Mayday events (1 Viewer)

[redflaremist]

Friday April 30th

CRITICAL MASS began in San Francisco in 1992 and has since spread around the world. Join us for this celebration of non-motorised transport, as we take a leisurely tour of the city streets, on bikes, skateboards, pogo sticks, or just on foot.

Saturday May 1st (daytime)

BORDER CONTROLS STREET THEATRE: Welcome to the official day of the new Fortress Europe. Warning: You may be subject to stops by one of the Dublin Grassroots Police Network who will be patrolling the city in the morning. Experience the full reality of Fortress Europe with ID & background checks, verbal harassment, intimidation, and possible imprisonment without trial if you do not measure up to the strict criteria.

BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS: During the war on Iraq, many private and state businesses supported the transport of murderous arms and US troops through Shannon Airport in Ireland. This action will make the public aware of who they are by painting the streets and footpaths around their premises in blood red colour. No war should ever be supported for profit.

WELCOME THE BOAT PEOPLE: Many asylum seekers and refugees attempting to breach the Fortress Europe barrier do so in boats and ships. Upon detection, they are often sent back to their country of origin. This time however, the people arriving by boat will be welcomed. No human being is illegal - everyone should be free to travel and live where they want without fear of persecution.

HOMES NOT JAILS: Dublin expands, swallowing up the countryside. Rents skyrocket and house prices are beyond the reach of many with average incomes. The number of homeless people sleeping on the streets rises every year without any action by the State. Yet all around the city are derelict buildings, crumbling into the ground. This action aims to highlight this appaling situation by occupying one of these buildings and transforming it into a living space.

PUBLIC BEATINGS STREET THEATRE: Europe is reverting to old-style policing and jailing policies. Rather than look at what causes crime and dealing with problems in society, the State increasingly utilises prisons (often in terrible unsanitary condition) as a way of sweeping the issues under the carpet. How long before the stocks and gallows make a return? Today's the day. Come along and watch true medieval punishment methods.

THE POLLUTER PAYS: The message during the recent anti bin tax campaign was to tax the polluter. Is the public responsible for waste when companies release their products in layers of unneccesary packaging? How much waste is produced by heavy industry that is not recycled? This actions will be encouraging everyone to bring their recyclable packaging back to the the businesses that produce it.

RECLAIM THE CITY: The idea of the "common" or public space is rapidly disappearing from the city, as rich and powerful individuals claim it for private personal use. This action will temporarily reclaim a part of private land, and open it to the public for a picnic and games in the May sunshine.

Saturday May 1st (evening)

BRING THE NOISE! The EU Ministers dine in the opulence of Farmleigh House on Saturday evening at the expense of the Irish taxpayer. We intend to march to their doorstep and disrupt their dinner, to show them that we do not agree with their vision of Fortress Europe! Bring pots and pans, bells and whistles, horns and drums to generate the biggest noise possible. May 1st is historically a day for the ordinary people's wishes to be heard. They have chosen to ignore us but they cannot keep it up if we scream and shout.

Sunday May 2nd

NO BORDERS, NO NATIONS - NO BORDER CAMP: Join us as we set up a No Border camp on the 2nd day of the new Fortress Europe. We are not against the new ascension states citizens coming to Ireland - we think all refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants should be allowed to travel here, regardless of origin, ethnicity, or background. The No Border camp will be open to everyone. Activities will include workshops, discussions, teach-ins, planning for the future, as well as music and food.

Monday May 3rd

NO BORDERS RECLAIM THE STREETS: The only party worth joining in town! Reclaim The Streets happens again on the May bank holiday to wind down the weekend. Unlike the State's street party, everyone from around the world is welcome to come to Dublin for this, not just those that satisfy the demands of Fortress Europe. Expect music and dancing, drinking and face painting, a day for all to come and enjoy a vision of the Europe that we really want
http://geocities.com/eufortress

 

[Latex lizzie]

..you sound like children who are upset with mammy.Painting peoples business red? get a colouring book instead or use your energies in a more positive manner whynot.

 

[jane]

I dunno, think most of the events sound pretty good. I'm not sure about the painting businesses red thing, partly because the people who will actually be on the premises will generally be just the people who work there because they need a job. To subject them to humiliation because of where they work doesn't seem fair -- it assumes that they not only knew that the company was invovled with making and/or transporting arms, but that they condone it. It also assumes that it's wrong of someone to choose to work somewhere when the choice is between that and no job at all. You can celebrate, you can protest, you can highlight the injustices of the world, but when you condemn people for not sharing your altruistic sense of justice and ethics, you end up alienating them.

I think a lot of direct action stuff is great, and necessary. The government isn't listening to people who are using the 'proper' channels, so it's good that people have gotten creative. But if anyone fucking stops me for that Border Controls thing when I'm trying to get somewhere, I'll have shits of rage. I have enough dealings with them without someone playing pretend.

 

[Latex lizzie]

RECLAIM THE CITY: The idea of the "common" or public space is rapidly disappearing from the city, as rich and powerful individuals claim it for private personal use. This action will temporarily reclaim a part of private land, and open it to the public for a picnic and games in the May sunshine.

..this is nonsense.We have lots of public space around the city.We have the largest walled in park in europe (second or third in the world methinks) 15 mins from the centre.Jervis park,herbert park,merrion sq,stephens green,garden of rememberance..

here is a list of some more if you are having a problen finding them.

http://www.dublincity.ie/parks/index.htm
..is it right to take over private land when there are these kinds of amenities on offer? I respect your stand on making the world a beter place and everything just if you want people to take you seriously(i.e the general public) would it not be better to concentrate on stuff that is actually a problem.

 

[jane]

..this is nonsense.We have lots of public space around the city.We have the largest walled in park in europe (second or third in the world methinks) 15 mins from the centre.Jervis park,herbert park,merrion sq,stephens green,garden of rememberance..

here is a list of some more if you are having a problen finding them.

http://www.dublincity.ie/parks/index.htm
..is it right to take over private land when there are these kinds of amenities on offer? I respect your stand on making the world a beter place and everything just if you want people to take you seriously(i.e the general public) would it not be better to concentrate on stuff that is actually a problem.

Yeah, I was kind of thinking that, too. There are loads of parks in Dublin. We're spoiled by them, in fact, and people seem to use them and appreciate them. In fact, the city just built a boardwalk on the Liffey, which is an innovative little public space indeed. And have you ever strolled along the north side of the river down by the East Wall? Fucking lovely, it is. You wouldn't think a place made of concrete and granite would be such a pleasant place to be.

One thing you can say about Dubliners is that they appreciate their open spaces, and whether they politicise it or not, they won't let them go to waste. I love the way that Sandymount Strand turns into a huge public park when the tide is out, the creative ways people are using the spaces around the south city coast always makes me feel positive about the way people live in this city. There's nothing like going for a run/stroll out to the South Wall, catching the views, watching people fish and have picnics, and just stroll around the place, and then it hitting you: you're still inside the city limits. How lucky. whenever I'm frustrated with this city, that's where I go to make it better, and it always works.

Errr....where was I....?

Oh yeah, I think the Mayday events mailout is probably a standardised thing, not specific to Dublin, so it probably applies to cities where the lack of parks is a problem? I dunno.

 

[Latex lizzie]

..standardised thing? I hope not.i thought anarchy was all about local rather than global? I get so confused by all this.

 

[Latex lizzie]

BORDER CONTROLS STREET THEATRE: Welcome to the official day of the new Fortress Europe. Warning: You may be subject to stops by one of the Dublin Grassroots Police Network who will be patrolling the city in the morning. Experience the full reality of Fortress Europe with ID & background checks, verbal harassment, intimidation, and possible imprisonment without trial if you do not measure up to the strict criteria.

this will instigate a fight with people if you aint carefull.I can see it now..

Verbal harrassment? what are yiz the legsakimbo theatre company.

Sort it out.yiz look like muppets.

 

[jane]

BORDER CONTROLS STREET THEATRE: Welcome to the official day of the new Fortress Europe. Warning: You may be subject to stops by one of the Dublin Grassroots Police Network who will be patrolling the city in the morning. Experience the full reality of Fortress Europe with ID & background checks, verbal harassment, intimidation, and possible imprisonment without trial if you do not measure up to the strict criteria.

this will instigate a fight with people if you aint carefull.I can see it now..

Verbal harrassment? what are yiz the legsakimbo theatre company.

Sort it out.yiz look like muppets.

Yeah, I took a bit of issue with this. I truly pity anyone who comes to this country who isn't white and a native English speaker; their experiences are far worse than mine ever are. But still, you know those people queuing up on Burgh Quay before dawn every morning? That's me. You know what happens once you wait your fucking nine hours in that queue to get seen? You get told you've done everything wrong (even though you have done exactly as you were told) and sent away only to come back and go through it all again. They get a sick pleasure out of telling you you're going to be chucked out of the country, and there's nothing you can do about it. It fucking sucks. Usually, outside of the actual Immigration Buereau, it's fine, and I only rarely get hassle at actual borders, but the concept of it pisses me off.

If anyone stopped me on the street as part of 'street theatre' and tried to pull the same shite, I'd give 'em something to fucking cry about, that's for sure.

 

[Latex lizzie]

..see? dickheads! its like having suffered from some illness and some dork dressed as a doctor comming up trying to take your temp or drawing spots on you..yes I know yiz are trying to highlight "issues" but the manner is half assed and juvenille.

 

[jane]

..see? dickheads! its like having suffered from some illness and some dork dressed as a doctor comming up trying to take your temp or drawing spots on you..yes I know yiz are trying to highlight "issues" but the manner is half assed and juvenille.

Yeah, and I think I should have emphasised the point that while I pass through the streets of Dublin relatively unnoticed, a lot of people don't. They are constantly reminded of their 'otherness'. Even if the 'street theater' were to stop only white, Irish-looking people (which would potentially include me and a lot of other foreigners, even some who are from the more oppressed ethnic groups), the mere sight of people being stopped at all would strike fear into those whose foreignness is a lot more visible.

I agree that the injustices should be highlighted, but you'll end up making perfectly innocent people really pissed off, and really scaring the people whose disenfranchisement you're trying to highlight.

 

[Latex lizzie]

WELCOME THE BOAT PEOPLE: Many asylum seekers and refugees attempting to breach the Fortress Europe barrier do so in boats and ships. Upon detection, they are often sent back to their country of origin. This time however, the people arriving by boat will be welcomed. No human being is illegal - everyone should be free to travel and live where they want without fear of persecution.

..I shudder to think how this will be realised..a load of "blacked up" students in dublin bay in a boat made out of rizzla paper with their mates waving from the shore perhaps? You are trying my dears to do too much stuff on one day.Get a plan. A singular vision.Stick to it. and stop farting around with "concepts."

 

[jane]

Some of the 'concepts' do seem a bit vague, but I will say that, done properly, the Homes not Jails thing is a cool idea. It should go hand in hand with a realistic and considered plan of action as to how to fund these things, and which buildings should and shouldn't be used, but it is, essentially, not a bad idea.

I do also think that Critical MAss is a good thing. I think -- or I've seen them do in the past -- they make an effort not to get in the way of public transport (since that would detract from the point), which is good. I walk everywhere, and I get really pissed off with the way the entire city seems to be set up so that cars always get priority.

I heard the traffic guy for Dublin on the radio a few months ago saying that the reason they took away so many of Dublin's pedestrian lights was that cars just weren't paying any attention to them. Nice one. Wicked fucking smaht.

 

[Latex lizzie]

Agreed ..but as I said the critical mass guys are one idea done well not loads of ideas done in a shambles.

 

[jane]

True, but the impression I get is that Mayday is a general day of protest, so, whether it's a workable idea or not, I think the variety is part of the spirit of the day. That's my understanding of it anyway. Might be wrong. I do agree, though: I think that protests are better when they're focused on one issue. People get confused, and, when protests get hijacked by loads of different causes, people are less likely to join on multiple issue things because they don't want to be aligned with something they might not agree with just through association.

 

[Latex lizzie]

..I used to get megga pissed of at the socialist party in this country when I was in college..we would have a demo and they would come piling out of the wood work with their own banners about water charges and what not..It was nothing to do with them but a protest is a protest after all. do I sound bitter? I'm not you know..I agree with lots of the ideas of social change but its the manner in which people express them in this country that gets to me.For people who are all about inclusion they are a pretty exclusive lot,unless you are an "oppressed black lesbian coffee bean farmer" I gotta be a total crusty or I'm not with the "reality" of it all nonsense pisses me off.

 

[jane]

Bitter or not, I'm there, too. I find myself feeling increasingly alienated from a lot of forms of social protest, but I try not to get frustrated about it. I try to make my own contributions, and if people want to say I'm part of the problem because I buy my food from shops and don't dig it out of skips, then that's their problem, not mine.

I remember getting given out to because I didn't want to buy a sticker to support the Turkish Hunger Strikers a few years ago. I asked what the issue was because I didn't want to jsut give money to something if I didn't know what it was for, and she didn't really explain it clearly. Something like, 'Injustice', or equally vague, and an almost outright defensive attitude that I would dare to question the motives. This was followed by some comment about how Americans have loads of money, and surely I could spare it, which was followed by the money I was about to give her to be returned to my pocket. Maybe it was a worthy issue, but I also couldn't help but think picking up on every little injustice in the world is really spreading the 'cause' too thin.

 

[Latex lizzie]

as I said one problem at a time.One solution at a time. If all the "socially aware" my dad calls em dogooders(hes a part time nazi) got together and focused on one thing at time we would have a lovely world to live in. THe meetings go like this..

lets help children.
no lets help poor people.
no lets help poor children,
no lets help mothers of poor children,

and so the dilution of good intentions begins.
sometimes it's worse because when I was younger(old me) I used to believe in stuff like this and that maybe I could make a difference.But you cant because no one has a single vision.The problems are too huge for a minority to make a difference.As a consequence people get disillusioned and the numbers of "activists" leaving as they get older are replaced by new younger "activists".What you are left with is a static number that never has any political will or large voice.the people are not with with no matter how many ways you look at it.sorry to be the negative nelly on this but you will never affect social change while the "movement" (if there is one these days!) is as fractious as it has been since the sixties.

 

[Shorty]

it assumes that they not only knew that the company was invovled with making and/or transporting arms, but that they condone it.

I'm sorry, but how does it assume that? As you have noticed and pointed out, the idea is about creating awareness. I don't think they are attempting to somehow convert all of the regular workers there and for them to somehow up and leave their jobs, but there is also an element of trying to highlight the problem to the general public as well as those inside.

It also assumes that it's wrong of someone to choose to work somewhere when the choice is between that and no job at all.

Agreed. But that's an entirely different debate/discussion/idea in itself.

when you condemn people for not sharing your altruistic sense of justice and ethics, you end up alienating them.

I'm sorry. What? Are you talking about some sort of ethical scepticism/relativism or strange hyper form of tolerance? This is again an entire new discussion or debate. I don't think ppl are attacking those who work there. But there are levels to which educating ppl and/or then condemning them go. If I see something wrong in the world, should I not speak out? I actually agree totally with what you're saying here, (as in we are brought up in a society that teaches condemnation rather than education, particularly within our "education" system) but it can appear from what you are saying that we shouldn't do anything.

But if anyone fucking stops me for that Border Controls thing when I'm trying to get somewhere, I'll have shits of rage. I have enough dealings with them without someone playing pretend.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Latex lizzie
BORDER CONTROLS STREET THEATRE: Welcome to the official day of the new Fortress Europe. Warning: You may be subject to stops by one of the Dublin Grassroots Police Network who will be patrolling the city in the morning. Experience the full reality of Fortress Europe with ID & background checks, verbal harassment, intimidation, and possible imprisonment without trial if you do not measure up to the strict criteria.

this will instigate a fight with people if you aint carefull.I can see it now..

Verbal harrassment? what are yiz the legsakimbo theatre company.

Sort it out.yiz look like muppets.

Yeah, I took a bit of issue with this. I truly pity anyone who comes to this country who isn't white and a native English speaker; their experiences are far worse than mine ever are. But still, you know those people queuing up on Burgh Quay before dawn every morning? That's me. You know what happens once you wait your fucking nine hours in that queue to get seen? You get told you've done everything wrong (even though you have done exactly as you were told) and sent away only to come back and go through it all again. They get a sick pleasure out of telling you you're going to be chucked out of the country, and there's nothing you can do about it. It fucking sucks. Usually, outside of the actual Immigration Buereau, it's fine, and I only rarely get hassle at actual borders, but the concept of it pisses me off.

If anyone stopped me on the street as part of 'street theatre' and tried to pull the same shite, I'd give 'em something to fucking cry about, that's for sure.

And aren't these all prolems that they wish to highlight by these actions. It seems to me that if I wanted, I could imply from reading this that you (plural) would kick up a fuss (or whatever you want to choose from the expletives above) if some (insert stereotype) crusty/lefty/student type where to do this to you but if the actual police were you wouldn's. But I'm sure this isn't what you mean, especially considering that thousands of ppl if not more around the globe suffer this on a daily basis.



All in all, the replies to this post appear to be merely a tyrade of criticisms by two ppl. With very little constructive criticism, apart from Latex Lizzies singularity of vision idea. But isn't that exactly what the socialist party strives for?

 

[Shorty]

Also, I'll put up more later on the idea of the commons. I'm not criticising either jane or latex lizzie, but your views on public space and parks are quite limited or perhaps not the same concept of "public" that the protesters wish to highlight. Some of those parks mentioned aren't as public as you might think. For instance, food not bombs dublin ( a constructive idea that I'm sure both of you could agree on, even though it may be a form of charity more so http://www.foodnotbombs.net ) were not allowed to distribute food to the homeless in st. stephens green on the grounds that it was in fact not a public park, but is owned by duchas ( I think, again I'll find out more and post later) and that in fact many public parks within the city are also owned by them and are as such not public.

 

[Shorty]

Yeah, and I think I should have emphasised the point that while I pass through the streets of Dublin relatively unnoticed, a lot of people don't. They are constantly reminded of their 'otherness'. Even if the 'street theater' were to stop only white, Irish-looking people (which would potentially include me and a lot of other foreigners, even some who are from the more oppressed ethnic groups), the mere sight of people being stopped at all would strike fear into those whose foreignness is a lot more visible.

I agree that the injustices should be highlighted, but you'll end up making perfectly innocent people really pissed off, and really scaring the people whose disenfranchisement you're trying to highlight.

This is more in relation to my previous post, but again, this is what they are trying to highlight, and as for the second paragraph, do you not think that the ppl organising this aren't aware of this and are actually working with groups like Residents Against Racism, groups that have pointed out that a lot of ethnic minorities are afraid to go on marches and protest, particularly because of police harassment and the way they are treated in this country.