Talk - Uri Gordon on Anarchism

Interesting Cafe Sci talk recently by Uri Gordon on Anarchist Politics. This post is based on the talk, with a little extra linkage thrown in.

Uri stated that in contrast to MONarchy (one leader), the ideal behind ANarchy was to be free of rulers, and that the anarchy did not mean chaos, insecurity etc

Uri asked the audience to consider the many occasions at work and at leisure when people organised themselves without the need for leaders (e.g. going to the pub for lunch, a walk in the country, a charitable venture, a community garden etc, adding that "Humans can get along just fine without rulers" and that perceptions to the contrary were pushed by interests such as the state, patriarchal institutions, corporations who wish to exploit etc.

As an example of how anarchy can work in communities, Uri gave the example of aboriginal hunter-gatherer communities around the world, who have been found to have structures that do not have a leader, have cultural codes that look after the environment. They respect their elders - but all members of the community get this respect when they become old. However, Uri later added that this model could not work in todays world as there were too many people and the environment was too degraded.

According to Uri, anarchists seek to build a new society within the current one rather than being co-opted into existing power structures via conventional elections etc.

A protest by the Spanish anarchist trade union CGT,
who represent some 2 million workers

Anarchists also believe in direct action, without relying on intermediaries - hence movements such as Occupy, the Brazilian World Cup protests, the emergence of community gardens in run down areas, and cases of people tying themselves to trees to prevent construction projects.

(although a darker side of direct action can be seen in this article). Related to this is the concept of the "Propaganda of the Deed".

Uri also mentioned that he had a very pragmatic approach to anarchism, and little time for those who put the purity of the ideology over the practicalities of actually helping people and achieving social good. He also cautioned against conspiracy theories as "lazy thinking".
Uri also gave some pointers for further reading:

Emma Goldman (who Uri quoted from).

African Anarchism - The History of a Movement

Decolonising Anarchism

Tom Payne - Common Sense

Incidentally, researching for this post has revealed to BFTF the existence of the rather lovely anarchist phenomena of "Twinkles"

Image Sources
CGT

Camping near Clipstone

At No3 sons repeated exhortation, spent a weekend camping in Nottinghamshire this September. Took the opportunity to have a look at the (now disused) Clipstone colliery....

The Clipstone Colliery, , produced coal from 1927 until 1993, and then again from 1994 to 2003. The imposing headstocks were amongst the tallest in Europe when built during upgrades in the 1950s and were given Grade II listed status by English Heritage in 2000 as being ‘special architectural or historic interest’.

The site is currently owned by Welbeck Estate, who would like to demolish the headstocks - although others are campaigning for the site to become an adventure park including a mile long zip line! (see also www.clipstoneheadstocks.co.uk)

Clipstone Colliery

There is an e-petition to save the headstocks. BFTF has signed it, and hopes you will too.

A history of Clipstone colliery here and some images of the colliery here and here.

Headstocks look like some kind of alien engineering
has been placed in the middle of the village

Meanwhile, next to the campsite was a farm - and BFTF was fascinated to see how quickly the farmer, armed with a tractor and a Lemken Solitaire 9 seed drill, was able to plant an entire field with seeds.

It left BFTF wondering if there was any information quantifying the impact of mechanisation on farming productivity

Mechanisation of seed planting

Amazing how quickly the whole field was planted

The best thing about camping, it seems, is cooking on a gas stove !

No3 Son made the dinner, bless him!

A "Thank You" to the teachers at Berridge Primary

Been going through the stuff No3 son brought home on his last day at Berridge Primary School and was struck by how his writing improved over the time he was at the school.

So, this post is a big THANK YOU to the teachers there for working so hard to teach No3 Son literacy, numeracy and much else - and to a pretty good standard too!

2009

2010

2012

2013

*************************
From Aug 2012:

No3 son was writing a poem recently and, to encourage him, BFTF ofered to put it on the blog if it was written neatly.

It was, so here goes :

I feel,
As bright as a bulb,
As smart as uniform,
As quiet as a mouse,
As loud as a class,
As hard working as mother nature,
As sharp as a sword,
As fast as a hare,
As soft as snow,
As sticky as blu-tack.

*******************

From Aug 2012:

No3 Son has been a member of his school council this year and brought home all his council related paperwork at the end of term today.

The comments from the meetings were often really charming and showed how thoughtful the children were. BFTF hopes that it is ok to print just a few of them to give you a feel for the kind of thing they discussed. Each class had a representative on the council. It's worth remembering that all of these ideas came from the (primary school) children themselves:

27 April : Class 5 think it would be a really good idea to raise money for school by bringing in toys and games we no longer play with and selling them.
Class 3 have been discussing the possibility of helping the elderly people in the area. School Council thought about a tea or coffee morning. They think it would be a valuable experiecne for the elderly and children alike.

16 March : Class 9 mentioned that football is causing problems for the bowlers in cricket (during lunchbreak). The school council discussed this and thought that maybe some of the "run-ups" are far too long.
Class 3 asked whether there was an alternative to ordinary taps in the toilets - something that may help us to save water.

10 February : Class 4 would like a designated handstand wall.

Date N/A : Class 4 complined about the cricket position because the left handers are free to hit it where ever they like, whereas the right handers have to hit it straight. This is not fair and Class 4 would like to move the postion.
Class 6 stated that teachers push in line to get flapjacks and children want this to stop.
Class 10 asked why Yr3's can't be referees.

4 November :Class 3 (Yr5+6) asked to be allowed to do show and tell. They feel it is important to share work just like they younger Year 3 and 4 do.

A trip to Stockwood Discovery Centre, Luton

Visited Stockwood Discovery Centre in Luton earlier in the year, here are a few pictures......

St Marys Church (in town centre, not at Stockwood)

More on this very beautiful church here

Examples of baby feeding equipment from years gone by

 A truck painted in the South Asian style

The truck, and the Romany Wagon shown below, were painted by the Museums youth team during 2011-12. The youngsters were trained by Haider Ali (truck) and Rory Coxhill (wagon)about the correct techniques and designs to be used.

You can read more about Haiders work here

and more about Wagon Painting here.

A panel from the truck

Romany Bow Top Wagon painted in the traditional style

Viva las Viva!

Because for many years Luton = Vauxhall

Exhibition of extraordinarily beautiful backlit space photographs

Great to see Stockwood Discovery Centre hosting this sciency exhibition. NSB has seen plenty of space images over the years, but these on another level!

These images do not come close to showing the originals awesomeness

NSB and small people put about a pint of 2p's into this - SO worth it.

Tree showing donors who have supported the Discovery Centre

Detail of tree

How to talk to terrorists

The most important article BFTF has read in a long time. If you read nothing else on this blog, please read this:

Jonathan Powell : How to talk to terrorists

Some other notes: Recently read a quote, shown below, that seemed to sum up a key point about why non-violent activism is effective.

"When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humour." This quote is apparently from John Lennon. BFTF mentions that only for reference, the validity of the quote is in its text, not in who first said it.