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.

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.

Full Automation?

http://www.kitchensoap.com/2012/09/21/a-mature-role-for-automation-part-i/

Technology and Society.  The robots are after us and human life as we know it is going to end.  That’s true.  Our understanding of humanity and existence is going to end, but we’re not going to be exterminated from this planet.  Our conceptualisation and the applied meaning of the human relationship is evolving, and with technology we can reach a higher state of meaning.  Autonomous machines offer new ways of defining humanity, and the changing relationship between humans and machines.  

Only the Illusion

The cycle of war continues its familiar path, with memory its first casualty. The demonisation of enemies. The fabricated pretexts. The casualties covered up. The costs hidden off budget. The lights always at the end of tunnels.

Unfree. Yet Powerful. Exploited. Not Forgotten.

The demonstrations and resistance inside Yarl's Wood have been the most important fight in Britain for women's rights and for immigrants’ rights, because they have been inspiring - because the people in this struggle are fighting to win the most basic of demands as human beings.

March 12^th signified the National Demonstration at Yarl’s Wood, for all the men and women held like cattle inside detention-deportation centres.   For all looking to break out from under the shadow of detention.  It was for all those at the borders of Europe challenging the cynical leaders a demanding in real life the promise of democracy and freedom, of which sanctuary is fundamental.  Nearly 2000 turned up in support of this demonstration, making it the largest event against indefinite detention.

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.

Freedom of Passage

Something struck me the other night, as I stood waiting to pass through border controls in London upon my return to the country: ignorance. Behind me in the queue stood a couple complaining about the wait time to scan their passports and continue their journey. (Admittedly, the length of the queue was exceptionally long for 1am, but that's besides the point). Their complaints were centred around refugees, and their argument was something to this effect:

Symbolism versus Analysis

Is it not another incumbent aspect of capitalist society that we think of ourselves in terms of nothing more than the mere volume of value we offer to public life?  That we are credible to those in power, rather than credible and accountable to ourselves?  We’re told that our actions are of importance, that we can make a difference.  Yet we’re subjected to paltry compensations from those in power in order to suppress those ideas which are deemed counter-productive or pose a threat to the existing order.  

Yet this in and of itself is problematic.  Our actions and political statements are extensions of our passions and beliefs, and to consider them in reference to compensations of mankind undermines their power and their potential for social good.   Political activism is artistic experimentation.  It is symbolic.  And so such symbolism cannot be applied to paper, nor analysed by those obtuse enough to apply such symbolism to paper.  

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. 

Guatemala: Apathetic Youth and People-Power?

Credit: 

Jorge Dan Lopez/Reuters

We’ve heard of the Arab Spring.  We’ve watched on as mainstream news outlets have relentlessly reported on the impact of actions by the general public have had on the governing social and political systems.  We’ve been witness to countless outbreaks of violence, unrest, and humanitarian crises, which have produced graphic and obscene images that became a viral presentation of a system that is failing.

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.

Cameron's Massive Shiny Forehead on the Big Screen

08.05.2015 – Conservatives have won a majority government with 331 elected seats in the House of Commons

We can rant and rave and say, ‘look at what you’ve voted into Britain.  Look at what you've done to our government’ as much as we like.  Yet the sad fact is that the Conservatives have been voted in, and there is no changing this fact (at least not for another 5 years).  We just need to accept that Cameron is now running our government, and we have the joy of experiencing a laissez-faire centric, neoliberal elitist party control our futures. 

The Politicisation of Social Media

Observing the latest trends, patterns and issues raised on social media highlights the power the internet has had in connecting people, not only with each other, but with politics and issues of social justice. 

Through the use of social media, many sociological issues are raised and answers / solutions ignored, and this just proves that radical change within ourselves is the first necessary step in combatting the existing systematic oppression of many social group (whether that is racially, sexually, or in terms of class). 

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.

UK Porn Laws

Before considering the latest governmental changes to porn laws, it is important to be aware of how the porn industry was already sexist, racist and degrading.  Yet new legislation in the UK makes these laws blatantly misogynistic, further devaluing women and their role within society.

Due to an amendment made this month on the 2003 Communications Act, a new list of sexual acts have been banned from being produced in British-made adult films.  On-demand adult films are now required to meet the same standards of production as those of films available on DVD in sex shops.  The list of banned acts consists of spanking, caning, female ejaculation and face-sitting, amongst others, due to being deemed life-threatening.  However, many of the acts that have been contributed to the list are those associated with female pleasure and sexual satisfaction.