#KILLTHEBILL PROTESTS – WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT COUNTS AS VIOLENCE?

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged #KillTheBill, Avon & Somerset police, Bristol, Bristol protests, capitalism, civil disobedience, Covid-19, featured, government, GRT, mainstream media, media, monopoly on violence, morality, norwich, PCSC Bill, poli, police, police murder, police state, protest, state violence, Tories, uk, violence, WHO.

By Howard Green

The most important intergovernmental organisation of the last year, the World Health Organisation, defines violence as:

the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.

The media in this country have used the terms ‘violence’ and ‘violent’ to categorise the recent civil disruption surrounding the Kill The Bill protests. Norwich’s recent protests couldn’t be called ‘violent’ by any stretch of the imagination, but there have still been reactionary responses attempting to write off their importance, including from the EDP. However in the case of places like Bristol, the word ‘violence’ has been openly used against protestors by the media and influential reactionary figures.

BRISTOL RIOTS: THE BIGGER PICTURE

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged austerity, Bristol, Bristol protests, Bristol riots, civil disobedience, Covid-19, featured, Gypsy Roma Traveller, Kill the Bill, peaceful, police, Police Crime Courts and Sentencing Bill, police violence, Priti Patel, protest, right to protest, sarah everard, squatters, squatting, trespass.

by Tesni Clare

Sunday’s events in Bristol have made headlines. Predictably, however, mainstream media has fallen into the trope of shortsighted reporting, indulging in simplistic, one-sided narratives of protestors as ‘mobs of animals’ who ‘attacked’ and ‘badly injured’ police officers. Whilst they make good headlines, these intentionally inflammatory discourses, alongside powerful images of burning vans, serve to eclipse the bigger story.

CRIMINALISING TRESPASS, PART ONE: SEDENTARIST IDEOLOGIES AND THE OUTLAWING OF TRAVELLING LIVES

Posted on September 10, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community, Inter|national and tagged Bristol, commons, criminalising trespass, featured, gypsy, new age travellers, nomads, Priti Patel, private property, privatisation, rambling, right to roam, Roma, travellers, trespass, van dwellers.

by Tesni Clare

Something strange is happening. Certain ways of life are slowly, quietly being enclosed, along with the land on which those lives depend.

Last year Priti Patel opened a consultation on ‘Strengthening police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments’ ; in short, the government hopes to criminalise the act of trespassing when setting up an unauthorised encampment in England and Wales. The consultation is now closed and responses are being reviewed. The decision came as no surprise, considering Patel’s draconian desire for control over minority ways of life, along with the Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto commitment to ‘make intentional trespass a criminal offence’.

ACORN NORWICH – THE UNION TAKING ON DODGY LANDLORDS

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged Acorn Norwich, ACORN Tenants' Union, activism, austerity, Brighton, Bristol, campaigning, coronavirus, Covid-19, Dereham, direct action, featured, flatfair, Generation Rent, Goldsmith street, grassroots, health and safety, housing, housing costs, landlords, letting agents, manchester, member defense, norwich, Norwich City Council, online activism, renting, residents, Sheffield, student accommodation, students, UEA, unions, wages, workers.

By Sean Meleady

Norwich may call itself a ‘fine city’, but this isn’t always the case for renters. Despite some positive stories, such as the Goldsmith Street social housing project, many tenants find life in the city tough.

SIX ARTISTS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2019

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Norwich Radical in Arts and tagged 50 things about me, art, artist, Beth Kirby, better watch your mouth, Bridget Hart, Bristol, centrespace gallery, featured, femme, Georgia May Jagger, graphic design, honey art show, illustration, Lilith Ai, Lisa Rose, Marielle Rosky, Marta Zubieta, Nicky Ann Walker, Pop Culture Witch, She Grrrowls, Spice WItch.

by Carmina Masoliver

On a recent trip to Bristol, I found myself in a pop-up art exhibition. The city itself was all I had imagined it to be – a hub of creativity that shows it’s no wonder why more and more creatives are making the move towards South West. The exhibition itself was called Honey Art Show and took place between 14th-19th December at Centrespace Gallery. The opening night was bustling with people, with on site screen-printing, music, and a generally chilled vibe. The following are six artists from this exhibition that I was particularly drawn towards.

THE CASE FOR A ‘NORWICH POUND’

Posted on December 14, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Community and tagged Berkshares, Bristol, brixton, crisis, economics, economy, gbp, high street, lewes, local, local currency, NCC, norfolk, norwich, pound, small business, spending, Stroud, Totnes, wealth.

by Oliver Steward

The concept of a local currency is one way to encourage people to go to the high street through a creative use of supply side economics. A local currency would enable towns and cities across the country to stimulate economic activity in their floundering high streets. We need to encourage small business activity during this time of economic uncertainty, as small and micro businesses encourage entrepreneurship and form the backbone of our economy. Independent shops give our high street character and provide an incentive for people to visit our historic towns. The so-called ‘Death of the High-street’ is not just about national chains relocating, but the closure of small businesses. The use of a local currency would help reinvigorate it.Continue Reading

REES-MOGG: NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Community, Inter|national and tagged anti choice, atheism, ballox box, Bath, Brighton, Bristol, Catholicism, Christian, comedy character, conservative, corbyn, european union, faith, gay sex, general election campaign, Good Morning Britain, homophobic, honourable member, jacob rees-mogg, labour leadership, lgbtQ+, Liberal Democrat, metropolitan, national television, non progressive, norfolk, norwich, norwich south, party membership, political career, politics, press coverage, prime minister, rees mogg, sexuality, spin doctor, Tim Farron, Tories, Trump.

by James Anthony

Content warning: article mentions homophobia, religion, Trump, and Farage.

Earlier this week, many of us watched on in horror as one of our potential Prime Ministers spouted his frankly archaic, illiberal views on Good Morning Britain. I thought to myself that alongside all the atheists, progressives and liberals of the UK, Jacob Rees-Mogg’s spin doctors and supporters must also be holding their head in their hands. His interview would have been seen by a large number of people and the further press coverage was extensive – surely this was the death blow to any leadership ambitions.

I suppose I have a lot of faith in our electorate and like to think that outing yourself as anti-choice, homophobic, and quite frankly medieval, on national television would ruin your political career.Continue Reading

A RAY OF HOPE – STUDENTS AND THE ELECTION #5

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Norwich Radical in Student and tagged #GE2017, #studentsnotsuspects, Brexit, Brighton, brighton pavilion, Bristol, Bristol West, caroline lucas, coalition, david cameron, debt cancellation, environment, environmental policy, environmental protections, Europe, fascism, Free Education, general election, Green Guarantee, Green Party, Hard Brexit, higher education, Higher Education and Research Act, hope, Isle of Wight, Labour, manifesto, molly scott cato, MPs, Plastic Returns Deposit, politics, prevent, recycling, Scandinavia, snap election, student debt, student loans, student politics, student vote, students, Students and the Election, theresa may, Tories, tuition fees, UEA, UEA Young Greens, universities, Vix Lowthion, voters, voting, xenophobia, Young Greens.

by the UEA Young Greens

In the midst of multiple crises faced by students, universities and schools, the outcome of the snap general election will be a major indicator of the future of the UK education sector. Each week until the vote we are featuring perspectives from our regular contributors and guests on what the election could mean for students.

On June the 8th the country will head to the polls for Mrs May’s snap election. This election has been called because, in a remarkable display of hubris, May and her Tory cohort expect to win a huge majority so she can continue to pursue her campaign of cuts whilst also pushing for a Hard Brexit. If they’re right, the future looks rather grim.

THE FAR RIGHT IN BRISTOL

Posted on January 10, 2016 by Norwich Radical in Inter|national and tagged blackshirts, Bristol, britain first, british nationalism, british united patriots, BUP, casuals united, ed dowden, EDL, english defence league, European values, far right, far right bristol, football hooligans, homelessness, homelessness uk, immigration, islamphobia, national front, nationalism, Paris attacks, pegida, racism, refugees, social media, syrian refugees.

by Freddie Foot

The refugee crisis and the attacks in Paris has led to a reevaluation of European values and Europe’s overall unity. It has also stoked existing islamophobia and anti-immigration politics in the UK.

Those who were at, or read about, the far-right protest in Bristol in October would have noticed the organisers were the ‘Bristol United Patriots’ (BUP), a far-right group who ‘will defend our country our families and our culture against any threat to the peace and security of our nation’. The demonstration centered on opposing the housing of Syrian refugees while there was a British homelessness epidemic. The BUP had stated that “This demo is to highlight the homeless situation amongst the ex-service personnel living rough in Bristol and Somali rape gangs operating in this area. All nationalist and patriotic groups are welcome to fly their own flags.”

While Bristol has a strong history in anti-fascist activities and a relatively weak far-right, it is still worth understanding this new group and its intentions in the city. Readers will be pleased to know that it was difficult to look into the history of the far-right in Bristol. No one from the BUP wanted to speak to me about the protest or their organisation and seemed extremely defensive when I approached them.Continue Reading

OUR HOUSE, IN THE MIDDLE OF NORWICH

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Norwich Radical in Arts, Community and tagged alcohol, arts, austerity, Bristol, budget cuts, Community, festival, Gonzos, Green Party, Hideout, house music, house music scene, housing, music, music scene, norwich, politics, society.

by Rowan Van Tromp

House music, unlike other forms of music, is arguably apolitical — given the absence of lyrics. That doesn’t mean that the scene is apolitical however, as Lithuanian DJ Ten Walls found after committing commercial suicide following his public condemnation of homosexuals over Facebook. Subsequently one of the biggest house festivals in Europe, Hideout Festival in Croatia, cancelled his set, stating: “Hideout Festival is an inclusive event, which is open and accessible to all. Our fans and customers are important to us and we do not tolerate or condone any form of hate. For this reason, Ten Walls will not be playing at Hideout Festival this year.”

From its outset in the mid 80’s, house music has been about inclusivity, openness of expression, and removing society’s invisible boundaries. It is an environment intolerant of abuse and discrimination, with violence actively discouraged. The beauty of house music is in its diversity, fluidity, and ambiguity. What house represents for one person may be different to the next, yet they are still drawn together by the same four bar loop. The music in itself is like a socially binding drug.Continue Reading

Bristol

#KILLTHEBILL PROTESTS – WHO GETS TO DECIDE WHAT COUNTS AS VIOLENCE?

By Howard Green

BRISTOL RIOTS: THE BIGGER PICTURE

CRIMINALISING TRESPASS, PART ONE: SEDENTARIST IDEOLOGIES AND THE OUTLAWING OF TRAVELLING LIVES

ACORN NORWICH – THE UNION TAKING ON DODGY LANDLORDS

SIX ARTISTS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2019

THE CASE FOR A ‘NORWICH POUND’

REES-MOGG: NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED

A RAY OF HOPE – STUDENTS AND THE ELECTION #5

OUR HOUSE, IN THE MIDDLE OF NORWICH

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