Everyone knows I
am a lefty and a bit of an old-Labour type, and as such I enjoy a bit
of Billy Bragg every now and then. A lot of my student days were
passed to the sounds of the Bard of Barking, especially Brewing Up
With Billy Bragg. It was the time in my life where I discovered the
most about my musical and political opinions and Billy Bragg spanned
them both. Other artists were important, from Phill Ochs to
Anti-Flagg, but among my friends Billy Bragg way always the
favourite. Not just the political songs, although To Have And To Have
Not is a stirring tune, my favourite songs were Levi Stubb’s Tears
and From A Vauxhall Velox.
Like any good fan,
I saw him in concert. The first time was on the night when Boris
Johnson was originally elected mayor of London and the tide started
to turn in favour of the Conservatives. Throughout the evening Billy
Bragg had kind words of encouragement and hope. He reassured us that
all was not lost and that a better world could be won through action
locally and nationally. It was exactly what we needed to hear. At
times he was emotional and at times logical about the state of the
left today. As well as a concert and a political talk, the man gave
us hope and solidarity. I would urge any lefty to go and see Billy
Bragg in concert as what he has to say today is as relevant as it was
in 1984 when Brewing Up was first released.
But therein lies a
problem. I said I would urge any lefty to go and see Billy Bragg in
concert. I doubt there was anyone in the audience who was not already
sympathetic to the values Billy Bragg stands for. There might have
been a few music journalists or fans of the singer-songwriter genre
there who were not lefties, but by and large I think everyone there
broadly identified as left wing either then or at that time or at
some point in their lives. No one’s opinion was changed that
night. No one started to support left wing principles who did not
believe in those principles already. Some people who were armchair
lefties might have been galvanised into action, but no sweeping
changes in views were made.
This is a problem
with the left in general. A lot of events organised with the best
intentions end up preaching to the choir. Arguments beautifully laid
out and thoughtfully composed fall on the ears of those who already
agree with what is being passionately argued for. The support base is
not expanding through readings at a Marxist book group. The masses
are not being converted through a night of protest music attended
only by fans of protest music.
Billy
Bragg’s message did reach a wider audience when he was more popular
in the 1980s. It is slightly unfair to focus solely on Billy Bragg as
it is difficult to stay consistently popular for such a long time as
well as staying relevant and keeping to the ideals one originally set
out with. Billy Bragg has balanced all this very well but the
underlying point remains that there is a strong tendency on the left
to preach to the converted.
Events
such as the aforementioned night of protest music do not convert the
undecided to the cause. They create a safe space for likeminded
individuals to express themselves in the knowledge that they are
among their peers. Bold expressions of left wing values can be met
with ridicule in the public sphere and it is important to create
spaces where people can be themselves. The same is true of gay or
trans-gender events which also create a safe refuge for those in a
minority against the harshness of the outside world. This work is
very important but it should not be confused with activism.
Activism
is something different. It involves talking to people who may not
necessary agree with everything you have to say. It involves going
out and finding these people to engage with. Not in an aggressive way
but it does involve stepping outside of your comfort zone. Activism
is a painful and at times boring process which takes up a lot of
time, produces little visible results and receives little praise. At
times it is even met with brutal repression and the costs can be
dear. All this is less than appealing to a lot people and so there is
a tendency not to want to leave the safe space or worse, to rebrand
the safe space as activism. Gathering a lot of likeminded people
together in one location who all generally agree with each other can
look a lot like activism but that can be misleading. Unless there is
an engagement with the opposite opinion or the establishment then an
event or piece of art is not activism.
Organising
safe spaces for likeminded people to express themselves is important.
It is the necessary flip side to activism. Where activism breaks down
resolve due to the slow pace of progress, the safe space steps in to
remind people what we are fighting for and why our work is important
- however creating a safe space must not be confused with activism.
Different
causes require different mixes of safe spaces to activism. LFBT
causes require more safe spaces to be established because the harsher
responses society has to identifying as gay compared to identifying
as broadly left wing. Similarly traditional left wing causes would
benefit from more activism and less of an emphasis on safe spaces
because of the privilege most white, middle class, straight lefties
have. From a traditional left wing point of view more direction
action would be better for two reasons, firstly to counter the
general culture of self-congratulation around organising events which
only create safe spaces. Secondly to break down the bubble that some
lefties live in where they believe everyone agrees with their values.
I
left the Billy Bragg concert with a renewed sense of purpose which
the best safe spaces bring to activists. It encouraged me to keep
fighting the good fight and not to lose faith through lack of
success or the election of Boris Johnson. This is something I clung
to even when Boris was elected a second time.
Reaching to the
Converted is an album Billy Bragg released in 1999 and it is my
preferred expression to describe the left wing tendency to create
safe spaces which at its worse can be preaching to the choir
masquerading as genuine activism. Safe spaces have an important part
to play in being a modern lefty but let us not forget the need for
direct action to defend left wing values and to grow the movement.