[matilda] Matilding Defina

[gavin at cyber-rights.net]

"No, exactly: my point was that, given the perceptions of direct 
action withinand without the movement, we could do with 
articulating what *our* vision of direct action is.  E.g. by saying 
things like "it can include writing your own news stories, about 
what's going on in your community.""

I hope my point about matilda BEING direct action goes some way 
towards this. I think our presentation of 'what we are' should 
include this kind of 'friendly' definition, but can do that by 
saying matilda is direct action (maybe 'direct community action'?), 
and then defining it in terms like I gave?

At the same time, I think it's important not to get too bound up 
with responding to the mass media's sterotypes of the brick through 
the window, otherwise they've got us playing their game...dancing 
to their tune and obsessed with defending ourselves instead of just 
SHOWING how we're not simply like that by acting positively in our 
local community, which will have a greater effect in demonstrating 
the essential human decency of direct action.

xxx


On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 02:43:53 -0700 dan at aktivix.org wrote:
>Allo again
>
>> > *What* Direct action? *What* civil disobedience? 
> 
>> Well I agree there isn't much happening in Sheffield but
>> what about the sit down protests on the anti-war and g8
>> demos, what about things like 9 Ladies etc...
>
>All true - but I'm still a little puzzled by saying that direct 
>action and civil
>disobedience is the default MATILDA setting.  It sounds to me like 

>saying we'll
> always use a hammer, regardless of whether we're banging nails in 

>or opening a
>tin of beans.
> 
>> > .. contains two totally different strands, as far as I'm
>> > concerned.  I don't want to intimidate, harrass or
>> > sabotage. 
>> 
>> Sure, me neither, but just because it says this on the
>> Wikipedia it doesn't mean we have to do it does it! 
>
>No, exactly: my point was that, given the perceptions of direct 
>action within
>and without the movement, we could do with articulating what *our* 

>vision of
>direct action is.  E.g. by saying things like "it can include 
>writing your own
>news stories, about what's going on in your community."
>
>I don't think this is just nit-picking - it could make a profound 
>difference to
>how MATILDA is accepted within communities around Sheffield.  And 
>*that* could
>make or break any hopes we have of a long-term future, as well as 
>be vital to
>getting more people both involved, and accepting and understanding 

>of where
>we're coming from.  
>
>If we want the idea of doing for yourself to spread, we need to 
>break the
>association in people's minds between direct action and smashing 
>McDonald's
>windows.  That really, really, isn't going to get us anywhere.
>
>I agree with J's idea for MATILDA - it should be doing stuff out 
>there: not just
>inward-looking.  So we need to be able to convince others, through 

>both our
>actions and words.
>
>Maybe?
>
>Dan
>
>
>
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