Solidarity demo at the new year outside Brixton prison, south London.
actforfreedom | 05.01.2012 22:27 | August Riots
We saw in the new year alongside the prisoners.
We made it to reach the main yard, where we did our best to make as much noise as possible, shouting and banging on the corrugated metal gate. A few of those – of the 700 – being held inside this murky dungeon were able to see and hear us and shouted down from behind the bars.
Slogans were sprayed on the walls, and barricades prepared with burning bins.
Our spirits ignited, we sent our greetings to our imprisoned comrades and rebels everywhere in one great cry: FREEDOM!
A few anarchists
source :
http://actforfree.nostate.net/?p=7317
actforfreedom
Comments
Hide the following 12 comments
So you want...
05.01.2012 23:42
Yes, we know that there are people in prisons who shouldn't be there: the psychiatrically ill, the addicted, those who have been put in there for reasons of politics. But to lump these more deserving causes in with sociopaths is infantile posturing of the worst kind, and indicates why self-styled 'anarchists' are regarded as being as big a joke as the self-styled 'libertarians', i.e. the two sides of the same dud coin.
Grow up, ffs.
TheJudge
@TheJudge
06.01.2012 01:41
Prison doesn't work: If you want hard facts, we have the largest per capita prison population in Western Europe, but check out this for recividism rates
Prison doesn't work because it does not address the root causes of people's behaviour. Prison legitimises state and capital, root causes of many 'crimes'. Dissent does not only manifest itself in marches, pickets and strikes, but in mugging, burglarly, and assault. No, its not a pretty picture, and it is not the overt, conscious, and clearly articulated dissent that liberals recognise as legitimate, but the inevitable, uncontrollable and unarticulated backlash to the fucked up society we live in. Dissent in whatever form cannot be contained; the root causes have to be addressed.
The system is also obviously appalling biased in favour of the ruling elite. In the US, 1 in 3 Afro-American men are either in prison, on probation or on parole. The vast majority of crimes are property-related.
It's understandable to be concerned about 'murderers, rapists, muggers of the elderly' etc as you put it, but inform yourself before being so quick to make patronising comments.
anarcho
Rational debate please
06.01.2012 17:16
I have a young relative in prison following a conviction for armed robbery. I wouldn't for one second argue that he shouldn't have been given a custodial sentence because what he did was wrong. I would, however, argue that prisons only 'work' because they remove wrongdoers from society and deliver harsh punishment. There is certainly no rehabilitation in prison.
I would also argue that people imprisoned for non-violent crimes should be dealt with differently and in a way that tries to address the root causes of offending. Recidivism rates are high following custodial sentences, but they are almost as high for people receiving community sentences. Therefore, it's the criminal justice system that is not working, not just prisons.
Anyway, to describe criminal behaviour as some sort of rebellion is simplistic and quite frankly silly, but to characterise the prison population as murderers and rapists is also simplistic.
The prison system is brutal and inhumane and the high numbers of young people, ethnic minorities and people with mental health issues in prison is indeed a cause for concern. However, there are clearly some people whose criminal actions are so serious that imprisonment must be the only option. I for one felt the sentences given to Dobson and Norris were too short and I am certainly not a member of the hang-'em-and-flog-'em brigade.
Bob
I'm Trying...
06.01.2012 21:02
I completely agree with the notion that, by and large, the only people who should be in prison are those who offer an ongoing risk of violence towards people (damage to property is another matter).
I also agree that rehabilitation should be the primary concern of any penal system, especially regarding young offenders. We also need a change in public attitude to released offenders, because it is that (and the institutionalised obstacles placed in their way upon release) which is the direct cause of most of the re-offending.
We are not very likely to get this, however, because of the screaming of the scum media and the calculating posturing of the politicians. But what makes it even less likely is when people see the equally sick-making poseurs of so-called Anarchism claiming that burglary, mugging and perhaps even rape are legitimate ways of 'sticking it to the Man'. I knew people like that in sixth form thirty-odd years ago. Most of them grew out of it, eventually.
TheJudge
right...
06.01.2012 23:00
& wtf? "wrongdoers" ?! LOL
...
@TheJudge
07.01.2012 00:59
You said:
'when people see the equally sick-making poseurs of so-called Anarchism claiming that burglary, mugging and perhaps even rape are legitimate ways of 'sticking it to the Man'. I knew people like that in sixth form thirty-odd years ago. Most of them grew out of it, eventually.'
Wikipedia says:
'Straw man
A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.[1] To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.'
Now read the comment again.
anarcha
Anarchist are totally out to lunch!
07.01.2012 09:36
Realist
Those sort of trolls
07.01.2012 10:20
I see what you did there. You showed us there was nothing wrong with the system and that the problem was 'those sort of people' who happen to be mainly members of the working class, and especially those born on the poorest and roughest estates. Presumably as black people make up 2.2% of the population and 15% of the prison population, you especially meant that 'those sort of people' are likely to be black people, and that furthermore even if there was no racism in the police and society 'those sort of people' would still commit crimes.
So now we know that all we have to do is accept the world as it is, and lock up as many as 'those sort of people' as possible.
What a productive use of the comments. Thanks
Realshit
ignorant or troll?
07.01.2012 14:33
Who told you that the muggers, burglars and drug dealers are committing crime because they hate the capitalist system???? Capitalism is the main reason why a lot of people end up to commit crime. The unemployment in capitalism is a structural element. There is no fucking place on earth in anytime with zero unemployment. Beside this fact though capitalism is an unethical system so there is no reason to wonder why the people commit crimes.
India is the first country to cereal production and third in rice production but its population starving because capitalists - from all around the world because the capital does not recognise countries - take the production and gambling it on the stock market.
NOTW became more competitive by stealing talks and Mr topshop has never paid his taxes but we do not need to go any further just check how the financial system, the quaternary sector works.Just find out how you make money by selling bonds.
Capitalism creates these behaviours. Everything works for profit.
AA
Nuffink to do with Capitalism, just "those kind of people"
07.01.2012 17:44
Realshit
Right...
11.01.2012 10:45
Sorry if the use of the word 'wrongdoers' offends. I am the parent of one of those 'wrongdoers', so I don't mean to portray offenders as the enemy or suchlike.
However, Indymedia is not really a forum for news is it? It's largely a place where people express views. This post is about a protest outside Brixton Prison. I support attempts to highlight the harshness of prison regimes and the social inequalities that contribute to crime (although corporate crime is ignored and rarely punished). I just object to the daft posturing of anarchists who'd probably be eaten alive if they ever set foot in a prison and met real criminals. I'd say I have as much right as anyone else to post a comment about prisons, given I have to visit my young son in prison and hear about the reality of prison life from someone who is barely an adult.
Bob
The wrong end of the stick
11.01.2012 10:52
Try reading the mission statement Bob:
It never has, and never will work as a discussion forum.
newshound