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  Wednesday, November 4, 2009Remember, Remember...Remember, remember, the 5th of November The Gunpowder Treason and Plot I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot...  My next book, Pissing in the Mainstream, looks into the history of propaganda powers used to influence the people to endorse politicians who act in opposition to the direct interests of those very people. Whether it be the swastika formerly used by peace-loving Hindus and Buddhists, or the Union Jack flag flown as Nazis were defeated now being waved by Nazis in Britain, symbols have been given power all through history. In the movie masterpiece V For Vendetta the protagonist, V, claims, "A building is a symbol, as is the act of destroying it. Symbols are given power by people. A symbol, in and of itself is powerless, but with enough people behind it, blowing up a building can change the world." Influenced by Guy Fawkes' historic attempt to avenge his persecuted people by trying to blow up Britain's Parliament building, V sets out to do the same after a member of the Conservative Party uses desperation and fear to rise to power and create a fascist regime. The film was based on the book written by Alan Moore, who created the story during "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister of the U.K.  Symbols have power, and are often co-opted by fascists. But other right-wing politicians have also co-opted holidays: International Workers' Day (May Day) was changed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower into "Law Day" - a holiday to acknowledge the importance of laws, far different to the original meanings of the day that used to be about freedom, liberation, and the powers of the people in the face of often-oppressive authority. As Pissing in the Mainstream looks at, corporations also co-opt things to this day, from skater and punk countercultures to the "green-washing" of their products as supposedly ethical.In the U.K., there are few holidays more "British" than the May Day we still believe in...and Guy Fawkes Night. While the authorities have failed to co-opt and pervert May Day, they have almost succeeded in doing so with Guy Fawkes Night, once an evening of remembrance for freedom against oppressive authority, now often simply referred to as "Bonfire Night," where children create effigies of Guy Fawkes and ask for "a penny for the Guy," before throwing him on a fire and watching him burn. But, of course, Guy Fawkes Night in its original form actually celebrates the freedom fighter from our history, and we should all do so on this night. Not least because, come next May Day, a member of the Conservative Party might very well be coming to power again. The first British general election in which I was able to vote - in 1997 - the Labour Party exploited the weak, dying, grey Conservatives led by Thatcher's grey successor, John Major, by taking their place in government thanks to a landslide. Gone, claimed party activists, were the days of Labour leader Neil Kinnock and James Callaghan before him, both of whom failed to truly work with and serve the unions that built their party. What actually replaced that and brought Labour to power, though, was its scrapping of its remaining socialist principles (Clause IV, in particular), becoming New Labour, and successfully wooing businessmen such as media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who had his supposedly "fair" national newspaper, The Sun, back New Labour leader Tony Blair in return for promises not to reverse the Conservatives' anti-union laws or deregulation of the media and financial sectors.  With the promise that "things can only get better," New Labour and Tony Blair had Britain buzzing with excitement, despite the fact things couldn't have gotten much bloody worse under John Major and his Tories. With this typically British modesty, the electorate sat back and tolerated a party whose presence in government was almost entirely based on the principle that "it could be worse." It's like being in a Nazi concentration camp saying, "Hey, they've tortured us, but not gassed us yet - it could be worse!" while singing along to "things can only get better..."Well, they didn't get better for those poor bastards in the concentration camps, and they didn't particularly improve for us British folk, either. Blair's New Labour meant new laws: one created for about every day he resided in 10 Downing Street, with privatised prisons meaning profit per prisoner for such discredited and disgraceful corporations as Wackenhut. It also meant more surveillance, with millions of CCTV cameras that didn't prevent crime, only record it enough to provide footage for entire episodes of Cops! It meant freezing arts funding after they had already delivered an initial promised funding boost. It meant waging an illegal war against Iraq based on a lie perpetuated by Murdoch's media. And, of course, it meant blaming immigrants for everything that was wrong with the country while betraying the working class, lethal ingredients leaving a void filled by the racist, sexist, homophobic Nazi group in suits, the BNP. On May 1st, 2005, I was one of those calling for the British people to "give Labour a bloody nose" in the general election, and we did, leaving them with a reduced majority in parliament. On May 5th, I predicted Gordon Brown would succeed Tony Blair as Prime Minister, leaving us (like the United States at the time) with an unelected leader. That wasn't the only thing I got right: I also claimed "the end is the beginning is the end," because "The boring uncharismatic corpses are rising from the grave, this time to take Labour back with them into the underworld like they did with the Tories" - due to the fact Brown lacked the personality of Blair but inherited his baggage. I also stated, on March 13th of this year, that Labour's only chance to save itself was to once again embrace the working class, because the more that mass majority stay home (and some of them desperately vote for the BNP), the more Labour will lose. They haven't done that, and unless they do at some point, they're facing a very very long future in "opposition." Even Murdoch's jumped ship, without yet throwing his support back behind the Tories.  Sure enough, as we approach the prospect of a Gordon Brown - David Cameron debate, it's looking worse than ever for Labour. Remember that infamous debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, who was sweating like a hog? Recently, Andrew Marr interviewed Gordon Brown and questioned him about potential painkiller dependency, which made him slowly start to sweat to the extent that the beads of perspiration were clearly visible on his forehead (and Brown - unlike Nixon - had makeup on). Now, of course I'm not comparing David Cameron to JFK. Hell, no! But Brown, like Nixon, comes across as awkward, lumbering, lame, and past his prime, just as every world leader seems to go grey-haired during their term (Reagan, Blair, Bush Sr and Jr...and Clinton no doubt would have too, had he not already been a "silver-haired fox.")In the end, all politicians show their true colours. And David Cameron isn't just a blue-blooded Eton toff - he's a Tory. Forgotten exactly what a Tory is?  Remember, remember everything the Tories ever did: this is the same elite exclusive club that opposed the abolition of slavery, opposed women's suffrage, attacked workers' rights and smashed unions, slashed funding in the creative industries, sold the railways that 70% of the British population now want back in government control, and aggressively pursued deregulation of media and the financial sector that left us in the economic mess we're in. Oh yes, things can get worse, as I overheard in the newsagents' the other morning: "I can't believe all this talk about the Tories!," said one older woman. "Do people not remember what they did to us?" We must remember. Because just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it very well could.We have to brace ourselves now. Because whatever is wrong for us in Britain today, can and will get worse under the Tories - and they'll fire the first shots, so we have to be armed and ready with knowledge. I'm calling on everyone to mobilise themselves, their family, their friends - even people they don't like much - to make sure they take votes away from the Tories at the next general election. I don't even give a damn where the votes go to: we have to vote for anybody but Tories. The hanging of Guy Fawkes for attempting to destroy the government showed that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Now, a hung parliament might be the answer to all our hopes in these desperate times. - Jay Baker; South Yorkshire Labels: David Cameron, Margaret Thatcher, New Labour, Rupert Murdoch, Tony Blair
posted by Jay Baker at
8:33 AM
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