Looking back at 2023
It's coming to the point when as the year winds down to a close and the gloom of winter descends, I normally undertake the exercise of looking back at the twelve months that have passed and try to predict what may happen in the year to come. Doing this exercise helps to clarify my understanding of what has happened in the past year and in a way, it kind of helps in offering a few pointers as to what my priorities should be in the coming year. Obviously, looking back and the looking forward that follows on from that is an incredibly subjective exercise, despite all of my pretensions about being objective. Prediction is a mug's game and I'll be honest in admitting that there have been times when my predictions have been somewhat off the mark.
Ever since my days with the Independent Working Class Association from 2003 to 2009, I've considered myself a community activist. With the practical, community focused projects I'm involved with where I live in Keynsham, I'm putting some of what I've written about over the years into practice. The reason I'm mentioning this is that being a community activist shapes how I see the world. By definition, that will shape how I look back at the past year and try to look forward to the year to come. So, if some of you think I'm downplaying or de-prioritising what they think are important issues, that's the explanation!
Tensions and brittleness
I drew November to a close with this piece: There's a certain brittleness in the air 30.11.23. Commenting on the general mood with an undercurrent of discontent and angst may seem counter-intuitive but, this piece in its own way sums up at least some of what has been going on over the last year and how this is impacting our daily lives. This is how I concluded this piece:
A combination of a cohort of disaffected youth, communities that feel they have been left behind and a social and political culture where certain issues can't be openly discussed because of so called 'sensitivities' is a potent recipe for trouble. The blindness of the Left and a number of anarchists when it comes to the need for an open and honest discussion about certain community issues, plus their denial of the adverse impact of the Covid 'crisis' lockdowns and restrictions, is a real problem when it comes to finding a solution. We're talking about an attitude which will not only prolong, but will also serve to exacerbate the situation we find ourselves in. An attitude that only helps the divide and rule merchants who want us at each others throats. It's high time that we stopped letting certain 'sensitivities' prevent the discussions that need to take place. Failure to grasp this does not bode well for the future.
As someone who has left the anarchist movement, it's become clear to me that while open discussion is possible on some topics, there are others where it's off limits to deviate in any way from the prevailing view, let alone subject it to some well deserved scrutiny. One area where discussion is constrained in order to protect the sensitivities of those taking part relates to the perception some people hold that levels of immigration are too high and unsustainable. Another area concerns the perception a fair few people have that there are too many refugees coming into the country, resulting in already strained public services being put under even more pressure. Dismissing people with these concerns as 'racist' and refusing any prospect of a discussion will lead to alienation. The consequences of that are the scenes we saw in Dublin on Thursday 23rd November which we touched upon in the latter part of this post: 'Problem, reaction, solution' scenarios - don't get played! 26.11.23. This is part of how I explained how people's concerns and fears are getting brushed aside:
Add into this mix concerns about the impact of what some perceive to be overly high levels of immigration, and it's as clear as day that tensions are emerging, particularly if these concerns are airily dismissed. On top of this, there are concerns and fears about the impact of effectively dumping poorly supported refugees in areas already experiencing a range of problems. Concerns and fears which are blithely dismissed as racism. In our experience, not only do the authorities not give a shit about the welfare of refugees, they also don't give a shit about the well being of the often deprived communities the refugees are being dumped in while they await their claims to be processed. All of this leads to a toxic mix where it doesn't take a lot to ignite the myriad tensions bubbling away beneath the surface.
Continuing to dismiss and deride people's concerns about these issues will only open the way for what can best be described as 'populists' to come in and exploit those fears and tensions for their own nefarious purposes. Populists who, if they ever did get hold of the levers of power, would be only too happy to implement whatever digital surveillance and tracking technologies they deem necessary as part of their toolkit to deal with migrants they don't want in the country. If you think that the implementation of this technology will end with that, may I please suggest that you give your head a bit of a wobble. There are some people who while they were opposed to the Covid 'crisis' lockdowns, now apparently support taking a 'by any means necessary' approach to dealing with what they see as an unsustainable number of migrants and refugees coming into the country. There are some people who need to be very careful about what they wish for.
Returning to the topics discussed in this piece - There's a certain brittleness in the air 30.11.23 - the issue of anti-social behaviour feels like it's a constant, whether it's in reports in the local media, posts on community social media forums, or last but by no means least, bitter real life experience. Anti-social behaviour that feels like it has become worse and more widespread in the wake of the Covid 'crisis' lockdowns, as I explained here:
Torching and trashing community assets such as buses has no rational explanation. These are incoherent acts of malice that won't achieve anything other than increase the likelihood of bus services to the more troubled areas of our towns and cities being withdrawn, thus deepening marginalisation and deprivation. This is down to kids who for a variety of reasons, feel that society has rejected them and that they owe society absolutely nothing back in return.
There have always been 'difficult' kids. We came of age in the 1970s and each of us can recall a few who were destined to go off the rails. This was back in the days when the discipline regime in schools was pretty unforgiving. However, looking around at what's going on now, it's clear there are some qualitative and quantitative differences. One being the impact of the Covid 'crisis' lockdowns, school closures and so called 'home learning'. Back in 2020 and 2021, we did express our concerns at what would happen to the cohort of already troubled and disaffected youths who, because of the restrictions, missed out on the intensive face to face interventions that would stop them going off the rails.
What can I say apart from that way back in 2020 and 2021, I did warn that this would be one of the many adverse consequences of the lockdowns and restrictions which significantly reduced face to face, real life interactions. The kind of interactions needed with the intensive engagement necessary to try and stop troubled, disaffected youths falling through the cracks into a life of criminality. We're now living with the consequences of these kids effectively getting dumped...
Was there ever a 'freedom movement'?
Changing tack, there's the question of what has happened to the so called 'freedom' movement that emerged in the face of the Covid 'crisis' lockdowns and the attempts to introduce 'vaccine passports'? Well, as I explained in this piece, and many others, it was never really a movement as such, more a coalition of convenience comprised of various and diverse currents of dissent who met up on the streets every month or so to protest: It was never going to last so, we need to move on... 16.10.23. Any sense of unity on these protests, while strong within each of the currents taking part, proved to be pretty fragile when it came to the expression of a unified outlook and vision as a whole. When the fragile coalition of convenience finally fell apart, while I was a bit surprised at the speed which it happened, although to be honest, it was something that to me seemed inevitable at some point. This is what it took to shatter that fragile sense of unity:
Well, what I thought was going to be an ongoing slow process of fracturing suddenly turned into a shattering. One that started on Saturday 7th October when Hamas militants/terrorists (pick according to taste) crossed over the border from Gaza into Israel with shocking ease to launch a series of deadly attacks on military personnel and civilians alike. An incursion that, after an inexplicable delay of a good few hours, was responded to by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). A response that's ongoing and is inflicting mass casualties on Palestinian civilians.
It took just a few days for what some thought was a growing sense of unity between disparate currents of dissent against the Covid narrative and the great reset to completely shatter along the lines of whether people support Israel or Palestine. Given the tribal nature of the way sides are now being taken in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, that sense of unity is never, ever coming back.
From my own personal perspective, the way what some have dubbed the 'freedom movement' has shattered is not something to mourn. A cleaning out of the proverbial stables was long overdue. Not least because I know who I can work with and who to give a very wide berth to. Although to be honest, there were always a number of chancers and opportunists showing up at the anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine passport protests that I always took care to keep clear of!
Falling apart
On the subject of things falling apart, over the border from where I live in Keynsham, Bristol reveals a sorry litany of city council screw ups that point to a deeper crisis. The most recent manifestation of this is the botched evacuation of Barton House, a block of council flats in Lawrence Hill which is to the east of the city centre. From long being aware of at least some of the structural issues with the block through to an evacuation where there did not seem to be any contingency plan in place, the situation can best be described as a clusterf**k. This is what I've written and posted to date, listed in chronological order, on this issue:
The continuing saga of Barton House 25.11.23
Contingency planning? Anyone? 18.11.23
A council getting their priorities totally wrong... 17.11.23
The consequences of neglect... 16.11.23
The most recent post in the above list was concluded thus:
You seriously couldn't make this up could you? From the abysmal treatment of the evacuated residents through to the confusion over who, if anyone, saw the warning letter from the government back in 2017, the situation can only be described as one massive clusterf**k. Issues that should be a matter of routine to deal with by mature processes and protocols are all too frequently turning into major dramas.
These are people who, through a combination of the neglect of where they live and the lack of a contingency plan in the event of evacuation, have had their lives completely turned upside down. Making sure your housing stock is in good repair so you don't have to evacuate residents in an emergency should be a basic function any local authority would be getting right as a matter of course without any dramas. The fact that Bristol City Council, along with many other local authorities, including Thurrock where I used to live, can't get this basic part of their job right begs some serious questions about competency that need to be answered.
Joined up thinking? Anyone?
Along with this, there's a dearth of holistic, joined up thinking at local and regional authority level, particularly when it comes to transport, public, private and so called 'active travel'. Looking back over the posts I've written on everything from the controversies over '15 minute cities', Clean Air Zones and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods through to the dire state of public transport in the Avon region, there are far too many to list in a post like this! Which is why I've created this page - Posts on movement - listing them all as a resource.
There are piecemeal initiatives such as the so called Liveable Neighbourhood in the east of Bristol which purports to address the issue of unwanted traffic going through a neighbourhood, but which only serves to displace that traffic elsewhere. The question as to why many people have to drive miles to go to work, go shopping, drop the kids off at school to name but a few reasons, is rarely asked, let alone answered in anything remotely resembling a coherent way. Decades of planning policy assuming near universal car ownership have led to suburban sprawl which leaves many people with no other option than having to drive. When you take into account the abysmal state of public transport in the Avon region, can anyone honestly blame people for driving? Below is part of what we had to say in the most recent post I wrote about the issue of movement: Joined up thinking? Anyone? 21.11.23.
Any serious plan to reduce the volume of traffic along the A4 between Bristol and Bath would be looking at enhancing the rail service between the two cities, and beyond. That would mean a more frequent metro style service, longer train formations and ideally, new rolling stock and one day, electrification. It would also mean re-opening long closed stations at Saltford and St. Anne's - doing this would be a real game changer. There are discussions happening about a mass transit system for Bristol and the surrounding region but, these have been going on for so long with so much political bickering, people in the region are giving up hope of anything ever materialising.
Also, before launching any plan to reduce the volume of traffic using the A4, and other roads in the region, would it not be a good idea to investigate why people feel that driving is the only option open to them? An understanding of why and how people make journeys for work, leisure, visiting family and friends, and the many other reasons why people move would seem to be the logical starting point for any coherent long term transport planning. However, it would mean having to confront the uncomfortable truth about decades of planning assumptions that have assumed near universal car ownership, and the way our cities, towns and suburbs have grown as a result. A situation that's very difficult to remedy without addressing some very fundamental questions about the way we live - ones which we attempt to answer in this piece: The future of movement on a finite planet 21.2.23.
While it's great that there are some locations where a lot of life's amenities are within a fifteen minute walk, there are whole swathes of suburban tract development where that is far from the case. When planners, politicians, pundits and lobbyists bang on about the concept of fifteen minute cities, people can be forgiven for thinking that a) they've lost touch with the reality of how many of us have to live and b) there's a more sinister element of social control lurking just underneath the surface.
Also, when a city council and a so called cycling and walking advocacy campaign come up with a scheme such as the Big Bristol Travel Challenge which took place last summer, given the dire state of the pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, it was hardly a surprise that it was met with derision: Are Bristol City Council and Sustrans taking the piss? 27.6.23. With Bristol City Council seemingly unable to master the basics of maintaining the pavements and the roads, this scheme was doomed to fail. This is what I had to say about it in the piece linked to above:
This initiative is a gimmick, pure and simple. If Bristol City Council are genuinely serious about encouraging more people to walk and cycle, they need to dip their hands in their pockets and spend some serious money on making sure that walking and cycling around Bristol are attractive and safe options. A combination of broken, uneven pavements, pedestrian subways that flood after heavy rain and potholed roads, mean that walking and cycling around the city are unattractive and often, unsafe options.
To conclude this section on the failings of local and regional government, while there's a lot of grandstanding and outright bullshit, at the same time, there's a growing level of failure to even get the basics of the job such as maintaining housing stock and the pavements and the roads right. Also at the same time, there appears to be a lack of joined up thinking, particularly when it comes to planning how our towns and cities develop over the long term. It's almost as though the task of running a local authority has become too complex for those charged with doing so. This raises a lot of issues which I hope I started the process of unpacking in this piece: Complexity, collapse and radical change 24.1.23.
Palestine and Israel
So far, everything I've reviewed about the past year has been about what's happening in the UK, with a particular focus on the Avon region where I live. As stated at the start of this piece, the context for this is my background as a community activist. It's not that I ignore what's going on elsewhere in the world. It's just that I don't feel I have the relevant expertise to make much in the way of meaningful comment. To a certain extent, this applies to Israel's seemingly relentless bombardment of Gaza, supposedly in response to the Hamas incursion into Israel that took place on October 7th.
I have written a few posts about the situation in the Middle East - here they are in chronological order:
The build up... 7.11.23
Useful readings on the conflict in the Middle East | 3 | 4.11.23
Useful readings on the conflict in the Middle East | 2 | 31.10.23
Useful readings on the conflict in the Middle East | 1 | 27.10.23
These posts are mostly readings compiled from a variety of sources. Part of the reason for doing this was to help develop my understanding of the situation, particularly with regards to the geo-politics at play. I felt that compiling readings was the best response I could make rather than launching in with my own opinions which could well serve to deepen the polarisation that's already taking place.
I'm on the wrong side of 65 so this is far from the first conflict in the Middle East that has taken place in my life. With the internet, even though Israel is effectively carpet bombing much of Gaza and destroying a lot of communications infrastructure in the process, footage of the horrendous impact of this is still getting out to the world at large. Back in 1973 when the Yom Kippur war broke out, there was no internet. We got all of our information about that war from the mainstream media.
Now we have the internet and that changes the dynamic of how information gets out about the current conflict so dramatically, making any meaningful comparisons with previous wars is very difficult. I'll admit that given the intensity of the Israeli assault on Gaza, I'm surprised at how much footage is getting out and onto the internet. It's almost like the powers that be want people triggered in such a way that polarisation between those who support the Palestinian struggle and those who support Israel deepens to the point where there's no possibility of a dialogue, let alone a reconciliation.
With polarisation comes tension, which I wrote about in this piece: A few observations about what happened in London on Armistice Day 14.11.23. This is how I concluded this piece:
What the run up to the protest, what happened on the day and the aftermath has done is to further entrench divisions in an already fractured society. Divisions in a fractured society lead to tensions.
How these will manifest themselves is as yet, unknown. Suffice to say, they will be exploited as a justification for a further clampdown on any kind of dissent and a ramping up of the surveillance and monitoring we already have to endure. To facilitate this, the divide and rule tactics such as the 'culture wars' will be intensified. We all need to stand firm in the face of this and not allow ourselves to be manipulated, played and used to further agendas that are working against us.
Suffice to say, despite all of the above, taking a few steps back, I can't recall Israel 'responding' to the Palestinians in Gaza in a way like they're doing now at any point in my life. What we're witnessing, as well as being tragic, is also historical. That's in a way that will quite possibly have repercussions going well beyond the Middle East. My gut feeling is that this will be one of the defining issues of 2024. Defining not just in the geo-political sense but also in the way some of the tensions of the ongoing conflict will inevitably end up playing out on the streets of this country - and many others as well.
Conclusion
I'm going to try and bring things to some kind of conclusion, albeit a very tentative one. At some point before the end of the year, I intend to write a post looking at what could transpire in 2024. This is despite me saying that prediction is a mug's game! What I hope I've done with this post is to add some context to the one I intend to write about 2024.
This post has been written in an attempt to start taking a few steps back and review what has happened in 2023. It's an exercise in marshalling my thoughts. As stated at the start, how I've ordered things in this post is very much influenced by my biases as an activist. I'm not going to make any claims about it's objectivity because it's obviously subjective. I also don't expect everyone to agree with my take on how 2023 has played out. That's fine - if any disagreements result in constructive debate and dialogue, that can only be welcome.
As well as a follow up post to this looking at what may transpire in 2024, I also intend to write a short one about how the two of us behind this project intend to carry on next year. That will focus on our values regarding localism, building change from the grassroots upwards and building meaningful alliances. That will hopefully end the year on a somewhat more optimistic note than this post:)