It ’s time to have a go at this blogging phenomena. So much of my time is spent trying to keep others informed of what is happening in my union, locally and nationally or keep myself informed of what is happening in other unions and in politics generally that I have become a bit more convinced that a regular blog might help. So welcome to the Notebook of an Agitator.
I am the secretary of my union branch, Leeds NUT, and also one of two National Executive members of the union representing West Yorkshire. As an active socialist I am a member of the Alliance for Workers Liberty (AWL) and within my union I belong to both of the ‘rank-and-file’ groups in the Union, the Socialist Teachers Alliance(STA) and the Campaign for a Democratic and Fighting Union (CDFU).
So time and commitment allowing, this blog should include news, information and comment on teacher trade unionism, trade union matters more generally as well as those bits of wider socialist debate that I have time to take up. This is likely to be plenty as I come from a socialist tradition known as ‘the third camp’ which differs very sharply indeed from the mainstream left in the UK, not least on questions of international solidarity and imperialism. To keep it fairly simple for now, I reject completely the currently fashionable idea that ‘my enemies enemy is my friend’ and, if rough guides to politics are what you want, prefer to think that ‘my friends enemy is my enemy too’. If this is too obtuse for those less familiar with left-wing politics let me say that I refuse to look sympathetically on or to withold criticism from, for example, the regime in Iran because they are regarded as evil by the US. Why? Because I regard my friends in Iran to be the teacher trade unionists and other workers activists who in the last year have been arrested and beaten up by Ahmedinajad’s police and the young gay men who have been hanged. Their enemy, the Iranian President and his theocratic regime, is mine too and no amount of crude ‘anti-imperialist’ invective will convince me otherwise.
On a different, but in it’s own way no less serious note, I am a committed ‘red’ of a different sort. As a season ticket holder at Old Trafford (North Stand lower tier for those who know it) I may well work out my frustrations and joys here. This week I will be taking my 15-year old son to see United play AS Roma in the Champions League and hoping that our slow and stuttering start to the season doesn’t combine with Roma’s hunger for revenge after a 7-1 thrashing last year doesn’t lead to defeat.
If all goes really well there may be time to talk books, films, telly, comedy, music etc etc but that’s probably a bit ambitious.
So if I have told you about this blog and you have any interest in keeping in touch then save this in your favourites, call in occasionally and comment when something riles, provokes or impresses you.
