Around 40 people attended Left Lockdown Sceptic’s inaugural in-person meeting in North London on 18 September, travelling from distances as near as the local borough to as far as Leeds and the North West. Attendees came from backgrounds in transport, psychology, academia, journalism, the arts, office work and more. We have now published a selection of transcribed contributions from the day so those unable to be there can join the discussion:
- VC’s Marxist analysis of the lockdown
- Emily Garcia’s radical feminist perspective on the freedom movement
- Dr. Jenny Goodman’s talk on the politics of immunity
- A searing contribution from Robin Monotti, the Italian architect and film producer
- A set of critical observations sent in by Simon Elmer, who was invited to speak but unable to attend.
The morning session kicked off with participants introducing themselves and their central concerns. First on the speakers panel was LLS founder David Fletcher, who described his journey to lockdown scepticism and setting up the website. Founding member VC went on to set out a Marxist analysis of the situation, comparing the ‘digital enclosure’ of the current fourth industrial revolution to the ‘physical enclosure’ of the first and questioning whether we were seeing a long term transformation of capitalism to humans as data commodities, which may last centuries, or a temporary crisis with lockdown as a deflationary measure to allow central banks to inject trillions into the banking system to stave off collapse. Feminist activist Emily Garcia then spoke about feminist critiques of the new normals and women’s key role in the pro-Freedom movement, before a buffet lunch.
During the afternoon session, architect, filmmaker and activist Robin Monotti discussed amplifying ‘the psychopaths’ mistakes, vaccine passports as a stepping stone to ever greater levels of control and surveillance, and Covid injection damaged children being a catalyst to wake more parents up. Dr Jenny Goodman, who specialises in environmental and nutritional medicine, discussed our toxic lifestyles and modern living conditions as responsible for the rise in chronic illness and poor population wide health, and pharmaceutical capture of narratives and the content of medical education in the UK. Lecturer in Political Science Tara McCormack discussed the failure of academia at large in holding corporate and state power to account despite having the theoretical tools to do so. Eli Carola, chairing, discussed how the tactic of scientism has been used as a tool to drive compliance to LD measures throughout, with its constant invoking of ‘The Science’ and the propagandistic use of meaningless ‘science-y’ terms.
During discussions, there was consensus from those present on the issues of feeling betrayed by the left, the need to grow a left wing pro-Freedom community and resistance, the pre-covid weakening and defanging of the left thanks to neoliberal societal trends, and medical fraud underlying mainstream narratives around PCR tests and injections.
There were a range of views on tactics to work with the unions, whether naming the current erosion of citizens rights and freedoms as fascism was helpful or not and the exact nature of the Covid illness, amongst other issues.
This is really good to read, I can’t get out and about myself as i’m disabled – but am involved in various projects in my community. Initially I was left very confused as to how the left could let all of this happen- but of course, there are many answers to this. I look forward to hearing more.
The stage was set for the failure of the left to challenge these measures long ago. I experienced first hand the cultic nature of trotskyist groups and how they discourage individual thought and any challenge to hierarchy. If you say ANYTHING against the status quo or even question something you are immediately singled out and targeted for expulsion. If Dear Leader thinks something, everyone MUST conform. So if it just so happens your leader is a lie-rus shill, the entire party will conform at once. This is the SEP in a nutshell.
I would love to have attended this. Please do email me with any future date.
You people are an embarrassment. Genuinely.
I live in London and would have loved to attend this event but I couldn’t go due to a prior commitment. I look forward to the recordings and transcripts, and I hope there will be more in-person events arranged in future. Thanks for all you are doing.
I would have liked to attend. Incidentally I was in London on 19th September and could have visited London a day earlier if this event had been announced well in advance.
I didn’t know this was on. I’ll be interested in attending any future events in London
It’s good to know that other socialist, left leaning people are against these ridiculous covid measures and the dangerous push to vaccinate everybody. All of my friends who claimed to be progressive have turned out to be nothing of the sort, calling for coerced vaccination, berating people for not wearing silly masks. They think anyone opposing is “right wing” or a “conspiracy theorist” and are glued to the BBC and CNN. All they have to offer is insults and slurs (much like John’s comment on here)
I live in Tokyo so cannot attend so look forward to more updates.
BTW, in Japan the government is promoting the vaccines hard, but also insist that no one can be coerced. I hope they continue to protect individual rights.
This is a very welcome gathering, and I am frustrated at having health problems that inhibit travel to London.
But 40 people? … when the putative ‘left’ is on its knees and the Labour Party is in the process of being demolished by establishment interests?
I do despair at the distance between the desire and the reality, and I’m not sure that there are any easy fixes to bridge the gap between this and a popular movement of the left, with, it seems, the majority of the so self-styled happy to bob along oi Johnson’s wake, with the libertarian right allowed to run away with the facts of an oppositional narrative.
What I do know is that narrowly-based sectional analyses, such as ‘Marxist’ and ‘Feminist’ perspectives fall into the same old same old trap that besets radicalism, failing to connect with popular instincts.
The problem is that, at the moment, the right has all the best tunes needed to create a real opposition. They have cottoned on to the use of particular sectional movements as cover and diversion for establishment authoritarianism, whilst the putative left still believes that BLM , for instance, is other than a deceptive and posturing irrelevancy to real anti-discrimination and liberation. (What an irony to see mainly white protesters donning the masks of subservience as a protest against slavery – whilst anti-lockdown protestors get battered)
Where is the united opposition to dangerously naive de-platforming-type censorship, except from the right? ; to the perverted use of the charge of ‘anti-semitism’ as a means of political control?
One could extend the list.
In fact, at worst, the ‘left’ is promoting such assaults on basic liberty with double-think, thus reinforcing the censorship and control agenda of the establishment that we see in the Covid scam, and then is surprised at the Starmer purges of the Labour Party.
Orwell, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
I know this is not very positive, and I admit to having no easy solutions – but I’m afraid it is the reality. We have a long way to go.
In fact, at worst, the ‘left’ is promoting such assaults on basic liberty with double-think, thus reinforcing the censorship and control agenda of the establishment that we see in the Covid scam, and then is surprised at the Starmer purges of the Labour Party.
Orwell, thou shouldst be living at this hour.
Great comments Rick Hayward.
I wonder whether the small numbers was in part due the the screening process. I expressed interest and was essentially asked to provide my credentials to attend. It struck me that rather than trying to develop a broad base of left leaning people to challenge the threats to our liberties, that they were looking for the ‘right kind of people’ to join.
This kind of elitism is possibly why the so-called left has been so woefully inadequate in defending the rights of ordinary people and particularly in response to the perilous situation.