Fundraiser Friday: Defend the right to protest
Give a little, get a little
Perhaps you were sensible and avoided watching the Trump inauguration. Maybe you went out and had a nice meal. Did you sit down and watch a good film? Have a nice bath? I, I’m afraid to say, did none of these. From 4pm to about midnight (GMT) I raw-dogged the whole thing (thanks dry January!) I sat watching on with horror as Trump used his inauguration speech to declare war on the fight against climate change. To muster up even more hatred, division and ire in victory.
The breathless analysis of the 24 hours news posited this inauguration speech as being more optimistic than his infamous ‘American carnage’ speech from 2017. As he stood there promising to mete out pain and suffering, surrounded by billionaires, and then later by the families of Israeli hostages used as a sickening prop during his triumphant rally at Capital One arena, I didn’t feel optimism.
Creating a spectacle of the signing of Executive Orders releasing those involved in violent insurrection on January 6th 2021 or attempting roll back birthright or deploying the military to the border was grotesque. Even knowing many of them were not worth the paper they were written on didn’t settle my stomach. Trump limply tossing the pens he used into the crowd like a shit fascist human t-shirt cannon only turned it further.
Coupled with the extreme overreach of the police here in London that I wrote about at the start of the week, everything felt really rather bleak. I went to sleep filled with dread, as I’m sure many of you did.
On Wednesday, I chatted to a few friends about different bits of organising they were doing, some of which you’ll find below, others I’ll post in the coming weeks. I also did the interview for the first big in-depth feature that I’ll be sending out to you all next week with a brilliant and inspiring campaigner. Suddenly, I felt myself feeling a little less alone. A little less defeated.
When the world around us feels so shit, particularly on a global scale, it can feel hard to keep the faith. To find the energy to keep going. I know many of us have felt this very acutely over the last 16 months or so as we have watched genocide unfurl before our eyes in Gaza. In moments like these, it’s important to check in to what’s happening around you. To find inspiration in the acts of resistance, big or small, that occur within our communities every day. To search for solace in the quiet radicalism and generosity of the acts we do for one another.
We know that in the US, Trump’s immigration plan will lead to a huge increase in ICE raids, with all the misery, pain and trauma that comes along with them. We know that under Trump the crackdown on resistance and dissent will be brutal. We also know that here in Britain, where I know most of you are based, we are not exempt from our own versions of those. That’s why for this week’s Fundraiser Friday I’ve featured two groups or organisations that are doing the work here. People and actions that I personally have found solace, hope and strength in, and I hope you do too.
If you have anything to contribute, I’m sure it would be extremely happily received. If you’re not in a position to do so, please do make sure you follow the work of both, if only to remind you in the darkest of hours that hope of a brighter tomorrow exists in the people fighting for it today.
Fundraisers and mutual aid:
Community resistors
In the dates for your diary section of Monday’s bulletin I wrote about the brave and vital community intervention in Peckham in spring of last year to thwart coaches rounding people up for deportation to Rwanda under the last government’s callous offshoring boondoggle. Court cases are ongoing, when I know more dates and mobilisations around them I will of course let you know. In the mean time, this fundraiser for those in court to help pay for fines etc, is open to donations.
Netpol
With Palestine Solidarity Campaign Director Ben Jamal and Stop the War convener Chris Nineham set to go to trial in February, and MPs Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell released after their interviews under caution pending investigation, it’s clear the fall out from last weekend’s national Palestine demo is far from over. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, this latest escalation from the cops comes against a backdrop of decades long crackdown on protest by the state, meted out by the police.
One incredible organisation doing their best to monitor and fight that crackdown is Netpol. Formed 15 years ago in the aftermath of the G20 police riot, the organisation has worked tirelessly to defend dissent and challenge police violence and intimidation.
You can find out more about their work (and donate to them) here.
Recommendations:
I believe that one of the best ways for us to prepare ourselves for the challenges that we face both now, and in the future, is to understand how we got here. Where the crackdown in protest, and the increasingly inflammatory and confrontational tactics of the police, and indeed the state, are concerned — this is a story that goes back decades.
A couple of years ago I had the privilege of sitting down with the wonderful Matt Foot and Morag Livingstone to talk about their incredible book Charged for the Verso podcast.
Charting over 40 years of protests, analysing the events on the days, the tactics used and the collusion between different arms of the state, Charged is a vital and necessary read for anyone wanting to understand more about the moment we’re in.
You can check out the podcast below (would ask that we all ignore and forget the deeply unflattering screenshot they chose). Once you’ve watched that, make sure to get hold of a copy of the book here.
Weekend Listings:
Saturday 25th January
Wakefield: Solidarity Demo with imprisoned Palestine Action ‘actionist’, WF4 4AX
Palestine Action say, “On Saturday 25th January, friends and supporters of Palestine Action political prisoner, Francesca Nadin, will demonstrate in support of her, and to mark her 39th birthday, a few days before.
Francesca, who has still not been convicted of any charge, has been held at New Hall prison, near Wakefield, since June 2024. By the time she faces trial on criminal damage charges, relating to an attack on a Barclay's Bank branch in Leeds, she will have already spent nine months in prison.”
Everywhere: Phone blockade HMP Peterborough in solidarity with trans woman prisoner Zoe Watts, 9am - 4.30pm
Justice for Zoe Watts says, “On Saturday 25th January, we encourage you to call HMP Peterborough en mass and on repeat on 01733 217500 and say the following:
“I am calling with concerns over the treatment of Zoe Watts, a transgender woman being illegally held in the Men’s Healthcare wing despite having provided her Gender Recognition Certificate.
I am demanding she is moved into the women’s wing immediately, as per the government’s guidelines, and that HMP Peterborough resume her access to the life saving prescription medications estrogen and sertraline.”
Solidarity with Zoe Watts. Solidarity with all trans prisoners.”
Thanks so much for reading. I will be back on Monday with a shorter than normal bulletin featuring a special guest writer (!), and on Wednesday I’ll be sending out my first feature of this newsletter, looking at the story of an inspiring campaign forged in the most horrific conditions.
If you have any events, festivals, demonstrations, actions or fundraisers that you would like included, please do get in contact with me.
As ever, I hope to see all of you on the streets soon,
ben x