EU Referendum Results: My Thoughts

In case it's not clear enough, I voted to REMAIN in the EU. So naturally I am *incredibly* upset at the outcome. I feel hopeless, desperate, speechless (but not so much as to prevent this post), and disappointed. And I have EVERY RIGHT to be upset. The personal is the political. Just like the poll tax was the pressing issue for my mother and people in her generation, the EU referendum is the pressing issue of my generation. Look at the data: (generally) those who voted remain have to live with the consequences for longer than the ones who voted leave. And this is so sad.

Welcome back State-Centrism - you were not missed at all.

A Year On: Living Under the Tories

A year ago I wrote this piece in response to the outcome of the General Election, whereby it was announced that the Conservatives had been elected to govern Britain for the next 5 years.

A year on, and I dare say that things appear much worse than I (and, undoubtedly, countless others) could have expected.  But what more could we expect when we're being governed by  a capitalist, corporatist, anti-equality, pro-austerity, privatisation bourgeoisie machine. 

Anti-Austerity Demo

Yesterday (depending on reports) between 100.000 and 150.000 people attended the anti-austerity demo, organised by The People's Assembly Against Austerity. Those of us who attended had 4 Demands: health, housing, jobs, and education - the 4 areas which have been hit hardest under austerity measures and the budget statement.

Untitled

The modern war appears to be a long period of suffering and destruction for millions of anonymous, but still important, citizens, an obscure period of exposure to death, in the concreteness of existence amid the ruins.  Yet, this time creates something that exists beyond time; this death creates something beyond death.

50:50 Parliament

It has frequently been argued that social movements carry little weight in the policy-making process and are therefore incapable of promoting change.  However, this pessimistic attitude is, more often than not, held by those who fear change.  And those who fear change are oftentimes the people with considerable power and privilege, and perceive social movements to be a threat to their current state of security, status and stability.

Stop Repeating History

ISIL is not a geographical location we can bomb.  It is an ideology which has only been strengthened by the choices of our government.  The only thing certain in our belief of location is the death and harm caused to hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.  Just as it was certain in our war-filled history.

Counter-Hegemony: Some Thoughts

We're building a counter-hegemony. We're constructing new powers, new ways of thinking, and new ways of approaching our social world. We don't need to mindlessly, passively accept the dominant narratives any longer. We are capable of thinking beyond what we've been told and indoctrinated to accept. We can do so much better, we need to do better. And I think the increase in direct action we've been seeing, hearing about, and participating in over the last few months is demonstrating that people care. That people want change and to be actively involved in that process. Collectively we have been able to start new discussions and engage more people, spreading the word that change is possible and that we can impact the world. In fighting against something we are advocating otherness which shows how destruction can be constructive. And we are now seeing more regularly that what unites us is the struggle of humanity against neoliberalism. We are finally starting conversations about systems of oppression and not just power inequalities, and, I believe, this can be nothing more and nothing less than a positive thing.

What does it mean to say ‘NO’?

Globalisation and neoliberalism aren’t about individuals against humanity, it's a comprehensive system which oppresses us universally but situationally.  There is more than one form of oppression; it's more diverse now than ever before.  Globalisation and neoliberalism are wars against humanity.  It's a system which benefits from the exploitation of the social peripheries and the expected apathy of the masses.  We need to unite and fight.  The momentum is with us because the truth is with us.  We know better and so we need to do better.  And we are.

Hope in an Apathetic Climate? Some Reflections

We have built fantastical architectural designs which reinforce the order of spatial existence we occupy, but our reliance on set structures has created a dogmatic permanence.  We have become consumed and blinded by such dogmatic claims that we cannot observe the planned obsolescence nor the impermanence of the structures we have created and our existence.  Our order is fragile and yet we protect it, upholding the notion that it is a strategic operation of co-existence, when, in reality, we use it to isolate ourselves.  We exist in an interconnected series of power structures, failing to recognise our very existence and constructed order as powered, thus negating our innate ability to reclaim power through deconstruction.  We can create a power, through the creation of an anti-power.  There currently exists a thin veil between private and public: it is time to renegotiate such terms. 

The Blight of our Landscape

The human world is currently on the brink of catastrophic environmental disaster.  As President of the USA, Barack Obama, said in the State of the Union Address, “no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change” [Obama 2015].  To quote Tony Juniper, author of How many lightbulbs does it take to change a planet?, “We must now face the challenge of meeting expanding human needs while simultaneously maintaining the relatively stable and productive planetary conditions that have sustained our welfare… [because] if we are to build sustainable societies we will need to address some urgent and large-scale interlocking trends, namely, climate change, the impending global mass extinction of species, and the depletion of resources” [Juniper 2007: p.6]. 

Unsustainable Consumption

Of course big firms and farmers wouldn't be happy if we all gave up the consumption of animal products because it is a direct threat to corporate profits! But you know who would be pleased by our conscious decision to eliminate such products? The animals we have to actively *kill* in order to temporarily satisfy our taste-buds. It’s not your personal choice / freedom of choice to eat meat if it puts others in danger or obstructs their freedoms, it’s a complete contradiction and exceeds a statutory limit.

Should Feminism Rebrand Itself for a Wider Audience?

It has been suggested that feminism, as we know and understand it, should rebrand itself because the brand of the movement, not the message, is turning people off and away from the realities of the feminist fight. 

Therefore, I find myself asking whether feminism should rebrand itself to appease those who dislike the brand so it can appeal to a wider audience.  And I find myself answering no.  Feminism should not need to rebrand itself to be duly accepted by the mainstream.  Feminism should be a movement with a name that continues to be unapologetic in its demand for attaining equal rights, the advancement of women and marginalised groups in society, and the restructuring of patriarchal demands.

In short, no.  Feminism should not rebrand itself.

Honest Roof

Having grown up with a limited scope of knowledge about the world around me, due to living in a western-centric, capitalist and globalised society, has often left me with questions about the experiences, cultures and history of countries not part of the system in which I have been privileged to live.

Being fortunate enough to study at a respected university and work in a supportive and fairly well-paid part-time job has allowed me to create opportunities to travel and learn more about the world in which I live, broadening my horizons and knowledge, reducing prejudice and bias I know I have oftentimes willingly accepted based on the propaganda my media sources exploit as a result of a lack open minded and opposing views.

Education or Ignorance: What Will You Choose?

Why do we do the things we do?  Why is change something so uncomfortable?  Is it just our minds perceiving this threat, or are we genuinely threatened and anxious?  Why is my conscious choice to go vegan a threat to so many?

It is baffling how, when people ask questions regarding the vegan lifestyle, they are completely uninterested in the answers and instead become defensive over their behaviours.  Perhaps it is because on some deeper level, conscious or not, they feel guilty and know that they are morally justified to be taking another life for consumption and abusing a sentient being for our own comforts.

Don’t Study Sociology If You Want To Be Happy

Freedom?

Sociology is about confronting and challenging the morality of our fragmented society because, when we pry beneath the surface, we quickly realise that everything we have been socialised into is an ideal, and that very few people can live up to the unrealistic standards of society's institutions.

Studying Sociology will lead to the eventual realisation that the world is penetrable by insight.  It is not necessarily a happy experience, nor a negative one.  Instead, it is supremely insightful.  Meaning becomes an abstract social thing, and not a fuel for your life as we have been led to believe up until this point.  Whatever social problem comes up, you can imagine the great causal chains which supports, but also holds back, groups of people.  An analytical mind can be a burden, but also a liberator.  Once you can see the ball and chains that restrict people, you can begin to free yourself from them.  If you can at first liberate yourself through knowledge of the ephemeral beauty of life, you can eventually emancipate others by subtly altering the structure of their individual lives to include things that will release them from this socially constructed trap.  Now that you know better, you have to do better.

We Need a Revolution

The fact that so few people actually have their own opinions about world issues (or at the very least do not openly share them), but instead conform to media inspired beliefs is something rather concerning.  We need a revolution, yet this won’t happen unless everyone realises the ideological control of the media and societal institutions in biasing our perception of the world.  So many people do not care nor have opinions about things that really matter, such as the state of humanity, the way we so easily obey the people at the top of hierarchy because we believe they’re better than us, or the way the environment is used for capitalistic gain. 

The Importance of Foreign Languages

http://www.savagechickens.com/ 

In schools you will find that the Head of Modern Foreign Languages is always blathering on about the importance of studying languages.  And quite frankly, they are right to do so.

However, for many in compulsory education, the opportunity to study either French, German or Spanish is challenging and often daunting.  I must agree.  Having studied French from Year 7 to AS Level, and German from Year 8 to A2, I can say with absolute certainty that learning a foreign language certainly presents its difficulties.  It is not helped by the fact that many students have a negative view of the department as a whole and deem language learning unnecessary and a deeply dissatisfactory experience.