Do we really need Socialist Workers Party selling 'uprising' pamphlets today?

[crystalglasses]

Just seen SWP selling their propaganda outside East End underground station (Whitechapel). Front cover (large letters) is urging people to rise up against their employers. I'm disgusted at this bandwaggon jumping.

They are a legitimate political group and those pamphlets weren't printed this week. They are also targeting a completely separate group of people (how many of the looters have employers?). It's not bandwagon jumping, its what they've always done.
And its not like anyone pays attention to them anyway, so who really cares? Are you going to use these riots as an excuse to curtail freedom of speech and expression?

I beleive it is bandwaggon jumping. I'm in Whitechapel every day and it's the first time I've seen this. Anyway this is such a sensitive time I don't think they should be doing it - and yes, I think that at the moment freedom of speech should be curtailed if it is focused at winding people up in this way.

gah. If there weren't employers, there wouldn't be any workers. Destructive idiocy of the lowest order.

If it's a separate campaign, you'd have thought they'd have the wits and decency to delay it until a less fraught time.

Or maybe they are both thick and insensitive.

Or doing it on purpose.

If you're allowed to call for martial law on radio4 news, you're allowed to call for uprisings. It's called freedom of speech. If you don't agree with what they say, you're allowed to say so. That's the point.

They'll probably get mugged for their money and their newspapers used as firelighters.... urban irony.

Who's been calling for martial law?!

Even the most strident commentators I've heard aren't suggesting anything beyond MAGD.

But it's a bit of a red herring anyhow - because unless recommending a coup d'Etat, they are calling for greater use of force by the authorities to uphold the law. Not remotely the same as inciting what may be criminal acts (I haven't seen the leaflet, so I don't know exactly what they're proposing and whether it is is illegal as well as crassly timed).

Yes we do need them to be doing things like this.... Because it reminds everybody that they're a bunch of muppets.

You can usually rely on extremist parties to say something stupid given half a chance.

we don't make up new rules for society just because things get a bit tough. Reactionary politics won't get you anywhere, and one lot of people rioting and looting is not an excuse to curtail the freedoms of everyone else.

But the people who are rioting and looting are curtailing the freedoms of everyone else.

yes, and we despise them for it. Which is exactly why the rest of us shouldn't join in.

Agree with Siamo.

Why shouldn't the SWP intervene and try to politicise what is otherwise just directionless violence and anger? Sounds great to me.

Don't worry about it. I can't imagine the rioters will be queuing up to buy them.