<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Dante-Gabryell Monson</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dante.monson@gmail.com">dante.monson@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 6:33 AM<br>Subject: Fwd: <nettime> How a Library Saved My Life.<br>To: Michel Bauwens <<a href="mailto:michelsub2004@gmail.com">michelsub2004@gmail.com</a>><br><br><br>loss of commons...<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">marc garrett</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:marc.garrett@furtherfield.org" target="_blank">marc.garrett@furtherfield.org</a>></span><br>
Date: Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 4:01 PM<br>Subject: <nettime> How a Library Saved My Life.<br>To: <a href="mailto:nettime-l@kein.org" target="_blank">nettime-l@kein.org</a><br><br><br><br>
How a Library Saved My Life.<br>
<br>
By Marc Garrett. Originally posted on Furtherfield's community blog<br>
06/02/2011.<br>
<a href="http://www.furtherfield.org/blog/marc-garrett/how-library-saved-my-life" target="_blank">http://www.furtherfield.org/blog/marc-garrett/how-library-saved-my-life</a><br>
<br>
Recently I read Claire Bishop's excellent article 'Con-Demmed to the<br>
Bleakest of Futures: Report from the UK'<br>
(<a href="http://www.e-flux.com/journal/view/209" target="_blank">http://www.e-flux.com/journal/view/209</a>). Where she argues "that in the<br>
wake of the general election in May 2010, which resulted in a<br>
Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition-the UK�s first coalition<br>
government since 1945�the ensuing cuts to culture cannot be seen as<br>
separate from an assault on welfare, education, and social equality. The<br>
rhetoric of an "age of austerity" is being used as a cloak for the<br>
privatization of all public services and a reinstatement of class<br>
privilege: a sad retreat from the most civilized Keynesian initiatives<br>
of the post-war period, in which education, healthcare, and culture were<br>
understood to be a democratic right freely available to all."<br>
<br>
After reading Claire's article I thought that I'd write a little bit of<br>
personal history regarding my own experiences with early education and<br>
how a library saved my life...<br>
<br>
In the dark ages. The mid to late seventies at the age of 13, my life<br>
was a troublesome affair. Our family was constantly under seige. Life<br>
felt like a fatalistic (un)merry-go-round as we tried to deal with<br>
various, chaotic situations that occurred and impacted our relationships<br>
on a day to day basis. Whilst trying to negotiate in our own particular<br>
dysfunctional way, the onslaught of violence in a home on a council<br>
estate in Southend-on-Sea, Essex; we also had to somehow contend with<br>
intrusions from over officious social workers. Every route we took led<br>
to a different form of dis-empowerment. The formal education available<br>
to me at this time was worthless and offered no way out of poverty. The<br>
general feeling between us all was that we were caught within a hostile<br>
system. On the council estate we unknowingly made matters worse as we<br>
stole each other's toys or formed gangs.<br>
<br>
At this time when the country was almost bankrupt. The Labour government<br>
was receiving international loans of $5000 million to try and prevent<br>
the economy from collapsing. If it was not for North Sea Oil, the UK<br>
would of fallen into a state of total collapse. In 1975 UK's inflation<br>
rate peaked at 26% and unemployment reached the highest levels since the<br>
Second World War reaching hundreds and thousands. Many companies who had<br>
previously been based in the UK and investing in the economy, began<br>
moving their businesses and assets abroad where it was more profitable.<br>
Strikes spread across the land, rubbish was left outside piling up in<br>
the streets and the dead were left unburied. Very soon after this the<br>
age of Margaret Thatcher's (UK's first female Prime Minister) own brand<br>
of conservative politics and early forms of neoliberalism would begin to<br>
dominate the land.<br>
<br>
When I remember these times, my mind usually focuses on what happened to<br>
many of my peers after they had left school. A few survived the systemic<br>
challenges of bad education and social deprivation. Yet, if I use all<br>
the fingers on both hands I run out of digits to count how many of them<br>
had either committed suicide, died of drug overdoses, or gone to borstal<br>
and then to prison. Already at the age of thirteen though, I had a sense<br>
of the life that I was being set up for and growing determined not move<br>
in this direction. My heart, head and soul needed nourishment and I was<br>
not getting it. In order to change my course my behaviour needed to change.<br>
<br>
So what was I to do, what decisions should I take to change what seemed<br>
at the time a hopeless situation, especially when I �was accustomed to<br>
feeling dis-empowered in the environment I was growing up in?<br>
<br>
Every morning I would leave home and pretend I was going to school. In<br>
reality, the day would begin with a long walk into the central area of<br>
Southend, where the Essex Library was and (thankfully still is to this day).<br>
<br>
For nearly a year I managed to pretend I was going to school, whilst<br>
hiding concerned letters from the headmaster sent to my parents about my<br>
regular absence. I would enter the library seeing all the different<br>
kinds of people, of all ages researching, reading the abundancy of<br>
books, accessible to anyone. It also had a small cafe then which was not<br>
much of a deal, but going there for breaks in between reading about art,<br>
technology, science, religion, sociology and politics etc, helped to<br>
create a certain sense self assuredness. Sitting in the cafe I would<br>
overhear adults discuss what they were reading. I learned a lot about<br>
the enquiring minds of other human beings and felt that I was a part of<br>
something that until then, was a hidden secret.<br>
<br>
I was so shocked that all the knowledge in this place was not being<br>
shared with me and my peers at school. It also felt as though my<br>
venture, discovering all of this information was not 'officially'<br>
allowed. Not for my kind, as in not for my class. To say that I was<br>
dragged out of the library kicking and screaming, once the local<br>
council's truant officer had heard about my (despicable) antics, would<br>
be an understatement. The library was my second home. However, the only<br>
choice given to me was to either go back to school or end up in a<br>
borstal. Knowing how bleak and violent these environments were from<br>
friends who had themselves been there, and noticing how they had changed<br>
for the worse, the choice was clear. I went back to school.<br>
<br>
Now the reason I'm sharing all of this personal history with you is<br>
because today many libraries are being closed down due to the recent<br>
cuts by the present government in power. And yes, much information can<br>
be accessed on-line. But this, in no way replaces the important<br>
experience of meeting others in a real, physical learning environment.<br>
And this also goes for education right across the board. If we are<br>
forced to rely on the Internet alone as a source for knowledge and<br>
sharing, future minds will be less informed. Market forces increasingly<br>
dominate the Internet, dictating the interfaces/portals and therefore<br>
creating bias that privileges corporate values above greater human<br>
needs. Libraries provide chance encounters in local community settings<br>
with unexpected sources of knowledge and experience.<br>
<br>
If we consider the real reasons why libraries are being closed it all<br>
begins to fit into place. The backdrop to all of these drastic cuts<br>
relate to neoliberal intentions dominating every aspect of our daily<br>
lives. Slogans such as "the big society" and "we are all in this<br>
together" are promoted by the coalition government; forcing us to<br>
conform and adapt to what has been termed as the �age of austerity'.<br>
This is proposed to us as a way to level out the effects of the<br>
financial crisis of 2007-09, while they themselves remain untouched due<br>
to their own privileged backgrounds and benefits gained from promoting<br>
corporate interests such as those of the media mogul Rupert Murdoch. It<br>
really does not demand too much insight or mental agility to realize we<br>
are being conned. We are being socially engineered to bear a burden of<br>
debts which are not of our own making.<br>
<br>
"The reduction of government expenditure is the most overt attack on<br>
public services, usually with the most destructive effects on the<br>
poorest. Cutbacks to public services such as the reduction or closure of<br>
public facilities, either directly through outsourcing or indirectly as<br>
providers of the next nearest alternative (the shopping centre rather<br>
than the park, the bookstore rather than the library), pushing social or<br>
non-work time and spaces into the hands of private ownership and their<br>
�facility charges', caps on housing subsidy, unemployment payments,<br>
disability benefits, and so on, all serve to put what were once public<br>
responsibilities and interests into the private sector whose ownership<br>
extends not just to the material facility, service or entitlement (the<br>
park, the building, the benefit) but also to the right to access it, the<br>
requirement to generate a profit." Screw (Down) the Debt: Neoliberalism<br>
and the Politics of Austerity. By Suhail Malik. Metamute.<br>
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/6z2kska" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/6z2kska</a><br>
<br>
Thinking back to the harsh times of my early years in contrast to where<br>
I am now, I owe much of my current state of being to that Library in<br>
Southend on Sea. What will become of those other young souls who will<br>
not have the choice themselves to experience alternative avenues out of<br>
the systemic limits of imposed poverty? The Internet is an extension to<br>
libraries not its replacement. Education and knowledge is a varied and<br>
wonderful thing. Once taken away, we are less empowered, more likely to<br>
conform to the whims of others who do not have our best interests in mind.<br>
<br>
p.s.<br>
<br>
I posted this contextual piece of writing to Nettime because of an<br>
earlier post by Goran Maric - thanks Goran :-)<br>
<br>
marc garrett<br>
<a href="http://www.furtherfield.org" target="_blank">www.furtherfield.org</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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