Every Saturday we go to demonstrate in Paris. Georgia Pouliquen, Alternative View 10 lecture, ‘The 21st Century French Yellow Vest Revolution, Youtube 1.11.49
I want to provide a testimony from France to the world about massive domestic oppression in my country France and violence of our government. ibid. Georgia’s video testimony
Yellow Vests are a humanist movement, a beautiful movement, and now we suffer massive domestic oppression … This is about freedom, and government commits violence of fundamental human rights here in France. ibid.
That’s not crowd control: that’s massive and bloody repression, and the French government try to hide the truth. ibid.
Macron passed a law to prevent us to demonstrate in the streets: now it’s an offence … We don’t have freedom of assembly any more. ibid.
A lot of young people lost an eye. ibid.
We have no choice: that’s a survival movement. ibid.
‘For the third time. I kind of got used to it by then. Why are we still together? What a question. I dunno. I just think obviously your family’s your family’ innit, you’ve got to like stick by each other through thick and thin. He’s the kid’s dad, and when he is around, he’s good. He’s not around as much as he should be.’ Prisoners’ Wives: Visiting Hour, wife, Channel 5 2019
We need unity. We need solidarity. Solidarity! Solidarity! Solidarity! … Solidarity: it works for all of us. The Irishman 2019 starring Robert de Niro & Al Pacino & Joe Pesci & Ray Romano & Bobby Cannavale & Anna Paquin & Lucy Gallina & Stephen Graham & Harvey Keitel & Stepehanie Kurtzuba & Katherine Narducci et al, director Martin Scorsese, Jimmy Hoffa
Mrs Thatcher came to power on a promise to middle England. But she saw one big obstacle in the way … How she dismantled it: the cunning, the ruthlessness as she weaponised the police. And the killer instinct … Thatcher vs the Miners. Mrs Thatcher v The Miners: The Battle for Britain, Channel 5 2021
Thatcher watched on as Ted Heath made a fatal mistake. Heath called an election on the question, Who runs Britain, the Tory government or the Miners? Heath lost. ibid.
‘Scargill and Thatcher deserved each other; absolutely no-one else deserved either of them.’ ibid. Neil Kinnock
Spurred on by his first brush with Thatcher, Scargill demanded a pay rise for his miners towards the end of 1983. The government refused. So the miners stopped working overtime. But Scargill had miscalculated Thatcher’s determination to stand firm. And on March 6th 1984 when news leaked out that Cortonwood colliery in Yorkshire would be shut down, and the men would all lose their jobs, Scargill was taken by complete surprise. The men walked out on strike immediately. A few days later, it was announced that another twenty pits would close with 20,000 job losses. Caught off guard, Scargill went for the kill and called for a national strike. ibid.
When the men walked out of the collieries, Scargill didn’t call a national vote. This was his next big mistake. ibid.
On March 12 1984 Scargill’s call for action resulted in almost 165,000 men downing tools and walking out on strike. Over 35,000 others remained at work. ibid.
Those on strike had nothing; they weren’t entitled to benefits. Families were really struggling. ibid.
One thing Thatcher did underestimate was their resilience. ibid.
The Christmas bonus really worked, and it became clear that the strike was nearing its end game. ibid.
What was happening in his beloved Spain was beginning to change his [Hemingway] mind. It was now being torn apart by a civil war. Early in 1936 reactionary elements of the army eventually led by a fascist general named Francisco Franco and supported by wealthy industrialists, great landowners and the Catholic Church joined forces to try to overthrow the duly elected socialist government. Hitler provided Franco and his rebels with bombers and fighter planes and German pilots to fly them. Their goal was to terrorise the civilian population. The Italian dictator Benito Mussolini dispatched tanks and nearly 80,000 troops. Within weeks, Franco’s forces had seized one third of the country from those faithful to the government … Between 30-40,000 men from more than 50 countries would answer the call. Hemingway III, BBC 2021
Part of something that had started 200 years before with the French Revolution: it was the idea that through revolution you could break through to a new kind of world. Something beyond the corrupt reality of this one. Adam Curtis, Can’t Get You Out of My Head VI Are We a Pigeon? Or Are We Dancer? ***** BBC 2021
His [Tupac’s] message was simple: that suspicion was just another form of control. ibid.
Kids don’t have a little brother working in the coal mine, they don’t have a little sister coughing her lungs out in the looms of the big mill towns of the Northeast. Why? Because we organised; we broke the back of the sweatshops in this country; we have child labor laws. Those were not benevolent gifts from enlightened management. They were fought for, they were bled for, they were died for by working people, by people like us. Kids ought to know that. That’s why I sing these songs, damnit! No roots, no fruit! Utah Phillips
The real threat to democracy is a government that crushes our rights and silences, our solidarity. Jeremy Corbyn
This film is based on events which took place in Leeds during the winter of 1970. Thursday February 12th 1970 … when there were twelve pennies in a shilling. Play for Today: Leeds United, by Colin Welland, BBC 1974
I wouldn’t want my time over again not for bucket of bloody bobs. ibid. woman on bus
The company has no contractual arrangements relating to incapacity to work due to sickness or injury covering your employment. ibid. employers’ commentary
The company has no contractual pension scheme covering your employment. ibid.
I’ve got a skill. A trade for life. ibid. young woman
We want a substantial increase … We want equal pay for women. And when you see how these lasses work, they bloody well deserve it. ibid. union rep
Sod the union, give us a bob! ibid. chant of branch meeting
We are at war with our union because they are incompetent, they are inept and at times they are downright bloody cowardly. But the real enemy’s still up there, the bloody masters, the most ruthless, arrogant and vindictive bosses in contemporary industrial Britain. ibid. union rep
‘First there’ll be the blacks and Asians. Then the Jews and Irish. And this ain’t easy speeches – this is true. And then it’ll be the unions. Oh ar make no mistake. The Labour Party: that’ll do. The others too. All in the interests of the nation. And to save the nation, they’ll destroy the nation. All of it except themselves. And if we let ’em, we’ve got ourselves to blame. Our fault. We turned our back.’ Play for Today: Destiny, BBC 1978
Now job’s stopped and balloon’s up you show your face. The Wednesday Play: The Lump by Jim Allen, worker to union rep, BBC 1967
He’s [employer] broken every rule in the book. ibid.
Your firm has an agreement with us there will be no lump employment on any of your sites. ibid. Union rep to boss Mr Crawford
Dispute at Nielson’s. Steward victimised. Scab labour recruited. Union sold out. ibid. press release
We can’t fight them all, Yorkie. ibid. striker
We want the lot. We want them off our backs. ibid.
Liberal? A Tory without his kicking boots on. ibid. Yorkie
They need us but we don’t need them. ibid.
It’s Us against the State – which they own lock, stock and barrel. ibid.
The first thing is to get them off the Lump and into the Union. ibid.
You’re a bloody communist. Why don’t you go back to Russia where you belong. ibid. lumpee to Yorkie
It’s about they sent someone down here to sort this port out. The Wednesday Play: The Big Flame ***** by Jim Allen, man to Mr Garfield from the ministry, BBC 1969
Any attempt to change the basic working habits of men and to introduce new ideas and new methods of production is bound to create a certain climate of fear and apprehension. Now this we can understand and sympathise with. However, what we cannot understand, and what the government cannot tolerate, is the activities of a certain group of irresponsible people who exploit the situation by fomenting strikes and discord within the industry. ibid. Garfield
The only people who didn’t see the [Devlin] Report was the dockers themselves. ibid. union rep in meeting to Garfield
The biggest exponents of restrictive practices are the employers themselves. ibid.
We’re on a mandate to come and put to you our proposals. ibid.
There’s bound to be a certain shakedown in labour. ibid. Garfield
You’ve neither given nor offered us anything. ibid. union rep to Garfield
You’re really exposed, you’re really out on a limb, and the only thing that you can cling to is your own mates, and the objective of what you’re fighting for. ibid. dockers’ commentary
The men have done everything they can to settle things peacefully: the strike is the last resort. ibid.
Well, we’ve got 10,000 lads out and their families. ibid. docker
I mean, being thrown out of the union isn’t a bad thing, is it. ibid.
I want to see the big flame, Danny. I want to see one big solid mass of us that’s point the finger at those raiders and say, You failed in your management of society, so pack your traps, think yourself lucky, and go. ibid. Jack
Either you continue with this hit and run policy or the dockers take over the ports … Let’s have a workers’ control now. ibid.
For the first time in your lives you’ve been offered a taste of true democracy. ibid. rep to collected workers
But at least let’s make the attempt. ibid.
It doesn’t need no boss. ibid. commentary
At every pit, at every factory, at every building site, at every docks, the work people involved will elect their own delegates, the best men on the job, the most responsible men. They in turn will elect delegates to the Congress or to the Parliament. The Congress for the first time in history will be composed of people directly representing the work people, in the factory, on the job, at the point of production. They’ll be subject to the right of immediate recall. They’ll have to explain every decision they make. This is the basis of taproots. ibid.
All day long convoys of troops have been arriving, and additional police reinforcements drafted in from neighbouring towns, as this takeover by 10,000 Merseyside dockers enters its second day … ibid. news
We’re here to assist the police in maintaining law and order … The reason we’re here is to see there isn’t any violence. ibid. army bloke
It’s a conspiracy, it seems obvious, between the employers and the government. ibid. union rep
Man’s never had the chance to show how good he can be. ibid. Jack
‘Don’t mourn. Organise.’ ibid. docker quotes Joe Hill
There inside the gates! The police and the army! ibid. Docker
Now it’s the ringleaders we’re after. ibid. man with megaphone