permaculture

["Graham Burnett" <gburnett@unisonfree.net>]

The following is edited from part of a discussion on another list and gives a 
further personal
perspective on the events in London on Monday (RTS/Guerrrilla gardening), 
which others might find
of interest- If not please delete. Is there anybody else who was actually 
there and might like to
contribute to this discussion? all comments reflect my personal experience 
and are not those of the
Permaculture Association (UK), Reclaim The Streets, the Metropolitan Police 
Tactical Support Group,
The Tony Party, Red Ken The Lizard King nor any other potential or actual 
'Stakeholder Group' (tee
hee);

"I come from a background of campaigning & protesting going back to the late 
70's, be it Anti Nazi
League, Ban the bomb, Sanctions Against South Africa, Stop The Poll Tax, No 
to animal Experiments,
Stop pit closures, Oppose the criminal Justice bill, Ban Fox hunting, Stop 
clause 28, etc, etc,
etc- the constant you'll notice here is the negative, and being forever in 
opposition is a wearing
road that leads eventually to burn out- besides whenever a campaign is over, 
whether 'lost' or
'won', 'They' always have the 'next thing' for us to be 'against'...

So I moved into a positive paradign, more about finding other ways of doing 
things, of trying to be
a part of the solution, which is about taking responsibility, making one's 
own life as ethical &
accountable as possible, and trying to be self reliant (as opposed to self 
SUFFICIENT, which is too
much about individualism- where are your back ups?) and community oriented- 
which has led me to
organic gardening, LETS, Permaculture, being vegan, buying locally/ethically, 
using public
transport/bicycle
instead of cars, using dialogue and facilitation instead of confrontation and 
polarisation... A
whole new way of being which says yes, we can ALL be wealthy beyond our 
wildest dreams when we live
by the simple ethics of Earthcare, Peoplecare & Fairshares, adopt an 
abundance rather than scarcity
mentality and follow the principles of co-operation and of natures patterns.

This is why I was attracted to and enthusiastic about the Reclaim The 
Streets/Guerrilla Gardening
happening- it was very much intended, at least by all the people I had 
contact with beforehand, to
be a CELEBRATION of what we are FOR (life, fun, the earth, creativity, 
spontaneity, good organic
food and beauty, etc, etc) rather than a PROTEST of what we are AGAINST 
(rotten old Tory Party,
sorry, Tony Party, Corporate capitalism, GMO's, etc, etc)

For the couple of days after RTS I must admit i felt rather shell shocked & 
confused and even
depressed by the activities of the 'hooligan element' and what appeared in 
the press- i never
actually made it to Parliament Square- or rather I did right at the start, 
not alot was happening
apart from people milling about and lefties selling papers, so I went to the 
pub with a friend and
by the time I came back the square was sealed off... so for most of the day I 
was just wandering
around chatting to people and giving away plants. Everybody I met, police, 
participants and
'bystanders', was very good natured and the vibe was generally good & 
friendly, though it was
getting a bit sticky in the Strand when a crowd was (i think)  trying to 
hijack a bus and the riot
police got involved.

Now the dust has settled a bit, and we pick our way out of the media 
hysteria, what actually
happened that was so awful? A few monuments got spray painted and cleaned up 
again within a few
hours- unlike the graffited walls around where I live (personally I thought 
winston's turf mohican
looked quite fetching and made him look alot more cheerful!) and a burger bar 
got trashed (which I
can't condone but can't lose too much sleep over either- after all nobody got 
hurt- interesting
that an Eton Schoolboy led this attack- daddy's probably writing out the 
cheque to McDonalds at
this very moment)...

In contrast the idea of turning parliament square into a community garden, 
however short lived, is
a great bit of theatre/symbolism and marvelous spark to the imagination- what 
an inspiring idea, an
edible landscape of ponds, keyhole beds, herb spirals, willow arches, fruit 
trees, herbs and veggie
beds and food for free right at the heart of our capital city instead of a 
boring old monocultured,
chemical treated lawn that you can't even
cross the road to get to normally!

The big pity though is that mr. Blair will probably use this event and it's 
attached
(orchestrated?) media hysteria to support and push through his proposed 
measures to criminalise
eco-activists, putting anti-GMO campaigners into the same league as the IRA 
(except he probably
won't talk to them) and redefining us ALL as political terrorists just for 
WANTING to extol
alternative life styles.

Whether an event such as this is where I personally want to use my energies 
in future is debatable,
but it's all the more reason why none of us must just lie down and passively 
accept conformism and
regimentation- Rage against the dying of the light! (or Keep Growing Between 
The cracks in the
pavement- whichever metaphor you prefer!!!)"



Graham Burnett
35 Rayleigh Avenue
Westcliff On Sea
Essex, UK
SS0 7DS

South East Essex LETS
http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/