Call to the „Der Preis ist heiss“ („The price is hot“)-block at the Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration
PDF-Version (double-sided A4, folded to A5)
Join the „The price is hot“ block in the Revolutionary May 1st Demonstration 2023, 18:00 U-Bhf. Boddinstraße, Berlin-Neukölln.
The rulers of capitalists are good at distraction and sneaking in laws and legislations to benefit themselves and harm us. We can’t ignore what’s happening in other countries and we can’t ignore what’s happening here. Let’s fight against it together!
An example of people fighting oppression close to us is France, where even those who are organised in the „well-behaved“ trade unions are no longer taking part in the usual ritual of peaceful demonstration, but are instead going militantly into the streets or organising blockades. This upheaval is not only because of the future pension reforms or a few per cent of „inflation adjustment“, but the current state of the world and where we will end up without action.
1 May, History
May Day is worldwide a day of struggle of the exploited and oppressed, cemented in Chicago in 1886 when, after wild strikes and demonstrations, anarchists were shot or hanged.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that the euphemistic name of the events of that time, „Haymarket Riot,“ merely obscures the true historical course of events. For the „riots“ at that time didn’t just come from abused workers (some of them children) demanding better conditions, but also from the factory owners, their henchmen, and the cops appointed by the state to protect the rich. During massive strike actions and demonstrations, in which other sympathisers and self-organised syndicates also participated, the cops used massive and sometimes deadly violence. In the process, the first „water cannon“ – a police horse-drawn carriage carrying firefighting equipment – was overturned by protesters at the time, even before the event now known as the „Haymarket Riot.“
Against the „permanent crisis“ perpetuated today by the rulers and the rich, we too value self-organisation and collective action. Not only in the workplace, not only on the streets and in the neighbourhoods, but in every sphere of exploitation.
Exploitation
We are not only exploited by labour (paid or unpaid). We see the exploitation in the destruction of natural resources and the accompanying destruction of towns and communities, as happened in Lützerath. But it’s not just physical destruction we see. The gentrification of whole previously resistant districts, such as Neukölln and Kreuzberg, is forcing people out of their homes.
We see exploitation in the colonial conditions in many parts of the global south and also in worldwide wars used as „shock therapy of neoliberal capitalism“ (Naomi Klein). Patriarchy, which has been ruling for what feels like an eternity, uses one part of the population for a lot of unpaid labour.
The fight goes on!
We’re calling on those who are tired of controlled walking demonstrations to participate in this year’s „The Price is Hot“ block in the Revolutionary May Day Demonstration.
The fight doesn’t end there, though. We mustn’t forget all the marginalised people who are struggling for mere survival, such as unhoused people, and we must support their actions of self-organisation and squatting.
We welcome all forms of confrontation against the oppressors. We’ve seen strikes from railway workers, sex workers, farmers, delivery drivers, factory workers – the list goes on! We especially welcome the strikes that are creative and self-organised, like the blockade actions of the mainly migrant precarious workers at the delivery services.
Until we meet in the streets, try to start the confrontation in your own workplace.The 1st of May is not the only day we struggle together. There are two demos on the 30th of April (check out unverwertbar.org and takebackthenightberlin.noblogs.org for more info). Aside from stikes and demos, there are other means of confrontation, such as stealing and looting…
1 May, 2023
A lot of cops will be present to guard all symbols of capitalism, such as co-working spaces and police stations. We call on everyone to prepare well! Participate with your own arguments and content (signs, banners, flyers and so on) in the whole area of the block or as their own sub-blocks in the „The price is hot“ block in the Revolutionary 1st of May Demonstration. Look for our banners.
Open Assembly „The price is hot“ – Against inflation, for the social revolution! – April 2023