Decent Jobs For All!? WTF!!! Catalyst #19

I remember not liking the headline, more because it was a bit cringeworthy than anything else. It was a bit of a poor choice for an otherwise decent article, and if we'd really really felt the need to spoof BJFBW ''wildcats for all workers'' or ''rights fr all workers'' or whatever could have worked better. However, as with most things revol just makes me want to defend the choice of headline just because his arguements are always so hysterical and absurd these days.

The articles here
http://www.solfed.org.uk/docs/catalyst-19.txt.htm
Headline aside it was a decent and fairly standard short anarchist article on the LOR strike for a freesheet. Don;t see anything particularly contentious about it.

It's actually a typo, the correct version on most copies is "Decent Jobs for Decent Workers"

Fuck okay then, yes it is a shite headline. I agree.

This is even worse than the original one!! Although this goes into stupid battle who is the a bigger prick and one should take sides with revol or "the other side", I would be glad if people stick to the point. And I think revol made one.

I remember there was a similar debate about such approach in anarchist/communist publications when municipal workers were on strike on protest and their slogan was Decent jobs or something like that. And some people here said they have no problem using this themselves. As was said - there is nothing "decent" about jobs. I feel like this is being some kind of working class pride or something like that. Which is shit because it is not a pride based on your action but on your position in the capitalist system. Although I don't agree completely with revol that this leads to the idea that it "only serves to shore up the belief that capitalism can be made fair or work not alienated or exploitative", I think he is making a good point about culture it can help to perpetuate.

heh, ok. still, the original one is bad as well.

pff way to fucking completely miss the point ballroot

The criticism for activisty shite were generally over people doing pretty useless stuff just for the sake of 'doing something' - to the extent where people invented shit to be doing, even when there were no real ongoing struggles with which to engage

The issue of Catalyst you're talking about came out, what 3mths ago, and sat on our kitchen table since early march for about a month, and we even sat discussing how shit it was then, but you didn't bother coming on to post shit then. I mean, if that's what's really bothering you why not do it then, when it was a current issue, and you seen it every single day?

As it is there does come a point where no one will listen to you sounding like a whinging little bitch. I actually agree with you, but to be honest, rather than take issue with it when it was current (and you knew very well about it 3 mths ago) you'd be better placed showing up for half an hr at many of the tickets 15 min walk from your own house for sacked wildcat strike workers

And I don't even know what this boycotting Lucozade shite is, seriously mate, is that your argument? And bringing up shit you did 8yrs ago? Now that is grasping. 'eh eh i did stuff in 2001', come on you can do much better than that

It is of course perfectly valid to criticise shit like this headline but to be honest, you are doing your usual boring spoiling for a fight and christ, it doesn't half wear people down to the point they ignore you as a complete irrelevance. Also given that you literally have fuck all to do these days, I'm sure you could actually do something productive.

Seriously there really is a point where you can't simply brush off inactivity through a critique of 'activisty shite', which most of us share but when struggles do arise, retreating to the 'eh eh activist shite' each and every time someone says 'maybe you could actually be supporting this no?'
If you're saying that Subway, Visteon, or the current traffic warden protest are in any way comparable to activist shite then fuck me that's daft.
I know you're not saying it, but comparing anyone who says 'here fuck sake could you not come down to these pickets once in a blue moon?' to activist twats smacks of lazy shit.

Agreed.

No idea, like i said its a bit cringeworthy in terms of the wording and its a naff headline but I can't say it bothers me that much.

Yes, we should have thought of a better headline. We didn't. I don't think anyone involved in Catalyst (or indeed SF) thinks anything other than that work is crap by its nature. I can't remember how we even came up with it but we wnated to make a statement against the nationalism inherent in some of the demands the Lindsey workers were making, while still supporting their overall fight. Can anyone think of a better headline?

Still, if that's the only criticism you have....

Regards,

Martin

And while it's true that all jobs under capitalism are alienated and exploitative, the whole point of fighting is to make them better and through that struggle to see the possibilities of revolution. Because that has gone on in the past, some jobs are better than others. The reason that the Lindsey workers were fighting to defend their set up was because they were organised. It's the same reason the bosses were seeking to undermine it.Most of them are better paid for doing manual jobs than most of the graduates on here are. It's not because of their skillls, but because of their organisation, and their willingness to defend it.

Or do you see no difference between jobs?

Regards,

Martin

To be honest, I think we should just have normal headlines like you'd find in the Guardian or the Times.

Workers occupy Visteon factory
Supports of victimised worker hold picket of Subway
Latin American cleaners strike for pay
Labour pursues Privatisation of Post Office
Labour friendly unions provide jobs for the boys