Working Class Heroes with nothing to do

Spikymike on libcom

Jan 16 2018 18:15

Not unsurprisingly this split in the AF has attracted some unwanted interest from other of the tiny groups claiming their place in the anarchist and communist milieu - from some confused sympathy for the 'Communist Anarchism' element by members of the SPGB to outright hostility towards both sides of the split and plain nastiness from the sectarians of the 'Northern Voices' outcasts, well known for their regular misinformation and lies directed at other anarchists. Not much sign here of cooperatively tapping in to any 'collective knowledge'.

INEVITABLY Christopher Draper's witty account of the decline and fall of the rather pretentiously labelled 'Anarchist Federation',  has stirred-up some chat room types who once spent their lives seeking out left-wing 'talking shops' in pub rooms.  Michael Ballard, who on libcom uses the pseudonym 'Spikymike'  and has lived in south Manchester for years, originates from the London-set and is one such figure.  He seems to have moved to the Midlands as a student and later settled down into  a career at Manchester City Council, ultimately rising through the incremental scales to ultimately reach the heights of Housing Manager.

Mr Ballard was very much a white-collar worker who fetishize the working class from afar.  He solemnly pontificates upon what he pretentiously describes as 'the anarchist and communist milieu'.  Milieu according to one dictionary means 'the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops'.  

Yet just now it's easy to see that something has 'occur[ed] and develop[ed]', with everything falling apart and with the Anarchist London Bookfair organisers throwing up their hands despair rather than risk another disaster like last year with the feminist constituency and the Trans community disputing with each other over the who has the right to use of the 'Ladies' toilets.

Mr. Ballard, who although now retired was always anxious to protect his status as a housing manager, has never been at the centre of any action in Greater Manchester.  Though, he talks here of the 'anarchist milieu', he has never described himself as an 'anarchist' and he usually hangs around meetings pontificating on the actions of others:  like the Manchester electricians fighting the blacklist who he challenged for their lack of consciousness of the 'class struggle' as a bit of a boss himself he knows all about 'class struggle'.  Normally, these people represent an interesting 'type' who want to preserve their double life, often have very little to do with themselves, and on a recent thread Ballard has described himself as 'a loner' reduced to putting comments on libcom.

Yet, the fall out which followed with Nick Heath's 'Anarchist Fed.' splitting up, was a natural consequence of the slippage in Mr. Heath's strangle-hold on the federation, after several provincial sections took unilateral action supporting the trans-sexuals faction by signing open letters, and denouncing the feminists and the bookfair organisers.   

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Anarchist Federation: Bring on the Clowns!

The Skedaddler in English Political Life

Chris Draper writes in his review of anarchism in the UK titled 'Anarchist Fed.: Under the Pavement Politics:

'In 2011, Comrade Heath {long term boss of the Anarchist Fed.} declared "We have to be seen as a serious movement, not one viewed as ineffectual and passive, riddled with dilettantes and cranks".'

It would be interesting to learn what the Anarchist Federation has done to bring this about; beyond getting a Manchester Museum to ban people like Barry Woodling, a participant in the Northern Anarchist Network, and a journalist associated with the regional news and cultural publication Northern Voices.  Perhaps in 2012, Barry Woodling was accused at the Manchester Anarchist Bookfair in the People's History Museum, by Nick Heath and others, of being an 'anti-Semite', simply because he is a lapsed Jew who eats non-Kosher food like bacon butties, and has in the past been witnessed taking part in anti-Zionist demos outside Marks & Spencer. 

Who knows?

The fact is Mr. Heath excels himself not so much at political and social activism but rather at political intrigue and manipulation.  By being in their own words 'semi-secretive' how could it be otherwise?  I wager that few of the readers of the Northern Voices' Blog will have ever heard of the 'Anarchist Fed.' .  Certainly it is hard to find in which campaigns they have been active in, and being objectively 'anti-trade union' they do not seem to have participated in the campaign against the Blacklist in the British building trade or even to have shown their faces on a picket.  I may be wrong about this but usually such groups as theirs declare themselves 'anti-Fascist' which gives them the excuse of keeping their heads down for fear of being noticed by 'Red Watch'.

In truth, as one of their number said in an earlier comment, the only agency the members of the Anarchist Fed. fear is the Chartered Institute of Personnel Officers and Human Resources Managers. They fear this institution because what they want above anything is to preserve their jobs and pensions:  you will struggle to find any of these heroic persons on a blacklist anywhere and that is why they so hate the nick-name many of them have earned - 'Skedaddler'.