What now? Beyond the CPC, a look at what went wrong.
CPC Direct Action Bloc | 05.10.2010 16:23 | Public sector cuts | Repression | Workers' Movements | Birmingham
Ok, so we are back home now, bruised but far from beaten, obviously there were some rather glaring failures of the Unauthorised March which we will cover first. Then we will move onto post march actions and how we can look at future resistance in our communities.
Pre organising
The No CPC group / site was set up by very few individuals as a frustrated response to the lack of interest in REAL radical action against the Conservative Party Conference. It was a quick reaction to the idea that the Tories might not have faced any resistance at all on the 3rd. We wish very much that we could have held a public meeting months before but we simply left things too late and did not have the support in place to achieve this.
Squatted Convergence Space
One of our larger failings was the failure to open a squatted space for activists. We did attempt to open a space on the Tuesday but found ourselves under arrest and tools taken. With such little support for securing a space and after weighing up the pros and cons we decided we would update the site to show that they space would not be happening and that people should organise a place to stay themselves.
The “Unauthorised March”
The black bloc was a good size and had some real potential but failed to act as a unit in most cases. Support when attempting to breaking police lines and break the kettle was minimal and some blocers resigned themselves to the cordon too easily. We stood face to face with cops at the barrier fences to the ICC but had no chance of breaching so re-joined the main march. We did break from the main march but were then blocked off and kettled by police who then forcibly searched and filmed people leaving the cordon. All in all it wasn’t exactly an Unauthorised March but we certainly didn’t comply with what the police tried to force us to do.
And now our little bit of success:
After the RTW coaches were arriving back at their respective home towns we headed towards Broad street and confronted various Tories including Boris Johnson himself. Police were slow to react and Bo-Jos response to our question “Oi Bo-Jo, Why don’t you stop fucking over the poor and stop helping the rich?” was one of bewilderment and an awkward shoulder shrug. Worth the stop and search by its own merits. Other Tories were hounded and abused as we asked “where the soup kitchen might be” so we know for when we are left in poverty by their cuts.
Unions with teeth
We were really pissed off to hear that some Unions had told their members that they were not to engage in civil disobedience on Sundays march. This is unacceptable, the union is only as strong as the action it takes, if union bosses start to dictate to the individual what they can and cannot do on a protest they should question their motives. It was for this reason that many union members came outside of their unions so they could use some of the anger and focus it without permission.
Anger to meaningful resistance
We spoke to many angry people this weekend whilst flyering for the march on Sunday. But you have to question whether people ARE angry? What separates us from our comrades in Greece, Spain, other EU countries and worldwide who stand united amongst burning barricades against the tyrannies their communities face. Why are we so pacified? Why are we failing to take the situation seriously?
We need to see the march as what it was: inconsequential, the Tories didn’t give a fuck, the elite weren’t quaking in their boots. At best our actions increased the cost of the event in terms of security but in reality none of this has any effect our communities. What happens when we return home is where true battle starts.
ORGANISE! Realise that marches and actions are only symbolic of the strength of our struggle we need to organise within our communities to make a difference. Start something new, a newsletter, a blog, network for solidarity, do anything to make your community a better place, but remember that direct action must always be taken to remove the rot from our communities be they corporations, the local army recruitment centre, bank or local government.
We cannot begin to think about the deconstruction of the state and capitalism when we cannot provide an alternative to ourselves and those around us.
Resistance to cuts will prove a great driving force over the coming years and we hope that actions against those involved in the cuts will provide a solid platform for liberating our communities.
To sum up, we have learned a lot from organising against the Conference, next year we will be ready!
Solidarity and rage!
(A)
The No CPC group / site was set up by very few individuals as a frustrated response to the lack of interest in REAL radical action against the Conservative Party Conference. It was a quick reaction to the idea that the Tories might not have faced any resistance at all on the 3rd. We wish very much that we could have held a public meeting months before but we simply left things too late and did not have the support in place to achieve this.
Squatted Convergence Space
One of our larger failings was the failure to open a squatted space for activists. We did attempt to open a space on the Tuesday but found ourselves under arrest and tools taken. With such little support for securing a space and after weighing up the pros and cons we decided we would update the site to show that they space would not be happening and that people should organise a place to stay themselves.
The “Unauthorised March”
The black bloc was a good size and had some real potential but failed to act as a unit in most cases. Support when attempting to breaking police lines and break the kettle was minimal and some blocers resigned themselves to the cordon too easily. We stood face to face with cops at the barrier fences to the ICC but had no chance of breaching so re-joined the main march. We did break from the main march but were then blocked off and kettled by police who then forcibly searched and filmed people leaving the cordon. All in all it wasn’t exactly an Unauthorised March but we certainly didn’t comply with what the police tried to force us to do.
And now our little bit of success:
After the RTW coaches were arriving back at their respective home towns we headed towards Broad street and confronted various Tories including Boris Johnson himself. Police were slow to react and Bo-Jos response to our question “Oi Bo-Jo, Why don’t you stop fucking over the poor and stop helping the rich?” was one of bewilderment and an awkward shoulder shrug. Worth the stop and search by its own merits. Other Tories were hounded and abused as we asked “where the soup kitchen might be” so we know for when we are left in poverty by their cuts.
Unions with teeth
We were really pissed off to hear that some Unions had told their members that they were not to engage in civil disobedience on Sundays march. This is unacceptable, the union is only as strong as the action it takes, if union bosses start to dictate to the individual what they can and cannot do on a protest they should question their motives. It was for this reason that many union members came outside of their unions so they could use some of the anger and focus it without permission.
Anger to meaningful resistance
We spoke to many angry people this weekend whilst flyering for the march on Sunday. But you have to question whether people ARE angry? What separates us from our comrades in Greece, Spain, other EU countries and worldwide who stand united amongst burning barricades against the tyrannies their communities face. Why are we so pacified? Why are we failing to take the situation seriously?
We need to see the march as what it was: inconsequential, the Tories didn’t give a fuck, the elite weren’t quaking in their boots. At best our actions increased the cost of the event in terms of security but in reality none of this has any effect our communities. What happens when we return home is where true battle starts.
ORGANISE! Realise that marches and actions are only symbolic of the strength of our struggle we need to organise within our communities to make a difference. Start something new, a newsletter, a blog, network for solidarity, do anything to make your community a better place, but remember that direct action must always be taken to remove the rot from our communities be they corporations, the local army recruitment centre, bank or local government.
We cannot begin to think about the deconstruction of the state and capitalism when we cannot provide an alternative to ourselves and those around us.
Resistance to cuts will prove a great driving force over the coming years and we hope that actions against those involved in the cuts will provide a solid platform for liberating our communities.
To sum up, we have learned a lot from organising against the Conference, next year we will be ready!
Solidarity and rage!
(A)
CPC Direct Action Bloc
e-mail:
smashcpc@gmail.com
Homepage:
http://toffsout.wordpress.com
Comments
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Great!
05.10.2010 21:58
I was pleased to see someone was doing something at all but there where clear issues to do with time and the number of people organising.
To add a couple of thing:
Promotion:
It would have been great to get posters and stickers printed up promoting the event. The event was only really publicised in radical circles. Getting the word out to the public at large means not only more people may attend but also that people see that there is anger about what is happening and that some people have real answers to the issues we face. 100 people in the Black Bloc is probably fairly reflective of the number of people in the UK who engage in that type of politics. Anarchism has been fairly invisible of late and it's not till be start organising more people get involved and discover the politics.
Media:
Despite all the lies the media spread before the G20 protests there is no doubt that the publicity brought much larger numbers in. An effective media liaisons team would be great.
This is the sort of thing that should be talked about at the Anarchist Bookfair otherwise we start looking very 'theoretical' and isolated.
Maybe a date in a few months should be picked to organise a larger mobilisation. We (anarchists) always get caught on the run because no one want to be the first person to call a meeting, this has to stop.
None of this is meant to be critical and I also realise I could do these things myself. I wasn't able to be involved this time around due to person circumstance but hope that can change.
Also it's worth mentioning the COR
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