Category: activism
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I’d like to apply for the Helen Thomas Award, please

I don’t mind if people think it’s a bit off. I think they should rename it the Emperor’s New Clothes Award. (If you’re of a sensitive nature, you should probably read the last bit first, the bit headed ‘naturally’ and work your way up to reading the whole thing.) Why isn’t anti-Palestinianism a thing people…
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What do we do about Them?

Every step of the way we’re shocked, horrified, looking around wildly for ways to stop it. Aching for the children of Gaza, we want to say we can’t believe humans could do this to other humans but, as we’re constantly reminded, the Holocaust happened. Other extensive mass killings have happened since. Humans wound up sufficiently…
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Discord, doubt and division

I started a thread on my Facebook page the other day to grab the attention of anyone I’ve still not made alternative links with. I said I’ve had enough of being messed about by social media. After a few exchanges and various emails, it was clear that most of my friends thought I should swap…
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Twits, cops and sisters

Leading to: What can I say about politicians? Reflections Last night, I ended up drinking hot chocolate in a Wetherspoons in Bexhill at umph oclock in the morning and found myself flipping through a magazine – gosh look, Spoons have their own magazine! It said that Spoons inform themselves about what people think by listening…
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The People we need to know about and some things we can do

(and Kingdom of Olives and Ash review part 2) I started reading this book after October 7th because understanding what’s happening in Israel / Palestine had suddenly become priority one. So urgent did it seem that I wrote a hasty paragraph or two when I was only halfway through, because I was already thinking I…
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Dear Socialists

*Header pic: Andy McDonald was one of the three MPs who turned up to talk to the RMT and their supporters when we went to Westminster to argue for the ‘keep the guard on the train’ campaign. (an aside perhaps, but vital for solidarity in the current struggles) Dear socialists, I’m glad you’ve remembered thought-crime…
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To those MPs, Cllrs and TU reps who haven’t yet called for ceasefire

Yes I know about the party directives, the potholes, the budget battles, the urgent community issues, the desire to win the next election etc You can’t solve any of those things in the middle of World War Three. The best you can say to yourself is that after World War Three, there won’t be anyone…
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This is not hate, and it is not a sport

I am not taking sides, are you? I hope not. This morning, many of the citizens of my town gathered at the Mosque to join a march for Palestine along the seafront. This evening, a fair few gathered despite the rain for a vigil for those in Gaza being bombarded daily. A few people, clearly…
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The value of twinning

When Grace moved to Hastings, the first people she got talking to were the local Palestine Solidarity group, when she joined their protest about that year’s attack by Israel on Palestinian territories. One of their plans that interested her was the idea of twinning Hastings with a Palestinian town. She had experience of the effectiveness…
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The imaginary end-game

It’s despair isn’t it. You’ve hurt the creature so badly you’re hoping it’ll just die, and no-one will notice. Or perhaps you’re a mere accomplice, or an accessory after the fact. “Grab a brick,” you say, closing your eyes tight. “Hit it, hit it, put it out of its misery.” And in a panic rage,…