Although Respect is not something i support, Yaqoob and Galloway have recently been brave enough to be open about their views in a time when not many people seem to be criticising Blair's lack of political analysis of the london bombs.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/attackonlondon/comment/story/0,16141,1528997,00.html I think in this article Yaqoob is to the point about the connection between our foreign policy and the london bombs. Blair is helping to spread a myth about islam being non-political in the sense that the extremism is simply a case of people wanting to convert others to their religion. Why do some people hate the west we wonder? It seems that the current climate is tending towards even more self-surveillance, and an absurd pressure on muslim communities to police themselves and tell on extremists. And i've never seen as many police on the streets (i went for a cycle this morning to my local park and there were two police officers sitting on a park bence....they're everywhere).
But we are everywhere! We need to figure out ways of spreading Yaqoob's analysis as widely as possible before people become brianwashed by the sentiment and rhetoric. Also, we must produce a more accuarate analysis that, instead of saying 'our leaders must speak up', recognising this is never going to happen and organise on a community level to dispel the myths capitalism perpetuates in today's highly charged climate. Maybe a post-g8 analysis connecting the g8 with the london bombs?
Come to rampART tonight at 8pm for a post-g8 bebrief, films, food and discussion! (it's just off Commercial Road in Whitechapel)
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