Another weekend, another chance to avoid the Christmas shopping crowds and join me in ringing doorbells and handing out pamphlets. That sounds really dodgy; what is the difference between a political party canvassing voters and a religious group recruiting converts? In my experience it’s a lot harder to get volunteers to come out to do politics.
But we’ve been really lucky so far in the weather for campaigning, and we’ll be meeting at 11.00 on Saturday 11th at Queen’s Park gates at the end of Victoria Road in Govanhill, if you’d like to join us. We’re keeping an eye on the COVID-Omicron situation and we’ll be using proper distancing and masks, and please do a lat. flow test before you come out. I hope we won’t have to go into another Christmas lockdown, but if it comes to it, so be it. Better to be responsible.
In politics
Speaking of being irresponsible…
[video of press secretary joking about breaking lockdown]
[video of BBC Question Time shutting down question about fascistic degradation of right to protest in favour of discussing a Christmas party]
It’s clear that the mainstream media are not interested in examining the move to suppress dissent in the UK with the additions to the new Policing Bill. There are plenty of distractions available; I honestly don’t think that the entitled shower who are in office are genuinely clever enough to provide them deliberately - the “dead cat” theory - I think that this government is so chaotic and incompetent that there is plenty to pick and choose from.
I’m not even convinced that this is some conspiratorial move to institute fascism in the UK, I think it’s more that Priti Patel is an authoritarian bully just like Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter books, and can’t abide people resisting her power moves. The police bill was introduced in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, and steadily made more draconian. My money is on this partly being a response to Kenmure Street, where a thousand people non-violently prevented a brute-force, ill-considered, and possibly unlawful? move by the Home Office to evict an immigrant.
So. As well as in the Borders Bill, which includes the capacity to remove anyone’s UK nationality without notice or informing the victim, the Policing Bill now includes the powers to:
Criminalise protests they believe to be a “public nuisance” (previously police powers were limited to situations of serious public disorder)
Declare actions by a single person to be such a protest
Surveille organisers and impose restrictions to movement and association
In the wake of the protest by Insulate Britain, where they glued themselves to the M25, “locking on” and disrupting the motorways are illegal and carry unlimited fines and jail time of up to six months.
Protests are a necessary part of public life, and in order to meet their purpose they have to disrupt the status quo - they have to be noticeable and cause people to think and question themselves and the people they have allowed into power. Even non-violent protests, withdrawal of labour, sit-downs and sit-ins have been criminalised by this bill because they disrupt everyday life.
What to do? I think that anyone who disagrees with the government - or the government’s cronies - will now have to accept that they are liable to be arrested and face imprisonment. No matter how peaceful or justified their dissent. I think that the current government is too stupid to consider just how dangerous a situation that creates.
In Writing
So I’ve been writing a roleplaying game in which people rehearse protests and which can be read as a manual for active dissent.
Characters can be: Organisers, Carers, Makers, Ranters, Eco-warriors, Hactivists, Culture Jammers, and more; they take harm and need healing in terms of stress and mental health and they have flaws that are made worse by stress
The group conducts Actions, from which the characters gain Cred, which they can use to raise the Profile of the group, build a Community, and conduct more elaborate actions and long-term projects such as influencing politicians, enabling whistleblowers, and standing for election
Actions can include: demos, sit-ins, hacks, sabbing, zines, and whatever else I can dig up from manuals for revolutionaries
The group’s Community can include: resources such as legal aid, grassroots support, funding; ally groups such as unions, co-ops, campaigns and think tanks; and hubs such as workshops, art cafes, gig venues, etc.
As the group gains profile and conducts actions they gain the notice of the authorities, including the local police and government, up to national and international authorities. Characters can build Status so that they can become respected journalists or academics or government ministers or wanted criminals.
Oppression builds over the game time so that the group’s actions become more difficult and dangerous; Opposition builds from local pols and police through national government and multinational companies, to include oligarchs, banks, and organised crime.
As stress mounts, characters might make mistakes and people could get hurt, leading to further police attention and mental health impacts for the whole group, or the characters might end up selling out to their opposition
Also, because it’s a roleplaying game, and because the system I’m hacking - Blades in the Dark - allows for it, there can be magic in which characters who are Wiccans or who otherwise believe in the spirit world can conduct prayer and spirit circles and affect the world hopefully for the better.
This is of course a work of satire. Any resemblance to real people or situations is for satirical purposes, and anyone who doesn’t like it should quit being a bastard.
I’m having fun with it.
Also, Also, Also
I sold a couple of poems! They’ll be appearing in a children’s picture book as and when. More about that as it happens.
It’s cold and dark outside and I’ve been cuddling Ruby cat and listening to my Christmas playlist. In a couple of weeks the days will be getting longer. I know that Christmas parties are being cancelled now in the run-up to a new pandemic variant, and I hope that you stay safe and look after yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Elaine