I think I can officially say that today was like my own political renaissance; actively doing something instead of just talking about how fucked up something is.
Yesterday I was having an epic discussion with my housemates about my absence from politics and how it was frustrating; and because I work on Saturdays, I often miss out on big action, like the G20 march yesterday, which sounded like the usual fun. I was crushed to be missing out on it, and I did feel a great deal like I was somehow betraying myself and selling out my ideals to work. I know work is a reality, but at least for most people, they have a weekend to claim as their own. Currently, I am happy that I at least have a job of some description, working with great people...but I digress.
"If you're really looking to be involved soon," spake my housemate at the conclusion of this discussion, "then we're doing some action tomorrow."
They then explained to me what we were planning on doing, and how I could be involved.
Firstly, I must state that this was to do with the Israeli/Palestinian situation, and also that ever since I've been aware of the issues, I have always been against the control, repression and violent action that the Israeli military have forced upon the Palestinian people (note "people" and not "Hamas"). This is mostly to do with my utter contempt for colonialisation of any kind, especially when land and resources are violently appropriated by the more physically and militaristically able; but also because after reading into arguments from both sides, there is little to convince me of Israel's position. I have had a lot of issues with this viewpoint because people think I am anti-Jewish, which is not only highly incorrect but also entirely baffling as I have an enormous respect for Jewish culture (ask any of my close friends, seriously) but at the end of the day, this is not to do with my feelings towards religions, but a great deal to do with humanitarianism; my passion for it and Israel's disregard of it.
Israel has profited a great deal from exporting goods cultivated on illegally appropriated settlements on Palestinian land, mostly fresh produce such as avocados, tomatoes and citrus fruits; a boycott of all these products has been called by those whose land has been effectively stolen in the occupied territories. This is something a lot of people I know support, and thus try and avoid food which has been grown on these settlements. The issue with this is that a lot of people outside of these groups don't know about what is happening, and the only way to increase the impact of a boycott and make it more effective is to spread the message and thus increase the impact of the boycott.
Our way of spreading the message was simple; go to supermarkets, locate these goods, put them into baskets or trolleys, and lock them together with another basket/trolley, with some flyers and leaflets, and then to take photos to document our actions. To imprison the food was a symbolic (and peaceful) gesture, labelling them essentially as stolen goods, or the result of a crime, which is effectively what they are.
The first place we went to was small, and a member of staff in there became overly aggressive quite quickly, slowing our escape after successfully securing the baskets. We regrouped and decided to go to a larger supermarket slightly further away than another we had planned to target, using trolleys instead. Another member of our group and I decided to keep an eye on the others so we could hold open any doors if they tried to shut the exit, and this time it was relatively quick and easy from what I saw of it.
After we emerged and had walked down the road, a stationary police vehicle on the other side pulled out and started to follow us; when we were walking down the road they got out...and some of them were an FIT team, complete with photographer! Joyous. One of us suggested we do not answer any questions and to keep on walking, which we did. The FIT photographer circled us, taking a lot of photographs, and calling one of our contingent by name; he did the same back. Another of us flipped the coin and took loads of photos of the police who were following us (soon to be on FITWatch, apparently). We said nothing to the police, and after a while they dropped behind, so we carried on walking.
After a while we agreed the game for the day was up, so called two of our group who had headed somewhere else. We informed them of the situation, trying to arrange somewhere else to meet. While we were waiting for their arrival I thought it would be best to ask about stop and search policies and what to say and how to act during them. In my many years of activism, all I knew about the police in these situations was being around them is a bad idea, and if I was involved in something, to get the fuck away from them as quickly as possible. I've held that view since I was 12, so felt it needed updating, as just running away isn't an option so valid anymore, as a 23 year old adult!
I have decided to not feel worried about asking questions, so I asked quite a lot and felt that I understood far greater how the police work. One thing I do understand is it is highly bloody hilarious that the FIT team were patrolling around and walked straight past us while they were quite obviously trying to locate us...and they didn't even see us. One of the funniest moments ever, seriously.
After a quick discussion, we decided to split up and head to wherever we all needed to go. I needed to go home anyway, and here I am, typing this out.
So today has been an interesting experience. Not that this is the first time I've done this; in my time I've done a lot of stuff in regards to sabotaging sweatshop-sourced produce. Well, not the produce itself (apart from one glorious fake-blood throwing occasion) but sneakily appropriating designs and instead making them have anti-sweatshop messages, putting them amongst the shop's stock. The fantastic thing about that method is how annoying it is for the shop to find all the self-made shirts. So many stories.
But for now, today was a welcome return to actually being active and getting out there and doing something. If it means the police are now going to hunt me down and start taking note of everything I do, then so be it. Because this is a world that is mine, on streets that I live on; and if I can make a message call out into streets I call my own and people hear it...well, that's something, isn't it? Better than sitting back and hoping someone makes a change for me.
I'm out.
Til next time,
LPK
FitWatch
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign
Jews4BIG@googlemail.com
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Confessions of...Ignorance...?
I just read some of my blog posts back and they did provoke a cringing of sorts, ranging from the mild (ouch, that's terribly written) to the severe (I sound like I've written that while high and was babbling shite.)
Writing a blog is quite a strange experience; half journalism, half personal ranting, it sits in a peculiar place for me. Considering I have barely written in the last year, journalistic or otherwise, it often feels as though I have been in a coma of sorts and am currently relearning how to use my body. But instead of trying to reinvigorate my limbs, I am trying to record my mind from being lost at sea.
Part of that is my politically conscious mind, as I find myself making many gaffes and becoming more than slightly baffled at some discussions that happen in my own home.
The idea of ignorance has been on my mind a lot this week; I posted recently on a personal online journal (yes, my life is lived through pixels) about my feelings re: being attacked by people for being loud and fearless about my political views. It was all misconstrued as an attempt my myself to encroach people with my view, which is not what I was saying at all (perhaps an example of the dire quality of my writing at the moment, but bare with me) but was merely trying to highlight the point that the average person, apathetic and often without knowledge of the issues we talk about quite vigorously often take our political enthusiasm to be somewhat an attack on the way they live their lives, and thus attack us for holding these views.
Quite why I should be made to feel guilty about someone else's ignorance is not something I feel I have found the answer to yet; this is something which usually inspires angry responses, as I have found a lot recently and that, dear reader, is why I was so perplexed.
Then again, finding myself to be terribly ignorant about a lot of subjects makes me hugely embarrassed.
Take last night; Tuesday night I had been by myself, awaiting our landlady to come round, and Wednesday night could not have been any more different. I was greeted with the presence of another political type, who was having a discussion with one of my housemates. Another person arrived, and several JDs later, I had still only carved a vague shape out of the information material, and my sculpture of understanding was looking rather limp and sorry for itself. (That's not to do with the drink, bying the by.)
I am becoming embarrassingly aware of my political knowledge and the gaps within, and with a lot of the lingo swinging around the room last night, I was baffled by a great deal of it. I enjoyed the discussions and went (translate: stumbled) back into my room feeling like I had learnt a great deal, and I had; but still I felt rather lost and unable to properly join in in an active capacity. I could engage with a great deal of what they were saying, but the finer points often felt like an exclusive club I was yet to join.
I think perhaps that is one of the issues of living in a political bubble like this; you can forget that, to those on the outside, it can seem entirely baffling and a huge battle to feel included. It is a complicated world, and trust me, there are things I have barely even glanced at, let alone scratched the surface of. Because of this, it will be a long battle.
Despite this, I'm learning. Usually I would hate to admit the fact that I am not a bonafide, 100% well-read person involved in active politics, but it's true, there we go...I admitted it. I don't know as much as I should. I have dipped my toes when I should be plunging in from the top diving board with a flair and a bounce, and numerous other hideously cliched metaphors (a hundred, a thousand apologies for that) but I am trying to make amends for that.
A month or so ago, I made a comment in passing that I cannot be overly political 100% of the time; and for that, I would like to make amends and say that I was very, very wrong. I am no longer in a situation where I must repress my political opinion to keep everyone happy, and now I'm free to be as vocal as I like in my house, where I luckily live with two happily actively political people who are helping me to recover my passion for research, discussion and demonstration. The cure for ignorance is knowledge, and I am taking it in in small doses.
Still...aiming towards a greater knowledge and involvement and inspiring towards more can only be a good thing, and thus this shock of my own ignorance, previously denied, can be a great opportunity for development. Now I sound like I am a capitalist, using phrases like that.
I suppose that all this have inspired me to figure out how to use all this awareness in my own life, and I have now figured out that I want to lecture at university on diasporic literature; a lot is to be said about this subject and it will definitely be a lifetime's work. But education is one of the biggest forms of activism, subtle or otherwise. And at least as a professor that floats between literature and anthropology, people will expect me to be politically active.
But that's all for another post.
Once again, thanks for reading.
Writing a blog is quite a strange experience; half journalism, half personal ranting, it sits in a peculiar place for me. Considering I have barely written in the last year, journalistic or otherwise, it often feels as though I have been in a coma of sorts and am currently relearning how to use my body. But instead of trying to reinvigorate my limbs, I am trying to record my mind from being lost at sea.
Part of that is my politically conscious mind, as I find myself making many gaffes and becoming more than slightly baffled at some discussions that happen in my own home.
The idea of ignorance has been on my mind a lot this week; I posted recently on a personal online journal (yes, my life is lived through pixels) about my feelings re: being attacked by people for being loud and fearless about my political views. It was all misconstrued as an attempt my myself to encroach people with my view, which is not what I was saying at all (perhaps an example of the dire quality of my writing at the moment, but bare with me) but was merely trying to highlight the point that the average person, apathetic and often without knowledge of the issues we talk about quite vigorously often take our political enthusiasm to be somewhat an attack on the way they live their lives, and thus attack us for holding these views.
Quite why I should be made to feel guilty about someone else's ignorance is not something I feel I have found the answer to yet; this is something which usually inspires angry responses, as I have found a lot recently and that, dear reader, is why I was so perplexed.
Then again, finding myself to be terribly ignorant about a lot of subjects makes me hugely embarrassed.
Take last night; Tuesday night I had been by myself, awaiting our landlady to come round, and Wednesday night could not have been any more different. I was greeted with the presence of another political type, who was having a discussion with one of my housemates. Another person arrived, and several JDs later, I had still only carved a vague shape out of the information material, and my sculpture of understanding was looking rather limp and sorry for itself. (That's not to do with the drink, bying the by.)
I am becoming embarrassingly aware of my political knowledge and the gaps within, and with a lot of the lingo swinging around the room last night, I was baffled by a great deal of it. I enjoyed the discussions and went (translate: stumbled) back into my room feeling like I had learnt a great deal, and I had; but still I felt rather lost and unable to properly join in in an active capacity. I could engage with a great deal of what they were saying, but the finer points often felt like an exclusive club I was yet to join.
I think perhaps that is one of the issues of living in a political bubble like this; you can forget that, to those on the outside, it can seem entirely baffling and a huge battle to feel included. It is a complicated world, and trust me, there are things I have barely even glanced at, let alone scratched the surface of. Because of this, it will be a long battle.
Despite this, I'm learning. Usually I would hate to admit the fact that I am not a bonafide, 100% well-read person involved in active politics, but it's true, there we go...I admitted it. I don't know as much as I should. I have dipped my toes when I should be plunging in from the top diving board with a flair and a bounce, and numerous other hideously cliched metaphors (a hundred, a thousand apologies for that) but I am trying to make amends for that.
A month or so ago, I made a comment in passing that I cannot be overly political 100% of the time; and for that, I would like to make amends and say that I was very, very wrong. I am no longer in a situation where I must repress my political opinion to keep everyone happy, and now I'm free to be as vocal as I like in my house, where I luckily live with two happily actively political people who are helping me to recover my passion for research, discussion and demonstration. The cure for ignorance is knowledge, and I am taking it in in small doses.
Still...aiming towards a greater knowledge and involvement and inspiring towards more can only be a good thing, and thus this shock of my own ignorance, previously denied, can be a great opportunity for development. Now I sound like I am a capitalist, using phrases like that.
I suppose that all this have inspired me to figure out how to use all this awareness in my own life, and I have now figured out that I want to lecture at university on diasporic literature; a lot is to be said about this subject and it will definitely be a lifetime's work. But education is one of the biggest forms of activism, subtle or otherwise. And at least as a professor that floats between literature and anthropology, people will expect me to be politically active.
But that's all for another post.
Once again, thanks for reading.
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