On June 27th, 1905, The Industrial Workers of the World , also known as
the wobblies was founded at a twelve day Convention in Chicago.In the belief that industrial unionism, could it come into being, would tend to be revolutionary.The wobbly
motto is ' An injury to all is an injury to all.'
They were noted for their use of poetry and song to promote their
radical ideas, publicise strikes and other protests and generally
present the case that still holds up today,
that there can be no solution to industrial warfare, no end
to injustice and want, until the profit system itself is
abolished.In striving to unite labor as a class in one big union. The
IWW also seeks to build the structure of a new and better
social order within the shell of the old system which fails
to provide for the needs of all.Combined with a commitment to workers solidarity which they have a rich history off, along with their militant tactics.
Their work was designed to provoke thought,
and was deliberately immediate in its message, in order to get it across
to as many people as possible. In the present moment progressives- and in fact, all people of good will- need to reassert and embrace the political, social and economic case for, “An injury to one is an injury to all.” We need to explicitly and loudly embrace a movement across the divides
of race, religion, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity against hate
and greed.
The wobblies are still going strong , still organising, still resisting.In these divided times,of economic despair, they continue to be a strong radical voice that stands defiantly, on
behalf of the people, following an old tradition of solidarity that does
not seperate along lines of nationality, race or gender, speaking too
to the unemployed, the sick, and the marginalised spreading messages
of hope among the carnage that is currently being unveiled.
I happen to be a member, an organisation that I believe does not condemn the actions of its membership, that listens and understands.
One of Woody Guthrie's greatest protest songs,is Deportees.It details the tragic event of January 28, 1948 and the crash of a U.S Immigration Service plane near Los Gatos Canyon, 20 miles (32 km) west of California, carrying undocumented
immigrants who were being deported from California to Mexico. During World War II there was a shortage of farm workers in California
so the federal government set up the braceros program which allowed
Mexican immigrants to legally come to California and relieve the
shortage. A common trick of the time was to bring the low-paid workers over the
border from Mexico with contracts that were intentionally flawed (in
English) so that they would have no legal force.Following a season of
backbreaking work in California's orchards and fruit fields, the braceros would at times be rounded up as illegals because of the invalid contracts and deported without being paid at all. Once their contracts were up, they were, in a sense, taken back to the border.The Mexican workers were fine to be used as cheap labour and then simply cast aside when they were not needed anymore.After the war, the California growers liked the cheap labor so
much that they encouraged (bribed) congress to keep it in place. It
wasn't ended until 1964.
Subsequently all 32 people on board this plane
were killed. But while news accounts listed the names of the four people
in the flight crew, the 28 undocumented victims were just listed as
Mexican deportees.
This upset folk musician Woody and inspired by what he considered the racist mistreatment of the passengers before and after the accident, (who were buried in a mass grave and not given individual
gravestones, just marked by a single plaque, which read only : “28 Mexican Citizens
Who Died In An Airplane Accident Near Coalinga California On Jan. 28,
1948 R.I.P.”) to explode into anger and write a poem entitled "Plane Wreck at Los Gatos." It wasn't until nearly 10 years later that a Martin Hoffman , a teacher put the words to music.Becoming known the world over as "Deportee".Woody humanised the dead migrants as only he could.To Guthrie, they are not merely deportees: They have names (Juan, Rosalita, Jesus, Maria) and families.
Tim Z. Hernandez, a California poet and author, was also offended. In
late 2010, while researching archives for his novel “Mañana Means
Heaven,” he came across the headline “100 Prisoners See An Airplane Fall
From the Sky.” A story about the crash, and it changed the
course of his career. He grew up in the farming communities of the San
Joaquin Valley, and he connected with Guthrie’s poem because it echoed
his own feelings of injustice for the 28 Mexican men and women who were
left unnamed. As he continued to read about the incident, Hernandez realized that this
plane crash and the crash mentioned in Guthrie’s song were one and the
same.But instead of simply lamenting the loss, Hernandez embarked on a nearly two-year quest for the long-forgotten names.Teaming up with the Diocese of Fresno to track down the workers' names,
their family members and their stories. While the diocese's church
register had partial, misspelled names, the writer and diocese officials
pulled death certificates for all the workers and reconstructed their
full names. With the help of Carlos Rascon, Director of Cemeteries for the Diocese
of Fresno, he obtained lists from the Fresno Hall of Records, the Deparment of Labour and St.
John’s Cathedral, where the original funeral mass was held. The lists
matched, and the two worked to adjust misspellings of the names. Hernandez also decided to write “All They Will Call You,” a book about the
tragedy to try to bring attention to those who were forgotten which hopefully will come out next year.
Also with the solidarity and help from the folk and grassroots community was able to amass enough money for a new headstone to mark their memory. Like Woody Guthrie before him he knew that immigrants were more than just labels like “illegal” or “deportee,” they were human beings that deserved to be treated with respect and dignity.The victims were honored in September 2013 by more than 600 people who had gathered at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fresno for an elaborate memorial service and the
unveiling of a large headstone that lists each victim.Renditions of "Deportee" were performed at the memorial.
Their names read thus :-
Miguel Negroros Alvarez
Francisco Llamas Duram
Santiago Garcia Elizondo
Rosalio Padilla Estrada
Tomasa Avena De Garcia
Bernabe Lopez Garcia
Salvador Sandoval Hernandez
Severo Medina Lara
Elias Trujillo Macias
Jose Rodriguez Macias
Tomas Padilla Marquez
Luis Lopez Medina
Manuel Calderon Merino
Luis Cuevas Miranda
Martin Razo Navarro
Ygnacio Perez Navarro
Roman Ochoa Ochoa
Ramon Ramirez Paredes
Apolonio Ramirez Placencia
Guadalupe Laura Ramirez
Alberto Carlos Raygoza
Guadalupe Hernandez Rodriguez
Maria Santana Rodriguez
Juan Valenzuela Ruiz
Wencealado Ruiz
Jose Valdivia Sanchez
Jesus Meza Santos
Baldomero Marcas Torres
Others aboard the flight:
Francis “Frank” Atkinson, Long Beach, pilot
Marion Harlow Ewing, Balboa, co-pilot
Lillian “Bobbie” Atkinson (married to Frank), Long Beach, stewardess
Frank E. Chaffin, Berkeley, immigration guard
It is the power of a song that has kept this tragedy of this incident alive, long after all the participants and witnesses have died.After stealing Mexican and Native American land for years, despite this history of injustice a certain
politician now wants to build even more walls of oppression. This song continues to reminds us that the immigration problem isn't new, but has a long history. Woody's song, and the wide variety of musicians who have covered the song over the years reflects the sense of loss inspired by the story, and serves to remind us of the many immigrants who have
worked, suffered, been deported and continue to do so.Mexican farm workers, both legal and
illegal, still being used in great numbers. Many of them commute between
Mexico and California annually as work comes and goes. Woody's words can still move us, raising attention of the many neglected, disadvantaged, downtrodden people who are effected by American Governmental policies in our present times.
I am currently delighted however that every morning I wake up I get to read about the fantastic anti Trump demos taking place across the U.S and the amazing people that still manage to find the courage to stand up and speak out for a world where security is based on cooperation and community. And a world where all people are able to reach their full human potential and are treated with respect. No human is illegal. Love trumps hate and so does human dignity.
Here is a link to Tim Z Hernandez own website that offers much more additional information to the event that inspired Woody Guthrie's poem and song :- https://timzhernandez.com/
Deportees
Words; Woody Guthrie
Music; Marty Hoffman
The crops are all in and the peaches are rott'ning,
The oranges piled in their creosote dumps;
They're flying 'em back to the Mexican border
To pay all their money to wade back again
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye, Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria;
You won't have your names when you ride the big airplane,
All they will call you will be "deportees"
My father's own father, he waded that river,
They took all the money he made in his life;
My brothers and sisters come working the fruit trees,
And they rode the truck till they took down and died.
Some of us are illegal, and some are not wanted,
Our work contract's out and we have to move on;
Six hundred miles to that Mexican border,
They chase us like outlaws, like rustlers, like thieves.
We died in your hills, we died in your deserts,
We died in your valleys and died on your plains.
We died 'neath your trees and we died in your bushes,
Both sides of the river, we died just the same.
The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon,
A fireball of lightning, and shook all our hills,
Who are all these friends, all scattered like dry leaves?
The radio says, "They are just deportees"
Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?
Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit?
To fall like dry leaves to rot on my topsoil
And be called by no name except "deportees"?
Here are some of my favourite versions of this song.
Pete Seeger - Deportee
Christy Moore - Deportee
Ani di Franco and Ry Cooder - Deportee
Outernational with Tom Morello and Cuentame - Deportee with moving video that highlights the continuing struggle of migrants and deportees cross this great nation.
the
moon above me so calm, still and tranquil, shedding beams of light among flickering candles of the stars, clearing away cobwebs from my
head so far away and distant perhaps,
but in this moment within my grasp I feel her awesome power, when I fall asleep in surrender later between dream and awakening, she will cling on and wait continue to release her strength. .
In the spring of 2003, ex-corporate executive and political scientist Lawrence W. Britt published an essay in Free Inquiry magazine entitled “Fascism Anyone?”
In his work, Britt examined the traits of the two governments that
formed the original historical model for fascism, Nazi Germany and
Fascist Italy, and five other proto fascist regimes that imitated that
model, Franco’s Spain, Salazar’s Portugal, Papadopoulos’s Greece,
Pinochet’s Chile, and Suharto’s Indonesia. He identified 14
characteristics that were common to all of them.
These traits have since been widely accepted as the 14 defining characteristics of fascism.
Nearly three generations removed from the horrors of Nazi Germany,
all of these regimes may have been overthrown, but fascism’s principles can
still be found in many nations. History tends to repeat itself because
many leaders and nations fail to learn from history, or they draw the
wrong conclusions. Surely we are living in frightening times when a individual like Donald Trump with his extremist views, can sway enough voters to allow him to get into his position of power and authority, whose tactics aren’t unlike those of the fascists who came before him. It goes something like this:-
First, they isolate and attack marginalized people with little
political power, like Muslims and undocumented workers. Later, they
graduate to other opponents of their dangerous right-wing
populism. Finally, they play the victim and deny adamantly that they’ve
done anything wrong.Trump's campaign’s overt demagoguery, vicious misogyny, racism, violent speech, and complete disregard for truth and values of human decency combined with his macho cult of personality have released plausible shouts of fascism from every corner.
The following then considers, in fourteen points, the things which may happen to a culture when it is heading towards a fascistic regime, that can potentially threaten our civil
liberties.As Donald Trump becomes President of the USA by rattling the cages of
racial anxiety,with his incendiary rhetoric it still serves as a
powerful warning and wake up call,.
1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.
2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.
3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.
4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.
5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.
6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.
7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.
8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.
9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.
10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.
11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.
13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.
14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.
( thank you Glen Johnson for the lines no 14 and 15)
Over the years, habits can change
but we must continue to have desire,
to express and be free
to be true to one's self,
seeking change for others
stopping humanities foolishness,
with rebel hearts allow the meek
to inherit the earth,resist their orders,
the jungle of superiority
and privilege, we will overthrow,
beyond voices of consensus
all obstacles will simply be removed,
our hearts in abundance carry freedoms torch
even when there seems to be a glitch in the matrix
and everything seems to be getting worse
we will keep pushing in another direction
with an inner craving full of resilience
to hard to be torn apart as they try to stop us
divide us into a million pieces
our rebel hearts will keep on resisting
beyond life's negations keep on beating.
Dear world, there is much darkness
but you at least contain many glories,
things for us to reach out and share
wine, music and beautiful words,
the hurrying, bursting veins of hope
carried in starlight away from misty clouds,
the caressing of hands, companionship and laughter
that can cancel out this age of grief and sorrow,
can help light a path through the dark,
and though everything feels stormy now
these days of confusion, history standing ashamed,
you still allow us to wear compassion on our lips,
thank you then earth, keep allowing us to look ahead
in the unity of consciousness, our weeping will cease;
beyond frustration, we can reverse the process and befriend.
Following news of Donald Trump's election, did not think the world could get any darker, I have woken to the very sad news that legendary visionary Canadian singer, songwriter, poet and artist Leonard
Cohen has died at the age of 82. The news was announced on his Facebook
page late last night, it reads
it reads: ‘It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist, Leonard Cohen has passed away.‘We have lost one of music’s most revered and prolific visionaries.’In a statement to Rolling Stone,
his son Adam, said: ‘My father passed away peacefully at his home in
Los Angeles with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was
one of his greatest records.‘He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humor.’
That last song he had written was in reference to Cohen’s
long-time muse Marianne Ihlen, who died earlier this year. It was
revealed after her death that Cohen had written her a last letter two days before she died, telling her:
" Well Marianne it's come to this time when we
are really so old and our bodies are falling apart and I think I will
follow you very soon. Know that I am so close behind you that if you
stretch out your hand, I think you can reach mine. And you know that
I've always loved you for your beauty and your wisdom, but I don't need
to say anything more about that because you know all about that. But
now, I just want to wish you a very good journey. Goodbye old friend.
Endless love, see you down the road."
Born into a Jewish family in Montreal, Canada 1934 and raised
in an affluent English-speaking neighborhood of the city, Cohen read
Spanish poet Federico García Lorca as a teenager, learned to play guitar
from a flamenco musician and formed a country band called the Buckskin
Boys.
He attended McGill
University when his poetry book, "Let Us Compare Mythologies," was
published in 1956 to critical acclaim. It was followed by "The Spice-Box
of Earth" in 1961. His first novel, "The Favourite Game," came out in
1963.He published several more poetry collections while living on the
Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s and began to get wide notice with his
experimental novel "Beautiful Losers" in 1966..All have been a a profound influence for me over the years.
Disillusioned with his meager income from writing poetry ,
Cohen turned to songwriting and landed an audition in 1967 with John
Hammond, the producer who had discovered Dylan. Hammond signed him to
Columbia Records, which would remain Cohen's label for five decades. His first album,
"Songs of Leonard Cohen," came out in 1968.Cohen’s songs over sixty decades blended seemingly conflicting impulses:
spirituality verging on the divine, images of redemption and sexual desire combined a wicked sense of humor,carried with such deep passion, which enabled him to release such powerful emotional depth, with great understanding of the human condition.No other artist’s poetry and music felt or sounded or touched in quite the way that his work did.
Cohen toured widely but also sought solace in meditation, far from the public eye.. For part of the 1990's he lived in a Zen Bhuddist monastery in the San Gabriel Mountains hust outside Los Angeles. Just weeks ago he released another superb album You Want it Darker, an album continuing to shouw us his genius, his creative gift, not afraid to touch on the subject of death, seemingly sensing it was not too far way.reflecting at length on his own mortality. And now this light has passed, a man who just seemed to keep going, but like all of us was taken away, gripped by the jaws of death. The world has lost another icon, a voice of inimitable force, a tower of strength.Of all the singer-songwiters of his era labelled as poets, Cohen perhaps was the only one who truly bridged the divide.
Cohen who never married is survived by his daughter Lorca and his son Adam. So long Leonard Cohen. R.I.P
There's crack in everything that's how the light gets in
( Thank you Leonard Cohen.) There's a crack in everything that's how the light gets in, through empty gestures of times exhaust that vent bitterness on tonque, scars trace the nights laughter sailing on ripped tides at dusk, allow resurfacing days shadow to ignite fizzing and nudging, in the process of awakening, through depths of minds endeavor moods of restless toil, voyages of troubled sleep deep in mood innate. The magic of the moon, in the dark shines bright, waiting for dawns page to turn, golden tickets of imagination, in the ever present of eternity, to purify and illuminate, because there's a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.
Good morning/bore da
are we all still dreaming,
as the foul stench of fascism
lingers
and all round we feel so much pain,
dark shadows move among
the morning light
but dreams of every man and woman can not be
usurped,
in the act of simply believing
we can move all obstacles in our way,
we can still pull tomorrow down
keep rattling kaleidoscopes of change,
our thoughts are currently bruised
but together with love and persistance ,
we can
grow stronger, singing songs of love
beyond the confusion, with deep yearning,
messages of faith and hope we can
spread
with hard work we can change the locks,
here and there is life's true ideal
that can keep happiness alive,
the chains used to contain us
will no longer be required,
the air still smells of freedom
keeping hope alive.
Please pinch me, I seem to have woken to a nightmare. I am currently feeling shell-shocked along with many others across the globe with
the news of Republican candidate Donald Trump’s ascension to the White House. It seems inconceivable that a
man with such extreme and unpleasant views could ever be elected
President.But the fact is , he bloody has, I dread to think about what this means for the US and the
rest of the world. I truly feel sick in the stomach. From the start of his campaign this sorry excuse for a man has relentlessly
released a barrage of hate and abuse. In a country the size of the USA the fact
that they could not find a worthier candidate to counter him makes my
mind truly reel. Donald Trump's victory exposes how decrepit the U.S. political system
has become after decades of two-party oligarchical rule. This is a man
with ties to the racist far right, a pathological narcissist, xenophobic, authoritarian, climate-science-denying, misogynistic, who only entered
the race intending to boost his media brand, and who horrifies and
disgusts not just millions of working people, but a majority of the
American ruling class. This one-time leader of the racist birther movement entered the race calling Mexicans racists and repeatedly refused to condemn white supremacists, and issued policy proposals that seemed unbound by the limits of basic human decency.Trump promised to “bomb the shit” out of Middle Eastern countries, kill terrorist’s innocent families, do “a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding,” and suggested that dipping bullets in pig's blood may be sound counter terrorism policy.He has also promised to build a wall between the USA and Mexico, who
has threatened to expel millions of people, wants Muslims to be banned
from entering the US. Lewd and openly provocative an alleged sexual predator and molester who has bragged about women letting him kiss and grab them because he is famous."When you're a star they let you do it," Trump said. "You can do anything." "Grab them by the p----. You can do anything." Unforgiveable and shocking, he has also managed to upset the LGBT community who are no doubt quaking with fear at this moment in time. Despite all of this he still managed to win the election for President of the United States. What a damning testimony for the world's so called greatest democracy.We are truly now entering a time of great fear and uncertainty, there has simply been an abject failure of progressives both here and abroad to
understand this, let alone counter it. And when right-wing demagogues
tap this pulsing vein of resentment.His victory will have a profound effect on all of us. Further
empowering and strengthening the forces of the far right with his
anti-immigrant policies. Deeply troubling times with echoes of the
1930's.
Europe’s far-right party leaders are currently cheering Trump’s win, including
Britain’s Nigel Farage, the outgoing leader of the UK Independence
Party, and France’s Marine Le Pen, who sent Trump a congratulatory tweet
early Wednesday, adding a pat on the back for the “free” American
people.
Le Pen’s father and founder of the National Front, Jean-Marie Le Pen,
took to Twitter to say “long live President Trump!” and claim Trump
as part of a worldwide populist wave.“The American people want Donald Trump to be the people’s president.
Today the United States, tomorrow France. Bravo!” Le Pen wrote.Far-right leaders in Holland, Belgium, Russia, the Czech Republic,
Italy and Serbia, among other places, have also voiced support for
Trump. The hard-right Greek party, Golden Dawn, went so far as to make a
pro-Trump video starring neo-Nazis. How the hell did Donald Trump become President of the USA with his blatant bigotry and disrespect towards women, minorities, and immigrants, get in to this position of power, this is a sentiment that many of us are currently expressing as we wake to this nightmare.We are simply living in terrifying times.This deeply upsetting news effects us all. Donald Trump's election should be of concern for all who care about injustice.We should feel our anger, mourn, pray, and then do everything we can to
fight hate and oppression. We must stand strong and united all over the
world.Fear might have won for the moment but we should never give up hope, after all for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.We must build and strengthen the forces of resistance to this odious horrible man.
( Here's a poem for Donald Trump that I dropped down the pan
crumpled wet and soggy, maybe I shouldn't have saved it,
the original resting place captured the true essence of the man.)
Storm clouds billowing now across a frightened sky
Voice of hate and division spreads discordant cry,
The well of hope seems to have dried
As arrogant voice rises making people blind.
Fractured freedom try's to hold it's breath
In times of sadness between life and death,
As walls are proposed to keep people out
Waves of tears grow among seas of doubt.
If Trump triumphs and closes all the doors
Lets fear for his country as kindness gets lost,
As divisions get wider, faultlines grow bigger
Waiting in the darkness, unreason cruelly sniggers.
Hate-mongers and right wing bigots dancing now
In the land of liberty, the home of the brave,
Is this the beginning or the end, as intolerance consumes
Is it not the time to mend existing cracks and wounds?
Lets pray for America, lets pray they are not too blind,
Lets pray for sanity, lets pray for human kind,
Lets pray for the world, lets pray for peace,
Lets pray that one day blinkered thought will cease.
On 7 November 1910 the South Wales Miners’ Federation called a strike of all 12,000 men working in the Cambrian
Combine’s pits in the Tonypandy area. They had walked out over mining magnet D.A Thomas's
decision to sack the whole workforce at the Ely Pit in Penycraig,
Rhondda.It had initially begun when miners had protested at the
rate for working in a difficult seam. Which meant a seam 18 inches high
with a couple of inches of water under their backs. They demanded better pay and working conditions. The miners found that Leonard Llewellyn, manager of
Llwynypia’s Glamorgan Colliery, was using blacklegs to keep the pumps
working.After one
striker had been killed, a miner called Samuel Rhys and mass pickets had
failed to stop police from scab herding,( they had bused in scab
workers from Cardiff to keep the colliery running,) few expected what came next, but tensions already
high erupted, and an uprising ensured, which is now known as the
Tonypandy riots.
Strikers attacked shops in the town which had put families on a
credit blacklists not allowing them to buy enough food, thus aiding
the bosses. Blackleg trains were stoned and halted. It would continue unabated for almost two days and would involve violent clashes between
striking miners and the Glamorgan Constabulary, reinforced by both the
Bristol and Metropolitan police forces.
The anti socialist Winston Churchill, then the Home Secretary ordered the troops in to confront the striking Welsh miners at Tonypandy who justifiably saw this as a defense of the coal owners, Churchill getting the army involved with the sole intention of protecting the bosses interests alone, instead of those of the miners and their families. I is said that he commented: “If the Welsh are striking over hunger, we must fill their bellies with lead.”
The question of whether troops fired on striking miners remains controversial to this day, as there appears to be no documentation, but they were certainly there and played a support role to the police and as a result there was deep anger at the troops being present at all.
Although no authentic record exists of casualties, as many of the miners would have refused treatment in fear of being prosecuted for their part in the riots, nearly 80 policemen and over 500 other people were injured,One miner, Samuel Rhys, died of head injuries that were said to have been inflicted by a policeman's baton, but the verdict of the coroner's jury was cautious: "We agree that Samuel Rhys died from injuries he received on 8 November caused by some blunt instrument. The evidence is not sufficiently clear to us how he received those injuries." Thirteen striking miners from Gilfach Goch were arrested and prosecuted for their part in the unrest.The troops would remain in the Rhondda until October 1911.
After almost one year on strike these brave miners who had to
endure so much hardship returned to work. Though their demands were not
met, the strike helped change the face of British Trade Unionism, still
inspiring workers fighting for better conditions today, giving rise in
South Wales to increased militancy, the growth of revolutionary
syndicalism in the workers struggle against their bosses.It would however leave bitter scars in the Rhondda, particularly as
the miners were forced to return to work after having to agree to a paltry sum
for the coal extracted, and because of Churchill's stance against the miners it would also also see thousands of miners blacklisted.
Because of this at the time it would see Churchill being despised by many in the South Wales Valleys, and until his dying days, reviled by many as " the man who sent in the troops" and remains deeply unpopular to this day for the actions that he took, becoming a hate figure for generations of Welsh men and women.A major factor in the dislike of Churchill's use of the military, was
not in any specific action undertaken by the troops, but the fact that
their presence prevented any strike action which might have ended the
strike early in the miners' favour.
The troops also ensured that trials of rioters, strikers and miner
leaders would take place and be successfully prosecuted in Pontypridd in
1911. The defeat of the miners in 1911 was, in the eyes of the local
community, a direct consequence of state intervention without any
negotiation, and this action was seen as a direct result of Churchill's
actions. In 2010, 99 years after the riots, a Welsh local council made objections to a street being named after Churchill in the Vale of Glamorgan because of his sending troops into the Rhondda. Jackie Griffin, clerk of Llanmaes council, stated he was
unable to support such an “inappropriate name change” due to the fact
that there is “still a strong feeling of animosity” towards Winston
Churchill in the community.Sadly along with Margaret Thatcher he has now become an official saint of the right wing of the bourgeoisie.
And now adding further insult to the injury he once caused we have to put up with Winston Churchill’s tawdry image on every £5 banknote, along
with his “blood, toil, tears and sweat” quote to a backdrop of
parliament . He has replaced Elizabeth Fry, the progressively-minded social reformer and
Quaker known as the “angel of prisons”, who has been on the note since
2001.The image of Churchill on the new five pound note is seen as a deeply political act which also obscures and distorts the many other heinous acts that
he committed through the course of history, and simply extols a mouthpiece who advocated the crushing of strikes using military force here in Wales and other parts of the UK. His political philosophy alone is not one that I feel should make him worthy to be recognised in this way either, after all this was a man who was, inclined at all times to further the expansion
of Empire, which resulted in famines, territorial theft and mass suffering, which were
based on racist prejudices and a bigoted belief in the superiority of an
imagined Anglo-Saxon race.Today the Churchill myth still prevails, and adding his face to the new bank
notes will only repress and distort history further. In reality,
Churchill was a warrior for the ruling class and a darling of British
imperialism; he was racist, sexist, eugenicist and virulently
anti-working class, endowed with an immense ego and a capacity for
callous destructiveness. No number of five-pound notes can pay for his
crimes. Lets not rewrite him out of history though, we should continue to teach generation to come of the true values he represented. Along with many other Welsh people, I do not consider him a man worthy of being used in this way.
The role of Churchill played in the above dispute is outlined in the book 'The Tonypandy Riots 1910-1911 by Gwyn Evans and David Maddox.
