------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- The Ox-Fly Biting back: Oxford’s radical newsletter Copyleft Free / Donation Issue 3 - Feb 2011 -------------------- DEMOCRACY BRUSHED OFF Two local groups experienced the harsh reality of our "democracy" this month. Politicians claim to represent and listen to us. The campaigners decided to put this to the test. Save Temple Cowley Pools went to the Labour City Council Executive meeting on 12 January. They asked about the decision to close Temple Cowley Pools at great social expense to local residents, and huge financial costs to all of us. Bob Price, the council leader, mumbled through his answers so quietly that nobody could hear them. Democracy in action? I don't think so. Not to be outdone, the Tory county council went one better. Several members of Oxford Save Our Services wanted to hold them to account about massive cuts to our public services - cuts that hit the poorest in our communities the hardest. Whilst not seeming to care about the impact of the cuts, the council did at least care about the safety of the campaigners. After planning to close the entire public gallery "on health and safety grounds" and trying to persuade people to watch via a screen in a separate room, staff eventually backed down, but told them they could not sit at the front as there were cables on the floor. A lightweight foam placard was also deemed a health & safety hazard. Despite all of these apparent death traps, everyone managed to leave the meeting unscathed. Anarchists are often asked why they don't use "democratic processes". Whilst having an element of comedy, these examples show how a few people can disempower, alienate, and ignore the rest of us. This is not a criticism of those that tried to use our democratic processes. It is a warning that our democracy is broken. Power corrupts, and people with power become corrupted. By all means try lobbying if you want, but don't be surprised when they shut you out. Be creative and think about what other action you can take. See: oxfordsos.org.uk / savetemplecowleypools.webs.com WINNING THE ARGUMENT OR WINNING THE FIGHT? There has been a lot of talk in the anti-cuts movement about the importance of 'winning the argument'. This strategy holds that the best way to go about fighting attacks on wages, living conditions and services is to point out the flaws in the pro-cuts arguments and suggest alternative policies which would avoid the need for cuts. Some even seem to think that if the argument is won, the government will see the error of its ways, stop the planned cuts and everyone can go home happy. It isn't hard to see where this strategy falls down. It certainly isn't the weakness of the anti-cuts arguments; it's been convincingly... Continued page 2 > -------------------- Inside: Libraries under attack: p3 > Posties mobilise: p3 > Cut-price Campsfield: p4 > ...and more... -------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ WINNING THE FIGHT (cont'd from page 1) ...shown that these cuts aren't 'necessary' at all. No, its mistake is the belief that society is based on rational arguments in the first place. Our society is not a debating chamber, but a power struggle between different groups with competing interests. The government are making these cuts because they suit the rich, the wealthy and the powerful. They can get away with it not because they are right, but because they hold power. They won't be swayed by argument, because from such a position of strength all arguments can be safely ignored. If necessary they can enforce their decisions using the media, police and courts. Yet they are not invincible; the power of a government is based upon our compliance. We are the ones who have to turn the wheels, pull the levers and keep the system moving. We are the bedrock on which they have built their authority, and that in turn gives us power. If the state wants to do something that we don't like, we can fight back with actual, direct action; work stoppages, occupations, blockades. Direct challenges such as this will cause more concern to politicians than any number of marches, leaflets or arguments, because they undermine their authority. The more they lose their authority, the more people are able to resist. We cannot shy away from the facts: the government attempts to force its decisions upon us, so we must force our collective decisions upon them. This is where the true hope of victory lies. Not in winning some abstract moral argument, but in winning real battles, and rediscovering the ability to take control of our own lives and communities. -------------------- "Things got out of hand and we'd had a few drinks. We smashed the place up and Boris [Johnson] set fire to the toilets." -David Cameron, Oxford 1986 "Responsibility for smashing property, for violence, lies with the people that perpetrate that violence and I want to see them arrested and punished." -David Cameron on the student demos. -------------------- HOW’S WORK? Some of AIO are setting up a website (tentatively titled 'Bosswatch') that can be used to review workplaces around Oxford. Reviews would be anonymous to prevent victimisation. We're judged on our ability to make profits for a company. When we change jobs, our bosses share their opinions of us by references, and in some industries with 'blacklists' of troublemakers. We should be able to reference our bosses too! Not only would workers be able to make more informed choices about which workplaces to avoid, but employers might treat workers better for fear of a bad review (just as we fear a bad reference). We have the right to review our workplaces and don't have to stand for them being shit. It's our bosses who need us; we don't need them. The website will be most useful to casual workers, who have fewest legal rights, and are often looking for work. To review your workplace or be updated when the website is set up, email: referencethem@riseup.net -------------------- Back issues and details of how to contribute at: oxfly.theoarc.org.uk -------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ LITERARY LARCENY Keith Mitchell and the County Council are zealously pushing ahead with destructive cuts. Targeted for closure are 20 out of the county's 43 libraries. Libraries provide a hugely beneficial service to communities: a source of knowledge, learning, entertainment, and internet access. Most importantly, they are available for free to everyone, something rare in our capitalist, money-driven world. So it comes as part of the government's attempt to make ordinary people pay for the capitalist crisis that they are now cutting the libraries. But not without a fight. A recent public meeting on the subject was huge and the feeling was that we should neither accept the cuts nor the idea that our libraries be run on a voluntary basis. Many also recognised that we should not turn to Andrew Smith (who also spoke) and the Labour Party, who did plenty of similar things in power. Finally, the fight for the libraries must not be separated from the rest of the cuts; the money to save the libraries should come from the rich, not from cutting elsewhere. "Read-ins" in various libraries on 5th Feb were full of people eager to show support. The government carefully phrases its 'Big Society' rhetoric in order to make it appear harmless and targeted to good ends. They talk about involving people in running their communities and services. This is precisely what we want. We want a world where we can run our own societies, our own communities, our own production and our own services without the involvement of politicians, bosses and people above us. However, the government can't just cut us loose, expecting services to be run for free while society continues to be based on exploitation. As long as we are forced to spend huge chunks of our lives working for bosses in order to live, we won't have the time or energy to run libraries in our spare time. Perhaps the government expects sacked library staff to jump up and volunteer to do their own jobs without pay? Another sign of how out of touch politicians are with everyday life... WITNEY WOKEN On Sunday 9th January, anarchists from Oxford joined a march in Witney, David Cameron's constituency. The demo, against postal privatisation and cuts, was organised by the Communication Worker's Union (CWU). With other like-minded folks from Liverpool and London we handed out leaflets arguing for workers control of struggles (libcom.org/files/fwc.pdf). The demo was lively with 500-1000 people taking part. However, the rally afterwards killed off the energy. It featured trade union leaders and a Labour Party bigwig, who met a chilly reception. People began to drift away. The exception to the usual speeches came from 12yr old Nicky Wishart and his sister Beth. Nicky organised a protest against the closure of his youth centre. He was taken out of school by antiterrorism police and threatened that if anything went wrong he'd be arrested as the organiser! The protest went ahead, and clearly inspired them; they spoke with more passion than the rest of the speakers combined, and got by far the biggest cheers. One aim of the protest was to build up to 12th January, when plans to privatise the Royal Mail had a 3rd reading in Parliament. They will probably be approved, resulting in job cuts, attacks on working conditions and a less reliable service for the public. But the fight to defeat it must not end there - direct action could make it impossible to enforce. ------------------------------------------------------------ MITIE SHAME Campsfield "House", the migration prison near Kidlington (see Ox-Fly 1), is changing management. Mitie (pronounced "mighty" for pomposity) won the £27m contract and will have a 5 year term. Mitie are an "outsourcing company"; anything from providing security guards at courts and nuclear weapons labs to cleaning the Scottish Parliament. This is the first time they've tried managing a detention centre. These companies specialise in taking over a service and then squeezing it for profit; finding more ways to exploit staff or cut corners. An appropriate example: migrant cleaners are hired because their "illegal" status makes them vulnerable and easy to exploit, then handed over to the authorities when it suits management, eg if they attempt to organise. In one incident, Mitie bosses were seen "laughing their heads off" while distressed migrants were intimidated and insulted by police. Mitie's CEO was one of 35 who signed a high-profile letter to the Telegraph backing the cuts, in the interests of "a healthier and more stable economy". What they really mean is in the interests of their profits; as Mitie's annual report says: "The public sector faces ... considerable pressure on expenditure ... this will create significant opportunities for the outsourcing market" None of this bodes well for the 200 or so people locked up in Campsfield. Mitie's bid was selected because they offered the cheapest service, and though the details have yet to emerge, it seems likely that it will be the detainees who suffer the results. -------------------- GROUP FOCUS: SOLFED A new radical workers organisation has been founded in Oxford. Thames Valley Solidarity Federation is a group seeking to promote direct democracy, direct action and working class self-organisation in local workplaces and communities. After our initial meeting in Oxford, we now have plans for public meetings, a website and workplace organising training sessions. So far we have members in Oxford and Reading and are a branch of the national Solidarity Federation. Interested? Email tvsf@riseup.net -------------------- -------------------- Upcoming Events Tues 15th Feb, 8:30am Anti-cuts lobby of County Council meeting, County Hall Fri 18th Feb, 5pm Critical Mass: ‘Supermarket Sweep’ - Meet Broad St Sat 26th Feb, 12pm-2pm Demo to support those locked up in Campsfield ‘House’, Langford Lane, Kidlington Sat 5th Mar, 11am-5:30pm Seedy Saturday, Barracks Lane Community Garden, top of Kenilworth Ave, off Cowley Rd -------------------- -------------------- Full event listings and more reports at: YOUR NEWS YOUR SITE oxford.indymedia.org.uk -------------------- -------------------- WHO WE ARE The Ox-Fly is written to inform, inspire and aid community struggles. It is made by Anarchists in Oxford (AIO). We think society would be better if we made the decisions that affect us ourselves, instead of being controlled by bosses and bankers. We see representative "democracy" as a scam; we don't see how voting for someone once every 5 years amounts to democracy especially since politicians, whatever their ideals, always end up serving business interests once they gain any real power. We think this is inevitable; that whenever a handful of people wield power they end up abusing it. Instead of using parliament, we encourage people to take direct action together, seeing this as the most practical way to create a society ruled not by profit but organised to meet human needs. We aim to show positive alternatives and debate the root causes of the problems we face. All letters, queries and contributions to aio@riseup.net. Or see our website: aio.theoarc.org.uk -------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------