Looks like the police were complete pricks today. But in all honesty, what did you guys expect? We all knew this would happen, no one expected a mob to run riot through West London. For fucks sake, football firms are ten times harder to police than a motley crew of anarchists and the Met deal with them pretty solidly. Maybe Class War will learn the lesson this time: its the working class who start riots, not bands of badly dressed punks.

i see nothing wrong with this action other than we weren't all there.

it is shameless cowardice to post vague damnation on the internet when anyone with a sane mind knows that a fight needs to be taken to the streets.

today they (we) lost. we may never win with this level of apathy. but who knows we might. and besides I would rather die fighting than live for years longer to spend the whole time oppressed by this horrific nightmare.

one war - class war. the only war worth fighting

You Idiots! Do you think you can come to my neck of the woods and change us or our views! Your pathetic losers, well done to the Police again, they had you well under control, you all looked out of your depth. Why not get a job, or better still try and serve our great country, you never know after a bath or shower or two, and clean clothes, you start to enjoy your new life!

the faces of the pitiful servants of the state in the above pic "and carried to the van" were a pleasure to see. Nice one!!

...in the UK?
people here have more passion about what they think should be done to heather mills mccartney or if they think little maddy is dead.

Well a brilliant display. You know a real demonstration, with real workers was taking place?

It is true, a bunch of punks cannot seriously take down the state. Is this the limit of the anarchist movement? it cant actually do anything more than these, frankly, fairly worthless but well meaning protests? IF so, what? Haven;t you class war guys been doing this for years and years? Where has all this got you?

I doubt Class War were surprised and far from being a failure it is good to see them back in action. Dismissing them as punks or not workers is pretty weak. However, it is pretty much what they would expect. Tactics, tactics. Wait and see.

Do you mean the NHS march which took place earlier in the day and from which some of the demonstrators came? But perhaps you disagree with us that affordable housing is one of the great causes of our day, and feel that the NHS workers should be priced out of decent housing.

I think the article is more than fair to be honest, but going further and calling CW 'a bunch of punks' is over the top - Class War at their best has been much more than that. Any issue of Class War (the tabloid) is still much more than that, even at it's worst. In fact it probably changed a lot of dafter punks politics for the better, by presenting class struggle in an easy way to relate to. They certainly didn't say they were going to take down the state with them anyway.

However, there was natter that interesting and new tactics would be used to prevent a cordon/wasted afternoon. Doesn't look like this happened. There was also a lot of prior local publicity, but that can only be measured only by follow up intrest or local people turning up to the march.

"This is the beginning of a campaign, and knockers and begrudgers are what long experience of the British anarchist movement has taught us to expect."

- the proof is in the pudding. I hope thats the case. It is going to take a lot more than more numbers on Bash The Rich marches to do that though.

Anyone seeing this event as a dismal failure might want to read the interview with the marches organiser weeks before the event in The Guardian; Bone was extremely candid about what he expected to happen. Nobody was pretending this was going to be a massive ruck. I think the organiser(s) are probably more than happy with the event.

Tactics need to be addressed, a waste of time using the internet as it gives too much away to the opposition.

Look back to the classic text by Che. Cell structure and no communication outside to take strategic action on places of significance.

The Angry Brigade used this to great effect.

Power to the people!

But class war are just a bunch of punks who've listened to a bit too much Crass, subhumans etc. But this is not serious politics, now. Time to grow up a little and move, methinks.

Yeah Class War have no fucking politics, na-na-NA-NA...

'Unfinished Business-The Poltics Of Class War' (  http://www.londonclasswar.org/unfinhome.php )is still one of the best ever published political analysis written on the left.....shame you cant fucking understand it though isnt it.

Twat.

Its true the working class start riots and not badly dressed punks. But there was hardly any punks on the march and thankfully they are disappearing from the anarchist movement, seeking police in special brew. Everyone I knew on the march actually had jobs. The uniteing view was that it is better to get out on the streets and try to do something, even if this results in failure, than to sit behind a keyboard moaning at people waiting for a ready made revoltuion to spring up from people who are inspired by piss poor over theorised posts by keyboard heroes who think because they type something everyone should listen to them.

As someone else mentioned, some people on the march also went on the NHS march. There was also people on the march who work in the NHS and recognise that things the march was trying to highlight, such as gentrification and its effects on housing, actually effects people in the NHS and this was part of one struggle.

Instead of the long list of 'I told you so's' and 'what did you expect from the police' with the overtones that we all got what we deserve, it would be nice to have some solidarity from activists even if they did not agree with the march itself. After all it was policed in an extremely aggressive and nasty way (screaming man being dragged about by a broken arm etc.). Perhaps, if you can't bring yourself to type words of praise for the marchers themselves, you could focus a bit more on the implications of this for wider society.

Finally, its a myth that is only believed by people who never really go out, that football firms are stopped by the police. Football violence does still happen and is quite common.

The issue I have with this and a lot of the Class War/Ian Bone stuff is that the rich aren't actually the problem. They behave pretty much like we would in their position. The working class is the problem, because we are currently letting the capitalist state get away with it. To change this, we have to organise in OUR areas and workplaces, rather than going on a march even more pointless than the usual Stop The War ones. Admittedly, that's a lot harder than going on a tourist style trail round the rich people's houses, but that's where the solution lies.

Usual pathetic Class War publicity stunt. Someone should tell them it's not the 1980s and what was mildly amusing then (in a sort of sub-viz kind of way)is now terribly dated.

The statement from 'Smart Monkey' seems to demonstrate Class War's attitude, which is basically that everybody who criticises them is an 'internet class warrior', who they seem to believe does nothing except for criticise Class War.

Of course it is much easier than discussing things with people, and re-examining what you are actually doing.

D.Valerian

Mate if you mean that randomly attacking the worst caricatures of 'posh bastards' is unproductive then fair play, but to say the rich are not the problem as opposed the the state is nonsense. The state is run by and for the elite, it developed to protect their interests - first feudal then capitalist. There is no separating the two, and separating them is often how the cunts get to sleep at night: 'I'm just doing my job, its the government that start wars' or 'So what if i'm a PFI firm taking public contracts, if the NHS can't compete they aren't market efficient'. Get to sleep or avoid the blame; you can vote out the party, you can't vote out the bosses.

On that point, it is actually a lot more productive to use the term 'bosses' rather than 'the rich', because although the bosses are definitely rich, it identifies the real problem - capitalism. Its sounds a but naff, but if you are making a serious point rather than a bit of agit-prop its worth doing.

The working class and the employing class hve nothing in common: not cos they don't drink in the same pubs, or favour football or rugby but because THEY ARE PITTED AGAINST EACH BY THE ECONOMY. The boss has to fuck over the worker to earn money, if they don't they go under. That is the bottom line.

Quick points:
D Centaur - so what? That is not a point.

Digger - Er, no. Che Guevara failed comprehensively in his guerilla warfare era. At the very least Class War have no time the terrorist elite you are advocating.

Rollins - Class War piss on Crass and the Subhumans from a great height. Neither of those bands even recognise class struggle, even today. Even if the paper was just a headline with "CLASS WAR" then 20 blank pages it would still make a better political comment than those bands entire back catalogue.

King Amdo - "Sharing experinence of 20 years eco/peace/tribal sovereignty activism including lots and lots of front line stuff'' - why would anyone interested in class struggle give a fuck 'eco/peace/tribal sovereignty'?

People advocating the long game and community activism are bang on. I agree with Calaker on the book Unfinished Business, a great read. Its a shame it didn't develop into a real handbook for activity, but its definitely the most readable and practical class struggle anarchist text i've seen.

Or is this attempt at a clown action? Happy reflecting on it all.

Dammit, if I'd have known I might have risked throwing one by that point!

Devrim - you say that so many times you had better kick yourself to bump the CD.

Why not do more praxis - it would do you good. You would have more respect then cos you would actually have something to say for a change.

>>Sharing experinence of 20 years eco/peace/tribal sovereignty activism including lots and lots of front line stuff.

Like what?

Right, from my perspective this is what happened...

I went to Bash The rich for a few lessons in the history of Class struggle in London, a bit of argy-bargy with the cops and a march.

What I saw were no real signs of knowing what was going to happen, no history lessons, and if the 200-odd people turned up, they turned up after me and my ten-strong squad, including the above poster, bolted and had a nice run-around notting hill.

Come five o clock we did a nice No War but the Class war banner drop outside buckingham palace for the tourists, some chants and a scarper.

To be honest I wish I went to the Anarchist bookfair instead...

Is this whole action nothing less than a clown army piss-take for the cameras?

The working class and the employing class have nothing in common: not cos they don't drink in the same pubs, or favour football or rugby but because THEY ARE PITTED AGAINST EACH BY THE ECONOMY. The boss has to fuck over the worker to earn money, if they don't they go under. That is the bottom line.

hmmm. let me guess, you have never had a job? a very niave and childish comment. most employers have to work hard to get where they are, usually working their way up the business/industry. I don't know what you mean by 'f*** over the worker' as you so elloquently put it. The boss has to make sure the work gets done so they can all get paid, including the worker. You clearly have no experience of management or even supervision of other workers. Its a very difficult job, and if you own a company, there is a whole lot more work involving tax, regulations, etc that the worker never needs to worry about. Not to mention the risks. Most businesses borrow huge amounts of money to get started, and many fail within the first year. The worker can just walk away, find a new job, but the employer often has lost far more than just a job, they may lose any savings they put into the business and the roof over their heads.

I wish all you hippies would stop blaming everyone else for you problems and get off your arse and do something for yourself for a change. There are other countries in the world where people have real problems, REAL poverty, which is about not having the basics, food, shelter, clean water - not just about not being able to afford a ferrari or mansion! thats not poverty thats just envy.

Grow up.

LB mentioned the Banner Drop at Buckingham Palace, but it was only one of the activities that occurred outside of the march. On arriving there were a lot of Punks, but when it became clear that there was no actual plan around the march, most of them used their common sense and split off. The rest of us ended up in a tight block, like canned food. The police patronized us on the basis that none of us were really quite sure where we were going and what we wanted to do. They had a laugh and offered to guide us to a destination, like dogs on a leash … obedient ones at that.

I am one of those Punks that did not use my common sense and went on the march. I don’t actually think that it was ‘Bringing Anarchy back onto the Streets’ … not by a long shot. At the same time I would never be critical of Class Wars’ continual efforts to organise Anarchists. However, the real ‘Anarchy on the Streets’ was going on outside of the march … yes, the Punks that broke off and formed smaller cells. None of you will know of the activities that they got up to (or) the support that they actually got from the locals, because most Punks don’t have the luxury of sitting behind a computer making comments.

I don’t actually get the whole issue that a lot of you are having with Punks. I am still kicking myself that I did not split off with the group, mentioned by LB, when we all first spoke about it. I did meet up with another two Punks that were initially part of this group, but get separated along the way. The three of us then re-joined the group. We all sat down together, spoke, got a plan together, organised and then went on to do a Fixed Banner Drop with the same ‘No War But The Class War’ banner across from The Dorchester. For those of you Part-Time Anarchists, that’s where some of us turned up for the Disarm DSEI protest Action.

And what’s all this about Punks and Anarcho-Punk bands not promoting Class Struggle? You lot that think that way really need to listen to the lyrics a bit more (or) start coming to some gigs … your ignorance is making you look stupider than you possibly are.

Most of the Punks used their wits and savvy and calculated whether joining the march would be an Anarchist Action or not. If anything, the march was more of a Work Ethic Demo led by the Police. Don’t be critical of the Punks who were out there being Anarchists … Be critical of the Anarchists who were in there being Conformed. Still, good job by Class War in mobilising everyone on the day, shame that most of us did not use our imagination … and then ran back to the computers to make comments about the day. At the same time, it’s also sad that most ‘individuals’ in the march were expecting Ian Bone to think for them. Well, I guess that is what happens when Anarchists stop their activities on the Streets and then return for one day of action.

For Punks Anarchy is always on the Streets, the Streets are Our Streets … we are the ones getting up to Anarchist activities at crazy hour of the morning, while everyone else is sleeping. Yes, the majority of Punks broke off from the march … but who do the people criticising the Punks think were helping to promote the whole event? Who do you think was running around in the early hours of the morning putting up Posters and Stickers on telephone booths and bus stops around London … from New Cross to Brixton, from Stockwell to Aldgate, from Whitechapel to Camden? It’s a lot of the domesticated Anarchists that need to get out of their Rut, looks to me like it’s not the Punks that need to be criticised here.

Anarchism is not a Weekend Activity, it’s not a Holiday Retreat, an Internet Forum or a F*cking Seminar.

Just noticed that JH has also pointed out in an addition what LB was mentioning in the comment. Nice One, yeah I am still kicking myself that I never spit off with you guys in the first place … but we all met up eventually and hit Mayfair with a Vengeance.

As for that Posh Legal Prostitute with the Fur around her neck getting into the Chauffeured Vehicle with those two Twats … well I wonder if she was still thinking that the comment that was made to her ‘Was not Fair’ when she was getting treated like a Cheap Product at the end of the night. She would have had much more fun if she ditched those two Elitists, got rid of the dead animal around her neck and joined us.

Who’s Streets?

Our Streets!

Who’s Law?

Their Law!

Whats the different between sex pistols and crass? Class war punks or a bunch of crusties? not serious.

"hmmm. let me guess, you have never had a job?"

Yes i have. I am in my mid 20's and have done everything from working a till in a shop to semi-skilled manual labour.

"a very niave and childish comment."
Naive.

"Most employers have to work hard to get where they are, usually working their way up the business/industry. I don't know what you mean by 'f*** over the worker' as you so elloquently put it."

Then i'll explain. The boss pays the worker 3X. The worker produces 5X. So the boss lives off the 2X difference between what the worker is paid and its real value on the market - this is called profit. X can be anything from an actual product like a car, to a service like manning a phone in a call centre. Remember the boss probably employs many many people, and the value of 2X could be absolutely huge - consider how many people the bosses of Microsoft employ and think about how much the "2X" becomes then.

In a side point, it is a little impotent to censor the word 'fuck' when i have already said it, and furthermore, i lose no eloquence by using profanity; it depends on the context.

"The boss has to make sure the work gets done so they can all get paid, including the worker. You clearly have no experience of management or even supervision of other workers. Its a very difficult job, and if you own a company, there is a whole lot more work involving tax, regulations, etc that the worker never needs to worry about. Not to mention the risks. Most businesses borrow huge amounts of money to get started, and many fail within the first year. The worker can just walk away, find a new job, but the employer often has lost far more than just a job, they may lose any savings they put into the business and the roof over their heads."

Well, i obviously couldn't disagree more - but you've actually made some quite clear factual errors there too. When a company folds the owner is bailed out by insurance or bankruptcy pay offs, and the higher up you go in business the bigger this gets. Failure is actually rewarded, incredibly generously. Look at the PFI rail companies for this, or recently that wanker Crozier who is being paid more and more for failing to make Royal Mail stay afloat (whilst it is the workers who are being laid off or suffering pay cuts). Your whole point here is based on the tiny independent entrepeneur, like a start up company, where there is a lot of risk for the boss and the boss does take some initiative. So what, really? The boss will get the rewards if they succeed, the workers will remain on £5.25 an hour. You say the worker can just find another job - so can the boss! If they are a low level boss they may have to (oh for shame) become a worker again, but specialised bosses will generally go back in at boss level. If a person loses their job, they will also lose savings whilst they look for another one. The boss has insurance to shore them up. Remember too the boss has been earning a fortune compared to the worker, they are in a much better position.

Your overall point about managers and bosses rising throigh the ranks is very useful, but disproves nothing i have said. That the boss class recruits directly from the aspirational and able bits of the working class is a key part of capitalism. It adds a veil of fairness to the procceedings, what is generally called 'meritocracy' - a system where those with the most ability rise to the top.

But this is not what happens; you could be born with an incredible brain, or become and incredibly inteligent person, but unless you have the opportunities to go into business, or if you actually want to, your ability is irrelevant. Teachers, or doctors for instance, have lot of ability and knowledge - but are they multi-millionaires? No. They are far better rewarded by capitalism than the street sweeper, but they are not the ruling class, the real elite. That is made up of people with NO DISCERNABLE SKILL whatsover, people who just move large sums of money around markets and pick up the interest. They serve absolutely no function useful to society at large. In fact, they live of the profit they extract from it. As parasites. This is what i mean by 'bosses' - not your mate who sells timeshares in Majorca or some floor manager at the Carphone Warehouse.

"I wish all you hippies would stop blaming everyone else for you problems and get off your arse and do something for yourself for a change."

I am not a hippy so this doesn't apply to me. I act on my problems every day, from earning money to live, to organising with others for a better world. Ironically i know all about 'management' and it is a shit way to work; if you want things done, do it as equals, cooperating.

"There are other countries in the world where people have real problems, REAL poverty, which is about not having the basics, food, shelter, clean water"

So what? There is still poverty in the UK, from illiteracy to shitty diet, to unemployement, depression, crime and squalor. Just cos someone somewhere else is having a shitter time than you does not mean you can't do something about your own situation. This is what the church told my grandparents generation. "Thank God for what you have, at least you aren't starving" - great, so we can get up at 4AM to make sure the masters breakfast is started or the chickens are fed, have one pair of clothes a year and no free time. This is such a non-point it's funny.

"...not just about not being able to afford a ferrari or mansion! thats not poverty thats just envy."

But why CAN these people afford to throw money away on huge houses they don't need or use and cars 5 times the normal price? BECAUSE THEY ARE FUCKING PEOPLE OVER, that really is the long and short of it. Either they are directly a boss, where they pay their workers only a fraction of what they have produced, or they live off the profits of other bosses - so essentially do the same thing.

HOWEVER - I agree that it shouldn't be about blaming individual rich people for the entire economic system, and marching on some street just cos they are 'posh bastards' is pretty weak compared to explaining why there are rich people and why they need poor people to *be* rich. I think the march was a bit of rabble rousing, a stunt to put some of the things i have outlined across in a attention grabbing way.

"Grow up."
Inevitably.

"we are all working class"
8% of the UK population just identifed themselves as UPPER CLASS, not 'middle class' or 'very well off'. Upper class.

In their own words.

Chew on that pal.