Eamonn McCann yesterday’s Man?

Eamonn McCann yesterday's Man

Lefty Blogs and commentators are uniformly gushing in their review of Irish Socialist and Civil Right veteran Eamonn McCann’s contribution to the closing rally of Marxism 2013 which he is described as “setting alight.”

Now just imagine what a fun event this must have been organised by the Trotskyist (they’ll hate me for this accurate description) Socialist Worker’s Party. This is not to be confused with the SLP (the so called Socialist Labour Party) set up by ex-Communist Bob Crow (Leader of the RMT whose main policy is “General Strike Now!”) and failed miner’s union leader Arthur Scargill. This is best described as the Stalinist Branch of UK Socialism and both Bob and Arthur are able to identify with the common man due to their shared experiences of guaranteed incomes of £100k + a year, union jobs for life and very fine accommodation arrangements at somebody else’s expense. Don’t worry if you confuse the SWP and SLP, it doesn't really matter as they are both irrelevant and every time they wheel themselves out for election the wall of rejection and apathy they encounter is embarrassing - the workers need to be educated you understand? To counter this, their candidates generally fly “Left Unity” flags of convenience such as “People before Profit” or “Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition” TUSC. Generally the result is equally as embarrassing as these sectarian Lefties concept of “Left Unity” is as much a fiction as the rest of their policies but it does not stop their non-stop sneering at The Labour Party as a “sell out.”

Back to the great fun Jamboree Marxism 2013 which took place last weekend at London University and which had been gleefully anticipated as "4 days in hell", with regular external speakers staying away in droves and the few who have ignored the party's pariah status following their (mis)handling of rape allegations, pulling out at the last minute in a mass oratus interruptus. Much bloodletting was expected, plus lots of whipping the dwindling membership into line. None of this would you glean from reading the SWP’s newspaper “Socialist Worker” which described the event as “Marxism 2013 - thirst for socialist ideas shows potential to build a new world” and claimed 3,000 people had taken part in hundreds of debates which, needless to say, will have changed the world for the better.

Socialist Worker - The truth in the news?

The University of London was a suitable venue for this double-think Jamboree as its Senate Building and auditorium are by my favourite architect Charles Holden.

http://daithaic.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/holden-goes-underground.html

Not everybody shares my admiration for Charles Holden and this includes George Orwell who modelled his Ministry of Truth, in his novel 1984, on Holden's 19 storey Senate House – Orwell's wife worked in the building for the censorship department of the Ministry of Information during WW11. On second thoughts maybe the University of London was the perfect venue for this Marxism 2013 Jamboree organised by Big Brother and the SWP Central Committee?

Charles Holden's Senate House at London University
aka The Ministry of Truth

Now back to yesterday’s man, Eamonn McCann. He was once relevant with the Civil Rights Movement in Derry in the 1970’s but for now well over 30 years he has made a career out of his total irrelevance - the politics he represents and the arguments he makes have never found any traction or significant support among Irish people. By all means let other members of the sect praise his understanding of the theology but it is no more or no less a form of group therapy for the afflicted. I remember (in the back room of Mulligans, Poolbeg Street) his rants on "Capitalist Music" and other subjects. Strangely, he has since largely made a living out of writing about the same "Capitalist Music?"

http://revolutionarysocialism.tumblr.com/post/55677679100/m2013-eamonn-mccann-at-the-closing-rally-ian

Eamonn has been an effective anti-internment, Bloody Sunday and Civil Rights campaigner. For this I greatly respect him but these are essentially issues from the 1970s. But when he has gone away from issue based campaigns and championed SWP platforms he has fallen flat, even under flags of convenience such as "People before Profit."

The scene of the crime - the Back Room in Mulligan's,
Poolbeg Street, Dublin

In fairness to the Bowld Eamonn (and I would strive not to be fair for he once stole my bar stool in Mulligans) away from his public persona he is an affable and fair minded chap and many respected that he raised the issue of sexual harassment in the SWP when Big Brother and the Central Committee are committed to denial; He said “We don’t tolerate sexist language in the movement, in the unions, in our own organisations. There are issues of principles and there are issues of tactics. One of the issues of principle is complete non-toleration of any issue of sexism...” 

So impressed were the open debating brothers and sisters by these honest words that some were reported to have walked out and many refused to applaud. You won’t find this in Socialist Worker whose rigorous honest journalism was only reporting the fun bits of Marxism 2013? Those old North London residents Charlie and Fred couldn't make it this year but I'm sure they were there in spirit and looking somewhat confused.

http://daithaic.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/red-flag.html

All the fun of the fair at Marxism 2013