call from it, to those union members who had filed in through the carpark entrance, to go back out and protest against the police kettling of an Anarchist block, not more than a hundred yards from the rally-point location. So much for "An injury to one is an injury to all" where these fuckwits socialism is concerned!
Incredulously the Organisers continued to bang out their useless and long practiced skipping rope mouthing diversions from the platform "Welcome to our very own Glastonbury" (the only flash of witticism of the day but I didn’t see any of the assembled roll about in helpless mirth) A few speeches from domestic and foreign union officials, more rose tinted bollocks, reminiscing about the Poll Tax Riots "Oh 'ow we showed that Thatcher woman". Then in utter desperation the Glastonbury witticism was repeated before the platform was handed over to the musicians
Mores the pity then, the Organisers weren't justly dragged from the platform and given a well deserved kick up the arse and sent flying into to the mud!
So it was left to a handful of escapees from the rally pen to do the deed on the outside, and protest about the kettling. The cops disengaged after an hour releasing those held (tho’ rumors of arrests persisted)
Where was Chris Bambery? Well probably rather chuffed 'bout the kettling so he could go 'Walkabout' in the Exclusion Zone without bumping into anyone on the way, he may have irritated earlier, as like Napoleon on the retreat from Moscow, he deserted his footsoldiers leaving them straggling forlornly treading the carpark mire, still trying to sell their damp sodden editions of the Socialist Worker!
Stalingrad O’Neill
e-mail:
robograd@tiscali.co.uk
Homepage:
http://stalingrad-oneill.photoshelter.com/
Comments
Hide the following 7 comments
hmmm
06.10.2010 17:58
on the 20th, it has to be better9that includes ALL OF US), by a long shot, but it's doable, as long as we aren't left out alone when the shit hits the fan...(by doable, i mean, a massive fucking riot!)
macdonalds window anyone??
see you there...
anarcho-slut
Great photos.
06.10.2010 19:24
Mike
Great photos and analysis
06.10.2010 21:03
keep it coming!
alex
self-defeating black bloc
07.10.2010 17:53
You complain about being abandoned when singled out by the police but do yourself a favour and don't get singled out by turning up in an identikit black uniform.
As anarchists you should be agitating within the working-class, not isolating yourself from them by dressing all in black and huddling in one group.
There's no need for a 'black bloc' tactic in this context. It's great to have an visible anarchist presence but you're shooting yourselves in the foot.
anti-capitalists
entitlement
07.10.2010 19:59
You spend ages ranting on Indymedia et al complaining about the SWP - then show up on a demo like this organised by a group that, by all accounts, is an SWP front.
You deliberately make yourselves an easily visible target for police, then blame the SWP - the same folks you've spent ages slagging off - for not risking themselves to try and free you.
Black bloc tactics are useful on occasion, no question - the big summits being an obvious example, G8, G20, plus things like DSEi and EDO - but I get the feeling that for a lot of anarchos, demos like this are basically just a chance to express their identity as anarchists and distinguish themselves from other protestors. Which is fine if that's what you're into I guess, but personally I don't see the point.
It's about distancing themselves from other people on the march, while also condemning those you're distancing yourselves from for refusing to offer assistance when the inevitable cordoning, searching and so on takes place.
Anarchists - and I count myself among them - have a role to play in fighting against the cuts, no question. But that role has to be in and part of the wider movement, not as a distinct, isolated, weak and easily targetted minority of scowling (mostly) men in black showing up at these marches mostly to mock and insult others (trade unionists, socialists, etc.) taking part.
It goes without saying that the police will jump at the slightest opportunity to fuck people over. Ditto the SWP. I haven't an ounce of sympathy for either group, this march being no exception - the police behaviour was despicable and the SWP response, pathetic.
But in all honesty it seemed kind of inevitable to me that things would turn out the way they did, which is why I spent the day marching alongside people from my local area - health workers, trade unionists, the unemployed, service users, students and more - rather than put myself in a black bloc which would spend most of the day as either a standoffish and incoherent black mass within the march, or a cordoned off group outside of it.
That's just me though.
anon
Same Old Shit
07.10.2010 21:20
anon
@ anon
08.10.2010 22:08
Talk is cheap and Social Democratic Politicians voicing vaguely left platitudes whilst shafting the working class don't make them left unless you are a Sun, Star or Mail reader Mind you I suspect the same opinion is held by many of the broadsheet readers too
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