Your Mayday Experiences

[UnderOpenSky]

Well done to everybody who put a lot of time and effort in to organizing events, costumes and the like, without whom it wouldn't have been almost as much fun. It was the first protest I have been to and I was really impressed.

What was the outcome of the Wombles trial? I went down in morning and well done to whoever it was handing out the extra overalls as I was lazy and forgot to get any. Was that an urbanite? Also I met some nice peeps there who were able to tell us where things were all the day.

I think about the most lacklustre protest I went to of the day was the stop the arms trade outside British Aerospace, it looked like they had closed down for the day and just left a few security guards, though good effort to the girl who was doing all the shouting.

What was going on with the blokes with the Moa boards - Didn't they remember what happened when people tried to protest in Tienamen Square?

Respect to the two blokes dressed as women, "Anarchy in the WI" & "make scones not war" and the person with the sign that said "I shall write a strongly worded letter of complaint".

Mayfair was a good laugh, the samba band by the sex workers were really good. It was quite good of the BBC to give live updates, we were in a pub and they told us about a stand off that was going on, so we legged it down to join in.

What was the point in people braking things though, the day had gone really positively, the news we caught in the pub was almost neutral and all most of the people I saw watching looked amused. The I heard a few pissheads saying shit like, lets go give em there moneysworth and just running up to police and screaming abuse at them, which achieved nothing, except to leave them with shorter tempers. Unfortunately I had to leave to get my coach at 6.30, was there much police brutality after that? I got knocked flying by a line of coppers running in and was to stoned to get out the way quick enough.

Still a really good day, I'll look forward to the next one. Even the media reports I saw weren't that bad, there parting shot stressed how most of it had gone peacefully, though with the diversity of the day it was a shame it was hard to tell viewers what we were protesting about.

 

[danny la rouge]

Originally posted by Global_Stoner
with the diversity of the day it was a shame it was hard to tell viewers what we were protesting about.

I heard this line in media reports used as if to say "They're marginal and confused; see, they don't even know what they're protesting about."

Can't I have opinions on several issues? Do I have to be a single-issue person?

Some of us in Glasgow were distributing stuff in solidarity with the Womble 7. Does that mean we couldn't also have views about Palestine, or asylum laws?

 

[Abu Arak]

Its about encouraging people to take those ideas to a wider audience.

Possibly so, but not necessarily what "it is all about”, who decides, “What it is all about” anyway? I hope it is not your very good self?

Whether you like it or not thats the way the BNP get to people. The other 364 days a year.

I am not in competition with the BNP, and I don't define my actions by what the BNP do or what “the voter” thinks of them. Tony Blair does that and his reaction is to make the BNP ideas “main stream” by taking them on board in his anti-immigration laws. If you want to join him in his quest of more votes, then indeed spread the idea to the wider “audience” anytime you like.

Because when potential BNP voters in Burnley see people with balloons in central london they might think its not directly relevent to their problems.

I have news for you Mr. Porter, I was not marching to impress anyone, yet alone the voters of Burnley.

How do you think we should spread ideas to a wider audience Mr Arak ?

A good question indeed, and the answer depends on the “ideas” you are spreading.

 

[Calico.]

Tomas, I didn't say everyone fell in that age range I said the majority did. There was indeed old fogies like yourself there too

 

[UnderOpenSky]

I heard this line in media reports used as if to say "They're marginal and confused; see, they don't even know what they're protesting about."

That's not quite what I meant, I diversity of the day made it hard for the average non protesting person to get a grip of what was happening. How would you have summed up the issues in five mins?

As a day of solidarity I thought it went brilliantly and to meet other people for a were not so dam apathetic like most of my mates are was real boost.

 

[danny la rouge]

GS, yeah, I know. I wasn't attributing that to you. I'm just frustrated by the media line that if we have lots of issues, then we're marginal and disunited.

 

[josef]

I think if people were confused about why they were there, and what they were trying to achieve they need to suspend thinking about the political arguments involved for just one minute (that doesn't mean to say that the issues are not important but lets just see what we actually did):
1 a group of people gathered
2 that group were not subject to any advertising, marketing or consumer pressure, and did not buy consumer goods.
3 the group walked in he middle of the street, normaly a forbidden zone.

These may seem to be small things, I think that it is indicative of the state of our lives that these three things can be considered as dangerous subversions. It is a long way that we have to go.

The fourth thing that people did, was have a good day out in the sun, and a wander around a part of the city that they may not have normally considered special or significant. If just fifty of the people realise the significance of Mayday and the carnival, then that will be an achievement.

I was really pleased that the day proved that unpredicable behaviour is considered dangerous by the powers that be.

However, next year lets have more music!

 

[danny la rouge]

Here's another Glasgow report:IMC

 

[flygirl]

I'm really glad I went! Much better than last year, no pointless police standoffs or aggro. Sex worker samba was the best.
And Mayfair, wtf?! I've lived in London a lot of my life, and I have only been in that area a couple of times before. It's strange, innit! I'm curious to go and see what it looks like on a normal day now. So much money, and women who actually ware those designer silk scarves which have gold navy symbols like anchors and knotted rope and cost an unblievable amount of money yet remain utterly hideous (anyone else know the ones, or is it just me that marvels at their weirdness?! ), and mercedes that were car shaped, not small and round. ahhh... the mysterious life of the rich, eh?
Inbetween cans of stella I even discussed some politics...
again, again!
fly

 

[TinyCrendon]

Abu Arak
Im surprised at the level of hostility you show. I think its important that all the varied ideas (not my own) get a wider audience and that the message gets across clearly.

Urban75 is a good place to discuss things like this no ? It seems a shame that the voters of Burnley who might elect fascists arent important to you, which is what I'd construe from what you are saying.

I wasnt asking you to spread any ideas I might or might not have i was asking for your ideas and how to get them out there, that was all.

And Adam Porter `types` what are they ? You didnt like the other march ? Sure the SWP were there, so what, just ignore them.

And what are your ideas ? That's all. What do you think about taking it a stage further ? How to do it and so on ? What do you think ?

Surely we are able to discuss this. After all we all agreed it was a good day.

 

[bruise]

Big up you all!!!!

Apart from the Wombles brekkie, I missed it all, as I then had to go to work. Thanks for the posts - they give a really good view of what the day was like.

I think it's appropriate that Israel was raised as an issue - it's got to be the most important at the moment - not only in itself, but given that America's next task after (supposedly) settling the issue is to start bombing Iraq.

Please, I'd urge all with a view to post on one of the threads. There are massive differences on the Left, and huge differences between the left and other people on this one. We've even managed to start discussing the issue without degenerating into flame wars... so you won't get jumped on, just because someone else disagrees with you (hopefully )

,,, back to Mayday

 

[John Wisehammer]

I think I passed by you at the brekkie, Bruise mate - I thought you lived up north?

 

[bruise]

JWH, I live in 'Catford up North' (if you live on the South coast! ) Shame we didn't meet up, next time.

 

[Abu Arak]

Adam Porter,

If there was “hostility” then it must have been something you said on this thread rather than you personally.

As I said, “spreading” the messages depends on the message itself. If I wanted to spend mayday convincing the voters of Burnley that they should not vote for the BNP, I would have gone to Burnley and marched around with placards telling them so.

As it happens, I don’t actually care who the people of Burnley are going to vote in, what worries me is the shift to the right that Blair is going to institutionalise in his policies as he perceives that he should “respond” to voter “concerns”.

If anything voting for some BNP scum will demonstrate the bankruptcy of representational democracy.

What was the message of the day for me? It was a day out, a day where I did what I felt like instead of doing what work dictated. It is important to remember the history of Mayday itself, the people who got framed and killed in Chicago wanted to limit the working day to 8 hours, nowadays in the name of “efficiency”, “global market place”, “competition”, and all sorts of other nonsense we get paid for 8 hours while effectively work for 10 or 12. Yesterday, I didn’t. I had a day out.

I may even get inspired to do the same again next month, as people say Mayfair is a nice area to wander around in

Have you seen those cages where they have a squirrel running in a wheel? And every so often someone changes the water and puts out more food for the “pet”?

Well, yesterday I stopped running inside the wheel for a day. Who knows tomorrow I might get out of the cage...

Lots of love

Abu Arak.

 

[peacepete]

had an amazing day yesterday. i'm just trying to work out which of you i was in the same place as at the same time.

lots of posts on the subject as well which is cool, i was thinking that we should start a tactical thread to discuss the issue of the walking critical mass and how it could be modified to remain un-blockable (which basically relied on randomness) and a bit more interesting.

i thought the whole thing was amazing. i'm a bit scared though when i here about soho, was anyone here stuck in there or did you all make it out before the 'kettle'

anyway, i had an amazing time and i hope you all survived equally well.

it was my first time, but next time i'll come along with a few more student recruits and organise something musical or visual or something like that. i do agree that at times it was a bit aimless, but the best thing was being with a small group and managing to meet up with other people.... wow! the atmosphere then was amazing

sorry to the guys the other side of the cops near the US embassy, i was trying to pursuade people to run along the pavement so that we could join you, but couldn't muster up enough enthusiasm before all the cops got out their vans. that would have been brilliant, but it was hard to organise anything like that.

complete lack of violence amazed me when there was plenty of opportunity. sorry that there may have been some that didn't fair so well later on.

anyway, already making plans for next year (in the comfort of my own head) so hopefully there'll be something imaginative, yet still mobile

pp

 

[Cautious Fred]

Adam Porter wrote:

Next year everyone should march togther, like we did in France against Le Pen ... We exist now, they can't get rid of us, but we have to take it on, we have to take the ideas you have about society and use them to help people in a PRACTICAL way.

Absolutely right.

 

[anti-capitalist]

Japoulte

<was anyone else involved in trying to push through that cop line in trafalger sq.?>

Yeah - that was fuckin great.

"Unit 4 into position!" (Commander guy)

"If we're united, we can beat 'em!" (that was me in the moment trying to be Lenin). We fuckin got through the bastards though - they soon scattered to the sidelines, the commander guy looked like he was shitting himself.

In Solidarity.

 

[TimothyClaypole]

Originally posted by josef


However, next year lets have more music!

ABSOLUTELY!

there is never enough music and you can never have too much - it all added to the atmosphere...

throughout the day i have been approached by mates and colleagues, astonished that they didn't get a phone call asking for bail money - i am cross! their opnions have been coloured by the events of last year - ggrrr!

also, bit pissed off at the evening standard on page 11. it seems that (according to the media) unless there is a decent fight, the protest is a disaster. this is utter bollocks. we, the H2o girlies, went for a peaceful day to reclaim the streets, protest for our absolute right to protest and freedom of speech; not to partake in violence, bottle throwing, battery (YES! battery! i was most upset! never had a battery lobbed at me head before!) lobbing and aggresive behaviour directed at the police...

still had a wicked day though!

 

[Bucksta]

I completely forgot...

....about one of the funniest things that happened to mje yesterday. I was skating along oxford street quite happily at about 1pm looking for some action, when i got shot in the arse! I think it woz from a bb gun or a pea shooter. If the person who did it is browsing this board then big up to you! fucking caned - but v.amusing!

 

[RubyToogood]

Originally posted by TimothyClaypole

violence, bottle throwing, battery (YES! battery! i was most upset! never had a battery lobbed at me head before!) lobbing and aggresive behaviour directed at the police...

Did you mean this was yesterday, or another year, Ms Tim?

 

[Matt S]

Peacepete,

I think we may have stood next to each other near the US embassy. I was the guy with short hair, glasses, and dressed in jeans and a white jumper with black stripes. Did some chanting.



Matt

 

[peacepete]

Matt S

cool....just to check, i was the skinny ginger boy who hadn't shaved for a couple of days and was carrying a green bag and looking like a bit of a fool

i reckon next year we all wear special Urban75 name tags so we can make this whole exercise a little easier (or would that spoil all the fun?)

 

[hongkongfooey]

i had a bloomin brilliant day. first the breakfast which was beautiful, hangin about eating muesli in the sunshine with a white overall on. joined the wake for a bit, i think, then with the circus which went around a bit then up that orrid little staircase into oxford street.
then to trafalgar square where there was that bit of a ruck with the cops and finally off to soho to meet the samba band. i was knackered by half six so retired for many pints and missed the fighting.
i had hardly any trouble from the cops.
i must admit to getting a bit pissed off with all of the journos, tho', loads of photographers kept getting in my way. often they jumped between me and the cops when the batons came out which is fine by me, if a little foolish on their part, but they were also getting in the way of me walking about, blocking said little staircase etc. one of them, in particular was being a complete c**t. he was trying to take photos of various padded and masked peeps, who were sticking their hands, shields etc in front of his camera. he got really indignant and shouted at people that if they didn't want to get photographed they should f**k off home, as if the reason for wearing padding is to get yr photo taken. i later heard that a 'womble' twatted a journo and have been hoping ever since that it was him.

Adam Porter - i agree that the message of anarchism has to reach out to a far broader social base, and i'm going to be concentrating a lot of my energies doing that, but mayday is a carnival day, a day of transgression and freedom. i was wearing a bright, fluffy costume and a skirt and i'm not sure that I'm any more alienating to sun readers than a bunch of grim faced, black flag waving anarchists.

 

[John Wisehammer]

Belarus is easily the most repressive regime in Europe. Criticising the autocratic President Lukashenka can easily earn you a prison sentence and many opponents of the regime have been tortured, exiled and disappeared. On May 1st, brave people in Minsk resisted oppression and harassment to make their point. respect is due to them:

BELARUSIAN TRADE UNIONS STAGE MAY DAY RALLY IN MINSK. The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus organized a May Day march in Minsk in which some 5,000 people participated, RFE/RL's Belarusian Service reported. Demonstrators carried posters reading "Trade unions support reforms but not at the expense of the people," and "President! Where is the promised [monthly] wage of $100?" May Day celebrations in other Belarusian cities were not as well attended. In Homel the local authorities banned the organizers of a May Day rally from giving speeches. In Brest, a May Day meeting was organized by local authorities who did not allow opposition activists to address the crowd.

 

[anti-capitalist]

Solidarity and respect to the Belarusians.

 

[LemonWolf]

I had a good day, some of which I wrote about in another thread. One good experience was the stripper in Soho coming out dressed up in the police outfit and going down the police line, but the funniest bit was when me and my mate were wandering around. There were loads of people giving out leaflets, and I was taking them all, to find out what was going on and stuff, and then one guy came up to us and handed me a leaflet and he was all like "solidarity" and stuff. When I read it, it was a menu for an all-you-can eat restaurant! Cheeky...

 

[Kaka Tim]

Firstly I want to say I thought it was a top day and more than made up for being stuck in the kettle last year.

Went to the WOMBLES breakfast and saw a few urbanites. Was fully expecting to get kettled but was able to leave unmollested.

Made our way to Clerkenwell Green to meet up with some freinds who were doing some theatre stuff with GR.
Every different communist group on the planet was there and the place was awash with red flags and acronyms.

We Transformed ourselves into the Auntie Capitalists which got quite a bit of positive attention - and some sneery bollocks from assorted trots with a sense of humour bypass.

The march set off at a snails pace and was seriously lacking on the music/noise front. We tried to liven up the half arsed chanting -

George Bush we know you - He likes a line of coke or two!

or

They Say Warfare - We say Mayfair!

but there were no takers.

Got accossted by this guy who starts having a go -
'Muslims are dieing in the middle east and you anarchistswant people to smash windows!'
'What?'
'You were telling people to go and riot in west 1'
'What the fuck are you talking about?'

So it goes in for a few minutes to the bemusement of a nearby copper and with several other people chipping in to tell this bloke that he's out of order. He keeps going on about me advocating 'a riot in west 1 - on your placard'.
the penny suddenly drops - I produce the offending placard which says -

ANARCHY IN THE W.I (I'm wearing a twin set, white wig and headscarf) -

'W.I - Womens Institute - ITS A JOKE!'

Several bystanders crack up and suddenly angry bloke looks like he wants the ground to open up and swallow him.

Get to trafalger square, change into newsvendor outfit and give out free Eenee Stannits to assorted peeps.
I then spend the next two hours trying to get people to head off to mayfair but we get bogged down in costume-van-waiting for so-and-so type logistics. Didn't pay attention to the speeches - but most of them seemed pretty dull.

Eventually got out of the square and got a beer. joined in with the sex workers parade for a bit (oo er!) then back to the pub. An hourlater the parade came round again and it was now bigger and noisier - joined in again.
Definitely the highpoint of the day - huge noise, crazy costumes, bewildering variety of peeps and lots of confused policeman trying to 'escort' it and ending up being surrounded by dancing loons.

Tried to drag some mates of the pub. but they had locked the doors cos 'its a war zone out there' (?).
By now, more and more cops were on the streets and I saw my first riot cops of the day. Saw a few confrontations - police blocking a road, only to find themselves trapped between two large crowds and having to push themselves out.

Saw an interesting incident which showed just how the cops end up creating the very situation they (supposedly) try to prevent.
I'm in Wardour Street, its full of people and everyone is enjoying themselves. Two lads walk past in combats with their faces masked up - sure enough a group of four cops move striaght in and proceed to push them against the wall. One lad ends up in arm lock with his head being pressed onto the kerb.
Within a minute there is a crowd of thirty people surrounding the cops shouting to lay off. 4 riot cops then push through the crowd to protect their collegues. More and more people are surrouding the cops and they are radioing for back up. A bottle comes flying over the crowd and misses the cops by several miles and hits me in the chest - thanks dickhead. I see more riot cops forming up and exit the scene having no desire to spend another mayday trapped in a section 60.

The police seem to be moving about without much of a clue as to what to do - I see several pig vans having to reverse down narrow alleys and getting entangled with taxis going the other way.
At one point a convoy of 4 riot vans is stopped by one guy whgo calmly lies down in front of them - repsect! Much to everyones surprsie they just move him out the way without arresting him and then drive 20 yards before getting stuck in a traffic jam.

I leave about 8.30 to pick up stuff and get the train back to leeds. Its getting dark and I suspect that the OB will start getting more aggresive very soon - which is what seems to have happened.

Have to say that up until that point the policing was very different to last year.

Last year they were all very hyped up and itching to wade in and crack some protestors heads. This year they wern't exactly giving out hugs and kisses but they looked like they were trying to avoid a fight.
When the AC bloc pushed into Trafalger they could easily decided to steam in but they didn't.
Several times cops started talking to me trying to be freindly - one even apologised for the section 60's last year.

This wasn't what I expected - every demo over the last year has been policed by the cunt squad and the hysterical treatment of the WOMBLES and other activists all seemed to point to more of the same at mayday.

Happily this didn't happen - maybe the collapse of the WOMBLES trial and the legal case against the Section 60 last has forced a last minute change of tactics?
We'll see I guess.

A really good, positive day with a lot of the student GR types getting into the soho sambanista vibe. I reckon they'll a lot more people next time around and the police/press hysteria has been totally dicredited.

Whose streets? Our Streets!

 

[UnderOpenSky]

Nice one Kaka Tim, thats one Urbanite I can put a face to. I though your costumes were brilliant and the signes made me piss myself. I probably saw loads of you at the Wombles trial, but didn't want to wonder round asking if people posted on a website. Cheers to whoever it was who gave me the white overalls as I forgot to get any.

The best thing about the day for me was people taking humor to the whole thing. I'll have to make a bit more of an effort next year.

Oh and l loved the sign that read "I shall write a strongly worded letter of complaint" Was that any of you?

 

[Kaka Tim]

Yeah, that was an Auntie Capitalist slogan - glad peeps liked what we did.

 

[John Wisehammer]

LOL @ "letter of complaint"!

"one even apologised for the section 60's last year"

Fuckinell - can we have that in writing?