Thank you to everyone who joined us on the 16th and 17th October, for joyful Weekend of Resistance!
A squatted building was used to host talks, workshops, foodshares and art. By inviting people to trespass with us, we wanted to show the creative power of trespass. Because one of the features of the PCSC bill is the further criminalisation of trespass. The explicit target of the government is GRT communities who ready face prejudice and oppression. And who can tell how else this anti-trespass legislation will be applied and interpreted? Squatting, rough sleeping, hiking outside of the beaten track, living in a van or a boat, organising free parties, all these practices will be made more difficult. Any form of protest will be repressed with equal brutality and intolerance, another target of the Bill.
We are looking at a bleak future. But still, here we are, occupying the School of Trespass, in zone 1, bringing back squatting to central London. And we are using this precious space to meet each other and talk about resistance. What have we got?
We have joy as a form of resistance. Dance, music, painting, photography, film, performance, cabaret, drag. Relentlessly annoying landlords and cops. Sharing clothes, meals, smokes and drinks and bedsheets with each other. Laughing in the face of oppression.
We have skillshares. Empowerment comes with a wide range of practices, from knowing how to use tools or cook food to dearresting, stopping police raids and feminist self-defence. These skills build the resilience of our community. We need these sooner rather than later.
Lastly, we have that fire. Burning rage, at the government and its all-powerful police, at fascists who collaborate with them, at landlords, and all those who think they can control us and drain the planet for their own profit. Burning rage at sexists and racists, at TERFS and transphobes, at ableists and fatphobic arseholes. Burning rage at the apathy of middle-class wankers who are comfortable enough to afford tolerating all that bullshit. We have that fire in our hearts, and we will never stop living, exploring, disobeying and fucking about.
The Winter of discontent is coming. And we are fucking ready.
