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Why I renounce my vote.

Caroline Seddon | 16.01.2009 17:33 | Gender | Repression

Ever since The suffragettes won the right to vote for women of property over the age of 30 in what was called the "1918 Representation of the People Act" we have, as a gender had a continuous uphill struggle for equality, that has prolonged up until this very day, and are we actually any closer to being equal to a man?

The answer is much more wider and complex than a simple NO. Its not so much about gender any more, nor is it about class, its about everyone from all walks of life, colours and orientations being repressed, and we need to stop just focusing on ourselves, inequality is rife in this world, and for us to overcome it, we cant fight just for one type of sex, we have to fight for all.

While I am aware that we owe a great deal of gratitude to the suffragettes, and to read about their work and activism fills you with a strong sense of allegiance to these women who gave their lives so that we could have a say in the running of our country, my only sorrow is that the votes that they fought so hard for now mean absolutely nothing, now alls they do is make up more numbers on either side of the rich party or the richer party, whose only intentions are to get richer and take more control of our society, this so called democracy that we live in is as despicable as the governments that run it, haven't you ever wondered why its only ever Tories and Labour getting most of the attention when it comes to election time? There are countless other parties to vote for, but unfortunately their agenda's arnt paid for or supported by the big companies that run this corporation-sorry I mean "country"- It's the newspapers and TV channels that are responsible for making sure that the general public of sheep are most likely to vote red or blue.

Labour came into power on 2nd May 1997 on a revolution of change, promising a better Britain after years of depressing Tory rule that brought Privatisation, Repression, Recession and Mass job losses, it seemed good didn't it when Tony got in? he had a great smile and his words seemed true, The only way was up and he was gonna lead us. I then Look at 2007 and it paints a different picture, there were the words again… Privatisation, Repression, Recession and mass job losses, and we were experiencing them all over again, people also forget that only 4 days after coming into power on the 6th of May Blair had Gordon Brown, the then chancellor of the exchequer re-privatise the Bank of England after it had been partially nationalised years before, now, this is where it starts to get interesting, you probably already have a basic idea of what One of Britain's oldest institutions does, it sounds obvious, its where the government gets its money from, no the government doesn't print its own money to distribute and keep the country afloat, it loans it from the Independent Bank of England, at interest, now look at it like this, because this is exactly how it is, for example: Labour wants some money to put in the war in Iraq piggybank, I don't know, maybe just to buy some more guns and bombs to kill innocent people with, so they go to the Bank and ask for a loan, the bank thinks about it, they might do a credit check im not too sure, then they make a decision, which will most definitely be a 'yes'. Then the amount they wanted is printed and given to them, but then once the government has loaned the money interest is placed upon it, so the government will always owe more than its borrowed, a debt that IS impossible to pay off and is actually never intended too, it's the same in America (federal Reserve) Germany (Deutsche Bundesbank) and virtually every other country in the world, you see my friend Debt is money and money is Debt and debt is control and we are controlled all over the world, not just women, but men and children and animals and plant life.

We have many people to thank for the Bank of England act 1694, but most notably is King James I (just one of many abuses of the current and past monarchy against its own country) along with the Big international bankers of the time, mainly the Rothschild's in England, took it upon themselves to sign one of the most cruellest conniving pieces of paper ever known to man.

"I care not what puppet is placed upon the throne of England to rule the Empire on which the sun never sets. The man who controls Britain's money supply controls the British Empire, and I control the British money supply."

Nathan Mayer Rothschild

Are you beginning to realise now what the world around you is all about? And why everything is the way that it is? Why people starve in a world that the World Trade Organisation claims in its reports can sustain a world of up to 15 Billion people? Why millions of people can protest in London against the Iraq war only to be sorely ignored? We live in a world that has been carefully methodised to gear towards making money, at any cost, and that cost is us.

It comes from the sheer amount of lives lost in all the meaningless profitable wars, the people that die all over the world every second from preventable starvation, diseases and illnesses, The broken down society we have around us today, the badly trained doctors working for the Billion pound pharmaceutical companies, pushing their drugs on us, the tens of thousands of job losses this Christmas because companies aren't making enough profit ( profit comes after you've paid for everything else, such as wages, maintenance etc, so if these companies are still making enough money to pay staff, only their profits are getting smaller then why sack them? Because the profits are for shareholders, and if shareholders aren't getting enough of the profits then companies have to make this money up some other way)

We seem to think that this is just how it is, its how its always been and always will, and to try and stop it would cause mass hysteria from people and a complete disintegration of society, but where exactly would we even begin? We know what needs doing, and it really is the simplest explanation, completely do away with the Bank notes currently in circulation, freeze everyone's bank accounts, and then give people the same amount they had in the new improved bank notes. This new tender would not be the result of debt but new notes that are produced only by the government and distributed equally among the country, thus erasing class, and allowing everyone to have the same acceptable standard of living, it would be illegal for a company to make any profit, especially from peoples essentials like electricity and water, and if a company did try and make even a penny of profit for their shareholders, a public flogging of them should be suffice in stopping them from doing so again, the police would be taught to treat these businessmen with the same disdain and contempt they treat the drug dealers, small time thieves and people who bunk on busses, regular raids could go on, and it would be ASBO's all round for the business sector, the REAL crooks would finally be getting their come-uppance, because you see, when there is only a certain amount of notes in circulation and most of them are taken up by the rich people, that hardly leaves any for the rest of us.

But it sounds too perfect doesn't it, we've became de-sensitised to the large numbers we see in the newspapers, when the head of British gas announces record profits and in the same breath tells us to wear an extra jumper or two this winter, im sure your blood boils, and you moan to your friends about it, maybe discuss how it could be stopped, but without ever really acting on your injustice you continue to go to work, have a few drinks with friends, or go the movies, listen to your favourite music, buy nice clothes and make up so you can be pretty, and then maybe the subject pops up again in your conversation, but is then overtaken because the new series of big brother is starting or Amy winehouse looks like she's back on the drugs again (not sure she was actually ever 'off' them)

The same entertainment that's out there to avert your attention from the sufferings and injustices, is paid for and made by the same people that are causing the suffering and injustice, most people already know this, but to what extent? Our grandparents and great grandparents have sleep walked us into this world we know today, and while they are not entirely blameless, its up to us now to make sure this doesn't happen to the next unborn generation, we live in what is called a global village and the globalisation of the world through the internet has been the most pivotal step in bringing together people on opposite sides of the globe, and together its time to fight the root of our problems, merely hacking at the branches of this tree of evil only serves to prolong our suffering.

Why is it acceptable that the average human has to work over 40 hours a week to live a comfortable life? For whatever reason that we humans are on this planet, it certainly isn't to slave away for faceless corporations or businesses.

So, in hindsight this is why I renounce my vote that the suffragettes fought so hard for, I cant even begin to comprehend the amount of gratitude I have for these women, who when the right to vote was actually won, a majority couldn't actually use the new system as they wouldn't have been over 30, or due to them moving out and beginning to gain their own independence, would not have been property owners, but nether the less, the battle had begun and soon women of all ages, whether they owned dwellings or not, had the same voting rights as men in 1928, and proved to the all male government of the time that women would not turn into hysterical creatures when faced with the realities of politics, quite the opposite actually.

If theres anything that we can take from the suffrage movement, its that these women saw injustice and organised themselves to fight in anyway they can to get change, they knew silent protests outside the houses of parliament was never going to work and only militant action was going to be crucial, they made bombs and Emily Davison was successful in blowing up the then chancellor of the exchequer David Lloyd George's newly built home in surrey, after previously violently attacking a man she thought was him, and being arrested.

They rampaged down Oxford street in London smashing every window on their way, knowing that this was the only way they were going to get attention, they made various other protests too, like chaining themselves to railings and going on hunger strikes in prison etc.

These women are my heroines, along with every other person who has given their all for worthier human rights, but I can never and will never use my vote in a misguided world where it would mean nothing, only to further certain rich peoples agendas in this so called 'democracy'. Instead I want to emulate their actions and use it for the progress of all of mankind, we've voted now for so long, but still no one has realised that it hasn't gotten us anywhere, the same people are still in power starting their wars that we continue to fight without question, well now is our own war and we need everyone on our side, not just fellow women, if the suffragettes taught us one thing it was that their motto 'deeds not words' was going to be the blueprint for the way society is going to have to fight for true freedom.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Martin luther King JNR

Caroline Seddon

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  1. Absolutely right, — George B