Sunday, February 18, 2007

A Violent Act

No bad jokes about the old WRP and its reliance on the equity section of its membership to give off that air of physical menace to its political opponents on the left, as the following story from the East Village Journal section of the New York Times - and a report from the NYC Indymedia website - discloses the disquieting news of the events surrounding the closing down of the May Day Books & Infoshop, which for the past six years has operated an anarchist bookshop in the lobby of the Theater For The New City in the East Village in New York.

Reports of intimidation and physical violence from individuals associated with the Theater against volunteers for the bookstore collective, and the sneering bullshit response from Crystal Field, artistic director of the Theater for the New City, of:

"I think it’s funny and strange that the anarchists would go to the police . . ."

on hearing the news that one of those attacked had filed charges against their assailants, really makes my hackles rise. And regular readers of the blog will know that the occasional anarchist have been known to get on my wick.

How the Theater's supposed counter-culture radicalism sits with such apparent dirty low tactics of a bullying landlord can only be rationalised explained by the concerned parties but, perhaps for the for the time being, they can excise the following quote from director Eduardo Machado from their website:

""Theater for the New City is the place where I’ve always been allowed to do the dangerous and daring. I find its audience lively and eclectic. Anarchism is the most important element in theatre; but most theatres in NYC have become totalitarian, rather than anarchistic and revolutionary. That’s why I’m thrilled to be returning to TNC for this show."

That quote doesn't really square with the reality of the current situation.

Here's hoping - if only for the sake of Ms Field's sense of countercultural proprietary - that the next time the Theater has a run in with anarchists that the latter, rather than calling Car 54, opt to turn up mob handed with fizzing bombs hidden under their swirling black capes.

I understand that Professor X, Ossipon and Karl Yundt have every other Tuesday free.

1 comment:

Edward the Bonobo said...

I was reading Ian Bone's 'Bash The Rich' over the weekend. I was interested to see if I'd have my prejudices overturned by reading things from his perspective and wanted to see what the idea was behind all the Class War malarkey. My overall conclusion os...they were a bunch of Grade A wankers and Bone is a self-aggrandising political peabrain who gets his kicks from random, unfocussed rucking. Prejudices confirmed, then. Fuck...I'm glad I managed to pick it up on remainder, so at least he won't be getting money from me.