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Title: Next Stop? Author: ALARM Date: 2011 Language: en Topics: london, anarchism, class war, class struggle, riots, 2011 Source: Free Paper published & distributed by ALARM
At the top, the rich, in-bred and thick, living off billions their
families have been stealing from us. Billion dollar business barons,
Royals, church leaders, mass landowners (who ironically own the âslumsâ
we live in through mortgages and loans). On top of that, their idle
children are playing at management â after a few years at Oxford they
stumble into Parliament and try to envisage how they can make our lives
better. Theyâre supported by spin doctors, heads of unions, judges,
lawyers and anyone with a few hundred grand free.
The middle classes stand below them looking up. Barely enough money to
survive, they might own a home, be bosses, head teachers, all desperate
to join the rich. A few might be âcoolâ artists or academics â theyâre
desperate to be anything but the boring middle class fuckers they are.
They even bombarded us with shit telly like Skins, saying how fun, sexy
and smart they are when really theyâre just fucking boring.
And then US, the ones at the bottom with all the work to do, the ones
that have gotta get rid of these above. Clearly none of them have a clue
whatâs going on, so letâs have it and get rid of them. Sure weâve got a
few nutters too, people that vote Tory and then thereâs the sacred lamb
of the left, the âat the point of production workersâ â a whole 1% of us
that are actually building shit. A few bought our houses under Thatcher
and made a bit of money but most are in dead end jobs, working in shops
selling shit or on the dole â millions of us, our families brought us
into the cities with the temptation of wages or as virtual slaves. Now
the work has gone and weâve got nothing to do, sitting here waiting,
being hassled, pushed around, some breaking the law and some loving the
law, driven half mad by the contradictions of society and just waiting
to kick off and change everything.
Activists called for a âSummer of Rageâ. They got one. However itâs form
and content were totally unexpected. The political dreams and fantasies
of activists envisaged a series of militant demonstrations consisting of
public sector workers, trade unionists and students. These would lead to
clashes with the added possibilities of occupations, a new trade
unionism and for the lefties, a Labour administration committed to
âAnti-Cutâ policies.
So when a summer of rage burst forth in all itâs âTerrible Beautyâ, most
activists and all of the left were gasping with disbelief and
incomprehension. Los Angeles style riots tore through the capital with
whole buildings ablaze and disturbances spreading nationwide in four
days that shook the body politic. Far from being an unpredictable
outspurt, we were only surprised they hadnât erupted anytime over the
last decade. Make no mistake, these riots, anti-authority uprisings,
mass expropriations were the most significant even in 21^(st) century
Britain so far.
Itâs no good activists and leftists throwing up their hands in horror at
the intensity of the riots, in particular the mass looting and arson. We
leave that to the politicians and the media. This was a class uprising
against the police and the whole consumerist edifice. If you think mass
looting, attacks on police stations, arson against stores and
warehouses, the deliberate trashing of posh coffee shops, restaurants
and other places of wealthy consumption is deplorable then you had
better retire from class politics and join the Labour Party or a
clean-up brigade. It goes without saying that we extend sympathies to
all those made homeless or subjected to physical abuse. Nothing negates
the amazing spontaneous class uprising, genuine rage with no demands to
make of the system. It was mostly the very young, dispossessed and
marginalised, overwhelmingly from the oppressed layers and of all races.
This was a class uprising far beyond anything seen on the streets of
Greece.
Government, police, pundits and the political class were utterly
predictable in their reaction. Sentences dished out by the courts were
reminiscent of totalitarian states as was the police occupation of
London in the aftermath. Also the language employed... feral rats,
criminal gangs, unmarried mothers, dysfunctional families and according
to the historian David Starkey, the white working class becoming
âblackâ. We donât condemn the August riots. We see them as a sign of
true resistance, a class rebellion, a harbinger of things to come.
If the organised working class or increasingly disaffected sections of
the middle class had shown a fraction of the anger exhibited in August,
you wouldnât be reading this. Instead you would probably be involve in
the ferment of a new social-political movement. No more impotent
demonstrations, futile protests, worthless pleas against cuts and âThe
Warâ.
The students were the exception to this dull litany of protest. It
should also be noted that the most important component of last winterâs
disturbances were the kids from the schools, the colleges of further
education and the estates who proclaimed themselves âFrom The Slums Of
Londonâ. When the students were hemmed by riot police outside
Parliament, the mob gathered at the top of Whitehall began their
unchaperoned progress through the West End of London, raising the slogan
of âKill! Kill! Kill the Queen!â. Shortly afterwards, the wannabe King
was attacked. Nor do we forget the highly successful Black Bloc on March
26^(th). The trashing of the Ritz was the highest expression of this.
Itâs usually events on the periphery, removed from the set-piece
confrontations that open up more possibilities.
If the government ant to prevent riots then the police shouldnât go
around killing people. They have learned nothing though. Within a couple
of weeks, the police in the normal course of events killed another three
people. Meanwhile, prisons are bursting at the seams. Except serious
disturbances in the jails. We know more serious conflict on the streets
is due, any place, any time, anywhere. There was a massive backlash days
after the riots with severe sentences for various misdemeanours, ruling
class talks about water cannon, baton rounds and evictions. Soon after
came a counter backlash... These few days in summer have ignited a
massive political debate where it really counts in every household,
estate, workplace and on the streets.
August was a clear statement of total rejection by an important section
of our class. No more passive demonstrations, rallies outside town
halls, listening to the creeps of the left. No return to the slogans of
the 30s! For us, the four days of the August uprisings were more
eloquent, more important than anything so far in 21^(st) century
Britain. So go with the flow, use your imagination, get ready for the
storming future.