With the unrest in London, is it time

[socialist_n_TN]

for the political wing to take advantage and call for a general strike and further political demonstrations? Although it looks like a lot of this is "criminality" (surface only analysis and only for some), there are political elements to it already. Sometimes it pays to take advantage of what you're given.

[socialist_n_TN]

1. Plus Cameron and the Tories are in trouble

about the Murdoch scandal and joining in with strikes and demonstrations against "austerity" might give the riots more focus.

Any takers on this?

[villager]

2. The trick would be to morph the unrest into a General Strike...

Wonder what the political alchemy is for that particular transformation?

[socialist_n_TN]

4. I've got some ideas, but

I've got to go to work now. I hope this is still around tonight when I get home. :)

[readmoreoften]

6. The political alchemy is a revolutionary vanguard capable of organizing the strike.

There are certainly people already on the scene who are large enough to fulfill this function. The SWP, for one. Organizers and agitators with a unified plan will be what's needed soon. I suspect it'll take awhile.

[socialist_n_TN]

13. Well, I just so happen to be reading

Trotsky's "The History of the Russian Revolution", so there ARE some lessons there. :)

The February revolution in '17 started with a spark, with a strike and demonstration for International Women's Day by female textile workers. They talked the metalworkers into following and it grew organically from there.

This is the spark and that's what I was talking about. There's a lot of pent up resistence to 25 years of racist actions by the police in the black areas. I think that there needs to be some solidarity actions in other areas of England. Strikes if possible, demonstrations at the least. The bottom up uprisings are the most powerful.

[GeneStoney]

3. Where?

You mean over here or over there? I couldn't care less what they do over there, they're like the number one example of how not to run a country.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

11. welcome to DU. enjoy your stay,

:)

[nomb]

5. The local neighborhood leadership has almost entirely shifted the focus to criminal elements.

Reports are starting to build that Social Networking caused an almost "Warriors" movie type of gathering by usually antagonistic gangs from all over London to come and riot/loot.

I'm afraid this teaching moment is lost all ready.

[GeneStoney]

7. I'm not sure it would be a moment for teaching

Surely it would be better to use these people in as "useful idiots" to destabilise things? The best thing you can do is to force a vacuum and stand by ready to fill it, especially if people may not be ready to otherwise accept policies that you know in the long run would be better for them?

[HipChick]

8. This has been going on for 30yrs...there was no Social Networking then..

It's more about racial injustice more than anything else..

[HipChick]

9. Social media is the least of their worries...London has the highest # of CCTV's

The Met police are recording everything...then they use facial recognition software to go arrest people...that's what they did with the student protest earlier this year..and that's what they will do now. London is pretty much a police state as far as I am concerned.

[HipChick]

10. BTW...here is a pic of an employee arrested after looting her own store

not exactly looking like a mindless mob..

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[socialist_n_TN]

12. Well I'm back..........

For a London based commie perspective, read:

http://www.workerspower.co.uk/2011/08/tottenham-ablaze-the-anger-is-back/

[dana_b]

14. 16 y.o. girl beaten

my gawd...

Here's another good article from the Guardian. A little more context than just "mindless thuggery".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/aug/08/context-london-riots