[matilda] Guiding Principles.

[gavin at cyber-rights.net]

How about substituting "grassroots space" for political space, 
then? Or "autonomous zone" even.


On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 05:11:58 -0700 dougald hine 
<writetodougald at gmail.com> wrote:
>Nice work, Ben!
>
>It occurred to me the other day that we need to remember, when 
>talking
>about guiding principles, that we aren't starting with a blank 
>canvas.
>We were invited into this building by Mark, who's had a business 
>here
>for fifteen years and spent the last five years fighting the 
>council
>and Hallam university.
>
>I think everyone can see how excited he is about being involved in
>what we're all doing. But when we've been talking about whether or 

>not
>to allow any profit-making activity in the space, we lose track of 

>the
>fact that it's already happening!
>
>As for the PGA hallmarks, I don't think we'll get consensus around
>their being necessary for the space. For my part, it's not that I
>object to them, but that I object to the idea that the space 
>should be
>exclusively for the use of people who sign up to them. I think 
>there
>are people we can usefully work with who may be put off by us 
>having a
>manifesto over and above the practical structures which, as Gavin
>says, are already emerging.
>
>For a similar reason, I wonder if we need the word political in 
>the
>following sentence: "It is a political space for use by community
>groups and activists who are unable to afford the high rent 
>charged by
>commercial venues." My experience is that announcing yourself as
>"political" puts off a lot of people who've had bad experiences of
>"political" organisations - whereas just doing what we mean by
>"political" can excite and surprise people who don't think of
>themselves as interested in politics. Does that make any sense?
>
>D.
>x
>
>ps - when I was a kid, we had this great German picture book about 

>the
>Familie Maulwurf (Mole Family). I'll have to dig it out and see if 

>its
>open to a Marxian reading...
>
>-- 
>Dougald Hine
>46 Alderson Road, Sheffield S2 4UD
>(+44)(0)7810 650213
>
>_______________________________________________
>matilda mailing list
>matilda at lists.aktivix.org
>http://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/matilda



Get your free encrypted email at http://www.cyber-rights.net