From: UK INDYMEDIA
SECOND TRANSLATION OF ONE OF THE INCREASINGLY GROWING TEXTS CALLING FOR A RADICALISATION OF THE MOVEMENT “TRUE DEMOCRACY NOW” IN SPAIN…
TOTAL ANARCHY NOW!!
We are all violent, we are all “anti-system” (1)
The recent mobilization of young people that has spread all over the Spanish state in recent days has given a lot to talk about to.
Some of us had already being warning for a while about the need for a response to the attacks that have been taking place from the political-economic powers against ordinary people, young and old, workers, unemployed, students …
In order to do so we found our inspiration and references in countries like Greece or in the North of Africa.
The demonstrations have been covered by the mainstream mass media relentlessly insisting on their civic and peaceful character.There are also been criticicism to the attitude of “minority groups of agent provocateurs” or “anti-system”, which they say undermine the credibility of the demonstrators demands, as these maintained a confrontational attitude during the protests that went beyond the democratic margins promoted by the organisers (2).
The truth is that the fact that thousands of people take to the streets to shouting “we are not commodities in the hands of politicians and bankers” is pretty positive in itself.
However, there are a number of issues that overshadow the honesty of these demonstrations, especially in their attitude towards social movements that have already been established and have enjoyed certain presence on the streets for a pretty long ride.
The statements and intentions of the platform “True Democracy Now” are very general and somewhat ambiguous.
This might well be due to a desire of bringing together as many people as possible around a supposedly original model of protest, away from more traditional channels used by organizations and social groups, whether political or trade unionists.
In fact, one of the issues more advocated by the platform has been the one on breaking relationships with any party or trade union, allegedly on the grounds that they do not give us any solution to the bad situation we are living in.
However, from the very same organisation, the proposed solutions do not stop being anything but mere “demands to the politicians”, and they never question the parliamentary system or capitalism in themselves, at least not in a real sense, beyond mere slogans.
True, the whole thing has been set around the strategy of taking to the streets, but why?, what is the ultimate purpose?… It seem that for the time being thi can be just reduced to demand democracy to become even more democratic, the politicians to be more honest, and bankers to refrain from being the owners of our lives.
But is all of if possible without jeopardizing the very essence of parliamentary system, without questioning the very existence of politicians and bankers?
In our opinion, it is not.
It appears that the aim of taking to the street is no other, ultimately, than attracting the media attention in order to havet a set of otherwise very lame demands taken into account, utilising for such a purpose the same media that belong to politicians and bankers.
Obviously this is too naive, too contradictory.
Or maybe not?
The markedly peaceful character of the demonstrations, the “light”, extremely moderate demands, glaringly reformist and insufficient, the proximity of an election in which once again a high level of abstention has been predicted, the complicity of the very same political system, which has seen unions bosses, employers, politicians and media praising the “honest citizen protests of youth without a future” … All this is extremely suspicious to say the least. Even more when, at the time this is happening, a wide campaign against abstention is being launched and entire social movements get criminalised and labelled, “anti-system” and “violent.”
Parallel to the campaign of “True Democracy Now” other slogans such as “do not vote them” have also become important.
In theory, this is about showing our rejection of the two-party system by voting for minority parties, but in reality, what this is encouraging is voting, no more nor less, since whoever you vote, you will always support the parliamentary system in itself within which two parties happen to be ones who profit the most. Anyhow, who cares what parties they are?…
Interestingly, voting for minority parties, peaceful and reformist protests, civic behaviour and spontaneity are promoted as a way of fighting good and honest, some sort of “healthy” rebellion. And all this is being said by the media, politicians and even entrepreneurs. By contrast, grassroots struggle within a revolutionary organization that seeks confrontation and pursue a real social change appears to be according to many of these people typical of “violent”, “anti-system” trouble makers.
We do not know the intentions that motivated the founders of the platform to begin their campaign. But if they truly wanted to stop being commodities in the hands of politicians and bankers they are getting just the opposite results.
Their policy of being “good kids” condemns to fierce repression all those among us who understand that the system can only be changed through confrontation with those others who defend privilege and doom the rest of us to misery.We openly argue that the parliamentary system along with capitalism can not be more humane, as their objectives are to control, exploit and get profits.
Therefore, it sounds all too suspicious that it always has to be at the time of an election, when the social environment is one of a very heated political tension that these sort of events turn up out of the blue just in time to have any frustration dissipated.
There we have the examples of the demonstrations against the Iraq war, terribly manipulated (where are today the millions of demonstrators in protest against the war in Libya?).
We would also like to remind to the most forgetful the permissiveness to legalize Nazi rallies at the core of militant working class neighbourhoods that has been lately implemented in our cities, so that “democracy” gets re-enforced via media manipulation of anti-fascist resistance, labelled as “anti-system” violence.
Apparently such a “coincidence” is going on within this “movement”, and funnily enough the only one that wins with these issues is always the system itself.
By bringing into to the public attention these kind of “fishy” issues we are not saying that we should not take to the streets or protest against the war. What we are saying here is that we must keep in mind that we are not living under conditions of a mere “mismanagement” by the politicians, or too much permissiveness to the bankers.
What we are living is a social war, in which one side, the workers, unemployed, students, marginalized, etc is continuously crushed and battered by the enemy.
And this enemy is the politicians, bankers, businessmen, judges and police who defend them plus the military, always ready in the background to do the dirty work … So if this is is a war within our own borders, you can not fight it simply by “taking to the streets” in an orderly, civil and obedient fashion. If we say that our closest references are Greece and Africa, let us then learn also that there the streets are not taken just to “ask for” more democracy or a more humane capitalism. There one takes to the streets to face the enemy.
Therefore here we can not keep this “good guys” charade against those who condemn us to poverty, unemployment, prison or death in precarious conditions in a workplace going on for much longer. We must fight them, and this is done from the organization around common interests, free of reformist and ambiguous aims.
We want to change the system, not reform it.
We want to do away with the banks as well as with private property, with money, with the state and all forms of authority if it just forces only one of us to obedience.
We want it all.
The claim that the “violent anti-system troublemakers” make the struggle dishonest is pure hypocrisy. We are being mercilessly bombarded with such a message from State and capitalism mass media, from their newspapers, radio stations and television channels. But they are just intending to keep for themselves the monopoly of violence, that is all.
Because they do use it against us every day, crashing demonstrations, harassing activists, abusing detainees, exploiting us in the workplace in exchange for a pittance, taking advantage of poverty for profit, bombing countries to control resources … That is violence, that is terrorism.
So in the face of all this, are we going to demonstrate peacefully all the time?, will we end up turning the other cheek?. Of course we shall not.
Therefore, when someone comes up with their moral speeches criminalizing violence, we will for sure reply that we are not doing anything but to defend ourselves from them, they are the ones with guns and armies.
Within the demonstrations, the “anti-system, violent ones” do not draw any honesty away from to the fight, but they provide it with dignity. The dignity of the slave who rebels and defended her or himself with tooth and nail. It is no just that these people pose no problem at all for the other protesters, but they also provide them with an example, with inspiration.
If defending ourselves is violence, we are all violent.
If wanting a free and egalitarian society is to be “anti-system”, then hell we are all fucking “anti-system”.
If we take to the streets to express our anger, let it get well noticed.
Let the press and the TV not to turn up at all, but let also everyone become aware of our protest because it has been heard and felt.
Let the banks and their businesses burn, let the streets talk.
Let state and capitalism burn. And let us not being afraid of saying out loud that we will not stop while we have no more option left but self-defence.
It is about time for people to take to the streets, yes, as in Greece, as in Africa.
It is also about time too for people to self-organize and wake up, at the workplaces in the neighbourhoods, in the squares and at home.
When they ask what we want we will say order, but without authority.
Work, but without exploitation.
House but no mortgage.
Leisure, but without profit.
Coexistence, but without impositions.
We want a free and egalitarian society.
Towards the social revolution. Total anarchy now!
Midnight moonlight group
Notes:
(1) “Antisistema” (Spanish for “anti-system” meaning those opposed to state and capitalism) is a term used in a derogative way by the Spanish mass media in an attempt to criminalise and give a bad name to a whole arrange of social movements, collectives and individuals that work and fight out of the system as much as the are capable of. The word has come to replace within this very particular journalistic “vocabulary of repression” a former one used in the 90′s; “los violentos” (the violent ones), indicative of the open attitude some of these groups have towards the use of violent direct action methods should they prove necessary, ethical and effective.
(2) In reference to the rioting that broke out in Madrid at the end of the 15 of May demo, prior to the first occupation of Plaza del Sol.
BUENAVENTURA DURRUTI
