Civil Disobedience Day
pinkolady | 05.11.2013 18:28 | Workfare | Social Struggles
The People's Assembly have been promoting this as Bonfire of Austerity Day. The intention was to make it a national day of civil disobedience, with different local groups coming up with their own ideas.
picketing the job centre
My own contribution to being civilly disobedient was at a small, but important, action at Ashton-under-Lyne, which included a picket of the job centre and of Avanta, a work programme company with offices in the town centre. I had brought my own leaflet, aimed at encouraging claimants to appeal against benefit sanctions, which I gave out to people going into the job centre. Meanwhile, a man with a megaphone denounced benefit sanctions and workfare from across the street, while a bunch of slightly worried-looking job centre staff peered through the window. They recently refused to let a claimant who has health issues take a friend in with him to an interview, to support him and make sure he didn't get set up for a sanction yet again. This indicates that the Ashton job centre has something of a bad attitude to claimants. Claimants have a right to be accompanied to interviews.
I do not intend to let my civil disobedience to begin and end with a picket, though. I have another leaflet which tells people how to manoeuvre their way round the rules so they can avoid being sanctioned in the first place, and I hope other people will take copies and share it through social media and any other way they like. The sickest thing about sanctions is that job centres seem to be targeting the people who are least likely to kick off, or to know where to get advice or how to appeal. That is, they target the weakest. But if only enough people who can will kick back, sanctions will become very much more difficult to carry out.
I do not intend to let my civil disobedience to begin and end with a picket, though. I have another leaflet which tells people how to manoeuvre their way round the rules so they can avoid being sanctioned in the first place, and I hope other people will take copies and share it through social media and any other way they like. The sickest thing about sanctions is that job centres seem to be targeting the people who are least likely to kick off, or to know where to get advice or how to appeal. That is, they target the weakest. But if only enough people who can will kick back, sanctions will become very much more difficult to carry out.
pinkolady
Homepage:
www.workandbenefits.blogspot.com
Comments
Hide the following 3 comments
thanks
06.11.2013 12:34
anon
But there IS a problem (with the term)
09.11.2013 14:21
a) If the action is lawful it is NOT "civil disobedience" (it is civil obedience).
b) If the action isn't peaceful (non-violent) it is NOT "civil disobedience" (it is uncivil disobedience).
Well that last being cute rather than accurate; the "civil" really meaning an open, public act.
This is NOT intended to be taking a position against the action I am going to list below as an examples, just against calling it "civil disobedience" (other sorts of actions may be good to do, effective, etc. but need another descriptive term).
In the night, sneaking by and gluing shut locks. Not "civil disobedience". It is not a legal action, but the "civil" part missing. Now if instead of just sitting down blocking the doorway (an example of civil disobedience) somebody at against the door took the opportunity to glue them shut that WOULD be an example.
An important element of civil disobedience is that it is done OPENLY. You aren't trying to get away with anything. So stories I see complaining "but we were arrested" come across as silly over here. OF COURSE. That's a key element -- but it IS still civil disobedience if cleverly planned so that although they could arrest and try you would be somehow too embarrassing so they won't). That also can apply to the "violence" part if you are really clever.)
MDN
anon
12.11.2013 13:24
MDN