Category: activism
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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,…
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Beyond political despair
Seeding despair in the enemy is a classic ploy. Don’t fall for it. We failed to change the Labour Party from within, but those of us who are now on the outside can do what we like – the problem is, many aren’t sure what to do. They say they feel “politically homeless”, they say…
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Activists’ dilemma
Isolated? thwarted? Fed up of people saying ‘but who can we vote for?’ If you’re an activist, I bet this has happened to you: a service-providing organization that has money and clout starts doing something destructive in the community. You can’t find a political party that’s willing to deal with it but, as a seasoned…
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How to use all that anger wisely
I went to a really interesting talk that a lot of people didn’t want me to go to last month. It was laid on by the local Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Apparently, even some members of their own organization had their doubts about it. It’s because the speaker was David Miller, who seems to have the…
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All human life
All human life on the planet is born of woman – Adrienne Rich That quote introduces the editor’s column in the latest edition of The Radical Notion which I intended to lose myself in, but people just kept lending me books, and suggesting I read books, some of which were immediately irresistible and so the…
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What this government wants
Our town has a tradition that we know goes back 500 years, but it probably goes back way longer than that. The same tradition that so many coastal towns, especially small-boat fishing towns have. When people are lost at sea, we gather on the beach to send them a final salute, to just stand still,…
Kay Green 