Sunday, 17 June 2012
A nice stroll around Cambridge.
Measured in terms of numbers attending, or for that matter impact, the Class War defend Mr Asbo anti Oxbridge elitism outing to Cambridge was hardly earth shattering. It was however what we of the Freedom Pass Column like to describe as "a nice day out". Having never been to Cambridge before I did my best to find out a bit about the town in the short time that I had available. I learnt a lot about both Colleges and Town chatting with a local nurse and a student journalist who both joined us on the march and in the pub afterwards. Wandering around The Backs I discovered that punting on the Cam is not just students hiring punts and making arses of themselves but that professional boatmen pole large punts full of tourists around for a whacking £12 per head for a 45 minute trip. It's a nice little earner but one that is not without it's darker side as I learnt from The Tab. Had I been a Cambridge lad I might well have ended up as a professional punter. As in all provincial towns the interesting stuff is lurking just beneath the surface. There is obviously more to Cambridge than dreaming Dons, bowler hatted jobsworths and a network of high camp soviet spies. I shall return.
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3 comments:
Glad you enjoyed your day in Cambridge, but also pleased that Class War did not level the colleges, or send the students and staff to Maoist style re-education centres. I contributed to courses there for over ten years,with post grads from around the world, most working for charities and aid organizations combatting animal cruelty such as circuses, bear dancing, hunting and experimenting. One of my students was bombed in Spain by fascists for opposition to bull fighting. Cambridge provided a useful venue for improving their scientific knowledge and ability to combat animal cruelty in their own countries. In my ten years none of us met with the toffs as we were too busy focusing on our political objectives. We ate self service meals and ocasionally went to the pub. But we were aware of some very dubious sources of university income from a few dictators in the middle east. All of this, and so much more, was censored from a recently deceased Class War blog; probably did not fit the toffs v workers narrative. Here's a conclusion: as a US (baddy) politician has recently pointed out, citizen blogs are the answer to the corrupt lying media if they point out the truth. Too many anarchist blogs merely quote from the mainstream media, and die through loss of credibility. Working people, those who oppose animal cruelty and more, might turn to anarchist blogs if they are honest and not controlled like the old soviet Pravda.
The bloke in the ivory tower says........sorry mate but your dialogue is delivered from an elitist position. Do you really believe working people read blogs? Anarchist or otherwise? I "do the blogs" and the people I work with ( take home wage about £900 a month) think I speak from an Ivory tower too. Animal welfare an issue when you don't know if you can pay the child minder this month? I go on about the tories this and the rich that to people who struggle to find an hour to watch east enders never mind attend a political meeting or rally.
I may have misread your comment, but as a building worker whose dad was a lorry driver I ended up doing work at Cambridge on a subject I know a lot about. Ivory tower my arse. You seem to have a chip on your shoulder and appear dismissive of what I am saying.Still peddling the Bonist crap about animal welfare being postponed until we have redistributed the wealth. Animal welfare people I work with are out there fighting landlords who discriminate against homeless people with pets. See the dogs with homeless guys in shop doorways, ever speak to them? I will tell you, their pals are the dogs, not the smart arse anarchist know alls who prioritise on welfare issues. And their animals need food and veterinary care just as the homeless need food and shelter. I won't be recruiting them for your revolutionary class conscious projects, just sorting out the abusive landlord, or dealing with the leftie dominated council who want to hand over the stray animals to the experimenters.Here's a blogging rule overlooked by the Bonistas: put up an argument, don't slag off the person you disagree with.
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