>>EUROMAYDAY 2005 - LONDON :: SUNDAY MAY 1st

[redyred]

Monte, I know you have severe problems, and find it harder and harder to connect to reality, but seriously, what the fuck does 'anarchist hairdressers' mean? I mean, seriously? Are you actually trying to make yourself appear disturbed? Did we plant you inside to discredit the ridiculousness of anti-organisationalism, but forget about it? Are you trying to be an anarcho-Spart or some shit?

'Anarchist hairdressers'. Jesus fucking wept, what the FUCK? Are you just being homophobic or something? I mean, that'd be pathetic, but at least it'd make sense.

Oh he's just paranoid about us shaving his gorillas or something.

 

[Pickman's model]

there's one hairdresser i know of who's an egyptologist...

 

[blamblam]

there's one hairdresser i know of who's an egyptologist...

Homophobe

 

[MrBIG]

If you think the idea of Mayday is a bad one then so be it, but don't then lecture us on how you believe the day should be constituted when you think its all a waste of time anyways.

 

[DaveCinzano]

there's a lot of needle on this thread, i sphinx.

 

[DaveCinzano]

If you think the idea of Mayday is a bad one then so be it, but don't then lecture us on how you believe the day should be constituted when you think its all a waste of time anyways.

whom are you addressing?

and for that matter, who's the 'us' you mention?

 

[Pickman's model]

Homophobe

they're doing a phd on ancient egyptian hairdressing!

 

[montevideo]

I believe the two of you have met.

But seriously, what is anarchist hairdressers all about? I mean, I've played along, but I really don't get the joke...

As far as the mayday thing, if celebrating International Worker's Day by running around trying to evade FIT officers and hoping people will turn up to some one off symbolic action is your thing, go for it.

Yeah I admit it's shame that there's fuck all going on on Mayday. But AFAIC, anything that did happen on Mayday wouldn't really have much point, as there isn't anything for it to build on. It's meant to be a celebration of working class people's collective power, but it's better to build that power before having some "demonstration" or "action" that springs out of nowhere and then fades back into insignificance on May 2nd.

dreadlocks - lifestylism - not real anarchists.
The idea that 'proper' anarchists pass judgement on those they consider unworthy of the title 'anarchist' because of their hairstyle. (Made even weirder by the fact most anarchist hairdressers are disciples of a crude & basic textbook marxism).

Genuine question, how are you going to celebrate international workers day?
Or are you saying let's not doing anything until the conditions are right? If so does this apply to the other 364 days of the year?

The idea of euromayday is simply that, connecting up with groups throughout europe.

 

[MrBIG]

whom are you addressing?

and for that matter, who's the 'us' you mention?

First question, catch.
Second question, I was using the royal "us" , related to the royal "we" . Maybe that puts me into the hairdresser camp

 

[DaveCinzano]

so is an anarchist hairdresser a dreadhead or not? is monte? what on earth is going on?

the truth will out

 

[Pickman's model]

monte's got a rather individual hairstyle...

 

[MrBIG]

So Montevideo, are the hairdressers the so-called lifestylists or those who criticise those they perceive to be lifestylists? The label could be applied to either group .

 

[DaveCinzano]

First question, catch.

well, catch raised interesting issues that you (singular) appear not to have addressed.

 

[blamblam]

so is an anarchist hairdresser a dreadhead or not? is monte? what on earth is going on?

the truth will out

Here they are:

Together with all this there was something of the evil atmosphere of war. The town had a gaunt untidy look, roads and buildings were in poor repair, the streets at night were dimly lit for fear of air-raids, the shops were mostly shabby and half-empty. Meat was scarce and milk practically unobtainable, there was a shortage of coal, sugar and petrol, and a really serious shortage of bread. Even at this period the bread-queues were often hundreds of yards long. Yet so far as one could judge the people were contented and hopeful. There was no unemployment, and the price of living was still extremely low; you saw very few conspicuously destitute people, and no beggars except the gypsies. Above all, there was a belief in the revolution and the future, a feeling of having suddenly emerged into an era of equality and freedom. Human beings were trying to behave as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine. In the barbers' shops were Anarchist notices (the barbers were mostly Anarchists) solemnly explaining that barbers were no longer slaves. In the streets were coloured posters appealing to prostitutes to stop being prostitutes.

 

[cats hammers]

Perhaps he's talking about the barbers Orwell talks about in Homage to Catalonia from Barcelona, who refused tips?

Perhaps Monte believes these people were bad as there was a revolution and they still had jobs (the bastards), and were thus JUST LIKE US.

Edit - icepick, I fucking hate you, you beat me.

 

[blamblam]

Perhaps he's talking about the barbers Orwell talks about in Homage to Catalonia from Barcelona, who refused tips?

Perhaps Monte believes these people were bad as there was a revolution and they still had jobs (the bastards), and were thus JUST LIKE US.

Ha great minds eh Jack ^

 

[montevideo]

so is an anarchist hairdresser a dreadhead or not? is monte? what on earth is going on?

the truth will out

nar, the anarchist hairdressers are the kids who run around sniggering in packs, doing lots of pointing, quoting marx, not much else. They judge peoples worth as an anarchist by the style of their hair.

monte's got a rather individual hairstyle...

hmm

 

[MrBIG]

well, catch raised interesting issues that you (singular) appear not to have addressed.

Catch raised one parody of what I had been saying which we responded to.
He then lectured the thread,"us" on what he thought Mayday should be when he doesn't believe any day should be picked out as special anyways.
Personally speaking I enjoy having festivals...

The event itself cannot, obviously be a clandestine affair, that's the whole point in it-but the preperation should be. In the days of early RTS actions police time was not devoted to the group in the same way as any modern MayDay action would be but still every man and his dog were not privy to the plans for each action until the very last moment. A balance was struck between security and democracy but people didn't worry too much because the partys were generally held to be a great success.
This is hardly cutting edge shit. I can remember reading about how 60s activists got pissed off watching Tariq Ali discussing anti-vietnam war tactics in an open meeting in front of obvious SB officers. Taking no security measure re phones etc nowadays is the equilavent of just that.
.

Was my response to this..

So MayDay, instead of being a day when the working class collectively demonstrates its strength, ends up a day when a few paranoid people with their mobiles wrapped in tin foil and batteries wander around trying to meet each other in affinity groups at locations they're not quite sure of due to measures intended to prevent FIT picking them up beforehand and stopping them from being effective activists.

For fuck's sake. You need to seriously reconsider what all that effort is actually achieving apart from a persecution complex.

 

[Pickman's model]

 

[DaveCinzano]

Catch raised one parody of what I had been saying which we responded to.
He then lectured the thread,"us" on what he thought Mayday should be when he doesn't believe any day should be picked out as special anyways.
Personally speaking I enjoy having festivals...

oh well, i guess you are too smart for me

 

[MrBIG]

oh well, i guess you are too smart for me

Can you genuinely not understand what I wrote? I apologise if it all looks garbled but I do think I had responded to catch's point.

 

[cats hammers]

dreadlocks - lifestylism - not real anarchists.
The idea that 'proper' anarchists pass judgement on those they consider unworthy of the title 'anarchist' because of their hairstyle. (Made even weirder by the fact most anarchist hairdressers are disciples of a crude & basic textbook marxism).

Well that's certainly MY critique of lifestylism.

 

[catch]

If you think the idea of Mayday is a bad one then so be it, but don't then lecture us on how you believe the day should be constituted when you think its all a waste of time anyways.

If there was a well-organised working-class, Mayday would be fucking great (well it will be for me anyway because of my aforementioned perpetuation of patriarchal/state-religious customs), but you know what I mean. As it is now, it's never going to be more than activists turning up.

EuroMayDay is supposed to be linked to the Precarity thing no?

Do you really think that it's a positive step to invite a load of office temps/immigrant catering workers/New Dealers along to Mayday, then harrass them for not taking out their mobil phone battery, or possibly not telling them where to meet up whatsoever due to 'security'?

If precarity forums are supposed to radicalise previously atomised, non-unionised and largely apolitical people then making them stand around whispering to each other in darkened rooms with loud music is hardly very empowering is it.

 

[Main Street]

I like May Day a lot. Whatever happens and regardless of who turns up it's a good day when I celebrate the workers' holiday and being a worker I take a holiday.

I'm not that bothered about 'a load of office temps/immigrant catering workers/New Dealers along to Mayday' cos basically I know i will spend the rest of the year attempting to get the message across of getting organised at work, in the community, etc.

I think May Day is essentially a day when the organised show their strength.

It wasn't such a great day in 2001 for plenty, and 2003 was a close shave but overall I still like the feeling of expression that is to be had on the day.

 

[montevideo]

If there was a well-organised working-class, Mayday would be fucking great (well it will be for me anyway because of my aforementioned perpetuation of patriarchal/state-religious customs), but you know what I mean. As it is now, it's never going to be more than activists turning up.

EuroMayDay is supposed to be linked to the Precarity thing no?

Do you really think that it's a positive step to invite a load of office temps/immigrant catering workers/New Dealers along to Mayday, then harrass them for not taking out their mobil phone battery, or possibly not telling them where to meet up whatsoever due to 'security'?

If precarity forums are supposed to radicalise previously atomised, non-unionised and largely apolitical people then making them stand around whispering to each other in darkened rooms with loud music is hardly very empowering is it.

you really don't get out much do you.

A positive step would be writing a few words to libertarian socialist publications (read almost exclusively by middle class libertarian socialist/activists) or forever tell us you're going to be involved in 'community politics' at some point in the future?

As always for most middle class activists parading as anarchist hairdressers a well organised working class is always going to be the nirvana, an objective desire where you don't have to get your hands dirty, simply coach from the sidelines, forever expressing this idealised, & for you disconnected, notion of The Working Class.

 

[cats hammers]

Just so we can add this to the list of fucking stupid things you've said, which of the following are you claiming:

a) There is currently a well organised and militant working class.

or

b) There has NEVER been a well organised and militant working class.

Working class now - Tiny fraction of previous levels of unionisation, lowest numbers of days lost to strike action for years, lowest average rate of wage settlement for years, the revolutionary left (as a whole) tiny, scattered and isolated. Are you SERIOUSLY trying to fucking claim that this is no less a "well organised" working class, than say the 1970's? Please tell me you're this stupid. You see nothing amuses me more than "wombles are stupid" factlets, and this is one of the best.

 

[montevideo]

Just so we can add this to the list of fucking stupid things you've said, which of the following are you claiming:

a) There is currently a well organised and militant working class.

or

b) There has NEVER been a well organised and militant working class.

Working class now - Tiny fraction of previous levels of unionisation, lowest numbers of days lost to strike action for years, lowest average rate of wage settlement for years, the revolutionary left (as a whole) tiny, scattered and isolated. Are you SERIOUSLY trying to fucking claim that this is no less a "well organised" working class, than say the 1970's? Please tell me you're this stupid. You see nothing amuses me more than "wombles are stupid" factlets, and this is one of the best.

right on cue. Just like buses in fact, there'll be 3 more any moment now.

 

[cats hammers]

Is this what you say to your self everytime you put on trousers?

 

[montevideo]

as any child of the affluent middle classes would say.

 

[catch]

you really don't get out much do you.

or forever tell us you're going to be involved in 'community politics' at some point in the future?

Montevideo, I'm currently involved with community politics helping out with Hackney Independent every week or so. I'd like to be more involved than that but having just started working full-time again and currently doing 2-3 gigs a week in the evenings after a full day at work it doesn't leave loads of time. If you read my earlier post you'd have noted I said 'more', not 'at some time in the future'.

Jack answered the rest of your post pretty well.