Hundreds Reclaim Streets In The Rain

by Noise Producer Mon May 02, 2005 20:13

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by Noise Lover Mon May 02, 2005 20:15

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by Noise Expander Mon May 02, 2005 20:22

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by Noise Induction Mon May 02, 2005 20:28

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by Noise Creator Mon May 02, 2005 20:33

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by Noise Listener Mon May 02, 2005 20:35

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by Ciarån - BASTA! YOUTH COLLECTIVE Mon May 02, 2005 21:34 charco97 at hotmail dot com 83 the grove, Woodbrook glen, Bray 2827753

Me and Rowena, posing like eejits. Good times

by Ciarån(again) Mon May 02, 2005 21:37

about 11 photos up. Oops!

by eeekkk Mon May 02, 2005 22:09

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by :-) Mon May 02, 2005 22:23 scorchio! (well today it pissed down just like there)

:-) .:.-) @-) +-) €-) $-) %-) maith an rts!
& tell me you auld fellahs and auld wans, did yiz think the day would come when a pirate flag would fly in Dublin, and your james connolly would be hooded, and your sean o'casey would have a bridge and the civic guards would be on bikes watching the kids scrawling in crayon on the wall?

Welcome to the XXI century.
- any arrests?

by dunk Mon May 02, 2005 22:35

here

by TheSparkThatBled - Absentee Landlords Mon May 02, 2005 23:09

no pics of the football match? i scored a cracker of a low volley, i was a fucking hero!

by Joe Mon May 02, 2005 23:20

At

by Leftist Mon May 02, 2005 23:52

Destroying the Connolly memorial. You kids must be very proud of yourselves.

by T-1000 Tue May 03, 2005 00:05

any arrests??
I should bloody well hope so. Defacing public property: a night up in the local station is what they should all get. disgraceful.

by mmiikkee Tue May 03, 2005 00:18

kia ora from aotearoa/new zealand ...
great photos!!! looks like a whole heap of stompin'fun!!! check www.indymedia.org.nz for what went down over here!!!

by TUT Tue May 03, 2005 00:28

I cannot believe that at a supposedly anti-capitalist protest you would have people defacing a statue of James Connolly. If ignorance is bliss then RTS I'm sure RTS will have a very happy Christmas. I see Cian O'Callaghan in the photos. He must have been letting off steam after is busy few weeks canvassing for Tony Blair's pro-war, pro-neo-liberal Labour Party.

by Ciarán - none Tue May 03, 2005 00:33

of de-facing the Connolly memorial?????!!!!!

Please, can anyone who was involved in writing all over his monument explain it to me? What does it mean? What's its political significance?

Honest questions - please reply.

Thanks.

by . Tue May 03, 2005 00:49

I reckon you can't be an irish radical without claiming Connolly as a forebear. The mask is the symbol of this generation, of the bloc that marches, organised and resilient. And of course the symbol of the wannabes.

So to mask up Connolly is to pay homage, to claim his tradition. It shows the RTS/Anarcho/DA/whatever movement is looking at it's roots.

Or maybe it was just a party, and just a joke.

It was a great sight to see the little rebels taking possession of the city-a sight more promising for the future of the country than any we can remember.
James Conolly, Workers Republic, 15/07/00.

by Ciarán Tue May 03, 2005 01:03

Can just about see where you're coming from with the point about putting the mask on Connolly - even though it is extremely inappropriate. After all, I doubt if he ever wore a mask when going about his revolutionary work. But I could be wrong about that.

But defacing his memorial, scrawling graffitti all over it. What's the precise political rationale for that??

I think, all in all, that RTS is going to have serious problems if their idea of "just a party or just a joke" is defacing the memorials of genuine Irish revolutionaries. I can't see exactly where the humour or festive spirit is in the act of defacing the Connolly memorial. Can someone enlighten me?

Thanks.

by John Tue May 03, 2005 01:14

According to the Irish Times the Reclaim the Streets march attracted a couple of hundred, while the Critical Mass event managed a couple of dozen cyclists. Its all rather paltry, don't you think? You'd get more than that at a real Mass in any village in Ireland any day of the week. I had a bigger crowd watching the snooker final in my house tonight than were at the Critical Mass thing. By the way, Murphy won. Worldwide there seems to have been very little revolutionary activity this weekend. Nothing in Dublin. Nothing in London. Makes me nostalgic for the old days. I mean back in the early 2000s no Mayday in London could pass without a good riot. But, this year nothing at all, not even with an election coming up in the UK. Looks like the youth of the world are turning their backs on all this anti-capitalism anti-globalisation claptrap. Its all to be expected. Young people are rather fickle. Something becomes fashionable for young people to do, then it dies out as quickly as it came in. One year the hoola-hoop is all the rage among young people. Then its The Twist or The Hucklebuck. Giving my age away there I think. So, for the past few years World Revolution has been the in thing for young people to be into. Looking at the rather sparse crowds in these photos, I'd say that craze has definitely peaked. Next year will probably kill it off completely. I wonder what will be the next big thing that young people find fashionable, for a while at least. I think it could be religion. Fantastic crowds of young people at Pope John Paul's funeral and Pope Benedict's coronation. Rather more than have been attending the various Mayday events around the world. Still, chin up. These things go in cycles. World Revolution will probably once more become fashionable for a few years in a generation's time, say around 2040. I hope to be still around then, but who knows?

by jack white Tue May 03, 2005 01:28

I don't think there was any disrespect meant by putting the mask on Connolloy, in fact I think it was affectionate more than anything else. I was chatting one of the lads who did it and thats how it came accross anyway. I really liked the whole location actually, like masking Connolloy it was a conscious attempt to link with the more traditional Mayday celebrations and I thought it was a cool idea to stage it in the same area as Saturday's march.
Its worth pointing out that everything written on the statue was actually done in chalk, so I wouldn't classify it as vandalism, its probably all washed off by now.

by Roar Tue May 03, 2005 01:58

the Socialist Party could issue a statement outling how they feel about it? (the defacing of Connolly)

by Peig Mahone Tue May 03, 2005 02:03

>"Worldwide there seems to have been very little revolutionary activity this weekend."

I hate to contradict you, well, actually I don't. This from the Sindo ( requires registration so will post the article here)

Hundreds arrested in May Day trouble

MILLIONS of workers from Tokyo to Havana and across Europe took to the streets yesterday in May Day rallies and marches to demand improved conditions and protest government policies.

From a rally of 5,000 Bangladeshis seeking a minimum wage, to an estimated million Cubans gathered in the Plaza of the Revolution to hear Fidel Castro, workers expressed their solidarity on the traditional international labour holiday.

German police clashed with May Day revellers in Berlin and left-wing demonstrators in Leipzig, arresting about 100 people.

Police in the eastern city of Leipzig turned water cannon on left-wing demonstrators who battled with riot police. Thirty leftists were arrested for acts of violence to disrupt a court-approved march of 1,000 right-wing demonstrators.

A police spokesman in Leipzig said that more than 1,200 left-wing protesters tried to block the march.

In Berlin, where police were bracing themselves for further violence in the evening, officers arrested 65 people in clashes with revellers celebrating May Day early in the day. More than 500,000 Germans took part in marches and rallies across the country, many focusing on recent political debate accusing company executives of increasing earnings while squeezing workers' wages and slashing jobs.

Russians protesting sweeping social reforms mixed with anti-government demonstrators in Moscow.

Thousands of Communists rallied under pictures of Lenin and Stalin along with traditional red-and-white, hammer-and-sickle banners with slogans like "Rise, Save Russia!" and marched down Tverskaya Street, one of Moscow's main boulevards.

Radical activists from the National Bolshevik Party and the Red Youth Avant-Garde political group fought briefly with riot police. French demonstrators used May Day to voice opinions on France's upcoming referendum on the European Union constitution and the government's decision to cancel a traditional Monday that falls on May 16 this year.

"Turkey + Constitution: No, I'll keep France," read one banner at a rally organised by far-right leader Jean-Marie le Pen and attended by several thousand protesters opposing the constitution and the EU's opening of membership talks with Turkey.

For others, the main issue was losing a day off.

"Don't mess with my holiday," read banners at a protest in Paris.

Call for no repeat

Melissa Eddy
in Frankfurt

by catriona Tue May 03, 2005 02:34

bizarre choice of memorial to write all over. comes over as sheer ignorance on the part of the particapants.

that said i suppose it beats smashing up mc d's.

by Chicago Anarchist Tue May 03, 2005 05:24

I don't see why people are angry about graffitti on yer statue. If the cemetary folks didn't clean up emma goldman's and the haymarket martyrs' monuments, yeh wouldn't be able to see the stone underneath all the sharpie. Writing "bread and roses", "smash capitalism", yer union number, etc, on radical's tombstones doesnt seem disrespectful in the least.
Maybe it's just different in ireland....
Awesome banner. Nice job.

by Starstruck Tue May 03, 2005 08:33

Good to see RTS still rockin on!

James Connolly would have had a chuckle Im sur at the prank,he was a man as well as a revolutionary dont forget and Im sure he had some sense of humour.

Just attended a protest march in Brisbane in "memory? of the former Queensland premier/fascist Joe Bjelke Peterson who died a few days ago.
Peterson was notorious during his reign for his use of right wing,police heavy tactics to crush the union movement as well as denying the indigenous people the basic rights they deserved.
(http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1356954.htm)

The protest took place at 12 noon today and moved to the Parliament building spontaeneously.

The Red and Black Aboriginal flag was flying at half mast along with the State flags in the main square.

This was quickly remedied as three of the protesters,including one Iirsh returned the flag to full mast before Police could intervene as a sign of defiance to the State funeral and day of mourning and in solidarity with the indigenous struggle.

Whose streets-----Our streets!
Reclaim!

by blah Tue May 03, 2005 09:03

The green paint (looks like a "tag") is spraypaint & not chalk on Connolly's statue, the same stuff as the 'Ya Basta!' slogan on the banner.

by crunch Tue May 03, 2005 09:55

yep it looks like paint - this is just vandalism. and people are trying to intellectualise it. awful stuff.

by Joe Tue May 03, 2005 10:39

I guess it is all to do with how you treat the past. For some it should be put carefully in a glass case to be venerated once a year or so. For others it is part of the present and so should interact with the present.

The black blocing (mask etc) was the only thing that seemed to have 'pre-arranged' and I thought it was quite appropiate. Very much reclaiming Connolly from the dusty school books and social democrats.

As to the graffiti - well the paint was pretty dim because someone will have to clean it off. Beyond that seeing as whoever sprayed it was changing the slogan to 'the cause of Ireland is labour' its rather hard to guess at their motivations.

As to the chalk - well if you ever go to Jim Morrisons grave in Paris (I was visting the communards, I swear) or Oscar Wildes which is nearby you'll see exactly the same sort of thing. Not my thing but its certainly not inteneded by those who leave it as disrespect. Most of yesterdays graffiti was clearly political in nature (eg Viva Zapata) which would confirm that.

In terms of reclaiming the libertarian Connolly see

by sovietpop Tue May 03, 2005 10:58

I think aim was to reclaim Connelly, as the photo below shows, at least some of the graffiti artists knew exactly who and what he was;

"Labour knows no dignity, until labour knows no master".

by eeekkkk Tue May 03, 2005 12:13

that statue is not him - it's a cold dead statue - outside the offices of a bankrupt union

i'd rather see the rtsers (and joe higgins) reclaiming his legacy than see siptu and pat rabbit trying to get a 'rub of the relic'

seems to me that someone thought quite a bit about the symbolism of what they were doing here

these masks say to me more than they say uk or irish black bloc - citizen revolt in south america - bolivia - venezuala - mexico - chiapas - argentina - ecuador etc etc etc

It says no to neoliberalism in an internationalist rather than a nationalist way

as for the comment above about james connolly not 'masking up' in his day

there were not police with little itty bitty video cameras all over the shop when he was running armed ICA manouvers around Dublin castle

by Gilbert Jeannon Tue May 03, 2005 12:21 Six Counties

The revolution will not be televised.
As far as I'm concerned there is no need to reclaim any revolutionary legacy. The streets are ours by right comrades. Our taxes pay for the wages of the police and the politicians.

I am a supporter of the legacy of the ISRP and will be voting Sinn Fein in the local and Westminster elections.

There is no subsitute for organising your workers and comrades in both the struggle for national democracy and Irish socialism.

A statue can be cleaned up.

When are we going to initiate the revolution of politics and economics ?

" If you cannot change the people around you, then you change the people around you."
Chuck D.

Bring on independence, bring on the political revolution.

by Ciaron - DCW/PSP5 (personal capacity) Tue May 03, 2005 12:52 At Large!

Well the day ended for me waiting for an advertised 19 bus that never came. It began as usual with senior Garda asking me what was the plan?, where is it going?...and giving them my well worn RTS response "These kids don't trust anyone over 30 and I passed that some time ago, so don't ask me!"

As the comment from Brisbane above states Joh has died (94). When I was 17 Premier Joh suspended all civil liberties in my home state of Queensland. There was a relationship between a Queensland police force willing to be used on the street (4,000 arrests '77-'81 in Brisbane) and a government willing to turn a blind eye to police sorruption (cops running brothels/illegal casinoes & protection scams). It all came undone when it was made public that child porn was being manufactured by the hi profle cop running the "stranger danger" program from juvenille aid diviion. The Fitzgerald Inquiry took off - the police commisioner got 14 years jail, 5 ministers went to jail on corruption and Joh had his jury hung by one kid from his own party. Now the present Labor Govt. in Qld (who were useless in opposition to Joh in the '70's) are giving him a state funeral and the rest of us who were bashed, blacklisted, framed and run out of the state are supposed to forgive and forget.

I digress, the Bus 19 not coming at the end of the day is a big part of RTS as a phenomenon that started in England int he '90's to challenge the carcentric society/economy/wars we have..........

The strength of RTS yesterday was that it was a free party in a society where everything is commodified and has a price. Its a taste, a symbol, of how a society could be based on gift and freedom rather than slavery & commodity.

Concerns
-little sign of car/road issues, public transport demands, the road through Tara, cycling/critical mass were there in strength. Does RTS want to communicate with the passer by and be invitational or is it preaching to the choir and catering for a subculture. On arrival at the venue I took refuge from the rain under the rail bridge and had a good time answering questions from a group of afro-american women from Miami who were sympathetic. We were soon joined by a bunch of cops who thought we were an affinity group brewing.
-Connoly statue balaclava was cute and affectionate "he belongs with us" confronting the trade union bureaucrats across the road, the sign with the quote by Connolly helped. The spraypainting of a sculptture is censorship of art, chalk ain't so bad its temporary (see turf mohican on Churchill v spraypainting the cenataph in London May Day 200?).
-the kids are alright! Everyone's got the right to be young for a while (the desperate attempt to prolong adolescence might be more questionable!) and a lot of them I met were engaging about issues of Ireland's participation in the latest oil war which was what I'm interested in.
-it was a pretty low risk venue as the cops had blocked off the same area for the trade union rally on Sat.....so it didn't really have an element of confronting power except for the statue decoration action, maybe more specific demands of how TU burucrats sell out the membership, GAMA workers could have been made.
Low risk might have made the most sense given the objective conditions the cops were psyched up and pretty nervous....we as a group were largley meeting for the first time. Were there people on police liason/ monitoring?
-music was great

Many thanx for all the folks who put this on-all the enrgy and resources it took.

by dunk Tue May 03, 2005 13:45

photo of RTS people on front page of times
and article inside

onanother note, euro architecture student body, EASA, im part of are calling for my ban due to reporting this amongst other things, which i see as direct architectural action. the fact that all flak is one directional is upsetting, any support or advice from you is welcome
thanks
dunk (only briefly down yesterday as doing thesis, but normally have orange wig on at events)
http://easa.antville.org/stories/1111221/#1111498

by scorchio Tue May 03, 2005 13:55

and instead C/P the irish times article here in the comments , as many of us do not have a subscription, and living in scorchio land, can't use the same password as we know people do in ireland.
and when you've done that go here and see are you a liberal a conservative or a new labour voter.
http://www.clic2mail.com/FT/election_holder.cfm

by dunk Tue May 03, 2005 14:00

Reclaim the Streets rally passes off peacefully
Paul Cullen

This year's Reclaim the Streets protest passed off peacefully, with no repeat of the riots seen three years ago.

Several hundred protesters blocked off Beresford Place in central Dublin for over four hours yesterday, causing major disruption to bank holiday traffic.

A substantial force of gardaí - on foot, horseback, bicycle and in cars and a helicopter - was on duty in case of trouble. However, only a few minor scuffles were reported.

Speaking at 6.30pm, shortly after the protest, Supt Ray Barry said no arrests had been made.

"We're happy with the way things have gone. To be fair, they gave very little trouble and now things are back to normal."

While officially the event was organised to protest against globalisation and the policies of the G8 group of wealthy countries, in practice it took the form of an extended open-air party. However, heavy showers served to dampen the protesters' ardour.

About 300 had gathered by the time the march left the Spire, headed down O'Connell Street and then turned on to Eden Quay.

At Beresford Place, between Liberty Hall and the Loopline railway bridge, the protesters blocked off the street and started a four-hour party.

As the skull-and-crossbones was run up the flagpole of Liberty Hall, demonstrators masked the face of the James Connolly statue opposite with black cloth.

Although many were drinking alcohol, the atmosphere remained largely good-natured.

Gardaí held back from intervening, apart from occasional bag checks on those arriving late. On a few occasions when they sought to confiscate items, confrontations arose and they were forced to withdraw. While a Garda van equipped with a camera kept watch on proceedings, many protesters themselves filmed the gardaí at their work.

by dunk Tue May 03, 2005 14:11

helicopter was in sky and a new surveilence technique was also reported: cameras on the helmets of horse police, some lads asked the police were they beaming back live images to command hq, not yet but soon enough
a notion though, if clamp down laws of civil liberties progress as they are doing in US, will RTS be stopped pre-empivly with new anti-terrorist laws?

MUTE wrote a good piece about it in relationship to RCN convention with thousands of arrests being made
http://www.metamute.com/look/section.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=1&NrIssue=29&NrSection=10&NrArticle=1449

other article
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0409/S00116.htm

FSRN radio review-Suppression of Public Protest
http://www.fsrn.org/news/20040705_news.html

sure theres loads more about it, dont have time to check now

by k Tue May 03, 2005 14:44

I passed by the memorial this morning (~8.40am) on the way to the 41 bus stop in Abbey Street around the corner from Beresford Place. It had been raining heavily and most of the chalk was washed off from the 'wall' part of the memorial behind the statue of Connolly, but there was a few 'tags' done in the US-graffitti style down at the bottom in green, bright red, and black spray paint. They hadnt been affected by the rain.

I didnt have the camera with me, so I couldnt get a picture of it, but admittedly and unfortunately the memorial does look like shit. Any political messages that might have been up on it werent visible, now it just looks like its been vandalised by 'taggers'.

The IFSC and Ulster Bank were in close proximity, perhaps they might have been better places for spraypainting messages or tags, rather than the Connolly monument.

Masking him up was funny, but I have a real hatred of wiggaz tagging beautiful old buildings and monuments in the city. I couldnt give a fuck about train lines and grim concrete office blocks, fuck they need as much colour as possible, but when you see stuff like Larkin's statue, redbrick victorian houses, or old church walls scrawled with 'GRIF' or 'DROP' or 'ICN', or 'IDOJ' in that bored, derivative, hip-hop 'look at me I wanna be a noo yawk gangsta style' writing I want to string them up with their bandanas. I think its a bit shit that people did it to the Connolly/Liberty Hall memorial, especially on Mayday.

by jack white Tue May 03, 2005 14:46

I mean, jesus, thats the second article (the first was on saturday) he's written about RTS that is actually accurate. No hype, no misunderstandings, nothing ... weird

by dunk Tue May 03, 2005 14:48

maybe the priests are even talking about unfair trade rules and what cristians can do about it at sermon time?
not yet, but hopefully soon enough

by Ciaron - PSP5/DCW Tue May 03, 2005 15:14 Aging gracefully

Good photoes. Unfortunate ageist intro.

I thought the idea that youth is an innately revolutionary class was abandoned sometime in the mid-70's. Abbie Hoffman (good guy/bad suicide) coined the expression "Don't trust anyone over 30!" during the '60' and later changed it in the '80's to "Don't trust anyone under 30!"

"Old age will kick New Age ass anytime!"
The Pat Didn't Go Anywhere
Utah Phillips & AniDiFranco

...hopefully we'll have a countercultural movement with different ages, hairstyles, musical tastes etc etc rather than a ever shrinking subculturedrawing unnecessary divisions on age, music, looks, class backgrounds, spiritualities etc

There are 30,000 young people being shipped through Ireland (Shannon Airport) every month to kill Iraqi's of all ages and 1600 have been shipped back in bodybags (in the dead of night...that's when the corpses are setdown at Andrews Air Force Base near DC...a coincidence I think not)....why is there not more solidarity from their age group in Ireland to how they are being used as cannonfodder as they pass through Ireland? I truly don't know.

We continue to vigil at the GPO every Monday against Irish participation in this war (last 5 days 140 Iraqis killed/14U.S. troops/& Anthony Wakefield 24 fromNewcastle on Tyne). Drop by and say hi on a Monday if you're nearby and tell us what you reckon.

by Connollyite Tue May 03, 2005 15:14

Fair play to the boys and girls who tried to break down bullshit idolisation of a revolutionary. As joe said revolutionaries shouldn't be put in glass boxes.

A better way of commerating revolutionaries is to show the relation between them and contemporary revolutionaries. This is what happened yesterday.

The quote however is a misquote, the correct quote is "there can be no dignity in Labour until Labour knows no master."

Where it comes from is below...

"Revolution is never practical ‘ until the hour of the Revolution strikes. Then it alone is practical, and all the efforts of the conservatives and compromisers become the most futile and visionary of human imaginings.

"For that hour, let us work, think and hope; for that hour let us pawn our present ease in hopes of a glorious redemption; for that hour let us prepare the hosts of Labour with intelligence sufficient to laugh at the nostrums dubbed practical by our slave-lords, practical for the perpetuation of our slavery; for that supreme crisis of human history let us watch, like sentinels, with weapons ever ready, remembering always that there can be no dignity in Labour until Labour knows no master."

http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1909/talks/shoptlks.htm

by socialist Tue May 03, 2005 15:37

I am disgusted at the graffiti on the Connolly memorial, that goes without saying, but im just as disgusted with the masking of connolly. The last time Connolly was masked was when he was sitting in a chair waiting to be executed by the British. The movement that Connolly represented was one of the working class against capitalism - that meant he stood for mass action - not sporadic, often bewildering, antics by people who hide their face and who effectively wear a uniform.

I have read nothing here to justify any defacing of the Connolly memorial - i'm glad i wasn't there this year i would have found it extremely difficult to restrain myself.

A bit of imagination would have directed the offenders to the Daniel O'Connell statue - the so called liberartor was one of the more virulent enemies of the Irish working class in his day - it would have taken five minutes to turn their 'revolutionary' spray cans in his direction - not that that would have achieved anything.

Semi-genuinely trying to not go down the road of slagging of the whole march as middle class malcontents who are on the tear before they settle down to thier chosen repsectable career, especially as I wasn't there - but I don't fully get what it achieves - I don't think the state and the capitalisms quiver when they see an RTSer with a spray can - what tangiable (4give spelling) if anything comes out of these protests? Don't get me wrong I think they are fair enough - but what is achieved?

by Davey Tue May 03, 2005 15:40

Just gone by the Connolly monument - what twats sprayed graffitti on it.

This is absolutely idiotic and will be used in years to come to slag off the anti-capitalist movement.

This is just stupid vandalism from brats.

There are a million and one statues in this city of imperialists, capitalists and nationalists - along with larkin the connolly monument is one of a decent leftie who made the ultimate political gesture.

This is bad and no about of "reclaiming" nonsense reduces it.

by JC Tue May 03, 2005 15:52

There will be a film next year about Connolly. See
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=69607

by conor (wsm personal capacity) Tue May 03, 2005 16:08

I'm surprised at this figure quoted in all the media. There were at least 6-800 people from the get go and this number did not decrease throughout the day despite a constant overt and somewhat pathetic level of harasment from the wretched yellow jackets.
I know there are certain people on the left with a systematic ability to over estimate numbers on demos - but it was certainly well well over 200 at all times

As to Connolly's new outfit

"everything profound loves the mask" Nietzsche

"If you strike at, imprison, or kill us, out of our prisons or graves, we will evoke a spirit that will thwart you, and perhaps, raise a force that will destroy you! We defy you! Do your worst!"

James Connolly

Always the cry of hum-drum mediocrity, afraid to face the stern necessity for uncompromising action. That saying has done more yeoman service in the cause of oppression than all its avowed supporters.
....Moral - Don't be "practical" in politics. To be practical in that sense means that you have schooled yourself to think along the lines, and in the grooves those who rob you would desire you to think.
........Oh, the capitalist has his anxieties too. And the worker has often a good time..........Were you tempted to go abroad? Did you visit Europe? Did you riot, in all the abandonment of a wage slave let loose, among the pleasure haunts of the world?

James Connolly (workshop talks http://irsm.org/history/workshoptalks.html)


'the development of the fighting spirit is of more importance than the creation of the theoretically perfect organisation; that, indeed, the most theoretically perfect organisation may, because of its very perfection and vastness, be of the greatest possible danger to the revolutionary movement if it tends, or is used, to repress and curb the fighting spirit of comradeship in the rank and file.'

James Connolly
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
conor

by disgusted worker Tue May 03, 2005 16:11

I am utterly repulsed by the actions of the Anarchists and the WSM in defacing the statue of Connolly. Connolly was a fine socialist and workers leader, why is he considered an enemy of the anarchists?

by Ciaron Tue May 03, 2005 16:24

Woops forget to put the time f the WEEKLY ANTI WAR VIGILS ON MONDAY 4 PM - 6PM AT THE GPO- an attempt to keep opposition to Ireland's role in the war visible. If you're in the proximity drop by for a chat or a vigil.

STATUE TAGGING...yep if I was an agent provocateur that's what I would have done to discredit the movement. Or maybe it was done by a well meaning individual who will read all these comments and learn from their mistake, we all make mistakes (but paint lasts longer than chalk, when you make them!) Pleasantly surprised the straight media didn't focus on it in its coverage. The straight spin for the day was "anxieties relieved, they're harmless" vis a vis May Day 2002/2004....which brings me to....

AGEISM...check out the photoes on this posting and check out the above posting on mainstream press coverage....and yep its all pretty young things for the visuals on both indy and straight media. Even the straight media press heading of "football and frisbees", doesn't give us a visual of the older guy in the red shorts who brought the ball and kept the game going! So that's a worry.

Are older people who turn up to RTS to be airbrushed or dissed - come on put up some snaps of the ageing hippies and punks (It'll prove RTS is merely a phase we're going through before we all settle down and start working for the man!). It's a bit like blame the people who do turn up for small demos for how small they are ratther than the ones who don't turn up!

by Joe - WSM pers cap Tue May 03, 2005 16:33

Much as we might like to claim credit for even the idea of black blocing Connolly I'm afraid your barking up the wrong sectarian tree today OK.

I do love this outrage from the trots though - you think they'd have worked out the problem with all this cult of personality stuff by now.

One positive side effect of the whole thing is that it has led to some discussion of what Connolly stood for. Something that obviously terrifies our resident SP trolls hence their attempts to derail the thread with 'outraged of Tunbridge Wells' style postings.

by Mark P - Socialist Party (personal capacity) Tue May 03, 2005 17:18

I don't know who any of the people on this thread are, so how Joe seems to know is quite beyond me.

I didn't go to Reclaim the Streets this year because I was hung over and it was raining. Generally RTS and similar events are fun and make a political point in an amusing way. There's nothing wrong with that, in fact it should be encouraged. The crowd in the pictures looks a bit smaller than other years but that's only to be expected given the weather conditions.

I do think that vandalising one of the only statues in Dublin that is NOT of some landlord/imperialist/politician is pretty crass though. It shows a lack of respect for the labour movement when a statue of the most famous revolutionary in Irish history is defaced on Mayday. I do realise that only a small number of people were involved in doing it however and I presume that the root cause was more political ignorance than anything else. Ignorance can be cured. As long as no lasting damage was done to the statue I don't think it's all that big a deal. Learn the lessons and move on.

Does anyone know if any lasting damage was actually caused? Is the statue still tagged or has everything been washed away?

by Alan MacSimoin - WSM (personal capacity) Tue May 03, 2005 17:22

"disgusted worker" tells us that s/he is "utterly repulsed by the actions of the Anarchists and the WSM in defacing the statue of Connolly. Connolly was a fine socialist and workers leader, why is he considered an enemy of the anarchists?"

Maybe "disgusted worker" would like to tell us what s/he is going on about.

Who from the WSM defaced Connolly's statue?

Who said Connolly is considered an enemy of anarchists?

Try reading an article from the current edition of the WSM magazine, Red & Black Revolution - it's called The Ideas of James Connolly.
www.struggle.ws/wsm/pdf/rbr/rbr8.html

I think it was silly to put a mask on Connolly, I think it was silly to scribble in chalk on the plinth. I think the overreaction is even sillier.

Maybe you would be better off explaining to whoever did it why it was not a good idea instead of dishonestly claiming it was the work of WSM people. But then you might have to engage with ideas rather than just throwing out a lie.

Is this a case of "truth is whatever serves the interests of the Party"?

by simo Tue May 03, 2005 17:52 s_wielens at gmail dot com

Does anyone have any more photos? that football match was class... : )

by Joe Tue May 03, 2005 18:10

Mark the identity of the troll is as obvious as it always is when he posts. The style never changes - but that is a side issue.

What do you mean by 'vandalism' ? The paint I have already agreed was a bit dim but the chalk has washed away already and most of the outrage here has actually been about the masking up.

Now that is interesting because whatever you think of that it is hardly 'vandalism' so why should it provoke the most outrage? This is rather obviously not really a debate about 'law and order' and 'unruly middle class kids' but about how we treat the past.

The political point of masking up Connolly was obviously some of the local black blocer types suggesting that they shared something in common with him. I think this is the real source of the outrage being expressed here - after all 'as we all know Connolly was a respectable paper seller and not some sort of insurrectionist'. Not really an argument that sounds convincing which is why 'outraged of tunbridge wells' doesn't dare make it.

Connolly was clearly someone who saw a street fighting minority as having a role in the revolutionary process. Then idea of bodies of street fighters marching around in uniform is easy to romanticise when it is safely in the past. But bring it into the present and it becomes something a lot more uncomfortable.

Of course there are flaws with this comparison - but that is not the point I seek to make. The point is that the act of masking up Connolly is as legtimate as sticking him on a Labour Party or Sinn Fein banner. Far from an act of vandalism it is a point of argument - one that many seem quite afraid of.

I've yet to see anybody actually critique the political concept behind the act - which is actually prertty astounding. It says a lot about the terrible state of the old left that they would sooner hide behind turning the man into some sort of secular saint whose relics have been disturbed by this act of sacrilege.

by Gregor Kerr - WSM - 1st May - pers. cap. Tue May 03, 2005 18:20 kerrgregor at yahoo dot co dot uk

....for 'disgusted worker' to withdraw his/her scurrilous coments about the WSM. Was he/she there?? Does he/she have some evidence that members of the WSM wrote or sprayed on the Connolly statue?? Or is he/she either too blind or too stupid to realise that there are a huge number of people out there on the libertarian left, and that the WSM is not responsible for the actions of people who are not members of the organisation?? For what it's worth, I think the scribbling on the Connolly statue was stupid. If people wanted stuff to write or spray on, they should have targetted the IFSC around the corner. Having said that, what's the biggest insult to Connolly's memory - writing on his statue or indulging in silly sectarian rants??

by Will the real James Connolly please stand up Tue May 03, 2005 18:26

I'm actually glad Connolly's statue was masked. That way he didn't have to see what a pathetic excuse for a movement exists in this day and age. To be honest, he could have done with something to cover his eyes AND ears on saturday with the rubbish that passes for official bureaucratic mayday (with the honourable exception of GAMA workers and ...........it has to be said.......Joe Higgins)

by Mark P Tue May 03, 2005 18:29

As it happens Joe, I almost agree with you.

I find the use of Connolly's image by the likes of Labour, Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail much more offensive than I do the idea of a few would be black blockers putting a mask on his statue. Frankly I consider black block tactics to be infantile and counterproductive posturing. But at least the harmless gobshites in Ireland who like playing at that sort of thing generally mean well.

My problem with what seems to have gone on is the defacing of the statue, which I think was crass and ignorant. Assuming the damage isn't permanent I don't think it's all that big a deal, but I do think that a lesson should be learnt from it. Next time someone on a demonstration/action/whatever is about to do something stupid, other participants should explain why it's a bad idea.

by Joe Tue May 03, 2005 18:32

Thought it might be illuminating to add some links to Connollys writing on insurrection - published in particular as a prepartion to 1916

But a Connollys own observation that "Apostles of Freedom are ever idolised when dead, but crucified when living" seems also apt here.

Street Fighting – Summary
http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1915/rw/stfight.htm
"Out of this combination of genius, skill and courage alone can grow the flower of military success. The Citizen Army and the Irish Volunteers are open for all those who wish to qualify for the exercise of these qualities."

Tyrol insurrection
http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1915/rw/tyrol.htm
"The nature of the country lent itself to the mode of fighting of the insurgents. But their own genius also counted for much. They used every kind of cover, seldom exposed themselves, and at all times took care not to let bravery degenerate into rashness"

Moscow Insurrection of 1905
http://www.marxists.org/archive/connolly/1915/rw/moscow.htm
"Lacking the co-operation of the other Russian cities, and opposed by the ignorant peasantry, the defeat of the insurrection was inevitable, but it succeeded in establishing the fact that even under modern conditions the professional soldier is, in a city, badly handicapped in a fight against really determined civilian revolutionaries."

by Mark P Tue May 03, 2005 18:55

I'm not sure what Connolly's writings on armed revolution have to do with this discussion, Joe.

Connolly was a Marxist, a syndicalist, a revolutionary and most certainly not a pacifist. It's important to stress that against those who would portray him as little more than a very competent union organiser and social reformer. I don't see anyone here attempting to paint him in that light.

His support for armed revolution has sometimes been misused by republicans who want to assimilate him to a position of support for the tactic of individual terrorism. Individual terrorism is something he was never involved, he never proposed it as a way forward and it is opposed by the entire Marxist tradition of which he was a part.

I presume that you aren't trying to imply that Connolly's support for armed revolution should be read as support for posturing in masks and breaking stuff on demonstrations?

by Joe Tue May 03, 2005 19:12

To be honest Mark I think the SP version of Connolly suffers from the same flaws as all the other versions - trying to turn him into a party member.

But yes I'd imagine that those who did the masking probably did reckon that "Connolly's support for armed revolution should be read as support for posturing in masks and breaking stuff on demonstrations?" Although they'd probably no more welcome that summary of their politics then you would welcome the SP being summed up as 'paper sellers on demonstrations'.

My point is not that they are right but that their action was a political argument rather than 'vandalism' and is better discussed as such. Quite a lot of the hostile commentary above is embarrassing and more fitting to tory tabloids then anything else. It actually sounds very like the tabloid hysteria that followed the mohawking of Churchill back in 2001 - as someone else has already noted.

by Phuq Hedd Tue May 03, 2005 20:01

QUOTE: "I find the use of Connolly's image by the likes of Labour, Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail much more offensive than I do the idea of a few would be black blockers putting a mask on his statue."

RESPONSE: You left the Socialist Party out of the list of political parties appropriating Connolly imagery.

QUOTE: "Frankly I consider black block tactics to be infantile and counterproductive posturing. But at least the harmless gobshites in Ireland who like playing at that sort of thing generally mean well."

RESPONSE: Frankly, you come across as pious oul gobshite who uses rosary beads as a bookmark for Das Kapital.

Hooding the statue whether it was just fun and/or was an inspired statement to claim that Connolly would have supported people who believe that taking militant action while marching around in uniform clothing was a way to further revolution is just fine.

Similarly writing on the statue in chalk, or even spraypainting it shows a healthy lack of respect for trying to reify the revolutionary spirit into dead, cold lump of stone.

If you and other authoritarian Marxists are so concerned about the statue I suggest you go out and lick the paint off with your forked tongues.

by C Ó Brolcháin Tue May 03, 2005 21:10

Aside from the 'dignity of labour' piece, what was scribbled up on the Connolly monument? Were there revolutionary slogans for the creation of a workers' republic, the emancipation of the proletariat, etc etc or was it just defaced with illegible apolitical shite?

by yawn yawn Tue May 03, 2005 22:04

that the apolitical shite, will some day appear on a bronze plaque with two fasces either side and be put in between mr Connolly and the financial heart of dublin to portside of his bronze statue.

by jack white Tue May 03, 2005 22:21

"the posers just didnt have the balls for it , not after getting the shit beat out of them last time"

actually that happened in 2002, there's been four or five different rts's since then.

"Those little bollockses can count themselves lucky there were no real revolutionaries present when the idiot with the spray can got going ( the words arse , sideways and "no lubrication" spring to mind ). But I can basically assure them there will be the next time "


Rather than engaging in fairly dodgy sounding anal sexploits maybe you could just have a word with them eh? It shouldn't be too hard to explain to someone at any lefty event that James Conolloy is actually someone to be proud of. And what does a real revolutionary look like by the way?

by Barry Tue May 03, 2005 22:36

The Victor Meldrew mentality means less patience for such japery ..

by A happy Slave is the greatest enemy of freedom Tue May 03, 2005 22:43

i think the chalk and spraypaint was done by some of the younger kids who turned up on the day...those crazy kids,i really dont think any of them were members of any of our wonderful platform organisations.maybe it was the work of that young activist group TODAY who were posting awhile ago....sic The Mask was put up right at the start of the day as a planned visual statement, so to say that it was all some sort of organised act of vandalism is not correct.

end

by Barry Tue May 03, 2005 22:49

Paint bad, not clever. ah well

by anon - ... Tue May 03, 2005 23:01

Hey guys, I'm the person who masked up connolly.. rather not post my name though..

Sorry if you're genuinely offended but it wasn't out of ignorance or disrespect.. It was an attempt to reclaim him for the day.. Modernise him.. It was art..

The chalk etc. was just done by quite young teens who probably didn't know any better and didn't give a fuck.

I doubt Connolly would mind, I imagine he'd be happy to see so many young people taking a stand.

Now stop your bickering, we have a social war to fight.

by eeekkkkk Tue May 03, 2005 23:03

pink wash off paint all over - it would be beautiful

by eeekkkk Wed May 04, 2005 00:06

I think 'scorchio' was indulging in a gentle wind up of the 'old left' as opposed to old people - he is no fecking spring chicken himself- hoping for some 'disgusted of turnbridge wells' overreaction - and got it in spades

Isn't it good that people are still debating in a public forum about james Connolly days after mayday? I wonder how many younger people know who he is that didn't before? Loads I'd guess.

Lots also see a problem with the 'culture' of rts and see it as posing or acting out or whatever

It is a defiant political act to take without asking permission a free, non commercial space for fun, free entertainment and freewheeling political discussion in a city that is so commercialised that the idea of a public space that people can use on a free and equal basis to express themselves has all but been wiped from memory. This is without getting into the politics of cars which is central to the idea of an RTS.

If people reading have a problem with bits of paint tags or whatever left over after the party why not ring the bureaucrats in siptu and send them across the street sharpish to clean up James C. After all sanitising his image is absolutely right up their street.

It would give them something useful to do with their day.

by serge Wed May 04, 2005 00:51

Way way back someone posted this piece about Mayday in Russia:

'Thousands of Communists rallied under pictures of Lenin and Stalin along with traditional red-and-white, hammer-and-sickle banners with slogans like "Rise, Save Russia!" and marched down Tverskaya Street, one of Moscow's main boulevards.
Radical activists from the National Bolshevik Party and the Red Youth Avant-Garde political group fought briefly with riot police'

Be warned, these groups mentioned above are not socialist/communist/marxist or even leftist. The National Bolshevik Party is an openly fascist party which combines agitation on social issues with anti-semitism, anti-immigrant and anti-muslim racism. The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) is the largest organisation that grew out of the old Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Its politics is a weird mixture of social democracy, greater Russian chauvinism, stalinist nostalgia and anti-semitism. It supports Putin's genocidal war in Chechnya and a number of its parliamentary deputies recently signed a letter along with ultra-nationalist and fascist deputies calling for a total ban on Jewish organisations in Russia. Genuine left organisations in Russia and worldwide would'nt touch these with a bargepole. For more info see articles by the Russian socialist Boris Kagarlitsky.

PS Amazingly, the Communist Party of Ireland and its youth wing, the Connolly Youth Movement maintain links with the racist KPRF.

by m Wed May 04, 2005 09:29

Did anyone notice the park opposite Brogans on Dame St. has disappeared?

I have a homeless friend who was situated there feeding pigeons on a daily basis. Saddest sight walking by recently to see him and the pigeonsin the side lane on the otherside of this shipping container like metal......... and the park and the old statues liquidated. Less and less public space in this bourgeois town.

by hystorian Wed May 04, 2005 10:16

The park was put there in the 80s as a quick fix for a derelict building site. Check out Frank McDonalds "Destruction of Dublin".

by john Wed May 04, 2005 11:55

recaim the streets was great! however, i think we should think about what we want to achieve from the day. If it is to be taken seriously and for people to question the type of society we live, writing on statues is not going to do anyone justice!

by redjade Wed May 04, 2005 12:32

No time to waste to prepare for the next RTS....

Moss Graffiti
http://www.storiesfromspace.co.uk/data/html/mossgraffiti.html
1 can of beer
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Several clumps garden moss

You will also need a plastic container (with lid),
a blender and a paintbrush

--
link found at
http://irish.typepad.com/irisheyes/2005/05/how_to_make_mos.html

Moss Graffiti

by Mark P Wed May 04, 2005 12:44

Connolly had a complex political history, although always within a broadly Marxist or syndicalist tradition. The man was a revolutionary socialist first and foremost and I don't have much of a problem with anyone in that tradition claiming inspiration from him. That goes for my own organisation but it also goes for a huge variety of other groups and individuals.

As far as the Socialist Party is concerned, we take insiration from Connolly and for that matter from Larkin but we would be critical of both in different ways. I'm sure much the same goes for the many and varied others who "claim" the man.

In so far as our handful of let's play dress up black blockers claim adherence to the idea of a socialist revolution, why shouldn't they claim Connolly as one of their own? I might find their childish posturing a bit silly but there's nothing offensive about them trying to appropriate him. Their case is quite different to those of Labour or Fianna Fail or Sinn Fein who are utterly opposed to revolutionary socialism and who want to appropriate Connolly for causes he had nothing but contempt for.

That said, I think that actually vandalising the statue was extremely crass. I take Joe's point that this is a seperate issue to that of the "masking", but I don't think it should be glossed over. In the context of Mayday it was a particularly ignorant thing to do.

by H Wed May 04, 2005 12:51

I belive that rts is a protest with a meaning,
there is a definate lack and continuing lost of free space for people in the cities of the world.

rts just highlighs it in a fun and colourfull way.

as for connolly the mask, and the chalk are mearly things in joust are I'm sure ment no harm, however i think its really bad bad that some would use spray paint to label it and actuall cause lasting damage!

by k Wed May 04, 2005 12:57

passed by the memorial again today, i think it still looks like shit regrettably. this time i had my camera with me though. as you can see the paint has not washed off in the rain. i have some (a lot actually) more thoughts on this but i'll hold my tongue for now, here's ten pictures of what the statue looks like today, photos taken around 11am or so.

Connolly's name

Tags at the statue base

by k Wed May 04, 2005 13:00

Another few pics.

'die pig scum' on Loop Line bridge pillar

To the left of the statue

spraypaint on flower box

white paint on flower box

overall view of the memorial as it is at present.

by finbar (wsm pers cap) Wed May 04, 2005 13:27

Congrats to all the anonymous critics for the fantastic mayday events you organised. I especially thought your critics block on the mayday march was great or even your critics picnic. Perhaps the statement that the mask aimed for was missed by most, but I 'd still say fair play to those involved. I think it was very good in the context of the day. Why do you always criticise the actions of others, then again this was revealed in your silly petty attack by blaiming the spray painting on the WSM

by Joe Wed May 04, 2005 13:34

Well to be honest the tagging which I didn't see on the day is pretty damn ugly - but then I hate tagging anyway. Perhaps its time to arrange a clean up?

by Socialist Wed May 04, 2005 14:01

I posted two things here on the issue of the Connolly Statue, won't bother restating them.

Just posting to say that I don't believe nor do i support the idea that the WSM had anything to do with the 'defacing' etc.. of Connolly, i disagree with them politically on a number of things but i do respect them as generally serious activists and I don't believe they would engage in this kind of shite, in particular on a statue of Connolly.

I think it was a purely ignorant act, I think the last suggestion of a clean up is the best one so far, I do think tho that whoever did the damage should fix it. If that doesn't happen, maybe some kind of joint effort?

by Ciaron Wed May 04, 2005 14:07 text - 087 918 4552

"An English boss is a monster,
an Irish one even worse...."
Check link for full lyrics, they usually appear with a bus load of travelling fans at Whelans around November time.
They had a good anti-Iraq war song at the last one.
Hoping I'm out and about for the next gig.

Thanx again for all those who put the energy and resources into RTS on Monday. Impossible to be responsible for every act to take place at an open invitation party you call.

Voluntary cleanup of statue sounds like a good idea. Give us a text if you have the tech know how and time. Good on the folks who were picking up the litter. Think an indy camer may have got broke by a flying football, so it would be good to do a whip 'round. State water cannon last year, anarchy footy this year, this indy camerman has no luck on May Day.

by dunk Wed May 04, 2005 14:25

indymedia uk was 5 years old on mayday, indymedia london have put out a radio show about this years london mayday stuff ....

reports of London Mayday actions
summery of what was planned
a potted history from dark ages up to the launch of imc-uk in 2000
and archive audio from imc-uk's first live broadcast during mayday 2002

maybe here in dublin we could get a radio feature out on some community station?, anything being planned along these lines

imc radio- dont hate the radio, be the radio

by Ciarán Wed May 04, 2005 15:08

on the Connolly memorial.

"Gurn Baby Guron"

"Derek F"

"We are everywhere"

"Shopping is not creating"

"Be real"

"We care, they don't"

"I believe in fairness"

"Arse Wank"

"Flange!"

"Owners of nothing, slaves of nobody"

by ex stenciller Wed May 04, 2005 15:18

You'd probably scrub the skin off your fingers before getting anywhere near removing the spraypaint from granite/stone... You'd need to get some sort of heavy chemical solution and possibly a pressure washer - or a garden house with the tap on full blast and the nozzle focused into a point.

by Al Wed May 04, 2005 16:44

well done to the idiots that used paint. Thats just brilliant. What a great way to remember your actions. Anyone who was there and genuinely agrees with the cause should turn their backs on the idiots who used the day to vandalise and tag an Irish hero as they obviously had no idea what the day is supposed to be about.
BTW, attendance of 200 sounds about right. 500 is way over-estimating. Also good to see no trouble apart from one very minor scuffle and plenty of people that attending chatting to the Gardai.

by Devil Dog Wed May 04, 2005 16:44

Graffiitti squiggles as art? 16 year old kids in hoodies, football and dancing as a precursor to "social war"? Yeah, I'll bet the state is pissing itself...actually surprised the cops didn't kiss people for all the over time they must have been clocking up.

by peter Wed May 04, 2005 20:45

on the hole thing of fixing the damage it is possible to buy grafffi remover from hardware stores,
I don't know how it works but it dose' usaully very effectlly,

hope this helps.
peter

by Barry Wed May 04, 2005 21:48

But if all those under 30s are allowed to be happy techno dancy types, then surely as an approaching mid 30s Im allowed to be a grumpy oul culchie shite whenever I want to be. Remember you black-bloc anarchist whipper-snappers that the ORIGINAL man in black , Johnny Cash , was a grumpy fucker at the best of times , and hes a bit of a hero to me . As is Victor Meldrew , it happens with age .

As regards the mask on Connolly, the more I think of it the more I like it , its sort of Commandant Marcos - esque in a way . JC looks like he should be depicted , a badass , no nonsense , dangerous revolutionary hombre . Its just a shame that statue doesnt include a smoking Mauser and a dozen felled Imperial hussars , as happened outside the GPO. The positive thing from RTS is that decades later Seamus is still being identified with by "revolutionary " youth, on some level at least . As far as I can see the mask , and even the chalk slogans were a nice tribute and fair play to all for a bit of imagination .

However , the eejit/s with the spray can needs a good kick up the hole . I hope the anarchist brethren will forgive me for my initial reaction , but understand that in the north taking spray cans to monuments is an overt act of hostility . In Dublin its probably just STUPIDITY to some , but it obviously has provoked genuine anger across the board . A good point was made by some and ruined by absolute dickheads with no respect and that has been reflected in numerous posts . All anarchists arent dickheads and it seems this daft act was just the work of one or 2 who evidently dont have a clue .

Ill be honest and admit that up untill 5 or 6 years ago socialism meant eff all to me . Sure it was a nice idea , but I hated lefties with a passion . I had worked in clerical posts in hospitals , were by and large you were left to your own devices , shit money but no hassle . Id done ( and still do) a fair bit of labouring on sites , but it wasnt too bad as generally the brickies , labourers and subbies all swam in the same fish tank . Unnecessary bad manners from a subbie wasnt a good idea if he was drinking in the same pubs as you later on, and most people knew each other and socialised together .

But when out of day to day economic necessity I began work in a factory ( not for a college summer job as ill bet the spray merchants MIGHT do) it was only then I truly began to hate bosses . One place I worked had an onsite smoking ban . This meant that even after you finished your 8 hour mindnumbing shit work, got into the privacy of your own car and lit a smoke , you might as well have done it on the factory floor . There were managers who spied out of windows and studied cctv to catch people out lighting a smoke in their own car on the way out of work . Grown men and women ( mothers and fathers) were grilled , bollocked and given official written warnings about such trivial shite . This was simply to keep us wage slaves in fear . One written warning when you have a kid and a mortgage keeps you shitting yourself and the bosses knew their game .

Clock watching assholes monitored your every move with hands on hips , and once a week took everyone aside to give them a run down on productivity , getting enthusiastically breathless with their figures and percentages . We were told how important this shite is for the company . And the more I was told the more I wanted to burn the place to the ground .. As if ANY of us minimum wage saps gave a flying fuck .It isnt enough to give them the best years of your life , you have to CARE as well .

I got another job in a huge DIY superstore . They worked under some half arsed Japanese philosophy and every morning workers had to physically CHEER AND JUMP UP AND DOWN about company profits !! If you didnt , you werent a team player and your contract said you have to be , or else . Never mind your dignity .

Only a few weeks ago 2 guys I know who worked in a local factory as security guards were sacked . Their crime was to allow a young Eastern European girl into the factory canteen . She had worked there but was arbitrarily sacked ( the owner , a known tyrant , likes to walk through it now and again sacking people on the spot for fun). Pitifully short of money she continued eating in the subsidised canteen during the week ( she had to walk about 3 miles in winter weather to get to it) . The security guards at the gate turned a blind eye for her , but despite over 20 years service each they were dismissed . The owner likes to saunter through the canteen every now and again, just to scare the shite out of people when theyre eating, and never forgets a face . Thats the mentality of a boss .

These tyrant bastards , and all the petty little tyrants under them in their stinking fucking system have one thing in common . They see it as a day to day necessity to rob a worker of his/her basic dignity . That is what the capitalist system demands , to leave you totally disempowered without a shred of self respect or afraid to show basic empathy for a fellow worker .

And as far as Im concerned all bosses , the Sir Anthony Oreillys , the Sir Edward Haugheys , the Smurfits , Desmonds and all their little arselickers, tyrants all , should most definitely be put to death . They have no empathy for their fellow human beings , which makes them inhuman sociopaths . When one considers all the day to day indignities they have heaped upon people unfortunate enough to work for them then their own end should be as undignified as possible . Perhaps something like Mussolinis , except tied by barbed wire around the ankles, doused in petrol and set alight and then set swinging from the nearest lamp post . They could then serve a useful purpose as moving target practice for the proletariat , and the glow from their hateful swinging carcasses could serve as a warning to others . The residents of Fallujah had the right approach on how to deal with mercenary robbing bastards .

Anyway , anyone who consciously gives the middle finger to all bosses is a comrade on some level at least . I would ask them though to please try and ensure no one takes spray cans to republican monuments in the future ( remember all they left us is " our fenian dead" and we get touchy) . Who knows , maybe next year RTS will reclaim the street outside the British embassy . If so I might turn up with a few mates . I wont dance , because its unmanly and undignified , but ill tap my foot and appreciate the sentiment .

by eeekkkk Wed May 04, 2005 22:04

and when it existed (99-2002) was a hardcore inner circle member and founder of the Irish chapter of the johnny cash appreciation society. HQ hut phibsboro.

last rts i attended - may 2004 - me and a bunch of cork renegades and assorted blasted out johnny cash for an hour -

the best bit was danny boy up full and people waltzing

and I wasn't the oldest there by a long shot

by Joe - WSM - 1st of May Wed May 04, 2005 22:09

OK we decided to take the initive on this and call a clean up of the statue for 1pm this Saturday. So turn up with you white spirits and graffiti remover and we'll see how hard it really is to shift the paint. Original taggers are particularly encouraged to come along - sure if some of the people who were shocked and horrified turn up as well we can have a bit of a debate while we scrub.

by Devil Dog Wed May 04, 2005 22:17

I would pay good money to watch you jump up and down cheering on some DIY superstore company.

So your anectdotes are a justifable rationale to dispense with the capitalist system which has brought prosperity to this country?

And is your notion of killing and torturing people a personal whim or is it part of the 32 CSM agenda? How rich do you have to be to get the chop? Who decides?

Finally, as you see fit to bring up Fallujah, I'll bid you good night by reminding you that 1st MARDIV knows how to treat the Islamo-fascist head hackers you seem to admire.

by seedot Wed May 04, 2005 23:36

Another mid thirties rtser - and there were a few of us floating on the outskirts of dance area on Mon. While I'll leave out discussing whether dancing is unmanly by the age the bits are wobbling where they shouldn't it's definitely undignified. My daughter who has been to all the RTS with me since Burgh Quay reckons I'm hilarious - I think I've another couple of parties before she's too old to be seen dead with me.

Course you have the Emma Goldman quote (I like old quotes - thats my 'little rebels' find up above) and I've still got the thump thump of those banned repetitive beats from the early 90's in the back of my head - loads of people I knew in Britain got politicised when dancing was outlawed as Thatchers Britain finally started to devour its own young.

By our age work and social life switch around in importance and you organise in a different way - but free parties are still little bits of liberated space even when you only turn up and embarass the kids.

Course it helps if the Cork genny is along with Johnny Cash - and the Beastie Boys. On the messy media.

by rodney sparkles Wed May 04, 2005 23:46

Hey all...

If you were at the anarcho-picnic in the park on Sunday, or are just interested, I've posted a reconstruction of events in Garda HQ under Other Press. Check it out

by Acid Wed May 04, 2005 23:59

None of the kids who tagged the statue go on to indymedia. Nevermind read the 90 or so comments. Wont being seeing those silly scally wags until next year.
See you on Saturday.

by Gareth Stack - none Thu May 05, 2005 00:37

Follow the link to more photos from the demo.

by R. Isible Thu May 05, 2005 01:08

to see Barry meet Devil Dog. Actually, no I wouldn't it'd be boring. Barry is obviously someone that's actually spent time building character by standing up for himself whereas DevilDog expresses his powerlessness clearly by his identification with what he perceives as the strong (USA) and his readiness to mock people that he perceives as weak ("hippies" or workers forced to take part in demeaning company cheerleading).

Anyway, great post Barry, I enjoyed reading it and it says a lot for you and your politics.

by Chekov Thu May 05, 2005 01:34

A quality rant if ever there was one - and with feeling. In some ways the most objectionable thing about capitalist labour relations is not the appropriation of surplus value, fundamental as that may be. It's the fact that, for all but those at the very top of the food chain, they steal your dignity too.

by james - anti-work socialise party Thu May 05, 2005 06:01

I had my first kiss and my first drink in that park.It was the underage pre-olympia gig warm up drinking hotspot of my day.and as for all this rts connoly crap im not even gonna waste my time telling people to cop on grow up and do something useful jaysus it must be great to have all that time on yizer hands

by yes Thu May 05, 2005 10:53

..would be/could be a good place for a protest about the lack of public space in Dublin ...at least a good wall for some decipherable graffitti

by ZXB Thu May 05, 2005 10:55

Good post barry.

Get a life Devil Dog.

by Devil Dog Thu May 05, 2005 15:52

R.Isible: Have to hand it to you, you live up to your user name. My point about paying to watch Barry was not intended to mock him, it was a tongue-in-cheek jibe which I'm sure he got. As much as I despise his politics, at least he has a sense of humour, unlike several others on this site.

"Character building"??? Sounds like the Boy Scouts to me, or, God forbid, the Marines!!!

Whom exactly did I mock Rizzy? Never mentioned hippies anywhere. What I was trying to do was prick the pomposity bubble of those who believe that a couple of hundred punters playing football in town, dancing and writing grafitti constitues "art" or a "political" act.

I see you're indulging in the penchant for pop psychology so prevalent here - my politics are the way they are because of some kind of psychological deficiencies on my part. Again, completely hilarious, although unintended, I'm sure.

As to the jist of Barry's "rant" - it consists of nothing but a set of several anectdotes, with no other evidence presented. What's the difference between that and some taxi driver going "the asylum seekers are taking all the benefits, I know, there's a bunch of them where I live, swanning around in top cars etc etc"?

Or, by the same token, how about stories from an employer about employees doing nixers on company time, falsified expenses, stealing goods and merchandise etc?

Finally, Barry advocates the torture and killing of certain people - what would the reaction be if someone said the same about blacks, Muslims, gays etc?

ZXB: Thanks, already have a life that I'm happy with. However, "Get a life" is a very forceful and cogent rejoinder, never heard it before, I'll be sure to credit you if I use it in the future.

by hystorian Thu May 05, 2005 18:12

Good points Devil Dog. You actually sound like a voice of reason after I read the blood thirsty bit at the end of Barry's post. Unless he was taking the piss...

by Barry Thu May 05, 2005 18:15

and a rant it was (good for the soul ranting), wasnt just a set of anecdotes . I was pointing out I had virtually no interest in socialism whatsoever until i had actually worked under proper capitalists . There was no bigger scoffer at lefties than me , I utterly despised them especially the right on, politically correct ones (Ben Elton , Peter Tatchell , lentil munchers..you know the type.)

Devil Dog I know you werent being insulting ,and Ill certainly admit that the expression on my face when attempts were made to get me highly enthusiastic about this British companys profits was quite funny . I still laugh at my half hearted, scowling attempts . Mates of mine laughed when i told them .But I was a young man and capable of just walking away which i did . Im pointing out what Ive observed , primarily the mentality of the system .

What I did think was truly pathetic though was that a number of older men in their 50s, men whod been joiners and plumbers all their lives had to join in with the nonsense as there was no work for them anywhere else .Your contract clearly states you have to go along with this shite, EVERY DAY. Men of that age being made to look utter fools by a spotty 23 yr old fuckwit of a trainee manager is totally undignified . Imbecilic praise of profit vs basic human dignity, and dignity lost big time .(much later i did give a highly enthusiastic cheer and actually did jump up and down when i switched on my tv one day and saw the stinking company profits go up in smoke courtesy of half a dozen incendiary devices HAHAHAHA)

I also think its a disgrace that older people working in factories can be daily scowled at and made feel humiliated just because they have to go for a shite a few times a day . Some ambitious fuckwit manager wants production up by 000.5% and gets stroppy because someone needs a dump , humiliates them and then decides theyre going to hassle everyone else too . I knew one utter bitch of a manger who constantly told people they WALKED too slowly and kept pointing at her percentage board .(and remember when these workers get home they have to take their frustrations out somewhere and maybe on someone) That is fucked up pure and simple , but these assholes just do what they system demands .

The capitalist system constantly tries to strip workers of their rights as well as dignity . Every year bosses lobby politicians to take away more and more workers rights and entitlements and no matter what they get they are never satisfied because greedy people always want more . Rich capitalist businessmen wanted the resources of Iraqi workers and used the law to steal them , just as they wanted Chilean , Vietnamese , Columbian, Nicaraguan and god knows how many other workers crushed . They have no problem at all with killing ordinary people in their tens of 1000s , just as they have no problem humiliating them daily and then sacking them whenever they like .

If Irish people actually stood up for themselves and demanded real radical change the businessmen here would demand we were jailed and shot , have no doubt whatsoever about that . They did exactly that in Connollys and Mellowes time , theyve done it in the north , and are no different from the scumbags doing it in other parts of the world today . If we threaten their power, their profits and their system they will kill and jail us in the blink of an eye with no remorse. Republicans have always been the biggest threat to the system here and theyve borne the brunt of its response . If workers threaten it tomorrow theyll get the same .

Capitalists declared bloody war on working people long ago and as far as im concerned many of them simply deserve to die . Western democracies are moving ever closer to the corporate state model and the drift into state facism and total day to day control over peoples lives is eventually going to happen . Just looking at that GAMA situation tells me that workers in Ireland are going to become more familiar about 3rd World business practice before too long . That is a disgrace but a sign of the way things will go in this country .

Get them before they get us isnt a bad slogan for a socialist (George Bush swears by it after all)

by darius Thu May 05, 2005 18:28

There's loads of work for plumbers and joiners, and its a lot better paid than most bottom-rung so-called "white-collar" work in banks, civil service and universities.

by Barry Thu May 05, 2005 18:44

and live in a northern border unemployment blackspot.
a lot of that work involves travelling to Dublin very early in the morning before doing a days work and a huge traffic jam for hours on the way back . Many over 50s simply arent up for that .

by R. Isible Thu May 05, 2005 20:24

QUOTE: What I was trying to do was prick the pomposity bubble of those who believe that a couple of hundred punters playing football in town, dancing and writing grafitti constitues "art" or a "political" act.

Well, that's very needed isn't it? After all your viewpoint would be the "majority" one so your opinion is a breath of stale air. If there's any pomposity it's in your view of yourself as a purveyor of common sense. What gives you the mandate to decide what is "art" or "political"?

QUOTE: I see you're indulging in the penchant for pop psychology so prevalent here - my politics are the way they are because of some kind of psychological deficiencies on my part. Again, completely hilarious, although unintended, I'm sure.

Well if you don't want to be pop psychologised then don't act out in a stereotypical manner. Your identification with and virulent defence of the status quo is bizarre. Why you feel that there's any value in your contributions spread over the years about "Islamo Nazi headhackers" on this forum beats me. You appear to labour under some sort of illusion that you are part of an oppressed minority that has to defend itself, whereas your opinions are mundane, cliched and widely available. So why bother posting to indymedia.ie? And if you're going to give me "I find it amusing" line, then you're opening the door for even more pop psychologising.

QUOTE: Or, by the same token, how about stories from an employer about employees doing nixers on company time, falsified expenses, stealing goods and merchandise etc?

Yes, it's of exactly the same level of evidence: an anecdote. It proves nothing. However one of those types of anecdote is retold ad nauseam in the media and the other isn't.

QUOTE: Finally, Barry advocates the torture and killing of certain people - what would the reaction be if someone said the same about blacks, Muslims, gays etc?

Do you /really/ not know? Do you /really/ not see the difference between the torturing and killing the invaders of a country by its citizens and the torture and killing of people because of who they are?

The pop psychologists chair awaits you. Make yourself comfortable. It's going to be a long session.

by ... Thu May 05, 2005 21:20

That tagger 'ADO' is a real scumbag. He's in a crew called WDK. Not only does he wreck other peoples graffiti pieces by writing over them, he tags trees, steals bikes and is in big trouble in Kilmacud for drawing 2 swastikas on wall and writing 'Kill all Nig*ers'.

I'm really suprised he was at RTS.

But besides the stupid idiotic vandailsm i thought it was a great day and i can't wait till next year!

by l Thu May 05, 2005 22:11

what i saw was sub-commandante connolly with a red and black flag behind him linking him a to struggles in the global south & especially to the zapatistas in chiapas who embody self-organised communities and reject simplistic 'the answer is on page 4 of the great book & is never-changing" ideologies
socialism was at one time a radical force in ireland & that has been thrown away by bureaucrats who have been busier cosying up to the government than fighting for workers' rights. with the recent fight for migrant workers' rights there may be life left in the labour movement yet.

as for tagging, personally i think it was the wrong place for it. the chalk was a great idea.
the tagging was done by "taggers" not "anarchists" so why use it as a reason to slag off a great day reclaiming some city space.

by Deirdre Clancy Thu May 05, 2005 22:18

Late in the day to cast my vote on the statue issue, but I couldn't be at RTS this year. Crap idea - both the mask and the graffiti. As for the person who says "the mask is the symbol of this generation" - if it is, I think that's sad. Connolly stood proud as a socialist and I doubt he'd have thought it neccessary to hide his face.

My immediate assumption on hearing of that prank was that whoever did it was deeply ignorant about what Connolly stood for. I don't think anyone has a problem with reclaiming a legacy that is valuable, but that would imply respect. You don't show respect for someone's legacy by defacing their memorial.

by barry Thu May 05, 2005 22:43

Had the memorial been an actual burial spot Id agree . But its obvious that for decades different figures have attempted to sterilise Connolly , to try to make him safe and easily palatable . In their own way it seems to me that placing the mask on him was proclaiming him for what he was , a dangerous, subversive, militant revolutionary . Many of those who fought alongside Connolly had never been masked either, but donned facemasks only a few short years later in the same fight . Revolutionaries engaged in struggle often have to , unless they wish to become instant martyrs .

To fight is to win .

by Ciaron Fri May 06, 2005 13:49

Whenever you throw a party, you've always got to factor in a cleanup - in the house or in the street. And there were folks collecting littler etc. on Monday.

If you're hosting a party there are other reeponsibilities as host, especially when alcohol is involved. You do need a crew on karma patrol, whether that's keeping an eye on the kids having their names by the cops (as happened on Monday) or agro-opportunists or undercover cops who aren't into the free party vibe hassling others or maybe even this tagging shite and especially arrest/court solidarity (that wasn't needed this time but is always good to have there).

This will always be a problem for libertarians. I took the car keys of an extremely drunk anarchist at the end of the night at a party at the Briz CW House in '82 and he still hasn't spoken to me for 23 years! I saw it as a nonviolent disarmament action and he saw at as infringement on his freedom to drive drunk and maybe kill or be killed or wounded etc.

The party doesn't end to the last court case is over. Good tohear the Womble got off this week, from last year.

by Sef Fri May 06, 2005 17:27

Masking Connolly was a great action.

As a media stunt it created a striking visual image that succeeded in nabbing front page attention in the national press. The creation of such an image at a Mayday event interacts in the public consciousness with its predecessor the famous mohawking of Winston Churchill's statue with a strip of grass from a previous Mayday in London. Images such as these will remain long after all hack copy has disappeared [in much the same way that the Vietnam war is now remembered through a handful of images; The girl running down the road with the clothes burned off her back by a napalm strike, the ditch at mai lai, the burning monk, the kneeling prisoner about to be executed with a pistol to his head].

The Churchill action subverted a historical establishment figure by introducing an amusingly incongruous element of punk style to the dour monument. The act implied that the establishment are no longer as established as they like to think they are, especially on Mayday. It also sought to unmask the pretence to relevance that the statue of Churchill seeks to make; that what Churchill stood for is still being stood for in monument form [That's why he's not sitting down, see?:0)]. It said "Churchill, you're dead and helpless to prevent us from rewriting the societal code you spent your life engineering. Here comes the punky future...".

The subversive alteration of the Connolly statue is an interesting contrast with Churchill's because Connolly is regarded as a subversive already. On one hand [the left one :0)] the masking encourages us to ask; If Connolly the socialist revolutionary was alive today, is this how he would appear? Many Irish lefties will answer yes and recognise that many social revolutionaries today do wear masks as part of their activism from the barrios to the summits. Others will answer no because they identify with Connolly yet don't wear masks, they see Connolly in a suit across the road on the top floor of liberty hall. In either case the black mask improvised from a t-shirt is symbollically coded as radical. The question of good versus bad radical is only relevant to hacks like us.

At a deeper level that hasn't received much overt articulation yet is the question over the cult of celebrity implied by masking Connolly. The face is considered the crucial point for visual identification. The mask is designed to prevent that identification by covering this crucial point. By masking Connolly he is literally "defaced". He loses his face both in the sense that the statue is less recognisably him and has lost face in the sense that the cult of celebrity, his brand image, has been damaged through lack of reverence. Whether such brand damage is an insult or a renaissance of his revolutionary status depends on our own point of view but seems intended to be the latter by those actually responsible for the action.

The improvised black mask is synonymous in Western activism with anarchism. It seems but a small leap to interpret the masking of Connolly as an anarcho criticism of making celebrities out of dead revolutionaries. It's an interesting variation on the Churchill action in that they both imply a criticism of societies moribund habit of stressing the importance of dead people. Of trying to transform politics into a passive spectation of historical figures. It's a subversion that says all tradition is undermined by the present. That the time for revolutionary leaders is over, now is the time of the faceless revolutionary.

Those who are outraged by the masking of Connolly are supposed to be. They too are responding as intended to the subversion of the statue and the fact that they respond places them within the subversions intended audience.

No one seems to have tried to defend the spray painting around the statue so here's two cents:

Some of the green spray was used to try and alter the official slogan of the monument on the wall behind the statue which runs "The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland - The cause of Ireland is the cause of labour". It's a slogan that has always seemed problematic to me. First of all it suppresses the fact that Connolly was a raging marxist revolutionary. "The cause of labour" might have connoted raging marxist revolutionaries in Connollys time but nowadays it's just as likely to suggest Tony Blair. The slogan also emphasises Connolly's habitual placement within the nationalist tradition. A tradition likely to alienate him to as many as it endears him to on the Irish left. The monument itself isn't half as radical as Connolly actually was and when this fact invites some squabbling in the form of spraypaint then that's fine by me. Even if a lot of the paint is just someones tag, they're only engaging with the statue on its own terms of personal branding which is probably a tactical error but not exactly a moral one. Like the chalk, the paint too will wash off in its own time long before the statue crumbles. I'd suggest that no one bothers trying to speed the process, it would merely be an act of impatience. Who knows, the "uglyness" of the graffiti may remind us of the uglyness that SIPTU has become across the road, something Connolly surely would have more of a problem with than the subversion of a public monument...even if it is in memory of himself.

by Paul Moloney Fri May 06, 2005 20:07 paul_moloney at hotmail dot com

Someone whitters: "It said "Churchill, you're dead and helpless to prevent us from rewriting the societal code you spent your life engineering. Here comes the punky future..."."

You ARE Nathan Barley. I suggest you register www.manifestoco.ck straight away.

P.

by C Ó Brolcháin Sat May 07, 2005 00:05

Anyone who has read much of Connolly's work will see that the term 'labour' is is used to mean the working class, therefore the "the cause of labour" becomes "the cause of the working class" (and why the Irish for the Labour Party is Pairtí an Lucht Oibre).

And taking issue with Connolly's republicanism is just as bad as the nationalists and Free Staters who try to rub out his Marxism, and the trade union bureaucrats who try to rub out any sense of radicalism about the man.

And trying to defend it through metaphysical philosophising is nothing more than ráiméis. The tagging was nothing more than an act of vandalism (I would say 'defacement' but tying that into the balaclava over his face was quite smart).

by Ciaran - BYC Sat May 07, 2005 00:10

I saw exactly who used the spray paint. it was a young teenager who was clearly a passer by, who had no stake in radical motives or groups and looked completely out of place. He was a trouble maker and unfortunately he has undermined what was otherwise a great day with great actions. Others saw what he'd done and followed suit, and it's sad that this will be used to discredit RTS, as those who desacrated the statue permenently obviously were not politically minded in the slightest. I wrote Viva Zapata! in chalk and put a kitkat in Connoly's hand.

by C Ó Brolcháin Sat May 07, 2005 00:21

Why a kitkat? Any particular reason or was it just what you had on you at the time?

I asked earlier if there had been many revolutionary slogans put on the monument - and a reference to Zapata would be relevant as he was doing his thing in the same period as Connolly did his. And it's a nice link to the fact that Zapata is a far safer hero for the left in Ireland than Connolly - although the Mexican revolution was nationalist in nature (just like Cuba, and Venezuela). But why is it that so many on the left shrink away from the Irish national struggle?

...

Okay, maybe I'm reading a bit too much into this Zapata thing.

by Ciaran - BYC Sat May 07, 2005 00:56

yeah, I had the kitkat on me, didn't want it, saw his hand, It had a hollow.

by TomasGorman - IRSP Sat May 07, 2005 02:21

The hooding of James Connolly was an extremely clever piece of political street art and the chalking of political slogans on the statue was perfectly harmless and gave the statue a day of colour and vitality.

The (i dont apologise for my language) wee middel class, apolitical w@nkers who decided to pose as radicals and spray tag the statue, desrved a swift and hard kick up the hole.

I dont usually get anal about things like this but this really got to me.

I´m dissapointed that some of the more politically conscious on the day did not intervene. Still....lesson learnt for next RTS event, I hope.

by Joe Sat May 07, 2005 19:14

Around 10 people turned up for the one o'clock clean up and after about 50 minutes scrubbing that statue was almost as good as new - there are still some faint paint traces left but 95% is gone. Interestingly enough while the RTS organisers mostly turned up none of those who took such offence to the mask did so no debate on that.

Sources have identifed the perps as including a 15 year old school boy.

A few passing people stopped to chat to us and we also got a bunch of tourists on a walking tour of the city. Thanks to all who took part.

by Rory Carr - The Rory Carr Foundation Sat May 07, 2005 21:27 carr_rory at yahoo dot co dot uk 07855 149 252

Zapata was not even a nationalist. He was aginst exploitation in Chiapa and the wider idea of a meaningful democracy for all Mexico could only be pressed on him by virtue of perceived benefits for Chiapa. Villa in Chihuaha, however, often popularly portrayed as a thug and a bandit had a much greater understanding of the greater picture and had a profound sense of the social deprivation of the people and strong ideas for their practical remedy. Both were military leaders of a calibre that Connolly could never aspire to and of the two, Villa was the more outstanding. Villa also refused to accept the bribery and trappings of power offered to him after the defeat of Diaz. Zapata was at pains to insist upon having them. Neither was quite literate (Villa took more pains than Zapata in this regard) and the concept of an outside world to each probably extended no further than Texas (which Villa had visited, indeed raided for necessities). Even that leap of conciousness may have been too much for Zapata. But heroes both. In their time and in their place almost as good as a man can get
and any criticism of either had best be blessed with the tender mercies of understanding of the social, cultural, material forces that shaped the world in which they struggled to advance the human condition in the teeth of tyranny.

by Mark P Sat May 07, 2005 21:32

Fair play to the RTS people for going back there to clean up the mess.

by Shanno - Citizen Sat May 07, 2005 22:48 Dublin City

I think the debate about disgracing, misplacing and defacing (excuse alliterative playacting) the statue of Connolly is somewhat missing the point. I would like to make three observations (a) Connolly would have approved of civil protest against any establishment that discriminated and took advantage of workers and whose policies are directed for and by the ownership classes (b) if this meant that his image was in some ironic way a source of that frustration he would have forgiven them any historical ignorance of the socialist movement and his own concern for the oppressed of Ireland and (c) I liked the colours and the mask. Maybe a Palestinian scarf would have been a little more politically symbolic? I don't think Jimmy will be turning in his grave over this one. Congrats to those who got off their asses and protested (i didn't to my shame). On your bikes and reclaim the streets from traffic. This city can be saved.

by Conditional Mon May 09, 2005 01:38

In fact, the historical evidence suggests that Connolly valued a rational and educated approach to politics, and some would say didn't suffer fools gladly, and therefore he'd probably have found the statue 'symbolism' about as silly as it actually is. But actually, speculation about what Connolly would or wouldn't have thought is meaningless anyway - it's what people think now that is the point. However people differ, it's been an interesting thread to read, and also it's nice to read that people took the time and trouble to go and clean up.

I think another recurring issue for me is that, out of respect for those who actually do protest against seriously repressive regimes, at risk to their own lives in other countries, that symbol of a mask taken out of context so casually at a street party in Dublin just makes me feel irritated. I've always been highly ambivalent about people appearing at demos in masks in Ireland; and many people I've observed in them are actually highly recognisable and must know it, so it just looks like an affectation, which leaves the lefties open to yet more ridicule - and it's sometimes deserved I'm afraid.

by Paul Mon May 09, 2005 17:57

That is a good point about Connolly's statue becoming an image of the establishment, 'Shanno', if that is your real name. Whatever he stood for in his time, Connolly's image and life have now been appropriated by the establishment.

I also agree with Conditional's point that it is what people think now that matters. It is how we apply ideas to this age that is important. This back and forth about the graffiti and masking of the statue is all very well, but people who are unaware of the full extent of Connolly's ideology may still have valid ideas of their own which are in line with Connolly's own views. Whether they associate these ideas with Connolly or not is immaterial. They might be well advised to go and read some of his writings, but there's no point in getting all precious and hectoring and lecturing them about how dare they desecrate an image of him... Take it easy and come down off your high horses.

by martin Tue May 10, 2005 12:34

In my eyes, some of the young people (eg. in dublin) do not only march the streets to express their thoughts but also work for them.
Thanks for cleaning up. And note the pecentage of those who really work for their ideas.

by Terry - IRSP Tue May 10, 2005 19:26 http://www.irsm.org

If you middle class kids would like to violate something, violate your own symbols. What a disaster this has been.

I like 'connor' who quotes the Nazi theologian Nietzshe as justification!

It's sad that anarchism has gone from class struggle to middle class art school stunts such as this.

by Jim Tue May 10, 2005 19:41

Whats with the IRPS on this thread. Talk about losing the run of themselves. Lads a bit of paint is not 'a disaster'!!!

by jack white - wsm, personal cap Tue May 10, 2005 20:01

Can you tell whether or not the 15 year old kid who did this was middle class based on the style of graffiti or something? Or maybe its your awesome psychic powers? Or maybe you're just talking shite?


" violate your own symbols"
Are you also Connolloy's representitive on earth?

I also like the idea that someone tagging a statue means that "anarchism has gone from class struggle to middle class art school stunts", I have only a limited supply of sarcasm though so I won't comment on that now.

by C Ó Brolcháin Tue May 10, 2005 21:44

"Can you tell whether or not the 15 year old kid who did this was middle class based on the style of graffiti or something? Or maybe its your awesome psychic powers? Or maybe you're just talking shite?"

I suppose it's something of a generalisation, but there are a lot of people (and a lot of working class activists) who attribute a middle-class ethos to events of this kind. I've heard a few people complain that RTS is now nothing more than a large bunch of teenagers getting drunk on the street all under the guise of making a political statement.


"I also like the idea that someone tagging a statue means that "anarchism has gone from class struggle to middle class art school stunts", I have only a limited supply of sarcasm though so I won't comment on that now."

Well, there were a number of anarchists who came on here to defend the defacing of the statue. Even some trying to give if a kind of highly philosophical meaning. Then another fella (Ciaran - BYC) said he recognised the tagger as a young teenager with no stake in what was going on that day. This undermines the acuity of the defenders, who came to the rescue just because the perpetrator was apparently a fellow anarchist.

by badman Tue May 10, 2005 21:50

Can you actually find any anarchists on this page defending the spray-painting of the statue? I can't. In fact the clean up was organised by anarchists. All the offended eejits here revealed themselves as 'virtual outraged from tunbridge wellses'.

On the other hand, I can and do defend the act of putting on the mask - although some anarchists don't.

Let's be accurate now.

by Barry Wed May 11, 2005 03:55

And the spraying of Connollys statue was a total disgrace and the work of a tramp .
Id like to see the people who have tried to rationalise it as a political comment or "reclaiming" Connolly justify tagging a jewish cemetery for example ..

The mask showed imagination , the chalk slogans were a tribute but the tagging was the work of a vandalising scumbag and an attack on Connolly as well as republican / socialist sentiments . It was a disgrace and rightly angered many people .The statue was left looking like a pigsty and only symbolised to a passer by that no - one gives a shit about Connolly or anything he stood for .

Congratulations and respect to those who took the time to clean it up , you are worthy of admiration . But anyone seriously trying to add a political justification for the antics of a little apolitical and apparently racist little shite should stop wasting peoples time .

by C Ó Brolcháin Thu May 12, 2005 01:26

"Can you actually find any anarchists on this page defending the spray-painting of the statue? I can't."

Have you actually been reading the page?

by R. Isible Thu May 12, 2005 02:57

Go on, find one. Or alternatively you could just ask another question instead of providing some information.

by . Thu May 12, 2005 03:05

Connolly "Defacement"
by Chicago Anarchist Tuesday, May 3 2005, 4:24am

I don't see why people are angry about graffitti on yer statue. If the cemetary folks didn't clean up emma goldman's and the haymarket martyrs' monuments, yeh wouldn't be able to see the stone underneath all the sharpie. Writing "bread and roses", "smash capitalism", yer union number, etc, on radical's tombstones doesnt seem disrespectful in the least.
Maybe it's just different in ireland....
Awesome banner. Nice job.

by Phuq Hedd

Similarly writing on the statue in chalk, or even spraypainting it shows a healthy lack of respect for trying to reify the revolutionary spirit into dead, cold lump of stone.

by Sef

No one seems to have tried to defend the spray painting around the statue so here's two cents:

Some of the green spray was used to try and alter the official slogan of the monument on the wall behind the statue which runs "The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland - The cause of Ireland is the cause of labour". It's a slogan that has always seemed problematic to me. First of all it suppresses the fact that Connolly was a raging marxist revolutionary. "The cause of labour" might have connoted raging marxist revolutionaries in Connollys time but nowadays it's just as likely to suggest Tony Blair. The slogan also emphasises Connolly's habitual placement within the nationalist tradition. A tradition likely to alienate him to as many as it endears him to on the Irish left. The monument itself isn't half as radical as Connolly actually was and when this fact invites some squabbling in the form of spraypaint then that's fine by me. Even if a lot of the paint is just someones tag, they're only engaging with the statue on its own terms of personal branding which is probably a tactical error but not exactly a moral one. Like the chalk, the paint too will wash off in its own time long before the statue crumbles. I'd suggest that no one bothers trying to speed the process, it would merely be an act of impatience. Who knows, the "uglyness" of the graffiti may remind us of the uglyness that SIPTU has become across the road, something Connolly surely would have more of a problem with than the subversion of a public monument...even if it is in memory of himself.

by Caleb Thu May 12, 2005 05:08

I can't believe that you people are trying to defend the defacement of a national monument as some kind of statement on trade unionism or marxist Ideals. This monument belongs to the people of Ireland and the audacity of a bunch of egocentric revolutionary wannabes defacing the statue of a true Irish hero is disgraceful. I'm sure if you asked the majority of the 'people' you supposedly are trying to represent they would agree with my assertion.

by Joe Thu May 12, 2005 11:21

It says something about the state of the Irish left that this is pretty much the longest thread on indymedia in over a year and that amazingly some are insisting on keeping it going.

For those slow on the uptake although I posted that I thought the paint was stupid and actually bothered to organise a clean up (to which only anarchists actually bothered to turn up to) all that happened was some paint got sprayed on a lump of stone by some kids. That outbreak of near religious hysteria shown by some here really makes you wonder what planet they are on.

Actually no that's unfair - the religious are capable of discussing this in a more rational manner - see http://www.catholicireland.net/pages/index.php?nd=100&art=543

It all brings me back to the dark days of 1985
http://www.colinsmythe.co.uk/books/seebe.htm

by Ciaron - DCW/PSP5 Thu May 12, 2005 11:34

Yep, although there has been some interesting debate here. It's sad given the traditons of Reclaim the Streets (and I can't help myself as a trad)...that one of the major roads issues in Ireland was not visible at RTS on May Day or in this stream. That they are now going to build a road through Tara and add more cars to the gridlock that is Dublin.

See link for mainstream comment.....

by JC Thu May 12, 2005 13:20

New Book about James Connolly and the origins of Socialism and Republicanism in Ireland

‘Radical Politics in Modern Ireland - The History of the Irish Socialist Republican Party 1896-1904’ By David Lynch with foreword Diarmuid Ferriter.To Be Published March 2005 | 192 Pages Irish Academic Press
ISBN 0716533561

www.iap.ie and available from all good bookstores.


The Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP) was a party of seminal importance in the history of radical politics in modern Ireland. The party was the forerunner and ideological springhead for a political tradition that has had a significant impact on radical Irish politics ever since.
The ISRP was the first experiment with that powerful, dynamic, yet sometimes very confused cocktail of traditional republican politics and socialist principles.
The legacy of the ISRP was to have an impact on the left-wing and republican movements in Ireland for many decades following its demise in 1904.

*David Lynch is a journalist who lives in Dublin. He has done work for such publications as Magill, Leinster Leader, The Star, College Times, The Village and The Irish Times.

by pete reid Thu May 12, 2005 13:35

What would a sympathetic person make of students putting graffiti on James Connolly's statue? It would look like another lunatic fringe.

As Orwell said in the 30s: "It would help enormously, for instance, if the smell of crankishness which still clings to the Socialist movement could be dispelled. If only the sandals and the pistachio-coloured shirts could be put in a pile and burnt, and every vegetarian, teetotaller, and creeping Jesus sent home to Welwyn Garden City to do his yoga exercises quietly! But that, I am afraid, is not going to happen. What is possible, however, is for the more intelligent kind of Socialist to stop alienating possible supporters in silly and quite irrelevant ways."

By mentioning students I'm not taking an idealised Marxist view either: "There are so many minor priggishness which could so easily be dropped. Take for instance the dreary attitude of the typical Marxist towards literature. Out of the many that come into my mind, I will give just one example. It sounds trivial, but it isn’t. In the old Worker’s Weekly (one of the forerunners of the Daily Worker) there used to be a column of literary chat of the ‘Books on the Editor’s Table’ type. For several weeks miming there had been a certain amount of talk about Shakespeare; whereupon an incensed reader wrote to say, ‘Dear Comrade, we don’t want to hear about these bourgeois writers like Shakespeare. Can’t you give us something a bit more proletarian?’"

by Joe Thu May 12, 2005 14:27

Well that is certainly an abuse of Orwell who was if anything a bit of an iconclast himself. Apart from that your committing the error of confusing the event, the organisers of the event, those who came along and the couple of idiots who did the spraying into one glorous ball of lefty doubleplusgood speak. Orwell would probably have reported you to M15 for that!

And as for 'students' - I know this is the lazy lefts idea of analysis but seeing as the sprayers have been identified as 15 year olds you'll find the 'ordinary man on the street' was most likely once one of them types of students themselves.

by soundmigration Fri May 13, 2005 02:54

Oh the heady days of revolution…I’ve seriously avoided posting on this thread because I’ve never seen such a display of self pompous, religio-fanatical-idoltary crap in my life. I actually find it hard to fathom that so many folks have got they’re backs up about essentially was an unorchastrated piece of graffiti. Have your dead heroes surely, (and it seems everyone needs to make a claim on Connolly to justify their particular party allegiance) but for fuck sake put a bit of perspective into your lives. If as much thought and energy that was put into organizing yourselves against a system of exploitation, and of recognizing common ground and values instead of condemnation of a three second spray of paint them perhaps this country, neah planet might just be a hell of a lot better.

Perhaps frustration and feelings of impotence play their part in individuals who have so much wisdom and vitriol to spare. What has been the last public event in Dublin, explicitly aimed at getting people involved in the process of reclaiming their our lives and acting in continuing solidarity with others, that hasn’t been organized by those who identify with non hierarchical organizing. When was the last time a process of enabling everyone to be an organizer (and not just a card carrying, subs paying, steering committee deferring number) was undertaken by ANY political party on the left (or right or any other). When was the last time the SWP, IRSP or any other amongst the alphabet soup genuinely wanted everyone’s input, wanted to share in the process of learning, to feel in their very guts(and not on a poster) the sense of possiblity and passion that comes from really seeing your brothers, sisters, comrades and friends as essential to making really and meaning steps towards real and meaningful change.

I always welcome discussion and debate as it is the best source of learning not just others views and opinions, but because it help to continually examine my own but it saddens me to feel that so many folks seem so energized to sprint down cul de sac verbal masterbation about some green paint on a statue of a dead man who’s life I quite admire…

Meanwhile the good folks involved in RTS, Dissent, WSM, DGN, Seomra Spraoi, Certain Death Café, Ya Basta , Food Not Bombs, Artists on Strike, da Street Art Collective and the many other mushrooming elements across the growing libetarian, anarchist network/movement/label of your choice, will continue to walk as they talk, to idolize none whist respecting much, to recognize that the process is as important as the result, and have much much more important things on their mind than green paint on the base of an image.

Have your heroes, and respect them, but respect yourselves a little more…

by Pissed Off Revolutionary Tue May 17, 2005 19:24

An absolute discrace. I cannot say what i would have done if I had caught anyone involved. Just a pile of rich kids with nothing better to do. They have distorted the voice of the legitimate anti-capitalist movement in Ireland, started by the very man they chose to desicrate on The Workers Holiday.
Do us a favour and think of something better to do with Daddy's money in future.

by soundmigration Tue May 17, 2005 20:24

'"An absolute discrace. I cannot say what i would have done if I had caught anyone involved."

why not? is its because ur an armchair critic methinks.

"Just a pile of rich kids with nothing better to do."
yeah like ya where there and did ameans test on everyone...????


"They have distorted the voice of the legitimate anti-capitalist movement in Ireland"
And who exactly is THEE legimate anti-capitalist movement in ireland... starting to sound like a cop

"Do us a favour and think of something better to do with Daddy's money in future."

do us a favour and stop wasting tax payers money surfing the net like inflatable ewok

"Pissed of revolutionary" .........never met one who wasn't pissed off mate....blue peter badge on its way to you!!!!

by R. Isible Tue May 17, 2005 20:42

Trolls are lurking. "Pissed off revolutionary" is highly likely to be one of the sub-literate rightwingers that post under various names on this site. No one with an ounce of cop would assume that this was "rich kids" or not understand that the spray-painting was an isolated event. An attempt to fan the embers of potential discord between libertarian socialists, republicans and socialists if ever I saw one. Assume that there are genuine heartfelt differences as expressed by the known, consistent representatives of various organisations but that all the "pissed off revolutionaries" are really "pissed off reactionaries".

by Sound Tue Sep 06, 2005 00:09

That's what these people are. They all deserve a solid smack in the mouth for defacing the Connolly monument.
Grow up. Be real rebels instead of spoiled children out for some cheap kicks.