Streets protests in the USA
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I hope they are not going to use all these empty plinths to put on statues of William Wilberforce. Yes, he opposed chattel slavery but was all in favour of wage-slavery, to the extent of opposing the Factory Act, thus acquiring a merited notoriety in the working class movement.
This extract article from the Socialist Standard of April 1909 (not yet on our website) explains why wage-slavery apologists like Wilberforce wanted to end chattel slavery:
“It is well known that free labour is often far more profitable to employers than slave labour. Mr. Brassey in “Work and Wages” cites some interesting cases, and informs us on authority that prior to the emancipation of the slaves in Jamaica, 18 cwt. of sugar per acre was thought excellent, while under free labour it averaged 1 ton. He further attributes to the British Consul at Pernambuco a detailed statement of the comparative cost of work done by slave and free labour, which shows that sugar costing £4,251 to produce by slaves, would have cost only £1,080 by free labour. To further emphasize the point that free labourers, or slaves with the opportunity of earning their freedom, are more profitable than ordinary slaves, he says of some coffee-carriers in the Brazils, carrying bags of coffee weighing 2 to 3 cwt., that they worked with intense vigour in order to earn a sufficient sum to purchase their freedom, and generally succeeded in accumulating the amount in three or four years—an effort which too often broke their health. It was the knowledge of such facts as these that caused the abolition of chattel slavery, and not the sentimentalism of moralists and alleged Christians.”
If these protests stay within the concept of racism and knocking down statutes, and a fight between white and black and vice versa, the movement will die, like the antiwar movement vanished because the rulers are going to issues several reforms to calm down the protesters and they will be pleased with the reforms. Some leftwing organizations are calling the protest a socialist revolution, but it is not a revolution, and it is not a movement either, it is a revolt for reforms,( similar to the one which took place in Germany and France after the Bolshevik revolution ) most peoples involve are young and they do not have a clue of what socialism really is, that is not their objective either
Black Lives Matters organisers said they had decided to call off a planned protest at Hyde Park at 1pm on Saturday, warning that “many hate groups” were threatening the safety of those planning to come.
“We want the protests to be a safe space for people to attend,” a post from the BLM LDN organisers said. “However, we don’t think it will be possible with people like them present.”There are fears among anti-racist campaigners that marauding gangs of hooligans will seek out BLM protesters around London with the intention of confronting them.
However, it is unclear whether BLM protesters will heed the call to stay away because other protests are still currently listed as going ahead. Another event – “Antifascists support Black Lives Matter” – is also due to take place on Saturday lunchtime. This event is supported by the Labour pressure group Momentum, among others
Far-right groups, with the support of extremists such as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who calls himself Tommy Robinson, plan to hold a “defend our memorials” event at Winston Churchill’s statue on Parliament Square, where considerable numbers could be present. The extremists claim they intend to prevent the landmarks from being targeted after Churchill’s statue was daubed with graffiti. Several far-right groups were continuing to push their “patriotic unity” event on extremist channels and chat groups as an opportunity to stage a show of strength.
We may need a separate thread for this topic if it continues
“A council’s plans to remove a statue of the founder of the Scout movement amid fears that it would be targeted by anti-racist activists were thwarted when it was surrounded by dozens of locals refusing to allow it to be taken away.”
As an aside, in Scotland there was a religious bigotry issue. Catholic youth usually joined the Boy Scouts, the protestants always joined the Boys Brigade.
Update on Capitol Hill Free Zone as it hits the mainstream media’s radar
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/chaz-seattle-autonomous-zone-police-protest
Meanwhile Trump blames it all on “ugly anarchists” and “domestic terrorists”, instructing the mayor of Seattle and governor of Washington state to “take back your city NOW. If you don’t do it, I will…”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/11/trump-seattle-threats-protests-twitter-complaints
Elsewhere, statues continue to be targeted. In Virginia, Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy and four other confederate statues . In Miami, Christopher Columbus and conquistador Juan Ponce de León.
Was Belgium’s King Leopold II a mass murderer on a par with Hitler or a greedy despot who turned a blind eye to a few excesses? A new book has ignited a furious row in a country coming to grips with its colonial legacy. Stephen Bates reports..
The hidden holocaustWarning ⚠️ distressing images
This Congolese man is staring at the severed hand and foot of his 5 year old daughter – punishment for not collecting enough rubber for Belgian King Leopold II. Today people are complaining because a statue of King Leopold has been taken down in Antwerp. pic.twitter.com/7FeMoIVIbb
— Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (@wingcommander1) June 9, 2020
People are complaining that his statue has been taken down in Antwerp?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/12/belgium-forced-to-reckon-with-leopolds-legacy-and-its-colonial-past?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherIt looks as if the protests have been hijacked by the ‘anti-fascist’ mob so that they can indulge in street scuffles with Tony Robinson’s mob this weekend. Fat lot of good that will do.
It looks as if the protests have been hijacked by the ‘anti-fascist’ mob so that they can indulge in street scuffles with Tony Robinson’s mob this weekend. Fat lot of good that will do.
I think you’ll find that’s Tommy Robinson. I can’t imagine Baldrick is up to much in a ruck!
Yes sorry. That what automatic spelling prompts bring about! Tony Robinson is a bit of leftie, isn’t he?
Just checked. Sir Anthony Robinson was a long-standing Labourite even sitting in its National executive committee.
James, some of Leopold’s relations are still in denial about the atrocities
A member of Belgium’s royal family has defended the role played by King Leopold II in the exploitation of the colony that became the Democratic Republic of Congo. Prince Laurent – brother of the present King Philippe – acknowledged in an interview with the Sudpresse newspaper that abuses were committed in the Congo colony but not by his ancestor. He said King Leopold could not have hurt people there because he never went to Congo, though he owned it as his personal estate.
With that logic, Hitler is absolved of the Final Solution because he never went to Buchenwald
Meanwhile in Canada…
Can’t imagine the police reaction had anything to do with this (spoiler alert, the previous statement was intended to be ironic)
CHAZ
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/06/seattle-project-cop-free-world-200612213944832.html
But there are no leaders in the zone. Problems have been addressed as they come up, and regular “town hall” meetings are beginning to give structure and rules to living there.
The “No Cop Co-op” grocery store doesn’t charge for its food or drinks, yet stock remains plenty.
“The goal of this zone is to set an example for the world, that we do not need the current police system to maintain order. We do not need a man with a gun to show up at our door every time we have a problem and call 911”
Seems Statues of slavery benefactors sparked protests more than 100 years ago?
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