What do you think you have to lose here? Pollok Free State
Over the next few months we’re sharing a series of films, old footage, interview and essays to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pollok Free State motorway protest in Glasgow. Pollok Free State was an autonomous protest against the building of the M77 motorway through public woodlands in Pollok in 1995.
The motorway would cut through one of Europe’s largest inner city public commons. The rights of local people to determine the use and development of public space was under attack (and being defended). It was part of a bigger ‘No M77’ protest across Glasgow that included many groups, including Earth First! and Glasgow For People.
The time also coincided with the introduction of the Criminal Justice Bill – which was the foundations of the surveillance state that has developed in the past thirty years, it was ‘the bones of a police state’.
Thanks to Gehan Macleod for unearthing the footage.
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An eloquent defence. Were any of these protesters, from the punk band onwards, recipients of government arts grants? I know some anarchists have no apparent scruples about taking money off the state as long as it doesn’t tie them too onerously, as a kind of financial victory. Some anarchists like drinking free beer. The two observations may be connected. But importantly, non-human lifeforms don’t tend to get government grants, so it’s good to see humans stepping up here and speaking in the interests of non-human as well as human life. Now that’s an ecosystem.
https://libcom.org/article/raven-33-anarchism-and-arts
Mìle taing Gehan for unearthing this footage.
The Free State lives on !
Inspirational for all our current inter-related struggles.
More to come in this series exploring the GFS and what we can learn from it
Brilliant to see this – let us never forget because this is more relevant than ever as our public / community space & buildings continue to be quietly flogged off / appropriated for private gain.
For another example check out Who Owns the Clyde podcast from The Empire Cafe with Louise Welsh & Jude Barber