On The Riots

“These riots are made by an unidentifiable mob—rebellious bodies whose existence is reduced to bare necessity, and who have not found any other language than that of destructive gestures.

Let us not fool ourselves; in everyday life many of this mob are detestable; some are numbed by religion, many alienated by consumerism, or enthusiasts of masculine values, sharing with the masters of society the stupid worship of sport (some riots were suspended during televised football games) … Most of this mob would certainly not be friendly to us.”

These remarks – to a certain extent – could have been made about the incidents in Sydney last weekend. They are taken from '"Warning Lights" A Surrealist Statement on the Recent Riots in France', a statement by the Paris Group of the Surrealist Movement [Hat tip to pas au-dela, who was discussing Zizek at the time, and care of Interactivist Info Exchange]. I thought that the Paris Group was long gone, so it is good to know that they are still ambling along the boulevards …

“Beyond recent infernos presented as the very image of a nightmare, it is time that the dream of concrete utopia is raised anew.” (It is also nice to see that there are still utopians, an endangered spieces I dare say, about.)