More Polloks
The United State of Pollok
Interesting to see a lengthy article in the Sunday Herald looking at the Pollok Free State, which I recalled recently.
There are a number of interviews with the leading participants. But focusing on the personalities seems to be the main thrust. Hardly any of the organisations involved are mentioned, Scottish Militant Labour is mentioned but not Earth First or the Scottish Defiance Alliance. The significance of their united front is barely dealt with nor is the important role the SDA played in the formation of the SSP. But the fact that Rosie Kane, Tommy Sheridan, Mark Ballard and Mark Ruskell are in the Scottish Parliament is prominently mentioned.
I guess that focusing on personalities makes for better reading but it doesn't make for a serious history of the Pollok Free State and the anti-M77 movement.
The final paragraph is a tad odd too:
"The black-and-white days of fighting the system are gone. We’ve had eight years of Labour government, we’ve got a Scottish parliament. Utopia ought to be within reach, but is proving a more complicated matter than anyone believed in the heady days of Pollok Free State."
As if the mid-90's were the heyday of popular protest, you must be kidding. 1995 was hardly 1968. With the anti-war and global justice movements now, we are seeing a much higher level of political consciousness particularly amongst young people.
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