International Socialist Organisation * by Dimity Interventionist Revisionist Backsliders The International Socialist Organisation - what is it? Certainly an organisation - they are organised in crowd manipulation and disruptive methods of fucking up potentially good demo's. There is hardly a demonstration in recent months at which the ISO have not been present. Due to the DSP falling out of many groups to concentrate on the Green Left and other issues, the ISO seem to have a monopoly on the hard line socialist front. Of course, there are exceptions: the most recent one that comes to mind was Operation Big Mac, a protest against McDonalds, whose environmental devastation, inhumane treatment of animals, phenomenal amount of wast production, and its effect on the Third World make it, year in, year out one of the Ten Worst Companies of the Year world wide. A worthy protest certainly, so where were the ISO? Well it has been said that the ISO believes McDonalds is a good thing because it is "working class" - those comments came from several ISO members, straight from the donkeys mouth. So, despite the havoc reaped upon the earth by McDonalds, International Socialists (largely a group of middle class uni students bent on glorifying and romantising history) seem comfortable justifying it by saying "It's is for the good of the people - even the working class can aford it ". Well frankly I hope they choke. We see the ISO at protests like AIDEX, attempting a coup on the sensibilities of 2,000 protesters by dominating every meeting and urging people to fling themselves against a wall of violent, fiery police. And yet they put out a booklet entitled "The Lessons of AIDEX", in which they ridicule anarchism and women in the most crude analytical and factually incorrect manner. The editors of their paper did, to their credit, print a long letter regarding the errors of this document, the lessons they seem to find it so hard to learn. At the George Bush demo in Melbourne in January,l the ISO caused the most incredible amount of irrational disruption. Protesters had claimed a road, had succeeded in entirely blockading the area that the illustrious president was meant to drive through until the ISO insisted (over the every present mega phones) that the entire protest go for a march around the city, thus losing the ground gained and clearing a drive way for the president to saunter through, giving a two fingered salute and giggling at how easy it is to pass by his admiring overseas public. The ISO voices stated that anyone who stayed behind would be picked off by the police and thus led people, motivated by fear, on the most embarassingly futile march ever seen, rampaging through department stores and other city buildings in the most ridiculous manner. Each year at the Reclaim the Night march men are asked to march silently behind the women marchers in solidarity, respecting womens voices in this domineering male society. Each year men from various groups including the ISO get up the front and scream over their mega phones. Again, Dick Chaney comes to town, the ISO come to Collins street, loud speakers in hand, rearing to make a mess of things again. If that is indeed their object, they succeed with amazing prowess. While the ISO led people on yet another futile march around the city, a nice big, black, shiny limosine drove out from under the Hyatt, safely coureiring the elite away. Was it Dick? Who knows. It is important to think before you follow along - who are you following? Any person who goes to a demonstration should ask themselves why. Is it because some war mongering arsehole is in town shaking hands with brown nosed politicians? Is it because you want to say to the government, hey what the fuck are you doing with my AUSTUDY? Is it because there is an arms fair happening and you want to close down the merchants of death? Or is it to follow a bunch of megaphones, behind which are the philosophies of socialism, but more that that, behind which there are very often undercover cops and intelligence (sic) agents. There is a rumour circulating that the ISO was instigated in Australia by a certain intelligence (???) agency ( the one that has that nasty habit of taking your photo at protests to add to their albums) a number of years ago so as to attract a more radical element and keep a finger on the pulse. Even if that is just a convenient and suprisingly understandable rumour, it would be so easy, so very easy for such organisations to be infiltrated. We are extremely naieve if we don't take this for granted considering the amount of money and individuals plowed into surveillance in this country. To laugh off the idea as the work of the paranoid mind is to not only ignore the consistent history of such activity but also subjects your child like politics to an eventual nasty surprise. Its so obvious. Think about it. It's a great way for the state to keep its eye on the radical "ratbags" in our society especially if the masses obey their every order expressed at a demonstration. If you need a catchy slogan to shout at the next protest you participate in, try something relevant to any political action in our time something like "The ISO has got to go! Hey hey, Ho ho! ISO or ASIO? Hey hey! Ho ho!"