Russell Brand on Revolution

[BigTom]

On this thread no better strategies have been developed, no ideas have been put forward and the criticism which appears looks very much like sectarian ranting, (including a complaint that a Russell Brand video was posted in the Russell Brand thread, I shit you not).

Russell Brand supporting any campaign will garner more support and inspire more similiar campaigns than all the sectarian and self marginalized political groups have done in the last 30 years. He is being attacked by the right for taking a left wing stance. Is it the job of the left to attack him with the same arguments or would it be more constructive to build on the interest he is generating in these campaigns to help further them? After all he is reaching a wide audience.

Are you doing it better?

Look at the woman in the video, her campaigning has given her more confidence and Brand got her in front of a camera in front of 10 downing street. What's wrong with that? Why focus so much on him?

As a person who was squeezed out of London by gentrification myself, who works part time and struggles to reach the end of the month and has kids, I wholeheartedly approve of Russell Brand's way of bringing politics to the masses.

I hope you're reading Butcher's responses to this post. The ciriticisms I remember on this thread have been ones around how celebs (and more broadly, leaders) can detract from a movement by removing focus from the communities affected and onto themselves. Implicit within that criticism are ideas about a different strategy.

Why would someone criticising from the left use the same arguments as someone from the right? That doesn't make sense.

Why focus so much on him? Well that's the problem isn't it. If his involvement in the campaigns brings benefits to that campaign, great, but mostly it becomes about Brand, not about the campaign - this isn't an issue with Brand, it's how the media works, anyone who put themselves in his position would have this. Do we want or need the media? I don't know about that, I think that you're generally better off trying to build and work outside of the media, so that whole thing doesn't get focussed on one person.

 

[ViolentPanda]

The victory is that he has a voice, is using it, and people are listening.

Over a million people viewed the interview with Paxman on youtube.

You don't get that kind of attention unless you're saying things worth listening to, things nobody else has the balls to say.

Sure you do. You get that kind of attention if you're a celeb who does something even slightly controversial, because the media will pump it so hard that every fucker wonders "what did he say?".
As for "nobody has the balls to say", what you mean is "people like Russell don't usually have the balls to say anything political", because us down here on the ground, at the grass roots, we've been speaking out for (in many cases) our entire adult lifetimes, and while Russell's "puffing" of various causes is nice for those causes, it's a distraction from the actual hard work of community organisation.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I haven't even talked to you for as long as i can remember!

Right, i'm ending this nonsense now. Time for a cuppa and some ginger nuts.

Gingerist!!!

 

[xenon]

Cheers for Acorn link. Didnt know of it.

 

[Louis MacNeice]

Gingerist!!!

He just can't help himself!

Cheers - Louis MacNeice

 

[ViolentPanda]

Because it has no relevance to what he's saying about real people suffering real oppression from the oligarchs who run the world without any restraint.

It has some relevance. People (rightly) tend to not trust a spokesman who cannot see things from their perspective, and while Mr. Brand can be a fine poverty tourist, drawing attention to injustice, he isn't one of us, and he isn't personally acquainted with the desperation of our position.
My great-grandad was railing against Lord & Lady Bountiful types over a century ago, and frankly that's what Russell Brand effectively is - a well-meaning rich person condescending to assist the little people.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Do you know why thats so insulting of a post? It's because plenty of people have been saying things in a more cogent manner than Brand for generations and the fact that some comedian has suddenly said things you agree with in a shit and easily ridiculed manner does not equal a revelation for the class. I've had conversations in the smoke room at a warehouse job that gets his gist without the woo. Thats before we even get into how sexually dodgy he is.

Someone famous mentions the screamingly obvious class war and suddenly he is the messiah

And what really burns is that this is a "cause" that he can drop as quickly as a cheeky fart, so anyone putting faith in or relying on Brand as a messiah are making rods for their own backs.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Sure, that's just how the oligarchs want us, whispering to each other in warehouses, unable to speak openly or be heard so that the whole world can hear the truth of what we're saying in our whispering rooms.

The importance of Russel Brand is that he's amplifying our voices. He's said that's all he's doing. He makes no claims to being the messiah.

He's not amplifying "Our voices", he's cherry-picking causes and issues, and then mediating the actual message. A message that generally doesn't need to be mediated.

So just run along and whisper with your friends. They've got you where they want you.

Interesting. You appear to hold brass tacks activism in contempt.

 

[ViolentPanda]

A lot of left wing types tend to be very quick to attack and very belittling if there's something they don't agree with.

Brand is making that side of politics more accessible, and in all honesty anyone who does that can only be a good thing imho.

Analyse the issues he's spoken out on. What he's basically done is present a media-friendly face for those issues to be publicised through. Sure, the publicity achieves something, but whether it actually renders politics more accessible or in fact distances people even further from local activism because Russell won't speak out on their behalf is a question to which we can't assume (as you appear to be doing) an answer.

 

[Flavour]

Diana9,are you aware of the Jonathan ross radio episode? I don't assume you are, being in California. Look it up. Gives you some insight into the man behind the mask in front of the man

 

[gosub]

It has some relevance. People (rightly) tend to not trust a spokesman who cannot see things from their perspective, and while Mr. Brand can be a fine poverty tourist, drawing attention to injustice, he isn't one of us, and he isn't personally acquainted with the desperation of our position.
My great-grandad was railing against Lord & Lady Bountiful types over a century ago, and frankly that's what Russell Brand effectively is - a well-meaning rich person condescending to assist the little people.

tbf it has now moved to the stage where the issue is not without potential impact on him, who wants a tenant that causes your off shore tax arrangements to be in the national press? It the first real test of Brand the activist- if he can keep on message that the real story is 92 families evicted before Xmas,fair play to him. if he uses to further Trews -main stream media is distorting bollocks, then fuck him coz we all knew that already.

That hatchet job was quite incredible really,i think he might actually have some London journos worrying he could fuck their pension arrangements by helping pop the London house price bubble. Seems more likely than taking their role as gatekeepers of public outrage more more seriously- what next? Joanna Lumley eats at an Italian restaurant instead of Nepalese!

 

[youngian]

There's a lot you can pull Brand up on but the Sun's hypocrite efforts are woeful. What infuriates Murdoch hacks is that his bank balance should make him one of them and therefore is a class traitor. A council house Kipper turning up to support the landlord however would get his own Danifesto in the Sun. Brand can talk a lot of nonsense but he admits himself he's finding his feet and fair play to him for putting his head above the trenches instead of eating kangaroo bollocks.

 

[Anudder Oik]

It has some relevance. People (rightly) tend to not trust a spokesman who cannot see things from their perspective, and while Mr. Brand can be a fine poverty tourist, drawing attention to injustice, he isn't one of us, and he isn't personally acquainted with the desperation of our position.
My great-grandad was railing against Lord & Lady Bountiful types over a century ago, and frankly that's what Russell Brand effectively is - a well-meaning rich person condescending to assist the little people.

What? You mean like the entire membership of the SWP then.

 

[ViolentPanda]

What? You mean like the entire membership of the SWP then.

Pretty much!

 

[Lea]

I see that Russell Brand won an award today:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/p...or-making-the-least-sense-of-all-9900350.html

 

[D'wards]

This thread demonstrates why the far left will never achieve a sodding thing

 

[butchersapron]

This thread demonstrates why the far left will never achieve a sodding thing

Because people disagree on important things?

 

[D'wards]

Because people disagree on important things?

Because people disagree on everything

 

[DotCommunist]

its follow the hippy or nothing. NOTHING.

 

[butchersapron]

Because people disagree on everything

Let's pretend that they don't then. That'll work a treat.

 

[butchersapron]

its follow the hippy or nothing. NOTHING.

Indeed, a few people - the brand supporters on here esp - could do with getting out the door of a morning or after work to make their points real.

 

[Cheesypoof]

Have people on this thread read 'Revolution?'

 

[butchersapron]

Here we go.

 

[Pickman's model]

Have people on this thread read 'Revolution?'

have you?

 

[Cheesypoof]

have you?

I'm 2/3 of the way through, he's getting into his manifesto now....

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm 2/3 of the way through, he's getting into his manifesto now....

grand. all manifestos should start 2/3 of the way through.

 

[youngian]

This thread demonstrates why the far left will never achieve a sodding thing

I've never been described as far left before and you could even be moderate right of centre people and applaud Brand for getting up the noses of the talentless cunts that produce the Sun.

 

[butchersapron]

I've never been described as far left before and you could even be moderate right of centre people and applaud Brand for getting up the noses of the talentless cunts that produce the Sun.

He hasn't got up their noses you dope - he's got on the front page. He's good for them. He could be doing some west ham shit.The point is brand on the front page. Do you really think the sun care about brand on this or new era that murdoch is threatened by this? That their journos are directly threatened? What a load of tosh.

 

[youngian]

He hasn't got up their noses you dope - he's got on the front page. He's good for them. He could be doing some west ham shit.The point is brand on the front page. Do you really think the sun care about brand on this or new era that murdoch is threatened by this? That their journos are directly threatened? What a load of tosh.

No-one said anything about Murdoch or his hacks feeling threatened you just plucked that out of the ether. My apologies to D'wards

 

[Coolfonz]

This thread demonstrates why the far left will never achieve a sodding thing

yeah but you would say that as you are too rich/too poor/a prude/promiscuous/aren't one of us/speak funny/are on tv/aren't on tv/sell papers/don't sell papers/are in `the community`/aren't in `the community`...