Students in Europe are Rising

[Joanne98]

As the economic crisis deepens and the euro is on the brink of collapse we are seeing a student movement that hasn't been seen since 1968. In the recent weeks students have taken to the streets in France, Ireland, Italy and the UK totalling hundreds of thousands. Young people are standing up against the destruction of their futures and fighting for their right to education and employment.

In London 50 000 took to the streets on the 10th November, a couple of hundred occupied the Tory Party Headquarter and triggered a media backlash. Instead of being scared away the student movement is now growing. On the 24th Nov protests had been organised all across the UK with over 13 of those leading to occupations. The majority of those are still in occupation. On the same day students in Italy protested and occupied the tower of Pisa, the Colosseum, piazzas and bridges against Berlusconi's 'education reform' (i.e. cutbacks). In France a few weeks ago school kids barricaded their schools and took to the streets against the raising of the pension age. Young people will not accept austerity measures attacking education and low paid workers, when the rich walk away with their millions.

Where next?

In the UK a further day of action is planned for Tuesday 30th Nov, with as many or more students expected to come out. In Ireland actions are being planned in various colleges, in NUI Maynooth a protest to Aine Brady's, local Fianna Fail TD, clinic on the 9th of December.
The student movement now needs to make links with workers and others fighting against cutbacks. The attack on the minimum wage is another blow to particularly young people, students and migrant workers. Only by uniting in our struggle can we achieve our goals and create a better future for all.
This starts on Saturday 27th of November on the ICTU march, where students will be joining the trade unions in one of the biggest marches this country has ever seen.

http://www.swp.ie/news/students-europe-are-rising/3800

[Mika]

1. Where next?

Certainly not here in America, where kids are routinely drugged on Ritalin or a myriad of other control medications.

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[leveymg]

2. Remember the lessons of Paris, '68.

Tactical alliances are necessary but temporary. Form your own lasting revolutionary institution to promote change, avoid being coopted by existing institutions, such as major political parties and interest groups.

Beware of charismatic "hope and change" leaders - most of them are already coopted.

Be creative. Avoid destruction.

You are the revolution!

[bemildred]

3. Or as we said back then "Fuck Leaders!".

Also, don't pick fights on ground of your enemies choosing, make them play "Whack a mole". And ignore your local FBI plant or anybody that tries to get you to attack cops or break shop windows etc.

[leveymg]

4. The best of them got killed. Many of the rest have derailed real reform for decades

Brings to mind a particular Movement "power couple" and a community organizer. Sometimes, I wonder whether this is the fault of the lack of character by the individuals who are coopted, themselves, or its just the pernicious effect of Harvard Law and other elite institutions, or whether it takes a peculiar kind of manipulative intelligence to excel there, and it's a self-selection problem.

[bemildred]

5. I think we always get co-opted by our working environments. I mean you have to to function.

That is why it is essential not to let movements or political organizations depend of the private personal development of leaders. If you need a figurehead, it needs to be someone that leaves power where they got it from. If they do not own your ass, they can't sell it. Whenever you get a bigshot who calls all the plays, it becomes about them, and you wind up with the dispute being about them instead of the issues that got you started. If you are vulnerable to a "decapitating strike" you have botched your org-chart.

[leveymg]

6. We would need to reorganize the US Gov't, and become more of a Parliamentary system

to avoid that problem. The winner-take-all political system with a strong President running the Executive Branch for a set term almost forces both parties to select charismatic, ambitious types who enjoy the exercise of power and thrive on using it to their own advantage and that of their patrons.

The two-party system, while an asset to the accumulation of national power, is a prescription for disaster for a country that's on the way down - it makes it impossible for really radical reform to take hold. The GOP has its more radical Tea Party rump faction - we need to do the same within the Democratic Party if we want to exert leverage in the other direction. I'm beginning to think that taking steps to primary Obama from the Left would be a good idea for the sake of organizing progressives within the Party.

[bemildred]

7. Yep, we have "structural problems".

And we're having a bumpy ride already.