Anzac Day

[AK]

Australians and New Zealanders alike, what have you been doing to support your brave nation's soldiers today?







*sarcasm*

Otherwise, have any of you fucked shit up today?

[Yazman]

LOL. Anzac Day, commemorating WW1, a war of imperialism that Australian troops were forced to participate in by a foreign country ruling over us at the time.

Whats there to be proud of? The British sending us off to the slaughter because they would rather those plebs from the colonies to be dead than actually sending their own people? Anzac Day stinks of foreign domination to me.

I did what I usually do on Anzac Day - nothing in particular that I wouldn't do on any other day of the week. If other people want to celebrate a time when we had no self determination, where foreign capitalists sent us to die, let them do it. I won't participate in that crap though.

[TheCultofAbeLincoln]

Perhaps many use the day to remember the thousands of young men sent off to die in Turkey and the like, not the fact that they were doing it for the empire.

Though I could be wrong, of course.

[Saorsa]

I wrote this (http://workersparty.org.nz/2008/04/24/anzac-day-what-are-we-celebrating/) last year for Anzac Day.

I also did this last year to celebrate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6Vjz1ujiGo

[Rusty Shackleford]

I wrote this (http://workersparty.org.nz/2008/04/24/anzac-day-what-are-we-celebrating/) last year for Anzac Day.

I also did this last year to celebrate.

w6Vjz1ujiGo


oh i remember that incident. :thumbup1:

EDIT: i wasnt there, i just remember it being discussed on here. and all of that stuff that followed

[AK]

Nice piece Alistair but you discussed the magical and non-existent Tsar Nicholas the Third.

[Sir Comradical]

I made a well received joke about how Australian troops betted their rifles and bullets in games of two-up (betting on a coin toss) which lost them the battle.

[Saorsa]

Nice piece Alistair but you discussed the magical and non-existent Tsar Nicholas the Third.

Haha, that wasn't me speaking in the video. But that's a bit of an embarassing mistake anyway lol

[AK]

Haha, that wasn't me speaking in the video. But that's a bit of an embarassing mistake anyway lol
I meant the piece you wrote for the Workers Party.

[Chambered Word]

EDIT: i wasnt there, i just remember it being discussed on here. and all of that stuff that followed

Do share with us.

[Saorsa]

^ I was expelled from university for burning the NZ flag. As a result, I failed all my courses and effectively wasted 6 months and about $4000 dollars.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/university-expels-students-t109419/index.html?t=109419

[Sir Comradical]

^ I was expelled from university for burning the NZ flag. As a result, I failed all my courses and effectively wasted 6 months and about $4000 dollars.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/university-expels-students-t109419/index.html?t=109419

That sucks big time. Did you do it on campus? I didn't expect that from NZ.

[Devrim]

^ I was expelled from university for burning the NZ flag. As a result, I failed all my courses and effectively wasted 6 months and about $4000 dollars.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/university-expels-students-t109419/index.html?t=109419

I am really sorry to hear that.

On the point of Anzac day, we have a lot of it here too, for obvious reasons. I can understand how it disgusts people.

Devrim

[Saorsa]

What's it like over in Turkey? Here a lot is made about how the Turks have forgiven us and 'both our sons are buried together' etc... do you think that's true?

[black magick hustla]

bloody hell. i am telling you NZ, australia, and all those countries in that area are nuts. i could burn the american flag, the virgin mary, jesus christ, and efigies of the founding fathers in campus and while this would create a shitstorm i doubt i would get expelled.

[Saorsa]

Apparently it was a 'health and safety' hazard. Lives were endangered. Particularly by the cameraman, who was also expelled.

[black magick hustla]

Apparently it was a 'health and safety' hazard. Lives were endangered. Particularly by the cameraman, who was also expelled.

how big was the audience when you did that. did people go nuts? the thing about burning flags is that it pleases me a lot but i feel doing it feels like you are fuckin trolling millions of people

[black magick hustla]

did you try suing those motherfuckers? for something like that, in the us, you could probably have appealed to the ACLU and atleast have some opportunity to get money from the state to fund your evil maoist things

[Saorsa]

The audience was small. The students association was holding a meeting to discuss whether or not to lay an ANZAC wreath in the university bar, so we gave a brief speech then went out onto the rain sodden smokers deck, doused the flag in meths and set it on fire. People were mostly either shocked or disgusted, although there were a handful of lefties there that supported us.

I don't think it's a wise tactic to use, and I regret doing it tbh. The gains it brought to my organisation and my class were minimal, but it got me in a lot of shit and cost me a lot of time and money. I think that flag burnings can be carried out in the context of a mass movement with good effect - it's essentially a way to shock people into examining their own ideas. But without an alternative to these ideas being in the mass consciousness, it doesn't really do much more than shock.

[Devrim]

What's it like over in Turkey? Here a lot is made about how the Turks have forgiven us and 'both our sons are buried together' etc... do you think that's true?

Yes, pretty much so. Here are two examples from the local English language press, centre right and Islamicist:

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=dardanelle-war-beginning-of-ever-lasting-friendship-commemorated-2010-04-25

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-208499-canakkales-fallen-soldiers-commemorated.html

Turkish nationalism has a massive inferiority complex. It is always Turkey to be accepted as a 'modern Western country'. I think it sort of gets that from the Gallipoli thing, so it is quite happy forgiving 'you'.


I don't think it's a wise tactic to use, and I regret doing it tbh. The gains it brought to my organisation and my class were minimal, but it got me in a lot of shit and cost me a lot of time and money.

Yes, it is the politics of stuntism really


I think that flag burnings can be carried out in the context of a mass movement with good effect - it's essentially a way to shock people into examining their own ideas. But without an alternative to these ideas being in the mass consciousness, it doesn't really do much more than shock.

It is a question of context. There are demonstrations where you can do it, but to be quite honest I think that there will always be some sort of radical liberal who will do it.

Here in Turkey I can not imagine doing it. I can think of two flag burnings in the recent past. The first was by soccer fans (so obviously it is just a rival nationalism anyway). Two of them were stabbed to death. The second was by two small Kurdish kids (though there has been talk since that it was a provocation by the state). It whipped the country into about a week of nationalist hysteria.

Devrim

[black magick hustla]

Yes. I cant imagine burning a flag in Mexico either. I would probably get stabbed to death. When I was in junior high in Mexico me and a friend considered ourselves communists at that time. We had to salute the flag every monday and of course because I am a IRL troll and a communist I refused to do it. My teacher would ask me to do it and then I told her I was a citizen of the world, or some bullshit I made up. Never because I was a communist. My principal was an ex marxist though So he told me to do it because doing otherwise is illegal (or not show up). Needless to say I didnt show up, ever again. and I had the permission of the principal lol

[Devrim]

Yes. I cant imagine burning a flag in Mexico either. I would probably get stabbed to death.

That is what happened to the football fans. The main football paper 'Fanatic' ran a headline that said 'English hooligans killed by Turkish fans', the next day.

Devrim

[Chambered Word]

Well shit...I'm sorry to hear Alastair. :(


Yes. I cant imagine burning a flag in Mexico either. I would probably get stabbed to death. When I was in junior high in Mexico me and a friend considered ourselves communists at that time. We had to salute the flag every monday and of course because I am a IRL troll and a communist I refused to do it. My teacher would ask me to do it and then I told her I was a citizen of the world, or some bullshit I made up. Never because I was a communist. My principal was an ex marxist though So he told me to do it because doing otherwise is illegal (or not show up). Needless to say I didnt show up, ever again. and I had the permission of the principal lol

Nice to meet more of us. I'm already scheming for next Anzac Day.

EDIT: And I'm reading the thread you linked to, this is...interesting.

[JacobVardy]

Yeah, sorry to hear about that Alastair. What happened in the end?

I was at work getting my union earned time-and-a-half pay. But i did use my lunch break to pop over to the Aboriginal service at the Block in Redfern. For years Aboriginal soldiers weren't allowed to march so they have their own service. I'm hesitant to support the day for the obvious reasons but i'll be damned if i'll let the old fellas think no one cares.

[AK]

I'm already scheming for next Anzac Day.
Gahahaha :laugh: :thumbup1: