Open Letter To All Religious Teachers Planning To Teach At London Rigpa Centre
16th January 2018
Dear Teachers -
I speak as someone who would very much like to see the Holy Dharma flourish in new areas such as the western world where it can benefit innumerable beings - However we have a problem - A very big problem indeed that will not go away - Just to be clear: I am talking about abuse within the Dharma community - specifically the case of the Lama known as Sogyal Aka Rinpoche or Mr Sonam Lakar -
I do not claim to speak for anyone but myself and it may be that no-one agrees with me but my inner voice will shout out anyway -
Although certain efforts have been made to address the problem of Mr Lakar-s insane and dangerous conduct these efforts have so far been woefully insufficient and ineffective -
I am suggesting three crucial steps that need to be taken before the Rigpa organization can even begin to seriously consider continuing to operate as a valid conduit for transmitting the Holy Dharma -
First that the Rigpa organization publicly denounce Sogyal as a false-teacher who-s conduct undermined and discredited his message -
Secondly that somebody or some persons within the Rigpa organization actually take responsibility for the various egregious forms of oppression and exploitation that have been committed under the guise of spirituality - This would naturally involve a fully independent inquiry into the abuses - The nature of the inquiry would be determined by direct democratic participation of the entire Rigpa Sangha and would result in:
Thirdly - Genuine compensation to the many women and men traumatized by Sogyal-s predatory behaviour - a public apology and a democratically designed system of protection so that our daughters and sons can study the highest truths of humanity without being groped and punched - humiliated and stolen from by a man corrupted by wealth and power or any other form or manifestation of a false and deluded teacher -
In my heart I sincerely believe that if these remedies are not applied then the Rigpa organization will never have a chance to recover its gravely damaged reputation and many people will make it their life-s work to expose the skeletons in Rigpa Org-s cupboard - This would obviously have an extremely detrimental effect on business but people who have suffered years of exploitation are prepared to give a great deal of energy to a righteous cause -
The truth cannot be suppressed - this approach simply does not work - I ask you to consider the future of Buddhism in the west and realize that its acceptance in the west is dependent upon how it is perceived by the secular general public - not by the Buddhist community - We must see it the way the public will see it if we wish the best for the Dharma and sentient beings - That is my opinion and thank you for considering it - I wish for the best result to come out of this disastrous situation and ask you all to engage with the real issue of human suffering at the centre of all this -
Public message to: Andrew George, former MP and Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for West Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. 6.6.2017
Re: D-Day For Democracy
Dear Andrew,
It's two days before the general election and I've just received your latest propaganda leaflet. As you know, I am supporting you in this election, as the only viable alternative to the right wing. However,
I feel you have shot yourself in the foot in a big way. Not only have your Liberal Democrat Party refused to make a coalition with the Socialist Jeremy Corbyn, if the people choose him (the Lib Dems having sold out and already been in a compromised coalition government with the rightist Conservative Party) but you have gone further and made an extraordinarily negative statement.
"Theresa May will win this overall."
I'm amazed that you can make such a negative and prejudicial statement to the people of West Cornwall - effectively undermining support for the Labour Party. Whilst we all have a right to express our opinions, when an MP or former MP speaks, many people take their words more seriously and are influenced by them.
Having registered my complaint, I still hope you win and look forward to working closely with you to address the problems of police-violence, government-deception, foreign policy, social inequality and other matters.
Poor head-crazy primate Homo sapiens is in a collective confusion, riddled
with angst, broiling with aggression and fundamental fear. Ah, if only he knew his true nature.
We’re at a crossroads – like in the 1930’s – only now we have nuclear
weapons. We know now that the survival
of the world depends upon swift international cooperation to cease the poisoning
of this, our beautiful and mysterious home-planet whilst we still have the
ghost of a chance.
A new monster rises in the west. A
long shadow falls across the world, merging into the darkness of Russia,
Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Daesh, Israel and all.
Few countries are innocent. Few individuals are guilty. If our authoritarian power structures are not
working for us, then we must tear them down.
Life must change – or life will cease.
A fresh mind is required to face a problem like this, not a stale
mind. Will the comforts of beer,
consumerism and TV keep us asleep forever?
Can we ever learn from history? Or
will we go complacently to our doom? To
be honest with you folks, I’m kind of worried about that drunken gorilla that’s
just taken over U.S.A. He seems to
embody ignorance, and that’s a very dangerous thing. The thing with Chump is, essentially, Chump IS Capitalism. He is its monster-spawn, its misbegotten
eldritch halfling, its product. Growing up in a monstrous situation, how could he fail to grow up a monster, it’s
always the same with these kids from bad homes.
If the parents had had to live in reality like most of us, this would
never have happened. But since they grew
up deprived of all of life’s morally strengthening experiences, well, what
could you expect?
It’s no joke though, as now the little bastard has his fat, sweaty,
trembling pork-sausage of a finger hovering just over the button that destroys
the planet.
Well, what can you do? Stop and
think. What can you do? I suppose you can do what you can. The trouble is, people don’t usually start
moving until they are desperate, and not enough people are desperate enough –
yet. In 1917 they were desperate enough
in Russia to overthrow the Czar and create a new type of society. OK, it got fucked up by the Bolsheviks almost
immediately and turned into a vile dictatorship of the inner party, but that’s
another story. Revolutions frequently go
horribly wrong, but that does not necessarily justify the existence of the
previous regime.
Every single right we have was acquired by people demanding those rights
from a position of strength. You cannot
demand your rights from a position of weakness.
Parliament, Votes for Commoners, Worker’s Rights, Votes for Women, Civil Rights, Animal Rights, Gay Rights, Legal Marijuana –
you name it – they’ve all been achieved through struggle and sacrifice, in
short, through activism.
Of course, there was a lot of activism in the sixties. Maybe the mind-expanding drugs had something
to do with it – and of course, there was so much to be active about.
It was an ultra-politicised decade, but also a super-cultural decade, a
veritable renaissance, which saw it’s great flowering in 1967, the Summer of
Love. Even as a small child I knew
something was up.
So look – it’s the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution and the 50th anniversary of
the Summer of Love – wouldn’t the obvious thing be to combine 1917’s zeal for
social reform with 1967’s outpouring of transcendental love in 2017?
RADICALIZE YOURSELF WITH DEMOCRACY - This democracy is not a privilege given by an outside authority, or created by law, but rather something for you personally to cultivate, protect and promulgate. Don't wait for anyone else.
Since Friday 15th July I have been on
hunger-strike in an attempt to get a response from those involved in the
attempted conversion of Mousehole Primary School in Cornwall into a so-called
'academy.' I wish to talk to Chris Roynon, the head-teacher and Rev Sian
Yates, vicar of Penzance C. of E. Church and Managing Director of Penlee
'Academy Trust' (PAT). There has been a lamentable lack of response from
those who wish to impose these changes on our school. Letters have gone
unanswered, debate has been rejected and the wishes of the public have been
ignored. The governors (MSG) of the school have a responsibility to
represent the views of the parents, and the community. The
almost total failure of the governors to respond at all is simply dereliction
of duty. I also feel that Rev Yates should respond to my appeals, and not
ignore me. How can you love your neighbour if you won't even talk to him?
I don't think it's right for people to
remove democratic rights to representation, change the nature of the school
into a business model, and railroad the whole process through with a cynical
disregard for the wishes of the parents, children and community and not
even be prepared to discuss it.
Therefore, until the aforementioned
people are ready to enter into discussions with me and my legal-assistant, I
will uphold the strike.
Please see my interview with human-rights whistle blower Harold Hempstead, the man .who exposed the murder of Darren Rainey by prison guards in Florida, 23.6.2012.
Well I got in from the fields, bolted down some hot chips and jumped on my bike without so much as a cup of tea to hydrate the carbo - I was in a hurry. I warm-footed it through Newlyn, past the old chy of William Lovett, our local hero and a godlike figure to libertarian types. In his day he was top of the charts… but I hurried on, I was going to Mousehole, a medium-sized city in West Penwith famous for Dolly Pentreath, a wild Keltek babbler and Ysgwier Keygwyn, an old-style blood and fire aristocrat who utterly refused to speak the Spaynek tongue and paid dear for it.
The 'public consultation' meeting to ostensibly discuss the future of our school had been set for 6.00pm, in consideration of those families with small children to feed and settle down for the night. Despite being asked to text the parents, and despite the parents being virtually cyber-stalked with text-messages about cake-stalls and quizzes, it was not deemed expedient by the governing krats to text the parents about a trivial thing like a public meeting on the future of the school. I arrived a little late and walked into a packed house (only kidding). I made a conservative head-count (as it were) and estimated 30 - 35 attendees. But on closer inspection, I think it was more like 31. I sat in the front row with some smart folks and tried to turn my attention to what Chris Roynon, the head-teacher, was saying. He had a chart of ‘head-lines’ and was ‘myth-busting’ - rather like what happened at the last P.C. I attended some years back. The technique is to anticipate the arguments of the ‘opposition’ and publicly destroy them one by one, thereby winning the argument with a consumate and debonair flourish. I turned on my wire-machine, but have to admit that after a few minutes I turned it off to save batteries. I was hoping for some good copy, something old Brennigenn would have approved of… Anyway, the minutes ticked by and I was all psyched up to talk before a big meeting so I was feeling kinda restless, like a feral cat in a Fun House. I thought I’d try my hand at doing some ‘court-room’ style sketches of some of the main actors. I tried to catch the energy of the event, the sort of stilted, sluggish, formal formalism of it, or, to be brutally honest, the sheer, dull, irrelevance and uninspiring atmosphere (not totally uninspiring) and the lack of debate left me feeling like I was watching the ritual of a tribe that came from very, very far away. Perhaps there was some mutuality to that. Anyway, Chris spoke at length and debunked every extant ‘myth’ and a few that have yet to be spaketh. A few other people said a couple of things and points were made, but the conversation never once broke through into anything like spontaneity. This ‘education expert’ bloke kept going on and on and on and on and on and after a while I realized why 89 per cent of the parents had had the wisdom to stay at home and enjoy a delicious and leisurely dinner in the bosom of their respective families. Oh lucky people! After a while, there was a clearing in the word-thicket so I seized my chance and asked the folks present whether they would mind if I addressed the meeting for five minutes. After securing public consent, I sashayed up front and took a nice comfy chair, facing da people. For about five minutes I poured it on, (actually it was 9:36 - Ed.) then I thanked the small but dedicated crowd and returned to my seat. I tried to stick around to hear the rest of the meeting, but frankly, as I said to the folks there - “I came here for a public meeting - where is everyone?” and I felt that I’d said my bit and simply could not bear to sit there any longer when I had so much to do. Within ten minutes I was sitting on a rock, gazing out to sea, feeling curiously happy.
I’ll now give a transcription of my little verbal message to the Mousehole academic community. I have to say also that there were some quite humorous moments in the meeting - particularly when one lady asked “is there going to be a vote?” (on whether or not to ‘academise’ the old school) I couldn’t suppress a titter. Who can? After a long and somewhat pregnant pause, Chris and the ‘education expert’ both said ‘no’. When I thought about it afterwards as I sat on the rocks, I laughed mirthfully at the quaint, delicate and ephemeral human drama of it all and the form in which it is all cast. Atoms oscillate between waves and particles and the stream of consciousness laps it all up. Rantscription follows:
"Well, my name’s Jeremy Schanche, I’m a parent, I’ve got a five-year-old girl here. I’ve also got a connection that goes back to the last century when my son went here. He was actually removed from this school against my will. I told Nigel that I was very happy with Mousehole School at the time - I had no complaints whatsoever, I wanted my son to stay there - that’s history… My point is I’m very happy with Mousehole School as it is and I’ve got some extremely deep objections to the proposed ‘academisation’ which are actually rather too deep and complex to explain to you all at this moment and that’s not the purpose of this meeting, so what I’m here to tell you, I’m basically, as I expect some of you might know, I’m campaigning against ‘academisation’ - well, before I say ‘academisation’ I just want to make a little note - this is a place of education where people learn English, where people learn to speak and to become people in the adult, in the real world. In my opinion the meaning of words is very very important. When you start tinkering with the meaning of words you’re tinkering with culture with the language, things like that. The word ‘academy’ means a very specific thing. What’s being discussed here is not ‘academies’, OK? The word ‘academy’, if you look in your dictionary, means ‘a school of specialised study’, OK? For example a police academy, a military academy a science academy. So, when you take the word ‘academy’ and use it in the context that we’re having here that’s a falsification of English. That’s, actually in the dictionary that’s called ‘bastardisation’ of the language, OK? So the first point, this entire debate is founded on a deception, OK, because we’re not talking about academies we’re talking about a fundamental change to the education system which has taken the label ‘academy’ because that word pushes a, er, a button. It’s a cultural word, it goes back to Greece, it goes back to Socrates, Plato - well it goes back to Plato actually - Plato was taught by Socrates - he taught Aristotle, he taught Alexander the Great. So if we’re going to talk about ‘academies’ we have to be on that kind of level - but it’s a false use of the word, so right away… anyway, that’s a linguistic detail, I know people aren’t interested in language - perhaps.
My purpose, what I want to say to you basically is I’m actively campaigning against ‘academisation’ (so called) for a number of deep and complex reasons which I’m very happy to explain to you if anybody would care to meet with me, perhaps in an ongoing series of public meetings, perhaps chaired by a neutral chair, perhaps designed by the public. So you know, basically I’ve been in written communication with Chris and Nigel and I’ve addressed all the governors and I’m attempting to, er, from the beginning I’ve- you know, my message has been ‘I’d like to talk to people and try to have a civilized debate with people.’ I have to say the response so far has been very disappointing and basically sort of… you know, I’ve spent a lot of time writing to politicians and I kinda know the style, you know? Um, so, ya know, basically the other point I’d like to make is, this thing has been in the pipeline, it’s been, er, at various levels of preparation for four to five years and the community, parents and the public had approximately six months in which to, er, react to it, including in which to make a challenge to it. If they feel, like I happen to feel, that, er, the whole ‘academisation’ agenda is a disaster to education. It’s something - we don’t have, you know, time in this meeting to go into it, but it’s something I believe, well, it’s obviously a, you know, a political agenda, it’s coming from the right, it’s global - it’s not just Mousehole - it’s America, Europe, no doubt it’s the far east as well - it’s the modern World so it’s local, it’s also global. My personal opinion is that it’s disastrous, it’s been presented to us as if - well we’ve been handed this ‘thing’ with ‘here it is everybody, aren’t you glad?’ What if we’re not glad - what if I’m not the only- you know, I know there’s other people in this nation who aren’t happy with the ‘academy’ agenda and basically we’ve been- you know - you’ve had four years to prepare - we’ve got six months to mount a democratic challenge, if you like, a legal challenge, whatever means, you know, whatever peaceful, legal means we choose to resist this which is basically an imposition, somebody’s idea of policy - it’s not everybody’s idea of policy and I don’t think it should be imposed on this, or any other school, until it is proven that it is basically what the public want and I don’t think anyone here can prove that. And basically, as I say, you know, I don’t wanna- I’ve said I don’t want to dominate the meeting, I don’t want to take more than my share of time, but I’m very interested to talk to anyone who is against ‘academisation’ and I want to resist it whole-heartedly in a fair, in an open democratic way. All my communications with Chris are on the internet, Save The Holy Headland Blogspot, er, Mousehole School Preservation Society. You can find all my letters,all the responses and lots of other little related details. So if you’re against ‘academisation’ please talk to me - thank you."
Welcome to the public domain, the place where evidence hangs in space, awaiting inspection by the curious. In this blog-post I'm putting up all the most recent correspondence I've had with various people over the fate of Mousehole School. For overseas readers, people from beyond Britain's surf-splattered shores, I should explain that in my country, as elsewhere in the World, there is a battle going on over the schools. There is a move to turn public education into something different, something that allows money-interests into the educational realm in a virulent fashion, something we have not seen before. Essentially it's an attempted educational coup by blurry rightist forces who control the minds of the masses through fear, you know the kind of thing.....
'St.Raffidy'
The earlier correspondence can be found here: http://savetheholyheadland.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/mousehole-school-preservation-society.html
There might be the odd letter or document in here that has nothing to do with the Mousehole case. It does not make sense to do a seperate blog-post for every single topic that comes up, so what you see is a chronological record of communications. I will soon be publishing some material on other cases, such as that of Darren Rainey and Harold Hempstead. In some ways, the more you get into politics, the more you realize the interconectedness of phenomena anyway. Today I went to the Holy Headland to deliver a note to the vicar of St.Mary's Church, Penzance. It was a request for people to pray for the Soul of Darren Rainey who was murdered by Florida prison guards. I talked to a couple of very friendly people at the church and they were happy to take the request and pass it round the local churches. They said it would be copied into two books of remembrance. I said that the law in Florida was currently defining Mr Rainey's death as an accident but that I was one of the people who considered it to be torture and murder. I said that if they had a problem with my murder accusation, they could leave that off and just have the name and dates of birth and death. They were both adamant that the murder accusation should stand, if that was the way I wanted it, so it stands. I also gave them a letter to pass on to the Reverend Sian Yates, Vicar of St.Mary's Church, Penzance, Cornwall..... This time it was another topic, but also one with a deep spiritual element - the future development of children's minds.
Message to Mousehole School Governors (MSG) 3.5.2016
Apparently the following article at The Cornishman's site went up on May Day, 1st May 2016 - International Workers' Day - Inaugurated in memory of the Haymarket Martyrs of Chicago, 1886. It was also the 100th anniversary of the international scattering of Joe Hill's ashes to the winds... See previous blog-post, 'Socialism - A Great British Tradition' for articles on these events...
And now for something completely different: An email to a Labour First supporter, Luke Akehurst:
From politics to religion, well, sort of: Letter to Sian Yates, Church of England Vicar, Penzance, 10.5.2016:
and finally, a letter of 10th May 2016 From Nigel Carter-King, Administrator and governor of Mousehole School, in which he sets out his answers to my questions of 3rd May, such as my request for the addresses and/or emails of all the governors (who represent me legally) and my request to be informed of which unions were represented at the school:
So basically, according to Chris and Nigel I cannot communicate to the 'governors' of my child's school directly, but have to filter all communications through themselves. An arrangement which seems to me ridiculous, paranoid, petty and un-British, but hey, what do I know about proper procedure? The reason I spend so much unpaid time recording this kind of dialogue is to show conclusively that I have done every reasonable thing in my power to open genuine channels of free communication but have been met with a brick wall of non-cooperation and evasiveness. Never mind - the case does not hinge on any of this, these letters are just so much wall-paper, decorating the stage. The real action will play out soon enough.
--------Update: 11.5.2016: Letter to Derek Thomas MP:
Hallo friends. Personally I am against privatization of public assets. I was extremely unhappy to receive the news that the ‘powers that be’ intend to go ahead with the Conservative Party’s plan to commodify education and turn Mousehole School into a so-called ‘academy’ within a mere six months. This has been presented as a fait accompli, or, if you prefer American, a done deal. This is not the case.
Since time is so short I feel it is vital for anybody who does not wish our school to be ‘academised’ to start organizing against the plan immediately. On 20th April I posted this notice outside the school gates:
DO YOU REMEMBER VOTING TO SELL OFF OUR SCHOOL?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO ENGAGE IN A DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGE TO THIS RIGHT-WING POLICY?
IF YOU ARE SYMPATHETIC, OR PARTICULARLY, IF YOU WISH TO DEVOTE SOME TIME TO HELP ORGANIZE THIS CAMPAIGN, PLEASE CONTACT JEREMY SCHANCHE:
savetheholyheadland@yahoo.com
I also wrote an open letter to Mr Chris Roynon, the Head Teacher at Mousehole, which I copied to various other people:
Society is not an object for sale. The institutions of society are not a business-opportunity. Or are they…..? You decide - it’s your World, after all - but it’s a bit like the lottery - you can’t win if you don’t join in.
Update: 12:01 Thursday 21st April: As I mentioned at the start of this
blog-post, yesterday I put up some notices on the wall outside Mousehole School,
hoping for a response. Nearly twenty
four hours later no-one has responded to the signs, no official has acknowledged
my message, except one. My first
response from anyone in the World to the Mousehole School Preservation Society’s
inaugural press-release arrived exactly forty six minutes after being sent and came from Lucy Powell MP, the Labour Party’s Shadow Secretary of State for
Education! Nice to start at the
top. :-)
To:Jeremy Schanche21.4.201612:01 Dear Jeremy, Thank you for writing to me about the Conservative Government’s announcement that they intend to force all primary and secondary schools in England to become academies.I appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns regarding the academisation of your local school, Mousehole Primary School. As Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Education, I have always maintained that the Government’s obsession with academisation at all costs is wrong-headed and is pursued at the expense of school improvement. Labour will fiercely oppose the Government’s programme to force all schools to become academies. This move is a top-down, costly reorganisation of our schools, which nobody wants and schools don’t need. The anger from parents and teachers against these plans is growing.
There is little evidence that academisation in and of itself leads to
school improvement. There are some excellent academies and some excellent
community schools, there are some poor academies and some poor community
schools. No school has a monopoly on excellence and no school has a monopoly on
not doing so well either. We need to build an education system that helps
provide an excellent education for all children rather than pitting one type of
school against another as the Conservatives are doing.
The Tories’ obsession with schools structures, at the expense of what
really matters in classrooms – the quality of teaching – completely misses the
point. The vast majority of non-academies affected by this policy will be
primary schools, over 80 per-cent of which are already good and outstanding.
These plans for forced academisation of all schools are evidently ideological
and not about school improvement.
The Tories approach to education risks fragmenting vital community links
with our schools. Ministers are silencing the voices of parents, school
governors and the local community. Their plans to remove the requirement to
have parent governors is deeply concerning. The Conservatives’ view parents as
part of the problem rather than as allies in the fight for a better education
for all children.
There are real concerns about the accountability of some academy chains
as Ofsted have warned. The government have repeatedly failed to give Ofsted the
powers to hold academy chains accountable for financial management and
standards.
At a time when schools are facing budget cuts for the first time since
the mid-1990s the plans to force all schools to become academies will cost
£1.3billion, money that could be better spent driving up standards.
The Government has failed to address the real issues facing our schools,
be it the shortages of teachers, the mounting pressure on school places, the
widening attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their better-off
peers, or the real-terms budget cuts that schools are facing. At the same time,
teachers and parents are trying to navigate their way through huge changes to
exams and assessments, and the Government is already way behind schedule on
delivering GCSE and A-Level specifications due to be taught from this
September.
The white paper does nothing to address these big challenges facing
education and shows just how out of touch the Government are.
Labour will stand up for children and parents and oppose these plans. We
will seek to build an alliance with parents, heads, local Government leaders,
both Labour and Conservative, against these plans. Rather than cutting parents
out of the picture, we want to put local parents and communities at the heart
of decisions when it comes to their children’s schools.
Once again, thank you for getting in touch with me. I led Labour’s
opposition debate on this and this is an issue that the Labour Party will
continue to pressure the Government on and I welcome your support. I will
keep a record of your details for future correspondence and if there is any
further information that you want to share with me then please do.
Best wishes, Lucy Powell ----------------------------------
April 21st 2016 at 4:12pm
To Jeremy Schanche:
he received your letter and is writing you back thankyou for writing him we do need help here in florida with this inmate abuse going on and my brother I always pray will somehow find a way out of this prison system since he is a federal witness in the death of Darren Rainey I am dumbfounded as to why he remains in d.o.c custody and not federal custody but it has always been my deepest hearts desire to have him set free now we fight for inmates and not his freedom because he beleives it is Gods will and thinks that is why he is there he certaintly did not do the crimes convicted of and even if he did he definetly shouldnt have received a165 yr sentence but thats another situation and right now Floridas entire prison population is in trouble I thankyou sooooo much for even blogging about Darren Rainey my hope is that the world knows you can't kill people because they are under your control you can't kill people period but to torture and kill someone because you can and know people will cover for you is the worse kind of evil ever.I pray that Darren Rainey can soemhow rest in peace and that through our fight he will find justice we wont give up thanks again for everything hope to hear from you soon
I’d like to welcome you to this blog where I am fortunate enough to be able to indulge in Free Speech - In Saudi Arabia, Camoron’s ally, bloggers are publically flogged and imprisoned for ten years - in China, Camoron’s ally, bloggers and free speech activists simply disappear into the Lao Gai….. I appreciate my free speech and I try not to take it for granted. People die in wars ostensibly defending freedoms like this - I think the troops who fought in yesterday’s wars, back in the twentieth century, would very much like us to live out our liberty not in passive acquiescence but in dynamic involvement. If freedom is worth dying for, then should we not live for it? If we claim that free speech is one of the cherished hallmarks of British culture, western culture and international culture, then should we not practice free speech in real life?
So hey, welcome to my ranting-shop, one and all …..
Since time to resist so-called ‘academisation’ is extremely short and since cultural-resistance is not top of everybody’s to-do list, it seems expedient to address the issue directly, rather than d’reckly.
My first step in launching this campaign has been to seek support from other parents. I’m happy to explain my personal views to almost anyone, almost anytime, but my job is not to try to make up people’s minds for them. So rather than, at this point focusing all my energy on propagandizing against‘academisation’, I am rather seeking the involvement of like-minded people - if there are any! Quickly organizing the voice of opposition is a priority in West Cornwall, as elsewhere, since the sheer scale and suddenness of the challenge demands a dedicated and focused movement to counter ‘academisation’. I’ve mentioned Mousehole School as this is the one with which I have a personal connection going back to the last century (crikey, I’m old!). Anyway, although I’ve used the term Mousehole School Preservation Society, I imagine a possible network stretching the entire length and breadth of the Shyre of West Penwith, from sea to shining sea…. Local groups could be autonomous whilst cooperating in solidarity with each other, pooling resources, knowledge and tactics, perhaps under the umbrella-term Stop School Sell-Outs Campaign. (SSSOC!)
I should clarify another point. This blog, as I’ve said, expresses my own opinions. The Mousehole School campaign was initiated by me off my own bat (as we like to say in Britain, for some reason) and I have never been a member of any political party. For many years I refused to register, let alone vote, but times change and a lot of disenfranchised people are getting involved with politics again now for obvious reasons. I think Corbyn is the best thing to happen to British politics since I was a kid. He’s an honest man, that’s why he creates a wave of dissonance that ripples through the delusional culture we like to wallow in. I’m a member of Momentum Cornwall West, a group that seeks to promote Jeremy Corbyn’s values - because they’re not just his values, they’re ours - and Momentum is an organization that campaigns against ‘academisation’, so it is highly likely that Momentum members will play a role in this campaign locally, but it is in no way exclusive and anyone who shares our wish to protect schools, hospitals and other public institutions from capitalization is welcome to get actively involved. So, to chop a long tale short: please contact me if you agree with these aims and please pass on the word about Mousehole School Preservation Society. I can’t get my face into facebook so none of my material goes up there unless someone takes it upon themself to put it there, so please feel free to. It’s DIY style round here, if you want it done, do it yourself… Ober da!
Here's a copy of the letter I wrote on 26.4.16 to Mr Chris Roynon, Head Teacher of Mousehole Primary School, in West Cornwall, Great Britain, inviting him to a one-to-one formal debate:
Well, Spring is in the air and May is just around the corner..... May Day is traditionally the day the World honours and celebrates the incredible courage of the countless workers who gave their blood, and their lives, struggling to give the ordinary people a better life. Even in today's mediatized, neutered and manipulated Britain, workers are taking to the streets, having found no justice through official channels. When I say workers, I'm talking about the Junior Doctors, surely some of society's very most valuable workers, on whom our very lives depend. Part of the problem is that the government are trying to enforce an untenable contract onto a group of people who are not fools, namely the Junior Doctors. The other part of the problem is that the minister in question is a lying Hunt:
Anyway, because right-wing erosion of the institutions of our nation has reached the point where many people feel that their backs are now well and truly against the wall, things are starting to happen. What are you doing on May Day? Why not give thanks to the doctors by standing together with one intent and showing them that the care they give us goes both ways. Please feel free to join our demonstration at West Cornwall Hospital, 1.30 - 3.00pm on Sunday 1st May, International Worker's Day. We Love Doctors. The NHS is the living epitome and embodiment of British socialism at its finest. If you've ever had any help from the NHS then you owe thanks to the red lefty pinko socialist puppets of Moscow like Bevan and Atlee who gave it to you; and being polite is another British tradition so come and give thanks to the NHS.... Hope to see y'all there! Gwerinieth Kernewek Yw!
The Poster and these flyers can be printed out and distributed, thus marrying the ephemeral internet with the physical world....
I thought it best to inform the law, as these events have been known to draw a crowd.....
And just for the record, here are the flyers I have been giving out at Mousehole School playground, where my child is a pupil:
Finally here are some flyers for my paper, The Limpet:
If you enjoy this blog,please spread the word, print and disseminate these critters, it's all for nature, democracy and free speech. If you hate this blog, you could print some out and tear them up! Do what you like :-)
You know very well that the vote was not against allowing
unaccompanied children into the UK. The Government's response is far more
responsible and more likely to be effective in helping children and vulnerable
people.
There is no reference to Jesus bring proud of anyone in
scripture and I'm not sure that he does pride.
He does unconditional love for which I am grateful.
How best does the UK help unaccompanied children? The Government will commit to resettling up
to 3,000 vulnerable people in addition to our commitment to resettle
20,000 Syrians under the Syrian resettlement scheme (the majority of whom will
be children).
Processing refugees in Greek reception centres. The Government is offering 75 expert
personnel to help with processing and administration of migrants, act as
interpreters, provide medical support and provide vital equipment and
medical supplies.
Helping unaccompanied children. Teams are to be sent to Greece to help
unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and those trained to tackle people
trafficking.
Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean. Three Border Force vessels has been assisting
the Hellenic Coastguard to conduct search and rescue missions, and a Royal Navy
vessel as part of the NATO mission in the Aegean.
Refugee Fund. A £10 million
Refugee Children Fund will be used to work with host authorities to care for
and assist unaccompanied or separated children in Europe and the Balkans. This
includes identifying vulnerable children, providing for their immediate
support, referral to specialist care, and helping find solutions such as family
reunification.
Family reunion. The
Government has seconded additional resource to quickly identify children who
qualify for family reunion to improve the number of children being
reunited with family in the UK. Regards,
Derek Thomas , Member of Parliament for St Ives
---------------------- Here's my reply to Derek, 27.4.2016:
Hallo again Derek,
I'm just looking into this case and if what you say in your recent message is true, then you need to sue The Independent newspaper right away, because they give the clear impression that people like you, and your fellow conservative-reactionaries are responsible for rejecting 3,000 Syrian children who would otherwise have been given a refuge here from British, American, French, Russian and daesh interference, as well as internal repression in their home-country.
And now, I have just looked at today's Guardian and, curiously, they tell the same tale as The Independent, funny eh? Now, who shall I trust, those two newspapers, or a tory MP.....?
On the basis of the above reportage, I say you are directly responsible for those 3,000 children being rejected by Britain. Perhaps that unconditional love of yours doesn't extent to people with brown faces.
I was wondering when we'd get on to the topic of 'spirituality'. Let me ask you a question - if 3,000 Syrian orphans came to the border of His land, would the Prince of Peace say "Go hence, my little ones, for this is not thy kingdom and ye shall continue to wander in the wilderness and find ye succour there and feast ye upon thorns and bitter herbs?" or would He have said "Come ye forth my dear little ones, come into my arms and let me give ye food for thy bellies and drink for I see that ye be hungry and sore thirsty. Let me give ye love and kindness for I see ye are motherless and fatherless. Let me be thy guide, as I see ye have no guide. Let me be thy rock, as I see ye be without a rock and without shelter in the wilderness. Come ye hence, my little ones and fear not." Which one sounds like the Lord to you, Mr Christian Member of Parliament?
Two thousand years ago, a bookbinder made a terrible mistake for which we are still paying. He bound together part of the Jewish holy scripture, which deals with a mentality of vengeance and punishment; with the Four Gospels, which deal with a mindset of forgiveness, tolerance and above all, redemption for sinners. When your central scripture tells you to simultaneously smite and forgive, you have painted yourself into a nice little philosophical corner haven't ye?
The other funny thing about your religion is that in the Old (Jewish) Testament, it very clearly states that the Jews are the chosen race, nobody else. Are you Jewish? If not, you're backing the wrong horse, aren't you? My Granny was half-Jewish so I guess at least a part of me is going to Heaven - I wonder which bit.....
Since you've got a posh job up London, maybe instead of saying "He does unconditional love", you should try saying "He loves unconditionally". But since your party is simultaneously attacking public education whilst undermining our national tongue by promoting the use of newspeak, I guess the integrity of word-significance is not something you care for. The things your party calls 'academies' are not in fact academies - check your dictionary. For those who laugh and say it doesn't matter I say it matters a great deal, because devaluing, co-opting and distorting the true meaning of words is a political attack on culture itself, far worse than devaluing money. In politics, words are used to persuade the minds of others, often with murderous consequences.
Anyway Derek, when you get to that old St.Peter's Gate up in the sky there, and you knock on that big old silvery old gate and old Peter come's a peepin' round the jamb of the gate and looks you up and down, and looks you in the eye, don't be surprised if old Peter asks you "Brother Derek, didst thee give succour to the little children, as our Lord hath commanded thee, and didst thou open thy gate, my little son Derek?"
See you around Brother Derek.
From Jeremy
--------------------
I've just received the following letter from Chris Roynon, Head Teacher of Mousehole School. It is his response to my letter of 21st April, but sadly, it does not actually address the points I made in my letter. This is deeply disappointing as I am used to this treatment from politicians, but was hoping for real dialogue in the case of my child's educator.
I also received the following mass mail-out materials:
Moron this story as it unfolds.... :-)
--------------------------- I got sent an American petition about Syrian Refugees which I thought I'd forward to Derek, as he cares so much for them. I added a note:
Dear Derek, 27.4.2016
Look at it like this, if you will. I understand that Great Britain is a small and extremely crowded country. I understand that many people are hostile to the idea of increasing permanent migration of foreigners to Britain, for whatever reason. I understand that Britain is militarily involved in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and I believe that we owe the citizens of those nations a debt of protection if we assume the right to take military action in their lands. If the western powers claim to be bringing stability and democracy to the playground, er, region, then instead of the two extremes of (A) Accepting anyone in the World who is fleeing war, terrorism, torture and fascist oppression of whatever brand etc. etc. into Britain permanently - OR - (B) - Totally and callously abandoning the children, orphans and miserable refugees of our war to capricious fate; could we not go for a middle-way approach whereby we take refugees into Britain on a temporary basis whilst our armed forces secure the area for peace, democracy and freedom etc.. (if possible) and then resettle the refugees, with generous and practical aid, back in their own country where they would no doubt prefer to abide?
I should be billing you for all this advice.
Later, Jeremy
---------------------------------------
Update: 29.4.16
A couple of emails went out from me to Derek Thomas about the 3,000 Syrian orphans. I was furious that he'd turned away these children and told him so. He sent me something back, but it was cut and paste, and seemed - surprisingly - to lead attention away from the issue of the children in question. I won't print all this correspondence - you'll no-doubt find his version at his own propaganda-channel. Anyway, today I bumped into Derek in town for the first time and after quite an emotional stand-off in the street about the Syrian children etc. we soon broke through to the heart of the matter and I accused Derek - rather loudly I admit, but not without sincerity - I accused him of denying me my representation in the British Democracy by failing to reply to letters. This had been thorning me for a long time and was my greatest complaint against him as, if someone won't reply, how can you talk? After both throwing out various utterances, we began to reach accord and assured each other that we were both keen on a genuine dialogue. He promised to answer an outstanding letter about the war and we agreed to conduct a face to face interview for my little newspaper, The Limpet, pretty soon. After a year of attacking Derek in The Limpet, it was good to finally meet the human behind the right-wing policy and it was a fascinating and intense experience to talk to the man. When he first approached me I had just put up a May Day Demo poster, which he said he liked better than my last one... After our spontaneous street-meeting I said I would shake his hand but mine was covered in glue from the poster and we might stick together if I did.
Afterwards I felt a strange elation, like someone who's just been enfranchised for the first time, after a long and weary struggle. Sparks flew, but some kind of warmth was kindled by the mere act of talking. However, as the Bible say, by their deeds shall ye know them. By their deeds.
Democracy being worked out face to face in the streets of Penzance is a vivid flash-back to the classical Athenian tradition. I told Derek that I needed an on-the-record dialogue and as a politician he knew what I was talking about, but he still agreed to do it, which is more than some people seem prepared to do. Well Dimo-Kratia - rule by the people - is not a domesticated and docile beast but something more spontaneous, direct and alive, something that ripples with life like the population itself. If an MP can go head to head in the street with his fellow man, why can't a school-teacher?
I'm Jeremy Schanche, British artist and activist. This blog features my paper, The Limpet. Here I write about human rights, the environment and politics. Please see my articles about Harold Hempstead and Florida Department of Corrections, with more at Harold Hempstead Caged Crusader Wordpress.com.
I have another blog that's completely different - it's where you'll find The Caterpillar, a journal of collage, poetry and surrealism that is remixed as The Caterpillar Dub - the world's first Dub newspaper. Both of these can be found at:
http://yecaterpillar.blogspot.com.
In October 2024 I published my first paperback book of fiction - The Horned Whale or An Morvil Kornek by Jeremy Schanche - available at various bookshops and at Amazon.
ISBN: 9780993490903.
175,710 words.
£15.
Contains the mystery novel - The Kramvil, plus two novellas, poetry and glossaries.
'St.Raffidy'
