NOTES *-- "LA FROM THE UNDERGROUND VIk.
TONY PALMER
The myth of the revolutionary student was brilliantly analysed in the February !dition of Encounter by Graham Hough where he argued that it was about time we stopped taking the noisy and violent minority as representative of .the whole. The majority of students, he says, are bored by the whole business of revolution and 'are sick of the dreary hypocrisy of those who want to shelter behind their privileged status and at the same time destroy the life and reputation of the very institution that guarantees it.' They are supported in this hypocrisy by a curious grouping of dons who, sensing themselves powerless on the national scene, prefer to operate in a vulnerable area con- veniently on their own doorstep. Either they wish to 'clutch desperately at their lost youth by a neurotic identification with their more conspicuous juniors', or else they are sufferers from the melancholia of middle age. Sick of their own way of life, they unconsciously will its destruction.
All of which nukes it very difficult to get a clear perspective on a new pamphlet nist published by Agitprop called Bust Book. Agitprop describes itself as a Collective which researches and distributes literature for 'revolutionary change' Conseouently, the Bust Book ' is an account of the law and order campaign for those who are at the receiving end of British injustice' It describes what is supposed to happen ac- cording to the law, what in fact (it claims) happens and why 'the law and order cam- paign is such an important and vicious part of capitalism'. Now, before you fall off your seat in hysterical laughter and dismiss this booklet as nothing but yet another anti- police gripe, consider some of the evidence that it sets out in justification of 'his ap- parently ludicrous assertion. Moriarty's Police Law, quoted in the book, states: 'a law is defined as a rule of action prescribed or dictated by some superior which an inferior is bound to obey.' Today's 'inferiors' are well-known. If you are young. working-class, black, long-haired or short- haired, homosexual or if you take pail in strikes, marches, demonstrations or ...goats, then you know, it says, who the police want to keep in check. The law courts, moreover, as in any bureaucracy, like to process people as mechanically and as inhumanly as possi- ble. Most of those taken before the courts are-treated as passive and obedient ,bjects. A lawyer tends to think of himself as the expert who understands the entire situation and the client as the passive subject of legal action. Such an attitude. as expressed in the book, whether justified or not, is further enhanced by practical advice as to what to do in a riot. On all demonstrations, the booklet says, there will be agents provocateurs who 'look like us, talk like us, and act like us. But it the guy next to you starts shouting overtly ex- tremist things that will obviously endanger demonstrators around him, then move away as fast as possible. As we all know, they are the ones who shout "let's burn it" or "turn over the cars" in the hopes of provoking trouble. When the situation seems to be cool- ing down and you are going to leave, do so in small groups.' The reason for this, it says, is that the TV and journalists have left by then, but the police are probably waiting round the corner. On a recent demo, it asserts, this is where 90 per cent of the ar- rests were made. Also included in the book is a recipe for protection against tear gas. Mix eight to ten eggs with one cup of water and a tablespoon of baking soda. Beat very well. Spread over face and near eyes. Then, soak a handkerchief in vinegar. Breathe through handkerchief but do not spread vinegar on face. This recipe provides one quart of tear gas relief, effective against cs and cN gas. In its eighty-four pages, the Bust Book provides information on what it calls legal excuses for arrest, what to do when arrested, how to prepare your defence, the Northern Ireland special powers Act. deportation. injunctions, life in a remand home and 'counter-in- telligence' Its attitude is best summarised in a defiant piece of advice to those arrested: 'Don't talk! Whether the pigs play friendly or act fierce, you don't have to say anything—so don't. You may make an ad- mission without even realising it. You have a right to remain silent. Make sure you dot' This element of non-cooperation only serves to demonstrate the complete breakdown of any social or intellectual con- tact between the police and a small but nonetheless vocal section of the community. This minority claims that those in power seem intent on attacking the coloured perple with the new immigration control Act, the working class with the Industrial Relations Bill and the young with a new dangerous drugs Act. Although we live in a free society, it claims. we are in fact subject to laws which prohibit the smallest variation from what is considered normal behaviour. Seemingly commonplace regulations, like those applying to obstruction of the highway, can, in the hands of those hostile to any potential defender, become weapons of repression. It is easy to see how 'obstruction of a police officer', or 'conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace', or 'using insulting words and behaviour'. or just 'being a suspicious person' can be in- terpreted to mean almost anything No wonder nearly 11.000 complaints were made against the police in 1969—ap- proximately one complaint for every nine policemen. Clearly, in such an atmos- phere, the massive demonstration plan- ned for I May and announced this week by Jerry Rubin could be dangerous. It's no good saying that the Bust Book is paranoiac and silly, that its claims are at best tendentious and libellous, that what it represents is nothing but the drug-sodden mumblings of an incoherent minority. Even Dr Hough's cool analysis falls short of explaining how it was that the youth of France succeeded in rattling the Constitution almost to the hare bones. The fact is that the Bust Book exists; it was written by a whole group of people who feel left out and /or persecuted. Their tenacity suggests they have some evidence for this and anyone who infers that their particular road is one of effete joyfulness should try it some time. There are, moreover, others not so young and not so far out. who believe that Britain is moving stealthily toward a bloody revolution and that only some form of nouveau fascism will prevent it. It's a pity that these elder statesmen don't step forward before it's too late, lest a new age of appeasement comes upon us.
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