Mutiny 39 Master - Jura Books 39_print2.pdf · Plus Sydney squatting history show and tell ... Cap a Cappo :: Voting with Bricks ... The mutiny collective doesn’t agree with all

Page 1

Upc

omin

g Ev

ents

Sund

ay J

une

14 -

5pm

@ B

lack

Ros

e Bo

oks,

22

Enm

ore

RdW

ho i

s Bo

zo T

exin

o. A

maz

ing

docu

men

tary

on

the

secr

et h

isto

ry o

f ho

bo g

raffi

ti.

“A h

ypno

tic,

rai

l-ra

ttlin

g to

ne p

oem

of

subv

ersi

ve w

ayfa

rer

wis

dom

.’ P

lus

Sydn

ey

squa

ttin

g hi

stor

y sh

ow a

nd t

ell -

new

s pi

ctur

es &

mor

e fr

om t

he 1

940s

to

the

21st

ce

ntur

y. E

ntry

by

dona

tion

. A

fund

rais

er f

or C

row

bar

My

Hea

rt:

The

Wor

ld’s

Gre

ates

t Sq

uatt

ing

Zine

Sund

ay J

une

14 -

6-1

1pm

@ H

erm

ann’

s Ba

r, S

ydne

y U

nive

rsit

y, C

nr o

f Ci

ty R

d &

Bu

tlin

Ave

Folk

the

Pol

ice!

Fun

drai

ser

for

G20

arr

este

es

Band

s pl

ayin

g ar

e: W

im :

: W

inte

r Pe

ople

::

Emm

a D

avis

::

Sui Z

hen

:: A

narc

hist

Duc

k ::

Plu

ton

Gon

sky

:: &

fri

ends

…

Tick

ets

$10

(st

uden

ts/c

entr

elin

k re

cipi

ents

) -

$15

(oth

ers)

All

proc

eeds

fro

m t

his

gig

will

go

to t

he G

20 D

efen

ce F

und.

Frid

ay J

une

19 -

8pm

@ T

own

and

Coun

try

Hot

el,

2 U

nwin

s Br

idge

Rd,

St

Pete

rsFu

ndra

iser

gig

for

Bla

ck R

ose

Anar

chis

t Li

brar

y F

eat.

Hee

Haw

::

Do

Not

Re

susc

itat

e ::

Cap

a C

appo

::

Voti

ng w

ith

Bric

ks.

$7

Satu

rday

, Ju

ne 2

0 R

ally

to

mar

k 2

year

s si

nce

the

star

t of

the

NT

int

erve

ntio

n. S

tart

s 10

:30a

m @

Be

lmor

e Pa

rk,

near

Cen

tral

. Fo

llow

ed b

y hi

p ho

p @

The

Blo

ck,

Redf

ern

from

mid

day.

Sund

ay,

June

21

- 2p

m @

Bla

ck R

ose.

Bl

ack

Ros

e op

en c

omm

unit

y m

eeti

ng:

mor

e de

tails

insi

de.

Follo

wed

by

scre

enin

g of

Dr

Stra

ngel

ove

at 6

pm.

Insi

de y

our

June

Mut

iny:

- Th

e or

gani

sers

of

the

rece

nt C

omm

unit

y U

nion

Wee

kend

s gi

ve u

s so

me

thou

ghts

and

an

alys

is o

n w

hat

wen

t do

wn

and

why

it w

as im

port

ant.

- Th

e tr

ial o

f th

e re

mai

ning

thr

ee p

eopl

e ar

rest

ed f

rom

the

G20

pro

test

s in

200

6 is

fin

ally

abo

ut t

o ha

ppen

. H

ere’

s w

hy s

olid

arit

y is

im

port

ant.

- An

arg

umen

t th

at c

reat

ing

an e

ffec

tive

co

unte

r-po

wer

will

req

uire

som

e se

riou

s re

-con

side

ring

of

gend

er r

oles

wit

hin

the

left

.

- F

ucke

d bo

rder

pol

icie

s st

ill e

xist

und

er

the

Labo

r go

vern

men

t as

a r

ecen

t ev

ents

at

Villa

woo

d D

eten

tion

Cen

tre

high

light

s.

- Re

view

s of

Fro

m H

ell

and

The

Play

er o

f G

ames

.

Page 2

The P

layer

of G

ames

- Re

view

by

Max

Sol

idar

ityNo

vel b

y Ia

in M

. Ban

ks

The

prot

agon

ist,

Jern

au i

s fro

m T

he C

ultu

re,

a ki

nd o

f soc

ialist

uto

pia,

wher

e co

nscio

us m

achi

nes

(with

hum

an e

quiv

alent

min

ds a

nd so

me

with

supe

r m

inds

) and

biol

ogica

l cre

ature

s liv

e ega

litar

ian li

ves.

A se

ction

of th

e Cul

ture

calle

d Con

tact,

char

ged w

ith

inter

facin

g wi

th o

ther

non

-Cul

ture

civ

ilisa

tions

, is

held

with

som

e di

strus

t am

ongs

t m

any

peop

le wi

thin

and

with

out t

he so

ciety.

The

re is

an ex

celle

nt

criti

que

of p

ower

in th

e no

vel –

and

this

is m

ostly

ex

plor

ed th

roug

h th

e em

pire

of A

zad,

a r

elativ

ely

small

inter

galac

tic e

mpi

re th

at is

a br

utal,

vio

lent

and

expl

oitat

ive (

not e

ntire

ly u

nlik

e our

pre

sent

day

ea

rth –

and

plag

ued

by m

any

of th

e sa

me

prob

lems

– eg

. mas

sive c

lass d

ivisi

ons).

For

me t

he co

nfus

ion

lies w

ithin

the p

ower

that

Cont

act h

as an

d how

that

is di

ffere

nt to

the p

ower

the r

ulin

g clas

ses h

ave i

n Aza

d.

It se

ems t

o me t

hat i

t is a

n iss

ue of

inten

tion.

Con

tact

has g

ood

inten

tions

whe

reas

the r

ulin

g cla

ss in

Aza

d wa

nts

to m

aintai

n an

d in

tensif

y th

eir p

rivile

ge.

The

best

and

mos

t int

eres

ting

aspe

ct of

the

nove

l wa

s the

expl

orati

on o

f gen

der a

nd se

xuali

ty. B

eing

a sc

ience

ficti

on n

ovel

allow

s the

expl

orati

on o

f the

se

issue

s in

way

s th

at ar

e im

poss

ible

in o

ther

gen

res.

The

peop

le in

The

Cul

ture

cha

nge

their

gen

der

at wi

ll –

from

regu

lar h

uman

gen

ders

to al

ien o

nes t

oo

– an

d th

ese

chan

ges a

re c

hose

n to

be

perm

anen

t or

som

etim

es ju

st a p

hase

or f

or fu

n or

an ex

perie

nce –

as

a ki

nd o

f hol

iday

. The

ir se

x liv

es co

ntin

ue d

urin

g th

e pr

oces

s whi

ch le

aves

them

in a

n in

terim

per

iod

of a

ndro

gyny

as t

heir

phys

iolo

gy c

hang

es (h

owev

er

their

abi

lity

to e

njoy

their

bod

ies is

not

affe

cted)

. Qu

estio

ns of

gend

er ar

e fur

ther

expl

ored

.in t

he A

zad

socie

ty w

hich

has

thre

e gen

ders:

‘Male

s’, ‘F

emale

s’ an

d th

e ‘A

pex’

. The

gen

der

roles

in th

eir s

ociet

y ar

e hi

ghly

div

ided

, with

the

‘Ape

x’ b

eing

the

mos

t pr

ivile

ged.

Thi

s ex

plor

ation

of

gend

er h

ierar

chies

ge

nuin

ely g

ave

me

insig

ht i

nto

the

state

of o

ur

curre

nt so

ciety

– a

nd I

thin

k th

at is

one

of th

e m

ost

impo

rtant

thin

gs th

at ‘a

rt’, i

n the

broa

d sen

se, c

an do

.

I di

d of

ten

year

n fo

r m

ore

detai

ls on

th

e tec

hnol

ogy

and

the

gam

es b

eing

play

ed –

a l

ot

of t

he d

escr

iptio

ns a

re a

pt b

ut o

vera

rchi

ng a

nd

vagu

e –

leavi

ng a

lot t

o th

e re

ader

’s im

agin

ation

. Ov

erall

this

is a

high

ly re

adab

le bo

ok w

ith a

ttune

d po

litica

l pe

rcep

tion

main

taine

d at

the

fore

front

.

Revi

ews

From

Hell

- Re

view

by

Dum

pster

ed T

win

Grap

hic F

ictio

n by

Alan

Moo

re an

d Ed

die C

ampb

ell

Set a

roun

d th

e Aut

umn

of 1

888,

Lon

don,

the

grap

hic

It’s

a gr

aphi

cal

tom

e, an

d it’

s hi

storic

al fic

tion

at on

e of

it’s

best.

With

in li

es h

orro

rs of

Lov

ecra

ftian

pr

opor

tions

: be

spea

king

of

curse

d ob

elisk

s, gh

ostly

ap

parit

ions

, bl

ood

sacr

ifice

s, ba

stard

roy

al ch

ildre

n (a

ren’

t th

ey a

ll?),

hund

reds

of

hoax

Rip

per

letter

s by

eve

ryda

y pe

ople,

cul

ts de

voted

to

the

Sun

God

and

the

mag

ical b

indi

ng o

f fem

ale p

ower

to th

e wi

ll of

patr

iarch

y… d

id I

dete

ct a

raise

d ey

ebro

w, d

ear

read

er?

Yes,

it is

quite

a fa

ntas

tical

Victo

rian

Goth

ic tal

e, sp

urre

d by

Cam

pbell

’s gr

im in

k sk

etche

s, bu

t its

well-

rese

arch

ed p

rem

ise a

nd se

tting

allo

ws th

e re

ader

to

exp

erien

ce b

oth

the

fam

iliar

ity a

nd u

nusu

alnes

s of

the

strea

ms

of th

ough

t/kno

wled

ge o

f th

at pe

riod.

Moo

re’s

inter

preta

tion,

and w

ith pe

rhap

s a sl

ight

hatre

d fo

r a

certa

in i

nces

tuou

s fa

mily

, ce

ntre

s ar

ound

the

co

nseq

uenc

es se

t in

mot

ion

when

four

now

-infa

mou

s wo

men

ina

dver

tently

try

to

blac

kmail

the

Cro

wn.

Thou

gh th

e eve

nts a

re w

ritten

as a

helli

sh st

ory

with

a ps

ycho

tic d

octo

r, it’

s no

t rea

lly a

bout

con

spira

cy a

nd

the

Free

Mas

ons,

inste

ad it

has

muc

h m

ore

relev

ance

. Th

e pag

es ta

kes u

s thr

ough

the l

ives

of a

spec

ific t

ype

of w

orki

ng c

lass w

omen

, pro

stitu

tes; i

llustr

ating

their

sto

ries

of h

ow th

ey g

ot in

to s

uch

pred

icam

ents,

their

da

ily li

ves,

and

the s

treng

ths a

nd fe

ars t

hey

held

whi

lst

work

ing

on th

e dar

k str

eets

of W

hitec

hape

l. Th

e rul

ing

class

and

their

abi

lity

to c

omm

it cr

ime

with

impu

nity

is

one

of th

e ot

her c

entra

l the

mes

: usin

g hi

gh-ra

nkin

g po

lice

offic

ials

to c

over

-up

their

tran

sgre

ssio

ns a

nd,

in th

is in

stanc

e, to

div

ert a

ttent

ion

away

from

Roy

al in

volv

emen

t – fo

r Que

en an

d Cou

ntry

it se

ems.

A lo

nely

pr

o-fe

min

ist m

ale (a

n od

d id

ea a

t the

tim

e) w

ho m

ay

or m

ay n

ot h

ave

been

gay

was

acc

used

pos

thum

ously

, po

rtray

ed as

bein

g fra

med

by th

e pol

ice. S

ocial

hyste

ria

was a

lso gr

ippe

d by t

he ev

ents,

with

Jews

bein

g acc

used

of

ritu

al m

urde

rs; as

well

as th

e soc

ial an

d co

mm

ercia

l ph

enom

enon

wi

th

the

fasc

inati

on

with

m

urde

r.

Even

afte

r th

e ev

ents

of t

he W

hitec

hape

l m

urde

rs,

wom

en in

sim

ilar p

reca

rious

situ

ation

s are

still

forc

ed

to p

ly t

heir

sex

for

a liv

ing

in u

nsaf

e co

nditi

ons.

nove

l dra

ws u

pon

over

twelv

e de

cade

s of

sou

rces

th

at ha

ve a

ttem

pted

to

solv

e an

d in

terro

gate

such

vi

cious

and

inc

ompr

ehen

sible

even

ts, c

redi

ted t

o Ja

ck th

e Rip

per

mail

: c/

- P

O B

ox 4

, En

mo

re,

NS

W,

20

42

, A

ust

rali

a

em

ail

: m

uti

neers

@g

raffi

ti.n

et

web

: bac

k is

sues

at

ww

w.j

ura

.org

.au

/m

uti

ny

Ed

ito

rs:

Exp

lod

ed

Cake,

Du

mp

stere

d T

win

, M

am

bu

tu,

Ho

pele

ss D

ream

er,

M

ax S

olid

ari

ty,

So

urD

ou

gh

, G

raf

Cat,

Pri

nce

ss M

ob

, T w

ith

Alice

Than

ks a

s al

way

s to

Jura

Boy

& C

om

rade

Sec

reta

ry,

& t

o d

istr

ibuto

rs &

subsc

riber

s

(The

mutiny

zine

colle

ctiv

e does

not

nec

essa

rily

agre

e w

ith a

ll th

e opin

ions

of co

ntr

ibuto

rs.

Contr

ibuto

rs d

o n

ot

nec

essa

rily

agre

e w

ith a

ll th

e opin

ions

of th

e m

utiny

colle

ctiv

e. T

he

mutiny

colle

ctiv

e does

n’t a

gre

e w

ith a

ll th

e opin

ions

of th

e m

utiny

colle

ctiv

e.)

Subs

crib

e to

Mut

iny!

Get

the

new

zin

e ev

ery

mon

th, a

nd h

elp

us p

ay

for p

rintin

g an

d di

strib

utio

n (p

leas

e!) I

f you

can

giv

e ou

t ext

ra c

opie

s, w

e ca

n se

nd a

num

ber o

f zin

es fo

r no

char

ge.

Nam

e:__

____

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Add

ress

:___

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Emai

l:___

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5 (3

mon

ths)

___$

10 (

6 m

onth

s)

$

___

(don

atio

n)

Cop

ies e

ach

mon

th:

_

__1

_

__5

__

_cop

ies

Plea

se se

nd w

ell c

once

aled

cas

h on

ly to

:PO

Box

4 /

Enm

ore

/ NSW

/ 20

42 /

Aus

tralia

Plea

se w

rite,

or e

mai

l mut

inee

rs@

graf

fiti.n

et a

bout

bul

k di

strib

utio

n, in

tern

atio

nal o

rder

s, if

you

don’

t hav

e an

y m

oney

, or f

or a

ny o

ther

spec

ial r

eque

sts.

Mu

tin

y is

an a

nar

chis

t co

llect

ive

bas

ed in S

ydney

. W

e st

arte

d t

his

zin

e to

exp

lore

diffe

rent

aven

ues

of

dis

obed

ience

& r

esis

tance

, &

to e

nco

ura

ge

peo

ple

to w

rite

ab

out

thei

r id

eas,

act

ions

& e

xper

ience

s.

This

month

the

Mutiny

Colle

ctiv

e an

d t

he

Mutiny

Zin

e Colle

ctiv

e had

a m

eeting

to b

egin

dis

cuss

ing h

ow

the

two c

olle

ctiv

es h

ave

engag

ed w

ith e

ach o

ther

and t

o

reas

sess

our

polit

cal re

leva

nce

to t

he

curr

ent

soci

al c

limat

e. W

e al

so t

hought

we

should

mak

e our

aim

s co

nci

ous

and e

xplic

it.

(We

also

ate

load

s of

gre

at f

ood.)

W

e m

eet

regula

rly,

ple

ase

conta

ct u

s on t

he

addre

ss b

elow

:

Page 3

Au

stra

lia

Foll

ow

up

on

th

e d

eath

in

cu

sto

dy

of

Ab

ori

gin

al E

lder

Mr

War

d,

amb

assa

do

r fo

r th

e N

gaa

nya

tjar

ra

peo

ple

.

Th

e co

ron

ial

inq

ues

t fi

nis

hed

on

May

1,

fin

din

gs

are

du

e to

be

pre

sen

ted

on

Ju

ne

12. C

orr

ecti

ve S

ervi

ces

Co

mm

issi

on

er Ia

n

Joh

nso

n tr

avel

led

to K

alg

oo

rlie

to p

ub

licly

ap

olo

gis

e to

Mr

War

d’s

fam

ily,

acce

pti

ng

re

spo

nsi

bili

ty f

or

the

46-y

ear-

old

’s d

eath

in

Jan

uar

y la

st y

ear

wh

o w

as t

rap

ped

in a

p

riso

n v

an fo

r fo

ur

ho

urs

, in

tem

per

atu

res

over

50°

C a

fter

bei

ng

arr

este

d o

n In

vasi

on

D

ay f

or

dri

nk

dri

vin

g. H

e h

ad t

hir

d-d

egre

e b

urn

s to

his

sto

mac

h a

nd

die

d a

fter

bei

ng

ta

ken

to

Kal

go

orl

ie R

egio

nal

Ho

spit

al. H

is

fam

ily s

ay h

e w

as t

reat

ed l

ike

an a

nim

al.

Twen

ty

peo

ple

p

rote

sted

o

uts

ide

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offi

ces

of

pri

vate

p

riso

n

op

erat

or

GS

L in

Per

th o

n M

ay 1

4 to

dem

and

an

en

d t

o

dea

ths

in c

ust

od

y.

Th

ou

san

ds

rally

agai

nst

ra

cism

in

Mel

bo

urn

e

Ove

r 5,

000

Ind

ian

stu

den

ts a

nd

su

pp

ort

ers

mar

ched

on

Su

nd

ay

May

31,

pro

mp

ted

by

a w

ave

of

raci

al

assa

ult

s.

Th

ey

mar

ched

fr

om

Ro

yal

Mel

bo

urn

e H

osp

ital

, w

her

e 25

-yea

r-o

ld

Sh

rava

n

Ku

mar

h

as

bee

n s

ince

May

9 w

hen

he

was

sta

bb

ed

by

a g

rou

p o

f te

ens.

Th

ere

hav

e b

een

70

assa

ult

s o

n I

nd

ian

s in

a y

ear

in M

elb

ou

rne,

fo

ur

in t

he

pas

t fo

rtn

igh

t. T

hir

ty

per

cen

t o

f as

sau

lts

in

Mel

bo

urn

e’s

wes

tern

su

bu

rbs

are

agai

nst

In

dia

ns,

a g

ross

ly d

isp

rop

ort

ion

ate

fig

ure

. T

he

late

st a

ssau

lt h

app

ened

th

at S

un

day

- a

35 y

ear

old

tax

i d

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r w

as b

ash

ed b

y a

dru

nk

pas

sen

ger

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eral

h

un

dre

d

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den

ts

pro

test

ed

over

nig

ht i

nto

Mo

nd

ay m

orn

ing

wh

en 2

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po

lice

bro

ke u

p a

sit

-in

pro

test

in

th

e ci

ty

cen

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det

ain

ing

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ng

exc

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ve

forc

e.

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era

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def

end

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in

th

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r fa

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r D

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new

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ress

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pre

vio

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at

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gd

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set.

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e co

un

cil w

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e am

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nt t

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kin

g f

or

the

2 b

uild

ing

s in

no

rth

wes

t ar

ea o

f th

e ci

ty. T

hey

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an t

o m

ove

in

July

of

last

yea

r. T

he

ho

use

s w

ill h

ave

spac

e fo

r a

libra

ry/c

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wh

ich

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ceTa

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ori

ties

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urs

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au

tho

rise

d

the

rele

ase

of

Julie

n C

ou

pat

, w

ho

has

b

een

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ain

ed f

or

mo

re t

han

six

mo

nth

s o

n s

usp

icio

n o

f sa

bo

tag

ing

hig

h-s

pee

d

trai

n

lines

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up

at,

34,

was

ar

rest

ed

by

anti

-ter

rori

st

po

lice

in

Nov

emb

er

2008

an

d h

is l

eng

thy

det

enti

on

wit

ho

ut

wor

king

gro

ups

for c

ooki

ng a

nd c

lean

ing,

the

dist

ribut

ion

of c

abin

s th

roug

h lu

cky

dip

and

grou

p ex

erci

se s

essi

ons

in th

e m

orni

ngs

rein

forc

ed th

e id

ea o

f col

lect

ivity

. Ano

ther

key

dyn

amic

was

th

e pr

esen

ce o

f eld

ers

who

wer

e ab

le to

crit

ical

ly re

flect

on

past

cam

paig

ns. G

uide

d by

fifty

yea

rs

of a

ctiv

ist w

isdo

m, r

eflec

ting

on th

e pa

st w

as n

ot v

ague

or s

uper

ficia

l but

incr

edib

ly p

ower

ful.

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cuss

ing

cam

paig

ns li

ke th

e B

LF G

reen

Ban

s an

d th

e M

UA

disp

ute

set a

sta

ndar

d fo

r our

ow

n ef

forts

. Int

ensi

vely

stru

ctur

ed s

mal

l gro

up w

ork

was

em

phas

ised

ove

r “ta

lkin

g he

ad”

sess

ions

. Ta

lkin

g he

ads

wer

e lim

ited

to a

bout

ten

min

utes

and

wer

e as

ked

to e

ngag

e in

crit

ical

refle

ctio

n. W

e pr

epar

ed a

read

er a

nd D

VD w

ith b

ackg

roun

d in

form

atio

n an

d ac

tivis

t tex

ts a

nd e

ncou

rage

d pe

ople

to

read

and

rese

arch

as

part

of th

eir e

ngag

emen

t with

act

ivis

m.

The

latte

r wee

kend

s at

the

MU

A an

d Tr

ades

Hal

l did

not

faci

litat

e th

e cr

eatio

n of

any

new

, m

eani

ngfu

l, co

llect

ive

proc

esse

s an

d di

d no

t sub

vert

any

prob

lem

atic

act

ivis

t nor

ms.

We

thin

k th

is w

as a

con

sequ

ence

of t

he in

ner-c

ity lo

catio

ns e

nabl

ing

peop

le to

com

e ac

cord

ing

to o

ther

co

mm

itmen

ts. N

ew p

eopl

e ca

me.

We

did

not i

dent

ify c

olle

ctiv

ely,

and

the

entir

e pr

oces

s w

as m

uch

mor

e ab

out c

onte

nt th

an it

was

abo

ut e

xper

imen

ting

with

form

.

In th

e fin

al s

essi

on o

n Sa

turd

ay 2

nd M

ay, w

e in

vite

d so

me

inde

pend

ent u

nion

act

ivis

ts L

iz

Thom

pson

, Ant

hony

Mai

n, D

iana

Bea

umon

t, an

d Si

mon

Mill

ar to

add

ress

the

ques

tion

of h

ow w

e ge

t our

uni

ons

to c

onsi

der t

he c

once

rns

of th

e m

ost e

xplo

ited

wor

kers

- in

tern

atio

nal s

tude

nts,

yo

ung

wor

kers

and

oth

ers

who

ofte

n m

iss

out o

n a

piec

e of

the

swee

t, un

ion-

bake

d pi

e, b

y vi

rtue

of th

eir c

asua

l and

pre

cario

us e

mpl

oym

ent s

tatu

s, c

ultu

ral b

ackg

roun

d an

d/or

gen

der.

This

ses

sion

in

varia

bly

dege

nera

ted

into

the

sam

e ol

d de

bate

abo

ut w

heth

er it

’s m

ore

usef

ul to

wor

k in

side

or

outs

ide

the

mai

nstre

am u

nion

mov

emen

t. W

hile

the

spea

kers

wer

e am

azin

g, w

e w

ere

unab

le to

gi

ve th

e se

ssio

n th

e sa

me

love

we

had

give

n to

ear

lier o

nes.

We

wer

e un

able

to fa

cilit

ate

colle

ctiv

e pr

oces

ses

that

em

pow

ered

par

ticip

ants

to a

ct. T

alki

ng h

eads

and

spe

ech-

mak

ing

dom

inat

ed

proc

eedi

ngs

and

man

y en

gage

d in

com

bativ

e de

fenc

e or

adv

ocac

y of

thei

r ow

n po

sitio

ns ra

ther

th

an le

avin

g op

en th

e po

ssib

ility

of t

rans

form

atio

n.

For t

hose

of u

s w

ho h

ave

rece

ntly

em

erge

d fro

m o

r who

stil

l hav

e sp

ecifi

c po

litic

al “

hom

es”

(be

it So

cial

ist A

ltern

ativ

e, S

olid

arity

, the

Ana

rcho

Syn

dica

list F

eder

atio

n, e

tc),

it ca

n be

ver

y co

nfro

ntin

g to

adm

it th

at w

e ar

e sm

all,

that

sec

taria

nism

hol

ds u

s ba

ck, a

nd th

at w

e do

n’t h

ave

the

answ

ers.

In

thes

e tim

es w

hen

we

need

to fi

nd n

ew w

ays

of o

rgan

isin

g an

d ac

tual

ly b

ecom

e re

leva

nt fo

r a

chan

ge, i

s it

bette

r to

be p

oliti

cally

hom

eles

s (“

Free

rang

e An

arch

ist/

Mar

xist

/ Soc

ialis

t/ U

nion

ist”

) so

we

can

prep

are

for w

hat’s

to c

ome

with

out t

he b

agga

ge o

f ide

olog

ies

that

wer

e re

leva

nt fo

r oth

er ti

mes

? R

osa

Luxe

mbu

rg w

ould

dis

agre

e, c

onvi

nced

that

if o

ne is

not

in th

e pr

oces

s of

bui

ldin

g th

e re

volu

tiona

ry p

arty

, one

is re

lega

ted

to th

e ro

le

of a

lefti

st “

swam

p”-d

wel

ler.

But

Ros

a, w

hy w

ould

we

build

a p

arty

whe

n w

e do

n’t k

now

how

to a

ctua

lly m

ake

that

par

ty c

hang

e ja

ck s

hit r

ight

no

w?

Rig

ht n

ow, R

osa’

s pa

rty is

a s

pect

acle

of t

he p

ast,

usin

g la

ngua

ge

from

a p

revi

ous

era.

The

pro

ject

of c

ritic

al r

efle

ctio

n an

d c

reat

ing

new

form

s of

or

gan

isin

g m

ust b

e on

goi

ng, a

nd to

this

end

, mor

e w

eeke

nds

at C

amp

Eur

eka

will

be

org

anis

ed in

the

near

futu

re. T

o fin

d o

ut

mor

e, e

mai

l com

mun

ityun

ionw

eeke

nds@

gm

ail.c

om

Page 4

2004

Uni

on S

olid

arity

ope

rate

d as

a V

icto

rian-

base

d ne

twor

k of

act

ivis

ts w

hich

pro

vide

d su

ppor

t for

wor

kers

in d

ozen

s of

in

dust

rial d

ispu

tes.

Uni

on S

olid

arity

was

a v

ehic

le b

y w

hich

un

ions

wer

e ab

le to

get

aro

und

Wor

kCho

ices

law

s w

hich

ef

fect

ivel

y re

mov

ed th

e rig

ht to

stri

ke a

nd im

pose

d hu

ge fi

nes

for u

nion

org

anis

ers

and

wor

kers

who

took

indu

stria

l act

ion

with

out t

he a

ppro

val o

f the

Indu

stria

l Rel

atio

ns C

omm

issi

on.

The

basi

c co

ncep

t of U

nion

Sol

idar

ity in

clud

ed a

coo

rdin

ated

bu

t dec

entra

lised

com

mun

icat

ions

net

wor

k us

ed to

mob

ilise

pe

ople

for s

olid

arity

whe

n ne

eded

. Thi

s “w

hole

of c

lass

” ap

proa

ch m

eant

that

peo

ple

cam

e to

geth

er w

ith a

will

ingn

ess

to p

ut th

emse

lves

on

the

line

and

stan

d up

for w

orke

rs a

nd c

omm

unity

mem

bers

in n

eed,

with

out n

eces

saril

y ag

reei

ng o

n a

parti

cula

r id

eolo

gy.

Dur

ing

the

time

it w

as a

ctiv

e, U

nion

Sol

idar

ity w

as m

ore

likel

y th

an a

ny o

ther

gro

up o

r net

wor

k to

fa

cilit

ate

win

s fo

r wor

kers

and

mem

bers

of t

he c

omm

unity

. Mod

erat

e in

dust

rial v

icto

ries

wer

e sc

ored

ag

ains

t Boe

ing,

Am

cor,

Toyo

ta, P

rest

on M

otor

s, C

oles

Dis

tribu

tion

Cen

ter,

VISY

, Aus

tralia

Pos

t and

ot

her c

orpo

rate

evi

ldoe

rs. U

nion

Sol

idar

ity h

elpe

d br

oker

suc

cess

ful o

utco

mes

for c

omm

unity

ca

mpa

igns

suc

h as

sav

ing

the

Suns

hine

Poo

l, C

amp

Sove

reig

nty

and

the

Stud

ent H

ousi

ng A

ctio

n C

oope

rativ

e (S

HAC

).

In M

arch

this

yea

r Uni

on S

olid

arity

cea

sed

to fu

nctio

n. It

’s n

ot ro

cket

sci

ence

to fi

gure

out

that

the

exis

tenc

e of

a p

ower

ful a

ltern

ativ

e to

the

ALP-

back

ed u

nion

s be

cam

e a

thre

at to

the

stat

e (a

lbei

t a

min

or th

reat

). Th

e U

nion

Sol

idar

ity w

ebsi

te re

ads,

“Th

e de

cisi

on to

fold

was

pro

mpt

ed b

y a

lack

of

reso

urce

s an

d a

need

to re

thin

k th

e gr

oup’

s co

re s

trate

gy. H

owev

er U

nion

Sol

idar

ity a

ctiv

ists

be

lieve

that

giv

en (o

ur) s

ucce

ss, t

he b

asic

con

cept

nee

ds to

be

spre

ad th

roug

hout

the

who

le o

f the

un

ion

mov

emen

t.” W

ith li

ttle

supp

ort f

rom

the

unio

n hi

erar

chy,

this

can

onl

y ha

ppen

thro

ugh

the

stre

ngth

and

con

fiden

ce o

f ran

k an

d fil

e w

orke

rs, s

hop

stew

ards

and

org

anis

ers.

One

impo

rtant

fu

nctio

n of

the

Com

mun

ity U

nion

Wee

kend

s w

as re

flect

ion

on th

e st

reng

ths

and

wea

knes

ses

of th

e U

nion

Sol

idar

ity M

odel

. The

re is

an

assu

mpt

ion

that

this

mod

el c

ould

pos

sibl

y pr

ovid

e a

basi

s fo

r re

build

ing

a ve

ry p

ower

ful l

eft.

The

Wee

kend

sW

e or

gani

sed

thre

e w

eeke

nds

in w

hich

par

ticip

ants

from

div

erse

ba

ckgr

ound

s co

uld

com

e to

geth

er, i

dent

ify c

olle

ctiv

ely

and

begi

n a

proc

ess

of c

ritic

al re

flect

ion,

with

a v

iew

to w

orki

ng o

ut w

hat w

e ne

ed to

do

in o

rder

to re

build

our

soc

ial a

nd u

nion

mov

emen

ts

to s

omet

hing

muc

h m

ore

pow

erfu

l tha

n th

ey a

re to

day.

The

bes

t w

ork

of th

e or

gani

sers

was

to c

reat

e a

spac

e in

whi

ch it

was

po

ssib

le fo

r peo

ple

from

diff

eren

t ten

denc

ies

to o

ffend

and

con

front

one

ano

ther

in a

con

stru

ctiv

e an

d co

mra

dely

fash

ion.

On

the

first

wee

kend

at C

amp

Eure

ka- a

bout

80k

m fr

om M

elbo

urne

- th

is

spac

e w

as c

reat

ed a

nd th

ere

was

a p

rofo

und

expe

rienc

e of

col

lect

ive

trans

form

atio

n.

Mar

ie G

oona

n, a

n el

der o

f the

Com

mun

ist P

arty

of A

ustra

lia (C

PA),

open

ed th

e w

eeke

nd b

y ex

plai

ning

that

that

Cam

p Eu

reka

has

bee

n a

site

for p

oliti

cal e

duca

tion

and

orga

nisi

ng s

ince

th

e 19

40s.

Mor

e th

an th

is, t

he c

amp

was

a p

lace

not

onl

y fo

r pla

nnin

g ac

tions

but

for a

pol

itica

l co

mm

unity

that

took

car

e of

food

, edu

catio

n, h

ealth

, hou

sing

and

the

mak

ing

of c

ultu

re. O

n ea

ch d

ay, t

wo

hour

s w

ere

devo

ted

to la

bour

for c

amp

mai

nten

ance

. Car

poo

ling,

the

form

atio

n of

char

ges

bei

ng

file

d h

ad b

eco

me

hig

hly

co

ntr

over

sial

.

Co

up

at,

the

last

o

f th

e 10

su

spec

ts

arre

sted

to

rem

ain

in c

ust

od

y, h

as a

lway

s sa

id h

e w

as i

nn

oce

nt

bu

t h

e is

sti

ll u

nd

er

inve

stig

atio

n

for

org

anis

ed,

terr

ori

sm-

rela

ted

des

tru

ctio

n o

f pro

per

ty. T

he

failu

re

to s

ecu

re a

ny c

onv

icti

on

s af

ter

a h

igh

ly

pu

blic

ised

rai

d b

y h

un

dre

ds

of

po

lice

has

p

rove

d e

mb

arra

ssin

g t

o t

he

gov

ern

men

t,

wh

ich

h

as

bee

n

accu

sed

o

f w

hip

pin

g

up

ter

rori

sm f

ears

to

ju

stif

y to

ug

h n

ew

secu

rity

mea

sure

s.

Eco

no

mic

s su

cks

and

wo

rker

s ar

e p

isse

d!

In B

ulg

aria

,

Th

e B

ulg

aria

n s

teel

gia

nt

Kre

mik

ovtz

i, n

ow

ov

er

a b

illio

n d

olla

rs i

n d

ebt

du

e to

the

eco

no

mic

cri

sis,

has

sh

ut

do

wn

op

erat

ion

s th

is m

on

th.

Mo

re

than

1,0

00 p

lan

t w

ork

ers

hav

e m

arch

ed

on

the

Min

istr

y o

f Eco

no

my

and

En

erg

y in

S

ofi

a, a

fter

th

reat

enin

g e

arlie

r to

bo

yco

tt

shu

tdo

wn

p

rep

arat

ion

s b

y w

alki

ng

o

ut

on

th

e jo

b.

Two

wo

rker

s w

ere

arre

sted

d

uri

ng

bri

ef c

lash

es w

ith

po

lice

as t

he

ang

ry c

row

d t

ried

to

sto

rm t

he

min

istr

y.

Aft

er w

eeks

of

pro

test

th

e w

ork

ers

hav

e th

reat

ened

hu

ng

er s

trik

es a

nd

an

no

un

ced

p

lan

s fo

r m

ore

ag

gre

ssiv

e ac

tio

ns

and

a

nat

ionw

ide

rally

of

peo

ple

wo

rkin

g in

an

d

ou

t of t

he

man

ufa

ctu

rin

g s

ecto

r in

a b

id to

p

rote

ct t

he

mill

.

So

uth

Ko

rea

May

21

in

S

ou

th

Ko

rea,

S

san

gyo

ng

an

no

un

ced

pla

ns

to s

ack

2,64

6 em

plo

yees

(3

6 p

erce

nt

of

its

wo

rkfo

rce)

in

w

hat

w

ou

ld b

e th

e co

un

try’

s fi

rst

mas

s la

yoff

s si

nce

th

e g

lob

al e

con

om

ic c

risi

s. W

ork

ers

imm

edia

tely

sto

pp

ed w

ork

an

d o

ccu

pie

d

the

fact

ory

dem

and

ing

th

at t

he

com

pan

y m

inim

ise

job

loss

es th

rou

gh

wo

rk-s

har

ing

. Tr

ade

un

ion

s h

ave

set u

p te

nts

ou

tsid

e th

e n

ow

clo

sed

fact

ory

to s

up

po

rt th

e w

ork

ers

and

gai

n t

he

sup

po

rt o

f th

e p

ub

lic.

and

Ban

gla

des

h.

A

wild

cat

stri

ke

of

garm

ent

wo

rker

s d

eman

din

g u

np

aid

wag

es s

aw b

oss

es o

f

An

imal

Lib

erat

ion

Aft

er y

ears

of

wo

rk o

n t

he

com

mer

cial

ka

nga

roo

in

du

stry

, A

nim

al

Lib

erat

ion

h

as r

ecen

tly

pu

t to

get

her

a v

ery

dam

nin

g

exp

ose

w

hic

h

hig

hlig

hts

so

me

of

the

pro

ble

ms

of t

he

ind

ust

ry, i

ncl

ud

ing

an

imal

w

elfa

re,

sust

ain

abili

ty,

envi

ron

men

tal

deg

rad

atio

n, a

nd

hyg

ien

e an

d f

oo

d s

afet

y co

nce

rns.

Th

e re

po

rt,

enti

tled

‘A

Sh

ot

In

Th

e D

ark’

, is

av

aila

ble

at

h

ttp

://w

ww

.an

imal

-lib

.org

.au

.

On

Ap

ril

29,

the

day

th

is r

epo

rt w

ent

into

p

ub

lish

ing

, 9

po

lice

inve

stig

ato

rs

cam

e u

nan

no

un

ced

to

th

e A

nim

al

Lib

erat

ion

H

Q

wit

h

a se

arch

w

arra

nt,

st

atin

g

that

if

th

e o

rgan

isat

ion

wer

e to

co

nte

st t

he

war

ran

t th

e co

nse

qu

ence

s in

clu

ded

2yr

s im

pri

son

men

t an

d

a $3

0,00

0 fi

ne.

Th

e en

tire

offi

ce w

as r

aid

ed fo

r ov

er 6

hrs

, an

d

the

po

lice

left

wit

h 4

co

mp

ute

rs, 1

lap

top

, o

ne

emp

loye

e’s

mo

bile

ph

on

e, a

nd

fold

ers

of

do

cum

enta

tio

n

abo

ut

the

kan

garo

o

cam

pai

gn

. Th

ere

was

no

in

dic

atio

n a

s to

w

hy th

e co

mp

ute

rs w

ere

take

n (i

nst

ead

of

cop

yin

g t

he

har

d d

rive

s) a

nd

wh

en t

hey

co

uld

be

exp

ecte

d b

ack.

Th

e p

olic

e ar

e n

ow

cla

imin

g t

hat

it

may

be

6-9

mo

nth

s b

efo

re

the

com

pu

ters

an

d

ph

on

e ar

e re

turn

ed.

Prio

r to

ra

idin

g

the

ALH

Q,

the

po

lice

team

als

o c

on

du

cted

a s

earc

h a

t S

illik

er,

the

pat

ho

log

y te

stin

g

lab

ora

tory

w

her

e A

nim

al L

iber

atio

n h

ad k

anga

roo

car

cass

es

anal

ysed

, fo

un

d t

o h

ave

‘ale

rt’

leve

ls o

f b

acte

ria

and

dis

ease

, ren

der

ing

them

un

fit

for

hu

man

co

nsu

mp

tio

n.

Th

e se

arch

w

arra

nt

was

g

ran

ted

as

tw

o

An

imal

Li

ber

atio

n

emp

loye

es

are

curr

entl

y u

nd

er

inve

stig

atio

n

by

the

Qu

een

slan

d

po

lice

over

al

lega

tio

ns

of

bre

ak a

nd

en

ter

(in

to k

anga

roo

ch

iller

s)

and

fo

od

co

nta

min

atio

n (

con

tam

inat

ion

o

f ka

nga

roo

car

cass

es).

Ch

arg

es h

ave

no

t ye

t b

een

laid

.

the

Ru

pas

hi

Sw

eate

r Fa

cto

ry a

ttac

ked

in

ce

ntr

al B

ang

lad

esh

. Th

e w

ork

ers

mar

ched

fr

om

fa

cto

ry

to

fact

ory

w

ith

15

,000

en

din

g u

p o

n t

he

stre

et a

nd

14

fact

ori

es

bei

ng

va

nd

alis

ed

as

the

road

s b

ecam

e a

bat

tleg

rou

nd

bet

wee

n

tho

se

on

st

rike

an

d

the

po

lice.

Page 5

We

nee

d t

o d

ecid

e to

be

effe

ctiv

e, t

o st

art

taki

ng

pow

er a

nd

ou

r st

rugg

les

seri

ousl

y.

Th

e L

eft

- an

d b

y th

at I

mea

n c

oun

ter-

heg

emon

ic

mov

emen

ts

that

w

ants

to

or

gan

ise

pow

er,

and

th

eref

ore

wea

lth

, eq

uit

ably

; or

, in

si

mp

ler

spea

k,

soci

al

just

ice

mov

emen

ts -

is

wea

k. W

e n

eed

to

buil

d m

ovem

ent.

Th

is m

ean

s co

mm

itti

ng

ours

elve

s to

gr

oun

ded

an

d

lon

g-te

rm

orga

nis

ing.

We

know

lar

gely

wh

ere

we

are

at.

We

hav

e h

isto

ries

to

gu

ide

us.

We

know

th

e st

ate

and

cap

ital

ism

- in

stit

uti

onal

ised

in

cor

por

atio

ns

- ar

e am

ongs

t ou

r m

ain

en

emie

s. D

esp

ite

deb

ates

abo

ut j

ust

wh

at

the

stat

e is

, w

e kn

ow w

hen

we

enco

un

ter

it.

We

know

it

in t

he

cou

rtro

oms,

an

d

wh

en c

onfr

onte

d b

y p

olic

e. W

e kn

ow it

in

the

arm

y ta

nks

th

at d

rive

into

ind

igen

ous

com

mu

nit

ies

and

wh

en w

e cr

oss

bord

ers.

W

e co

nfr

ont

corp

orat

ion

s w

hen

ever

we

con

fron

t th

e st

ate,

th

e st

ate

wh

enev

er w

e co

nfr

ont c

apit

alis

m.

Mor

e of

ten

than

not

, it

is

har

d t

o te

ll t

hem

ap

art.

W

orki

ng

as o

ne,

th

e st

ate

and

cor

por

atio

ns

infl

ict

imm

ense

vio

len

ce o

n p

eop

le a

nd

the

eart

h.

We

know

we

mu

st s

top

th

eir

wor

k.

Des

pit

e th

is k

now

led

ge,

our

dep

end

ence

on

the

stat

e an

d c

orp

orat

ion

s is

imm

ense

. W

e ca

nn

ot fe

ed, h

ouse

, tra

nsp

ort,

ed

uca

te,

or h

eal

ours

elve

s w

ith

out

them

. W

e ar

e as

kin

g p

eop

le t

o jo

in u

s in

a m

ovem

ent

to

end

th

e w

ork

of t

he

stat

e an

d c

apit

alis

m,

but

we

dep

end

on

th

em t

o m

eet

our

mos

t ba

sic

nee

ds.

Th

e p

arad

ox in

this

is s

o st

ark

as t

o ou

tlin

e a

fun

dam

enta

l re

quir

emen

t of

th

e L

eft:

we

mu

st l

earn

an

d o

rgan

ise

to

dep

end

on

ou

rsel

ves,

to

cr

eate

ou

r ow

n

pow

er,

a co

un

ter-

pow

er.

T

his

is

n

ot

a n

ew

idea

.

Peo

ple

on

th

e L

eft

hav

e lo

ng

been

th

eori

sin

g th

e p

roce

ss

by w

hic

h,

inst

ead

of

taki

ng

stat

e p

ower

,

we

buil

d

our

own

p

ower

ba

se,

ther

eby

ren

der

ing

stat

e an

d

corp

orat

e p

ower

re

du

nd

ant

and

gi

vin

g u

s th

e au

ton

omy

we

ne

ed

to

str

ugg

le a

gain

st t

hem

. W

e h

ave

only

to

loo

k at

th

e Z

apat

ista

s to

see

cou

nte

r-p

ower

in

ac

tion

.

Th

ese

ind

igen

ous

com

mu

nit

ies

are

mee

tin

g th

eir b

asic

nee

ds

auto

nom

ousl

y. O

f cou

rse,

pro

ject

s fo

cuse

d

on

mee

tin

g ou

r ba

sic

nee

ds

risk

m

argi

nal

isin

g th

e n

eed

fo

r st

ruct

ura

l ch

ange

, bu

t p

roje

cts

that

do

not

hin

g to

m

eet

thes

e n

eed

s ri

sk b

ecom

ing

pu

rely

sy

mbo

lic.

Fro

m a

fem

inis

t p

ersp

ecti

ve,

buil

din

g a

cou

nte

r-p

ower

m

ust

in

clu

de

loca

lisi

ng

care

taki

ng

wor

k.

W

e sh

are

as

a co

mm

un

ity

the

task

s of

car

ing

for

one

anot

her

, fo

r ch

ild

ren

, ou

r el

der

s,

the

sick

, an

d t

he

spac

es w

e le

arn

, w

ork

and

li

ve i

n.

Wh

en t

his

car

etak

ing

wor

k is

sh

ared

, it e

nab

les

wom

en -

on

wh

om m

ost

care

taki

ng

wor

k u

sual

ly f

alls

- t

he

tim

e an

d e

ner

gy to

dev

elop

them

selv

es in

oth

er

way

s th

an c

aret

aker

s.

On

ly b

y sh

arin

g th

is w

ork

can

we

rem

ove

ours

elve

s fr

om

cap

ital

ism

’s s

ph

ere,

fro

m a

dep

end

ency

on

pay

ing

peo

ple

- u

sual

ly p

oor

non

-wh

ite

wom

en -

to

act

as c

aret

aker

s.

I am

n

ot

inte

rest

ed

in

buil

din

g co

un

ter-

pow

er

that

is

n

ot

con

scio

usl

y fe

min

ist.

It

is

easy

to

im

agin

e co

mm

un

itie

s bu

ild

ing

cou

nte

r-p

ower

in

w

hic

h v

iole

nce

aga

inst

wom

en i

s a

dai

ly,

nat

ura

lise

d p

hen

omen

on, i

n w

hic

h w

omen

ar

e ob

ject

ified

, an

d i

n w

hic

h g

end

ered

d

ivis

ion

s of

la

bou

r co

nti

nu

e to

d

isp

rop

orti

onat

ely

un

der

valu

e th

e w

ork

of

wom

en.

It

is

ea

sy

beca

use

in

so

m

uch

left

ist m

ovem

ent t

his

hap

pen

s. T

his

Stop W

astin

g M

y T

ime

ropand{@

}aol{.}c

om

Ref

lect

ions

on

the

end

of U

nion

S

olid

arity

and

the

Com

mun

ity

Uni

on W

eeke

nds

By

Tris

tan

Ep

stei

n &

Liz

Tur

ner,

with

Lul

u G

arci

a

Ove

r the

pas

t few

mon

ths

a sm

all g

roup

of y

oung

act

ivis

ts in

volv

ed in

Uni

on S

olid

arity

org

anis

ed

a se

ries

of w

eeke

nd s

essi

ons

to re

flect

on

cam

paig

ns, e

duca

te o

urse

lves

abo

ut c

limat

e ch

ange

an

d th

e ec

onom

ic c

risis

and

exp

erim

ent w

ith n

ew fo

rms

of e

ngag

emen

t tha

t wou

ld e

nabl

e us

to

win

indu

stria

l and

com

mun

ity d

ispu

tes.

The

wee

kend

s w

ere

a de

liber

ate

resp

onse

to th

e cu

rren

t co

nditi

on o

f the

left

in M

elbo

urne

.

His

toric

ally

info

rmed

per

spec

tives

on

soci

al m

ovem

ents

sug

gest

that

sig

nific

ant s

ocia

l cha

nge

can

only

occ

ur w

hen

back

ed b

y an

effe

ctiv

e co

unte

rpow

er. W

e kn

ow th

at c

ount

erpo

wer

nee

ds to

be

base

d on

a g

roup

num

berin

g in

the

thou

sand

s w

ith c

oher

ent (

thou

gh n

ot n

eces

saril

y un

iform

) ide

as,

a fo

cuse

d pr

ogra

mm

e, a

n ab

ility

to id

entif

y po

litic

al o

ppor

tuni

ties,

and

som

e de

gree

of a

uton

omy

in

its s

ocia

l rep

rodu

ctio

n.

In re

cent

yea

rs th

e ki

nd o

f soc

ial a

nd u

nion

act

ivis

m th

at w

e co

mm

only

eng

age

with

aro

und

the

left

has

been

cha

ract

eris

ed b

y an

aba

ndon

men

t of o

ur c

omm

itmen

t to

coun

terp

ower

. Ins

tead

, in

the

abse

nce

of a

larg

e, e

ffect

ive

pow

er b

ase,

the

left

has

tried

to u

se s

hortc

uts

to a

chie

ve p

oliti

cal

resu

lts. T

o gi

ve e

xam

ples

:

Educ

atio

n ca

mpa

igns

som

etim

es ta

rget

ed a

t the

gen

eral

pop

ulat

ion

and

som

etim

es a

imed

at c

o-op

ting

deci

sion

mak

ers.

The

se c

ampa

igns

pre

tend

that

pol

itica

l cha

nge

is a

bat

tle o

f ide

as o

utsi

de

the

polit

ical

eco

nom

y. T

he C

limat

e Em

erge

ncy

cam

paig

n, u

sing

this

tact

ic, h

as s

o fa

r onl

y ac

hiev

ed

an in

tens

ifica

tion

of a

sta

te-c

entri

c ap

proa

ch e

ven

whi

le th

e st

ate

has

expl

icitl

y re

ject

ed e

ven

the

min

imal

dem

ands

of t

he c

limat

e m

ovem

ent.

Dire

ct a

ctio

ns s

uch

as c

oal p

lant

occ

upat

ions

had

som

e in

itial

suc

cess

but

hav

e be

en d

eclin

ing

in

utili

ty (l

ess

stop

page

, les

s m

edia

) and

incr

easi

ng in

cos

t (m

ore

arre

sts,

stre

ss, r

epre

ssiv

e le

gisl

atio

n,

spar

king

con

flict

with

wor

kers

). O

rgan

iser

s cl

aim

that

med

ia a

ttent

ion

will

edu

cate

the

publ

ic,

who

will

in tu

rn in

terv

ene

in th

e fo

rmal

pol

itica

l sys

tem

. We

quie

tly ig

nore

the

fact

that

with

pro

per

plan

ning

and

an

effe

ctiv

e co

unte

rpow

er, d

irect

act

ion

agai

nst t

he c

oal i

ndus

try c

ould

ulti

mat

ely

rese

mbl

e po

pula

r ins

urre

ctio

n.

Som

etim

es th

e le

ft ha

s gi

ven

up th

e pr

ojec

t of s

ocia

l tra

nsfo

rmat

ion

all t

oget

her a

nd h

as tu

rned

re

volu

tiona

ry p

oliti

cs in

to s

elf-h

elp.

An

exam

ple

is th

e “c

omm

unity

cen

tres”

in M

elbo

urne

, Loo

phol

e an

d B

arric

ade

Boo

ks, w

hich

hav

e ta

ken

to o

rgan

isin

g bo

ard

gam

es a

nd p

unk

rock

nig

hts

that

lim

it th

e so

cal

led

parti

cipa

ting

“com

mun

ity”

to th

ose

alre

ady

on th

e in

side

, and

then

impo

se o

n th

is

com

mun

ity a

polit

ical

div

ersi

ons.

Out

side

this

sub

cultu

ral b

ubbl

e, p

rote

st h

as b

ecom

e th

e rit

ual

repe

titio

n of

form

ula

entir

ely

with

out a

n an

alys

is o

f effe

ctiv

enes

s. In

bot

h ca

ses

the

goal

of s

elf-

expr

essi

on is

sub

stitu

ted

for t

he g

oal o

f ach

ievi

ng s

ocia

l cha

nge.

Uni

on S

olid

arity

was

a re

cent

and

mor

e su

cces

sful

atte

mpt

to c

reat

e re

al c

ount

erpo

wer

. Fro

m

Page 6

Peop

le w

ho m

anag

e to

rea

ch A

ustra

lian

wat

ers

are

take

n to

Chr

istm

as I

slan

d to

th

e $4

00 m

illio

n Im

mig

ratio

n D

eten

tion

Cen

tre.

Oth

er b

oats

are

tur

ned

back

by

the

Aus

tralia

n m

ilita

ry.

How

ard

may

be

gone

but

the

clai

m th

at ‘w

e’ (w

hoev

er ‘w

e’

are)

can

and

sho

uld

cont

rol

‘who

com

es

here

and

the

circ

umst

ance

s by

whi

ch t

hey

com

e’ re

mai

ns a

cen

tral c

once

it of

the

stat

e.

In A

pril

this

yea

r fiv

e pe

ople

dro

wne

d w

hen

a sm

all

woo

den

boat

car

ryin

g 47

A

fgha

n re

fuge

es a

nd t

wo

Indo

nesi

an c

rew

ex

plod

ed a

nd s

ank

off

Aus

tralia

’s n

orth

-w

est c

oast

. Ano

ther

37

peop

le w

ere

inju

red

in t

he e

xplo

sion

. Th

e ro

le o

f th

e na

vy i

n th

e ex

plos

ion

is u

ncle

ar. T

hey

had

been

in

cont

rol o

f th

e bo

at f

or 2

0 ho

urs

and

hadn

’t gi

ven

peop

le li

febo

ats,

nor h

ad th

ey m

oved

pe

ople

ont

o th

eir o

wn

safe

r boa

t. A

n Afg

hani

w

ho h

ad h

imse

lf su

rviv

ed a

boa

t acc

iden

t on

his

way

to

Aus

tralia

wan

ted

to v

isit

som

e of

the

sur

vivo

rs w

ho w

ere

take

n to

Per

th

hosp

ital.

He

was

refu

sed

entry

as t

he p

atie

nt

was

in im

mig

ratio

n de

tent

ion

in th

e hos

pita

l.

It is

bor

der c

ontro

ls th

at m

ake t

hese

jour

neys

un

safe

. Tig

hter

cont

rols

forc

e peo

ple t

o m

ake

mor

e an

d m

ore

dang

erou

s jo

urne

ys. P

eopl

e di

e in

the

des

ert

of t

he U

S/M

exic

o bo

rder

re

gion

and

dro

wn

in t

he M

edite

rran

ean

Peop

le w

ho m

anag

e to

rea

ch A

ustra

lian

wat

ers

are

take

n to

Chr

istm

as I

slan

d to

th

e $4

00 m

illio

n Im

mig

ratio

n D

eten

tion

Cen

tre.

Oth

er b

oats

are

tur

ned

back

by

the

Aus

tralia

n m

ilita

ry.

How

ard

may

be

gone

but

the

clai

m th

at ‘w

e’ (w

hoev

er ‘w

e’

are)

can

and

sho

uld

cont

rol

‘who

com

es

here

and

the

circ

umst

ance

s by

whi

ch t

hey

com

e’ re

mai

ns a

cen

tral c

once

it of

the

stat

e.

In A

pril

this

yea

r fiv

e pe

ople

dro

wne

d w

hen

a sm

all

woo

den

boat

car

ryin

g 47

A

fgha

n re

fuge

es a

nd t

wo

Indo

nesi

an c

rew

ex

plod

ed a

nd s

ank

off

Aus

tralia

’s n

orth

-w

est c

oast

. Ano

ther

37

peop

le w

ere

inju

red

in t

he e

xplo

sion

. Th

e ro

le o

f th

e na

vy i

n th

e ex

plos

ion

is u

ncle

ar. T

hey

had

been

in

cont

rol o

f th

e bo

at f

or 2

0 ho

urs

and

hadn

’t gi

ven

peop

le li

febo

ats,

nor h

ad th

ey m

oved

pe

ople

ont

o th

eir o

wn

safe

r boa

t. A

n Afg

hani

w

ho h

ad h

imse

lf su

rviv

ed a

boa

t acc

iden

t on

his

way

to

Aus

tralia

wan

ted

to v

isit

som

eof

the

sur

vivo

rs w

ho w

ere

take

n to

Per

th

hosp

ital.

He

was

refu

sed

entry

as t

he p

atie

nt

was

in im

mig

ratio

n de

tent

ion

in th

e hos

pita

l.

It is

bor

der c

ontro

ls th

at m

ake t

hese

jour

neys

un

safe

. Tig

hter

cont

rols

forc

e peo

ple t

o m

ake

mor

e an

d m

ore

dang

erou

s jo

urne

ys. P

eopl

e di

e in

the

des

ert

of t

he U

S/M

exic

o bo

rder

re

gion

and

dro

wn

in t

he M

edite

rran

ean

tryin

g to

rea

ch E

urop

e. A

s th

e sl

ogan

fro

m

imm

igra

nt ri

ghts

ralli

es in

the

USA

say

s “w

e di

dn’t

cros

s the

bord

er –

the b

orde

r cro

ssed

us”.

The

tight

enin

g of

bor

der

secu

rity

and

focu

s on

the

cont

rol o

f peo

ple’

s m

ovem

ents

acr

oss

the

glob

e is

a c

orne

rsto

ne o

f ne

o-lib

eral

id

eolo

gy.

Whi

le w

e ar

e ex

pect

ed t

o si

mpl

y ac

cept

the

unr

egul

ated

mov

emen

t of

cap

ital

and

corp

orat

ions

acr

oss

bord

ers

as a

fac

t of

ec

onom

ic li

fe, t

he s

ame

mov

emen

t of p

eopl

e –

espe

cial

ly i

f it’

s fr

om t

he t

hird

wor

ld t

o th

e fir

st –

see

king

to

impr

ove

the

livin

g co

nditi

ons

is c

onsi

dere

d a

no-n

o. T

he L

abor

pa

rty c

erta

inly

acc

epts

the

rol

e of

bor

ders

in

con

trolli

ng la

bour

pow

er a

cros

s th

e gl

obe

– le

t’s n

ever

for

get t

hat t

hey

wer

e th

e pa

rty

that

firs

t in

trodu

ced

man

dato

ry d

eten

tion.

An

anti-

bord

er

polit

ics

shou

ld

be

at

the

fore

fron

t of

soc

ial

stru

ggle

s an

d re

sist

ance

. Th

e is

sues

we

stru

ggle

aga

inst

– c

apita

lism

in

its la

test

cris

is fo

rm, t

he th

reat

s to

the

surv

ival

of

the

plan

et –

are

trul

y gl

obal

. The

stru

ggle

s ag

ains

t the

m n

eed

to r

espo

nd w

ith s

olid

arity

ac

ross

bo

rder

s. Th

e ex

tens

ion

of

cros

s-bo

rder

res

ista

nce

and

solid

arity

is

an a

ctua

l ch

alle

nge

on b

orde

rs t

hem

selv

es,

and

one

plac

e th

is c

an h

appe

n is

thro

ugh

supp

ort f

or

thos

e w

ho c

halle

nge

them

whe

n th

ey c

ross

.

wri

tin

g ad

dre

sses

th

e la

tter

iss

ue:

it

is

a vo

cali

sati

on o

f m

y fr

ust

rati

on a

t th

e u

nw

illi

ngn

ess

of m

en to

ack

now

led

ge th

at

wom

en

do

a d

isp

rop

orti

onat

e am

oun

t of

un

der

valu

ed i

nvi

sibl

e ca

reta

kin

g w

ork

in t

he

wor

ld a

nd

th

e L

eft.

C

aret

akin

g in

clu

des

ch

ild

care

, cle

anin

g, c

ooki

ng,

an

d

emot

ion

al w

ork.

T

his

wor

k sh

ould

be

visi

ble,

val

ued

an

d s

har

ed.

Th

is i

s n

ot t

o sa

y th

at n

o m

en d

o an

y of

th

ese

thin

gs,

sim

ply

th

at w

omen

do

mos

t of

it.

In m

y la

te t

een

s, I

rea

lize

d t

hat

wom

en

wer

e of

ten

m

ore

acti

ve

and

se

nsi

tive

li

sten

ers

and

mor

e su

pp

orti

ve t

han

men

. L

ater

, w

hen

I “

beca

me

pol

itic

al”,

I f

oun

d

that

, wh

erea

s m

en a

nd

wom

en w

ere

both

p

rese

nt a

rou

nd

act

ivis

m, w

omen

did

mos

t of

th

e or

gan

isin

g.

I

fou

nd

al

so

that

m

en i

n t

he

Lef

t ta

lked

too

mu

ch.

Th

is,

com

bin

ed w

ith

exp

erie

nci

ng

ever

yth

ing

from

sl

eazi

nes

s to

se

xual

as

sau

lt

from

le

ftis

t m

en,

led

me

to o

rgan

ise

alm

ost

enti

rely

w

ith

w

omen

.

I am

su

dd

enly

d

oin

g p

olit

ical

wor

k w

ith

mor

e m

en t

han

I

ever

hav

e be

fore

. A

s a

grou

p, t

hes

e m

en

are

not

doi

ng

thei

r sh

are

of c

aret

akin

g w

ork.

T

his

, co

up

led

wit

h t

he

fact

th

at

men

ou

tsid

e of

th

e L

eft

also

do

not

do

a fa

ir s

har

e of

car

etak

ing

wor

k, m

ean

s th

at

I fe

el s

urr

oun

ded

by

men

wh

o -

like

boy

s -

dem

and

car

etak

ing

but

do

not

giv

e in

re

turn

.

Wh

en I

poi

nt

out

this

in

equ

ity

to m

en,

they

res

pon

d in

dif

fere

nt

way

s. S

ome

say

wh

en y

ou c

lean

in

fro

nt

of t

hem

th

ey f

eel

“gu

ilty

”, b

ut t

hey

nev

erth

eles

s d

o n

ot h

elp

. O

ther

s sa

y th

ey d

on’t

hav

e to

cle

an u

p

afte

r th

emse

lves

bec

ause

th

ey “

do

oth

er

stu

ff”,

are

“go

od a

ctiv

ists

” or

“d

o fa

vou

rs”

for

you

. O

ther

s sa

y cl

ean

lin

ess

is r

elat

ive;

if

you

are

bot

her

ed b

y th

eir

mes

s, t

hat

is

you

r p

robl

em.

Oth

ers

poi

nt

to t

he

clea

nin

g th

ey

do.

Th

is

beh

avio

ur

is

test

amen

t to

th

e on

goin

g co

nvi

ctio

n

amon

gst

men

th

at d

oin

g so

me

clea

nin

g is

ex

cep

tion

al,

wh

erea

s w

omen

th

ink

doi

ng

som

e cl

ean

ing

is a

n o

bvio

us

par

t of

lif

e.

Men

wh

o m

ake

wom

en a

sk t

hem

to

do

obvi

ous

care

taki

ng

wor

k d

on’t

res

pec

t th

e en

ergy

req

uir

ed t

o d

o th

is a

skin

g. N

or d

o th

ey r

esp

ect t

hat

they

are

forc

ing

us

into

a

pro

blem

atic

gen

der

rol

e w

her

eby

wom

en

beco

me

nag

s, m

oth

ers,

or

angr

y bi

tch

es.

Men

tel

l m

e th

ey h

ave

few

mal

e fr

ien

ds

wit

h

wh

om

they

ta

lk

abou

t h

ow

they

ar

e fe

elin

g.

Wom

en t

ell

me

they

usu

ally

re

ly o

n f

emal

e fr

ien

ds

for

thei

r em

otio

nal

n

eed

s.

I ta

ke f

rom

th

is a

nd

my

per

son

al

exp

erie

nce

th

at f

ewer

men

th

an w

omen

ar

e d

oin

g th

e d

ay-t

o-d

ay e

mot

ion

al w

ork

nec

essa

ry t

o ge

t u

s th

rou

gh li

fe’s

up

s an

d

dow

ns.

Oft

en, m

en n

ot p

ract

ised

in g

ivin

g em

otio

nal

su

pp

ort

non

eth

eles

s d

eman

d it

fr

om w

omen

, so

wom

en a

re a

sked

to

give

bu

t ca

n e

xpec

t li

ttle

in

ret

urn

. I

sel

dom

h

ear

men

on

th

e L

eft

exp

ress

gra

titu

de

for

the

emot

ion

al w

ork

wom

en d

o.

It

is a

s if

th

is w

ork

is i

nvi

sibl

e.

Th

is h

as

con

trib

ute

d t

o m

y fr

ust

rati

on w

hen

men

as

k fo

rmal

ly a

t co

llec

tive

mee

tin

gs h

ow

they

mig

ht

sup

por

t a

wom

an i

n a

try

ing

situ

atio

n.

I

hav

e w

ante

d

to

say

that

, be

cau

se w

omen

are

pra

ctic

ed c

aret

aker

s,

we

know

how

to

sup

por

t w

ith

out

alw

ays

aski

ng

or w

aiti

ng

to b

e to

ld a

nd

so

sup

por

t fi

rst

and

su

pp

ort

wel

l. B

y th

e ti

me

men

as

k fo

rmal

ly h

ow t

hey

can

hel

p,

wom

en

alre

ady

hav

e th

e ba

ses

cove

red

.

Wh

ile

som

e m

en h

ave

mad

e co

nsc

iou

s ef

fort

s to

u

nle

arn

se

xist

b

ehav

iou

r -

incl

ud

ing

how

to d

o an

d p

roac

tive

ly d

oin

g ca

reta

kin

g w

ork

- t

hes

e m

en a

re f

ew.

For

m

any

oth

ers,

w

omen

’s

care

taki

ng

wor

k re

mai

ns

invi

sibl

e.

To

thes

e m

en,

I th

ink

it w

orth

con

sid

erin

g th

e id

ea o

f a

pri

vile

ged

st

and

poi

nt.

Peo

ple

ex

per

ien

ce

the

wor

ld d

iffe

ren

tly

and

th

us

hav

e d

if

fe

re

nt

know

led

ge o

f th

e w

orld

, bu

t th

is

know

led

ge

is

not