Publication:
MaximumRockNRoll

Author:
Felix Von Havoc

MRR #206
I sit and write this on May 2. Yesterday May Day protests were held around the world. In a notable act of international solidarity protests were held not only in London, Berlin and New York but in Seoul and Manila. Pundits are talking about a "new culture of protest" and a "new protest movement" but most of us who grew up in the punk scene in the 80's and 90's have seen this movement grow and move into the limelight over the years. The Seattle and Washington DC protests have gained a lot of media coverage and I feel seriously sparked some debate over issues that have been painted out of the picture for a long time. After years of protests against the IMF and World Band finally ordinary people are beginning to question the power these institutions have over the world and millions of people's everyday lives. Here are some of my thoughts on the recent protests.

There is no doubt in my mind that the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are undemocratic institutions that serve only the interests of the international ruling elites. When I say ruling elites I mean trans national corporations, big business, government, and the rich. You can add into that mix the Federal Reserve as far as I’m concerned. One of the Fed's main roles in today's booming economy is to keep wages low. The Fed is totally geared toward maximizing returns for wealthy investors at the expense of working class people, and this institution is of course unelected and all powerful. I for one am not against "globalization" or a "world economy" we have lived in "world economy" since the days of the Roman Empire in one way or another. However, the way things are set up now the rich are getting much richer while the poor stay poor. Some crumbs have been tossed to the middle classes lately during the current boom in the American economy, but these are small crumbs indeed. All the wealth that has been created in the current economic expansion could be going a long way to really solve problems of poverty and social injustice in the less developed nations of the world. Instead, these nations are seeing their resources plundered wholly for the benefit of tiny local elites and international corporations. Doom and Napalm Death were singing about the evils of the World Bank and international capitalism back in the 80's and they were right to criticize these bodies as the sources of human misery and inequality in the underdeveloped parts of the world. Lets not forget that one of the main reasons these nations are impoverished today is that their resources were plundered by Imperialist powers for centuries and their economies underdeveloped in order to make them more exploitable under neo-colonialism which has existed since the 1960's.

That said, the first world is waking up to its responsibility to confront the problem in the heart of the beast. At the same time, progressive forces in the developing world are drawing the connections as well and we may be entering a period of truly global unrest. What kind of unrest? Unrest of the poor and working classes against the elites which have been bleeding them dry for years. I was very active in protests and political agitation in the mid and late 80's. However, I have been pretty critical of political activists and their protests for several years. In fact I largely sat out the Gulf War protests due to a strong dislike for the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. However, today's protest movement gives me hope for the future for a number of reasons.

First, most young people today recognize that the American political system is totally bogus and corrupt and does not represent their interests at all. The politicians only care about the interests of the rich, big business and the suburban middle class. A group which is increasingly older, richer and more conservative all the time. Therefore, they look to social change through other means, the streets and social activism. This reduces the likelihood that such a movement will be co-opted by the mainstream political system.

Second, the protest movement has made workers rights a central issue and has gained considerable support from the labor movement. I know for a fact that most working class people have a hard time taking middle class college student activist types seriously. But if a movement emerges where workers and student have a common goal things might really start to change. In the 60's it was largely middle class kids who protested the war while working class kids fought and died. This led to a great deal of resentment on the part of working class people for the protestors they viewed as spoiled rich kids acting out. If a movement emerges which links the rights of workers to those of the progressive students (As in France in 1968) we may really be moving somewhere.

Third, the movement is global. The very advances in technology and communication which have driven the economic expansion have provided today's dissidents with the tools to co ordinate protests around the world. As Lenin once said "The capitalist will sell you the very rope you intend to hang him with." It is one thing for Americans to protest on behalf of exploited workers in say Indonesia, but another for Indonesians and Americans to protest both at say the factory and the corporate offices of an exploitative company simultaneously.

Much ink has been spilt about trying to "re-live the 60's" and I think that's bullshit. Most of the radicals of the 60's are so discredited by their self serving hypocrisy they are probably the first ones to call the cops on student protestors today. In my mind we should be looking back to the 30's when social protest and radicalism still meant something and the working class could still get out in the streets and fight.

I was an active participant and later organizer in the No Business as Usual protests and the War Chest Tours of the early and mid 80's. These were organized by Positive Force DC, until they were co-opted by the leftoid cult RCP. The RCP is still active today under the front "Refuse and Resist" make no bones about it these guys are a dangerous mob of Stalinist zombies, kick them out of any protest they show up to. Indeed, all that commie shit is totally bunk has been rejected by working people all around the world. Crackpot commie groups will always try to come out of the woodwork and co-opt any protest with their newspapers and slogans and speakers, have none of it. Those guys can rot in Lenin's tomb. Anyway, back in the day when we were organizing protests we steered away from the boring "slogans, speakers, marching, slogans" repetoire and tried to inject humor and action into our events. We were very inspired by the "Stop the City" actions in London which we read about in MRR, Conflict and Subhumans lyrics. There was the mass "die in" at the corporate headquarters of Union Carbide after the Bhopal disaster. We would put laundry soap and dye in the fountains and then plug up the drains with coffee can lids so that colored soap suds would fill the park, making it hard for cops to chase us. There were costumes, banners and often missiles hurled at police such as rotten fruit or dumpstered twinkies. I remember one night we set up a protest outside and arms show where foreign dignitaries in limos pulled up to sip cocktails and check out the latest in hi tech weapons and surveillance gear. We lobbed so much rotten fruit at those characters before the cops arrested or chased us off! That was great fun, and we made our point, and we ruined some third world despots suit! This getting arrested thing has got to go. My idea of protest isn't lining up to be "peacefully" arrested by the cops. If I'm gonna go to jail again its gonna be for wrecking something or hurting someone, not just to "make a statement." Getting arrested might seem romantic for upper class kids who've never been to jail but when you've been seeing the inside of jail off and on since age 14 its no place you aim to go on purpose.

That about wraps it up for me this month, but I will talk a little bit about music. Its festival season here in the Midwest and Code 13 already played one in Chicago last weekend. Some new bands to watch that either played or handed me demo tapes lately Dearborn SS, No Justice, Limp Wrist, Melee, Rambo, Don Austin. I've heard some people lately complaining about all their favorite bands breaking up. Boo fucking hoo, new bands will start that will be better, faster, louder, add a new twist so get over it. Hardcore is alive and moving forward every day. The scene will survive without Spazz, Los Crudos, Charles Bronson and His Hero is Gone. Look how longs it's lasted without Black Flag the Dead Kennedys and Crass. Don't lose any sleep over it kids, the next big thing might be in happening right now in a basement on your block.

I'll be doing a festival of my own this summer July 22d at the Third Lair Skate Park in Minneapolis. Thrash Fest 2000 will feature Aus Rotten, DS 13, Code 13, United Super Villains, Nine Shocks Terror, Spazm 151, Holding On, the Real Enemy and maybe some more to be announced. Look for DS 13 on tour in the USA in July and August.

My next deadline comes up while Code 13 is on tour in Australia, I'll try to send in a column about our tour, but who can make any guarantees when you are living on the road. Until then, remember, Hardcore Rules!

Publication Date:
January 1, 1988

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