RE: Students face charges

[Adam Bandt <bandt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well fantastic. After posting the message about stduents facing jail
because they said it is alright to refuse the commodity-relation when you
have no money and want to eat, the first message I get abuses them and
fears 'anarchy' if we ever let anyone steal.

Let's get one thing straight. One of the most evil things about
capitalism, as someone once said to me, is that you have to pay to eat.
The editors of this student newspaper were making the strong point that
the commodity-relation is _not_ natural and that it _does_ conceal
exploitative power relations. They were not suggesting that the ideal
world is a free for all as the person writing the message below suggests:
they were defenidng the right of the substantial portion of the
population who is fucked over by capitalism to resist in some minor way
and to see beyond this 'spectacular world'.
(The maximum amount of financial assistance available for students in
Australia is A$243 per fortnight: approximately 50% below the poverty line
and 30% below the dole.)

The editors are committed communists and socialists. They would never, I
believe, suggest that 'stealing' is an adequate political programme.
Indeed, they went to great lengths to explain the relative futility of
individual acts of resistance. When interviewed by the local daily paper,
one editor was quoted as saying: 'It is ludicrous to suggest that the
whole capitalist system will crumble on the basis of a four-page article.'

Further, they made it clear who the enemy was. Thus their first rule in
their 'how-to' guide was 'Never steal from someone who may conceivably be a
comrade'.

_PLEASE_ reaffirm my faith in the discussion on this list by showing that
the message below is not representative of the participants. These people
are comrades who are facing massive fines and/or prison sentences.

Adam


On Mon, 21 Aug 1995 om@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

>
> On 21 Aug 1995, Adam Bandt wrote:
> >The La Trobe University student newspaper, Rabelais, recently published a
> >'guide to shoplifting' article which included 'how-to' tips and a
> >discussion of the politics of stealing.
> Tell them to get a life.
> >It is now likely that the editors
> >will be facing criminal charges on the ground that they promoted illegal
> >activity. These charges carry possible jail sentences of two years.
> If childishness was a crime they'd be put away for life, in which case they
> wouldn't need to get one after all.:-)
> >Presumably student papers which run supportive articles on 'illegal'
> >homosexual acts, drug use or other activities are also liable to the same
> >punishment.
>  I also have a problem with laws that discriminate homosexuals, women or
> anybody. Drug use is difficult since no laws seem to do much good anywhere.
> They just make the substances in question more expensive and exciting to the
> young. This gives us theft, robbery and prostitution. I just don't know what
> to say.
>  What I do *not* have a problem with are laws against stealing (and
> supporting stealing). It is a *fact* that Anarchy is a Bad Thing. Learn to
> love it. The earth can support around ten million hunters and collectors. I
> think you will agree that that is what any Anarchy would consist of. So, 569
> people out of 570 would simply have to be naturally de-selected. It is
> unattractive, to say the least.
> >Please send messages of support...
> I don't think so.
> Otto Medin
> Disclaimer: I should have read "the politics of stealing" before I wrote
> this, though I doubt that it has much to offer.
>


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