Now -read the book!

Here is a link to my memoirs which, if you are a glutton for punishment, you can purchase online at https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/an-obscure-footnote-in-trade-union-history.
Men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name. (William Morris - A Dream of John Ball)

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Inside the velvet glove

As the savage assault upon working class living standards and vital public services steps up a gear, the iron fist is glimpsed within the velvet glove of consultation and "community engagement" by the police.



Yesterday the boys and girls in blue were assaulting disabled protesters(http://www.dpac.uk.net/2012/09/needed-witness-statements-for-31st-police-response-outside-dwp/).



Today they tried to escort a bedraggled gaggle of far right lager louts through East London whilst kettling the local community who had turned out to protect themselves (http://marxpostings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/edl-humiliated-in-walthamstow.html?spref=tw&m=1).



Meanwhile down here on the south coast they kettled peaceful anti-cuts protesters with the apparent collusion of the organisers of Brighton Pride (http://bethgranter.com/blog/2012/09/queers-against-cuts-mistreatment-at-brighton-pride-statement-from-organiser/).



The forces of "law and order" exist to maintain social order, and in an exploitative class-divided society that means keeping a lid on those who resist our rulers, while protecting those far right stooges of the ruling class whose function is to try to divide and weaken us.



Not all individual police officers are necessarily deliberately pursuing this course of action - and many are aware of their shared interests with other public servants. Anyone with a simplistic "anti-police" point of view needs to study the history of the 1919 police strike (http://www.whatnextjournal.co.uk/Pages/Latest/Police.html).



However, as the inadequacy of Parliamentary and industrial opposition to this reactionary Government forces us more and more on to the streets, we can expect more kettling, more assaults and more unjustified arrests.



Be careful out there!

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

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