An Account Of The Right To Work March And Rally In Words & Pictures
Stalingrad O’Neill | 06.10.2010 16:49 | Public sector cuts | Social Struggles | Workers' Movements | Birmingham
Meanwhile SWP'ie Central Committee Member Chris Bambery took time out for comradely consultations with the Old Bill in order to remove one Anarchist block from the head of the march. Then that all sorted, the Platform, sensing their speeches coupled with the unceasing downpour, had aptly dampened the chances of any embarrassing n' uncurbed militant aberrations from the marchers, finished with the Clarion cry "Organise for May's TUC callout!" echoing from the stage
Er..Organise f'kin' what exactly! The mythical 70,000? and use the brilliant time honoured n’ tired useless tactic: the long foot slog to Hyde Park to hear veteran diversionist Tony Benn once a bloody 'gen, or one of Labour's Left-wing Bros McDonnell-Corbin, along side Dead Woodley and Ba Ba Barber bleating "Massive turnout! Blarty Blarty Blah! We showed them this, we showed Cameron that" but sssshh lets keep the fact of Millband cacking all over us, under our lick spittle hats, coz we're still picking up his tab! After all we're going to need an elected Labour to give the Bosses a loud vocal rebuke, whilst cravenly and completely agreeing to the CBI's sweeping demand for new laws to curb increasing industrial unrest and powers to recruit strike busting scabs!...........
Or put into Ba Ba Barber speak "It is particularly disappointing for the CBI to take a one dimensional view of industrial relations" Well Chris added to your one dimensional view of industrial struggle: Do mainly nothing! I'd say u had a solid two dimensional view there, which when added to the Labour Party View: Fuck the workers though look like we’re caring, would give u the full metal jacket of a complete 3D sellout! Don'tcha think!
So there we were then, off on the road to no where, to God knows where. Well… as it turned out the Rally point, was the location of the failed Edgbaston Shopping Centre on the Hagely Road, a tad up from the Five Ways roundabout, now a delightful bulldozed n' levelled site serving as a mud and puddle filled car park, its massive plywood fencing completely screening it from the outside surrounding roads. Arriving, the marchers were marshalled through one of its two entrance points
Conspicuous and spineless in its absence from the Rally platform then (like the organisers could have failed to be aware) was any call from it, to those union members who had filed in through the carpark entrance, to go back out and protest against the police kettling of an Anarchist block, not more than a hundred yards from the rally-point location. So much for "An injury to one is an injury to all" where these fuckwits socialism is concerned!
Incredulously the Organisers continued to bang out their useless and long practiced skipping rope mouthing diversions from the platform "Welcome to our very own Glastonbury" (the only flash of witticism of the day but I didn’t see any of the assembled roll about in helpless mirth) A few speeches from domestic and foreign union officials, more rose tinted bollocks, reminiscing about the Poll Tax Riots "Oh 'ow we showed that Thatcher woman". Then in utter desperation the Glastonbury witticism was repeated before the platform was handed over to the musicians
Mores the pity then, the Organisers weren't justly dragged from the platform and given a well deserved kick up the arse and sent flying into to the mud!
So it was left to a handful of escapees from the rally pen to do the deed on the outside, and protest about the kettling. The cops disengaged after an hour releasing those held (tho’ rumors of arrests persisted)
Where was Chris Bambery? Well probably rather chuffed 'bout the kettling so he could go 'Walkabout' in the Exclusion Zone without bumping into anyone on the way, he may have irritated earlier, as like Napoleon on the retreat from Moscow, he deserted his footsoldiers leaving them straggling forlornly treading the carpark mire, still trying to sell their damp sodden editions of the Socialist Worker!
Stalingrad O’Neill
e-mail:
robograd@tiscali.co.uk
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http://stalingrad-oneill.photoshelter.com/
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