December 20/21 2002: Nights of Rage - Days of Disobedience

Two days of social disobedience in solidarity with the Argentinean popular rebellion

FILM NIGHT - WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER 2002
Argentinean Film Night & talk about the uprising, plus food & bar. 7.30pm, Union Tavern, Camberwell New Rd, SE5
Free/donations

UNDERGROUND - FRIDAY 20TH DECEMBER 2002
Night of Rage
Affinity group actions & individual acts of defiance against those institutions
that enforce control & our compliance

OVERGROUND - SATURDAY 21ST DECEMBER
Day of Disobedience
Meet Oxford Circus, midday onwards
The WOMBLES, with others, will be creating an autonomous space in the middle of Oxford Street featuring:

• A FREE SHOP - Come & get stuff for free. Books/CDs/toys/clothes. Bring stuff down you want to give away.
• A MOBILE KITCHEN - Giving away WOMBLE veggie burgers & wonderous edible delights
• MUSIC - with free dancing lessons. Learn to tango Argentinean style. Bring old pots & pans to bang (like the cacerolazo of Argentina), create your own DIY samba band.
• Guerrilla Santas will be on hand to show you how to make the most of your 'disposable income'.

[text of latest leaflet follows]

D20/21 Global Days of Disobedience

We're all consumers now....

Every year we're force-fed the same bullshit, blackmailed, bullied into believing we must buy in order to feel happy. We are, en masse, defined by our ability to purchase. And each year we're left feeling empty, used, less human, more worthless. We are never made happy by the things we're told make us real.

Coca-Cola invented Christmas....

Christmas is given its value by the commerce it generates. Consumer culture has long since abandoned any pretence that this time of year is anything other than a sustained campaign of greed & the fight for profit. Our faith in people is distorted by the obscenities that capital creates - we are told we are not popular enough (try more), not healthy enough (eat more), not desirable enough (drink more), not human enough (buy more). We kill ourselves constantly in the desire to feel whole. Not surprisingly there are more homeless people & more suicides at christmas than at any other period of the year.

Giving the kids what they want....

Oxford Street is Europe's largest shopping district. Millions and millions of pounds pass between its palaces & glittering arcades while the damaged & starving lay abandoned & shivering in its doorways. Saturday 21st December is the retail establishment's most important day. They've spent the last 6 months preparing for it with almost military precision. They demand we buy, consume, sell our worth for the privilege of knowing our place. This year we intend it shouldn't happen.

The kids giving it back....

Christmas is also a time when elves & pixies come out to play. As small, simple acts of everyday disobedience shoplifting has come to symbolise the changing nature of our times - a conscious desire not to comply, to accept our place, our roles, the social conditions that are forced upon us. Last year the retail industry lost a total of £2,044 million in theft, 1.76% of total turnover (an average of £42 per customer). This makes the UK the shoplifting capital of Europe. We are not isolated by our acts of refusal.

The WOMBLES in no way endorse or encourage activities that may get you into trouble with your mum. We do, however, fully endorse creative use of your own imagination.

D21 - la lucha es una sola....

More importantly it was Christmas time last year that the people of Argentina, enraged & desperate after years of oppression, engaged in a popular uprising, forcing out the corrupt government that had, with the aid of IMF/World Bank intervention, brought the country to financial collapse. After a year of almost constant crisis they are now beginning to wrestle themselves away from the chains of capitalism & discover the freedom necessary to explore & develop their own future. On sat Dec 21st we'll be taking to the streets as part of a global day of action in celebration of the courage & resilience of the people of Argentina who dared to act...

What's going on....

Exchanging money for goods is about power & control. Capitalism was built, & is sustained, by the imbalance that this power creates.
Come join the fun: lots to be had by everyone!

'HISTORY IS WHAT WE'RE GIVEN WHEN WE'VE GOT NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE'

Other groups involved in the Global Day of Disobedience in solidarity with
the Argentinean popular rebellion are:
DISOBBEDIENTI - ITALY
JNM - BELGIUM
YOMANGO - SPAIN
BLACK REVOLUTION - SWITZERLAND
as well as actions in Jordan, Finland, US, Germany

It goes one at a time.
It starts when you care to act.
It starts when you do it again after they say "No".
It starts when you say 'we' & know who you mean; & each day you mean one more

The idea of a global day of action based upon social disobedience in sympathy with Argentina was discussed at the 2nd European PGA Conference in September 2002.

Report from the Free Shop action

I was at the Oxford Street free shop action today, which was participated in by hundreds of shoppers and passersby. I've been to many demos and actions over the last few years, and in terms of engaging with people and getting a message across in a fun, creative and original way, that had relevance to people's lives, this was the best action I've been to.

Police presence was heavy from the start, but their warning regarding section 14 of the public order act and the fact that we were apparently 'disrupting the shopping life of the area' (exactly what we set out to do!) was overpowered by the shouts of 'free donuts' and the ensuing rush to the stall. Most passersby and participants largely ignored the police, with one elderly lady who had crossed the road to attend the free shop, going so far as to label their behavior pathetic.

We were initially met with disbelief that everything was free, but people quickly understood that this was no charitable act, and got into the spirit of things in a big way, trying on clothes, rummaging through boxes of books. During the 4 hour disruption of the busiest street in London on the busiest day of the year, continuous streams of people donated books, toys & clothes, drank chocolate-flavoured coffee, ate onion bhajis & cakes, listened to music and browsed for free presents.

One man found a book he'd been searching for for ages, and offered a donation. He was refused, with the afternoon's oft-repeated phrase - "everything's free". A hilarious mock auction was held - "I'm taking bids of nothing!", "The stereo goes to the man who's offered nothing!"

The 'Free Palestine' march that passed by - and stopped for a coffee - was met with cheers from the free shop kids, and confusion from the cops (was this another protest, or the same one in a different guise?).

Many of those we spoke to were surprisingly already aware of the situation in Argentina (considering the lack of coverage in the UK press), and understood the relevance of the action to our/their own situation regarding christmas consumption and ever- spiralling consumer debt which is now at an unprecedented £810 billion pounds in the UK.

One person was arrested on a spurious charge (section 14 of the public order act) for apparently protesting in the wrong area by himself (he went for a walk). It's as if the human rights act never existed. He will appear in court on Monday.

As the reports of the dozens of solidarity actions which have happened on the first ever Global Day of Social Disobedience are posted and reposted in several langauges, the spirit of the Global movement has again shown that it is neither gone away or dying. Lets look forward to next year because the ingenuity and creative of human beings in struggle can never be defeated!

Love + Rage

Freeshopping WOMBLES