David, David and Others,
Of course, I am with you both almost 80% on these matters (Oh that it
could be 100%!) The issue of how to communicate these honourable
intentions to those in whose name they are, to some extent, done is
indeed the crux of the matter here. Sell it to me ? Sell it to the
crit-geog-forum ?! Easy !
Now, sell it to my mum ! My neighbours ? All becomes a little bit
tricky and divisive. It becomes a game of the elite that carries no
meaning for other members of society. The fox hunting analogy is
perfect...nobody understands the motivation, the intention, the
class specific logic. Occupying the streets and shops looks to the
outsider like an act of hooliganism by the bonkers-in-the-nut
bourgeoisie !
B&Q, for example, sells itself to the public as a paragon of
virtue. Nice, young, smiling, shop assistants assure us
that they will get us the best price in town - and so helpful too !
Employment of older people who otherwise might not get a job. Hmmm,
it appears that B&Q occupies the moral high-ground here. Remember
that, quite literally, you can do it if you B&Q it ! Attacks on
such institutions can only enrage the public if it is not clear why
they are taking place. More specifically, there is no need to
"bumrush" the homebase or whichever DIY store because, of course,
they are open anyhow !
What precisely do we mean by occupy ? Is it reasonable to traumatise
members of staff of these places of employment in pursuit of higher
ideals ? Don't get me wrong, I agree in principle with the idea of
the reclaim the streets movement but there are numerous problems with
actually putting such into action. Are we perhaps dangerously
conceptualising one target (ie global capitalism) that fails to
recognise the multiple forces to which we are subject. For sure, B&Q
sucks but....so does Kwik Save, the Bank Of Scotland, Specsavers,
Greggs Baker etc. The first difficulty may lie in convincing
anyone that all of these companies are in fact manifestations of the
same thing ! Or, perhaps not.
Re: Weird gear. Yes, indeed, smarten up ! Look sharp ! Important if
we really do want to sell this to the wider public that you do a)
brush your hair, b)dress appropriately (no tie-dye!) and 3) SMILE !
Best wishes,
Daniel
PS I fear that I am taking an old debate, barely interesting, barely
alive, and giving it a good kicking in public. All to the good !
--------------------------------------------------
Dan Knox
Research Postgraduate
Department of Geography
University of Durham
South Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
UK
0191 384 6213
[log in to unmask]
http://www.dur.ac.uk/~dgg3dlk/
Tell me what you gonna do,
When the ending of time comes near,
Whatever you do,
Its gotta be funky !
Flava Flav, Public Enemy
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