Report: Belfast WSM first successful public meeting

by Shane - WSM Mon May 26, 2008 16:25

Great stuff. More of this please!

by curtis wright Mon May 26, 2008 17:51

why did the speaker come from eire and not a speaker from the mainland? this would have appealed to the people more. unless you are an irish only group.

by cough cough Mon May 26, 2008 19:11

ha, what MAIN land? Europe or that island off the coast of Ireland and im sure they want someone there who uses the slave term 'mainland' at an anarchist meetin. So ethnocentric, Britcentric term. Its bad enough theyre pompous enough to put the word GREAT in front of the name of their country.

by Belfast WSM Mon May 26, 2008 20:23

Here is the interesting audio recording of the meeting.

wsm_meet.mp3 8.55 Mb

by Chekov - wsm - personal capacity Mon May 26, 2008 23:43

The WSM is a 32 country organisation. This is not because we think there's anything magical about the nation of Ireland. In fact we are well aware that nations as they stand are a mythical construct, invented in the 19th century, and intended to tie the population to the emerging capitalist ruling class. Ireland has always been a socially diverse island, with multiple waves of immigration, harbouring many different cultures with a range of beliefs, speaking various languages and dialects. In the 20th century, when nationalism became the strongest global ideological force by far, there was a concerted and widespread effort by both the state, and the dominant religious institution to suppress this diversity, both North and South. The result was a state based on psychological and social repression, which switched to violent physical suppression in the North, when the minority culture revolted.

So, you are not going to find us playing that game. In general, we don't care where our fellow anarchists and fellow workers come from. If you have some problem with where somebody comes from, that's your problem not ours. You need to have a chat with yourself.

The reason that the WSM is a 32 county organisation is because we all live on a small windswept island off the North Western coast of Europe. We can drive between the two biggest cities on the island nowadays in less than 2 hours. From a practical point of view, therefore, it makes no sense at all not to unite in one organisation. Unfortunately, we can't ignore the fact that there are two different states on the island, and this fact shapes our campaigning and propaganda North and South of the border. But that certainly doesn't mean that we're going to let our rulers draw a line down the middle of our movement and divide it in two. They can piss right off with that.

by Curtis Wright Tue May 27, 2008 22:43

I take it from your reply that you are a pseudo republican group who appear to be intolerant of the majority viewpoint in Ulster. I think your republican religion will find no home in our homeland.
The workers of Europe rejected your lenin and Marks politics and choose freedom. You will find the same responce from the workers and landowners in Ulster.

by observer Wed May 28, 2008 23:51

WSM is an internationalist organisation with sisters groups on almost every continent. They are not republicans, they reject the myth of nationalism as something which divides the working class.

In fairness.

by Séamus Thu May 29, 2008 16:28

Republicanism is not the same thing as nationalism.

And what exactly is meant by "about 10-15"? Is the reporter unable to count beyond the fingers on his/her hands?

by Alan MacSimoin Thu May 29, 2008 17:38

"And what exactly is meant by "about 10-15"? Is the reporter unable to count beyond the fingers on his/her hands?"

No, he is just modest! There were 16 people in the room. 5 WSM and 11 others.

by Jason Brannigan - Organise! Tue Aug 05, 2008 01:49 organiseireland at yahoo dot ie PO Box 505, Belfast, BT11 6BQ

Despite what many see as current poor relations between Organise! and the WSM I attended this meeting as a member of Organise! along with another comrade, differences were aired albeit to briefly, but really the some of the comments on this thread are downright reactionary.

by Concerned Libertarian! Thu Jan 22, 2009 20:24

Is it not a fundamental value of Anarchism is to oppose ANY FORM of nationalism? It certainly is from my viewpoint ! I am troubled that this mythical 'national question' should be of concern of anarchists of any group. Anarchism, by my definition has NO place for nationalist chest beating regardless of which nation is doing the beating!
I have an equal distaste for the Dublin, Stormont, London and ANY other government ,COMPLETELY REGARDLESS of which party/parties occupy it. I apologise for the use of capital letters in my comment, I just wanted to avoided being labelled as been partisan towards ANY State, as that would make me feel dirty!

by MMM Fri Jan 23, 2009 13:56

Think there needs to be a wider understanding and discussion of nationalism etc. As an anarchist, id totoally agree that to have nationalism as a central plank of your political philosophy, even one that's shrouded in socialist rethoric like much of republican socialist grouping, is a short hiding top nowhere.

You cant make nationialism, of culture concepts of identity, nor the history and context of worldwide and local national liberation struggles against colonialism dissappear or become irrelevant by wisking it away however

Anarchist need to engage with all these ideas, and to my mind, challenge the flag waving sectarian 'socialism' spouted by many. I think elsewhere on this site, someone asked Eirigi how, as republican socialists, they intend to engage with working class protestants who identity almost as british. Would be good to hear there take on this.

Personally i think anarchist politics ahev a much better handle on the diverging roles that nationalism, the nation-state, and nationality plays upon and within societies at large.

by bohemians fan Fri Jan 23, 2009 14:09

Do anarchists support football teams? Would an anarchist go along to see a GAA match for example?

The atmosphere of fellow-feeling at sporting events like GAA matches is a real thing, and a very positive one in some ways. It's not unlike the solidarity feelings that people have for fellow followers of the same political ideology.

by Concerned Libertarian Fri Jan 23, 2009 17:49

I do attend GAA matches, and fully agree with you that there is a sense of comradeship amongst fans. I see no problem with that. To say that that comradeship extends beyond supporting the team in the match would raise problems for me. e.g joining a complete stranger in beating the lard out of someone because they wear a different colour shirt or, thinking that you like a person better/worse because they like a certain team etc. etc.