Reclaim The Suburbs - RTS/FNB Picnic blockades the McDonalds in Bray (the old Town Hall)

by dont know anymore Fri Aug 29, 2003 13:49

Wasn't Bray town hall an abandoned dillapidated shame until it was painstakingly renovated for its new role as a McDonalds?.
Sure- its disgusting, but now the building isnt going to fall down. I seem to remember that the council used to stash utilty vehicles and the like inside it, and it has been closed to the public for decades.
Just a point, i'd like to see McDonald choke on their own chemical flavouring, but you know how you do that...stop buying it, and you have. Unfortunately the vast majority of us LOVE it, yum yum, they just love a Big Mac and coke, and woukld probably fight to the death to keep it.

And vandalising the DART is just asking for an early finish for your Picnic. You seem so intent to hand out justifications for the cops to throw you all in the back of a van, is it a intended tactic of Agitation?

Anyway, good luck to Food not Bombs, your cause is worthy

The 'Eat healthy' over the McD sign is brilliant. More power to ye and good luck, however those you wish to liberate from corporate fast food dont like your self-righteous attitude and they dont like you vandalising their trains that they paid for with their taxes and have to sit in everyday on the way to their jobs.

by tongalicious Thu Jul 10, 2003 01:29

> Attack the symptoms of the disease all you want; nobody cares.

I do.

And the people who went to the picnic do.

So you're wrong.

by chris Wed Jul 09, 2003 21:41

If I recall correctly, and methinks I do, McD's usually isn't even the busiest fast-food joint on O'Connell Street; that would be Supermacs, the local alternative which serves a pretty much identical menu. Oh, and they have fried chicken.

But anyways, please go back to whinging about McD's and Burger King...

by chris Wed Jul 09, 2003 18:00

Blah blah blah. All of the problems that are attributed to the Great Satan McDonalds are also characteristic of the local takeaway. I lived in Shankill for about 16 months, where is there is no McD's, but there are 2 takeaways that do a booming business... one near Brady's, one in the little mall with SuperValu. Do they have sit down service? No. Do they serve nutritious vegan food? No. Do they create waste through packaging? Yes. Are they "fast food"? Yes.


It's a mystery to me that anyone would go to these takeway shops. Now, as we've learned above, the only reason people to go to McDonald's is because they are helpless sheep, brainwashed by advertising. It's almost like they have a gun to their head. McDonalds, of course, is a huge corporation that can spend millions of euro on ads no problem. The local takeaway is in no such position. Yet, people still roll in and order their non-vegan, non-sit down, non-nutritious, astefully packaged food. Quite frankly, I'm baffled.


Also, Shankill has no shortage of litter, although a great deal of it seems to be empty boxes of John Player cigarettes...

Attack the symptoms of the disease all you want; nobody cares.

chris

by kitty-kat Wed Jul 09, 2003 12:47

I agree with the sentiment it is obviously the responsibility of the person doing the littering, but surely you can see that the sheer volume of packaging is entirely without justification; even if you’re eating in they use shit-loads of crap to wrap their crap. Is it recycled? Hell Noooo, it’s stinking out the street in big black bags all evening ‘til some rubbish truck comes to collect it.

Our society is not unique in it’s tendency to litter – but we are one of the (repugnantly) best. Any company that produces a product with excessive packaging is responsible for the waste and destruction that it brings about, whether it’s in the Liffey or some landfill out in someone else’s back garden. And where does all this packaging come from? And how much waste and pollution is caused by it’s production alone. Litter on the streets is the end result of a long line of a process of waste and destruction which McDonalds is not unique, but certainly leads the way. In MANY respects.

by jh Tue Jul 08, 2003 21:45

there _is_ such a thing as excessive packaging (and environmentally unsound packaging)

by King Mob Tue Jul 08, 2003 16:26

Just a point.

The author (and the fucking way we get you like the masked poster but for fucks sake, chill on the address bit)

Your moral outrage at the wrappers and detritous from the restuarant is righteous and mis placed.

I've lived in other countries where fast food restaurants are as common yet generate less crap after a night out. While restaurants play a part in the general shit state of O'Connell street godshites are a bigger factor.

You're like the people suing Mc Donalds cause they're fat, as if they didn't know ramming four cheeseburgers in their mouths would result in swelling like a beached whale.

Mc Donalds don't fuck wrappers into the statue's pool, drunken assholes do.

by kitty-kat Tue Jul 08, 2003 14:07

yeah, he really was. he went reunning up to the cooker with the soup and then realised it was lighting and started yelling @ us to turn it off and fu*k off. the photo above was his best smug ha-ha-the-boys-in-blue-are-MY-friends-you-have-to-go-now face.

The point is similar to RTS, take back what is rightfully everyones, space, food, etc. That there IS enough food for everyone. enough decent healthy, non-carcinogenic food to feed all the hungry mouths in Ireland (and forget the myth, there ARE hungry mouths in Ireland, plenty we've the 2nd highest rate of poverty in the West after - you guessed it - the US of A) and edible food is thrown out!! Binned, dyed, bleached and stamped on to prevent anyone from salvaging it. Occasionally decent folk (traders of Moore St., Capel St. Market workers) who are appalled by this barborism give us food and we feed strangers. this is a direct challenge to the illusion of scarcity, to the notion that it is okay to waste food, the very basic RIGHT of fellow human beings. That is vandalism, it is absolutely disgusting.

McDonalds is targetted for the obvious reasons that they treat their workers appallingly, contribute (massively) to environmental destruction all over the world, wipe out small tradtional food outlets, serve disastrously unhealthy food and manipulate politicians with their vast resources ($$$$$) to serve their ends, miseducate people and are basically big bad F**kers. That's vandalism.

Everywhere you go now, bus shelters, buses; inside and out, train stations, the sides of peoples houses!!!!! EVERYWHERE you look we are bombarded with advertising, even in the supermarkets they have TVs at the checkouts. so if you have money you get a say, if you don't shut the f*ck up. Eat more, shop more ("Always Read the Labels" Roaches Stores' latest) work more, buy more, lie more, drink more, fuck more, take more. That's vandalism.

the reeeeally offensive *vandalism* which was put up read "Smile = Free" and "Free Party". Shame on us.

by dec mccarthy Mon Jul 07, 2003 23:02

but couldn't. Being a moaner I used to get pissed off cos nothing happened now I feel like there is too much on which is a far more satisfying type of gripe. Glad it went well and fair play to whoever wrote the leaflet. One thing though that manager fella looked pleasant enough -was he really kicking fruit around and getting in a tizzy?

by yoseff Mon Jul 07, 2003 21:57

whó is a vandal?
is it someone with a marker defacing an advertisement?
or is an ad exec man, vandalising the brains of the passenger on a public service?
who is doing the more damage..

by Acid Mon Jul 07, 2003 19:44

by 'vandalising' you mean...?

by jon Mon Jul 07, 2003 18:32

I can see the thinking behind RTS, and bringing it to outside the city centre. But the above posting just reads like a bunch of people in a gang causing trouble. Why vandelise the DART? what are ye trying to prove?

by i can be anonimús if i try. Mon Jul 07, 2003 15:17

had ropes put in his house in London so he could move around when he was tanked up on K.
very helpful the ropes.
I had pals who just put foam things around their knees and elbows. I didn't do any of these be careful things, and fell out a two storey window in Streatham, but it didn't hurt a bit.
& i did actually see little birdies and stars afterwards. great.
---we've come a long way together baby
---so I've got to praise you as I can...

by kitty-kat Mon Jul 07, 2003 13:18

It was a great day, great atmosphere. Even Sargent angry (N9) started taking the piss after a while. I think the "incitement to hatred" thing ought not to be taken seriously. He knew we were moving, it seemed like he was more jocular after a while. I know he was way OTT when he first arrived but don’t forget the garbage he’s been fed (and I’m not talking about fatboyslim’s burgers.)
Lovely to see so many people taking the initiative and bringing along their own stuff (LOVED the balloons!!!!!!!) including food. The passive show-up-to-be-entertained-thing is evaporating like a sour mist, to reveal mmore and more smart, fun loving, resourceful party people. Kuuuuuudos!!
Thank you for the stew (STUPE) compliment. For anyone who’s interested here is the recipe
(well, I’m adding a few improvements* actually; “artificial flavour enhancers” if you will)

Fresh, perfectly edible vegetables that are thrown out on a regular basis.
A van*
Enthusiastic, fun people, who love to cook for total strangers and give free stuff out just for the helluvit.
2 pots*
a cooker
time
LOVE
Desire for peAce
ANARCHISM

The last one really helps.

And finally to meet all these like-minded cool people do this
[email protected]

simmer for about an hour on a low heat and hey presto! The world really will be a better place!!

by pisstake Mon Jul 07, 2003 12:50

Judging from the tone.

by Whaddyamean? Isthatit? Mon Jul 07, 2003 08:45

What are pretentious prick whoever pasted that one.

by mr. fat-cat capitalist Mon Jul 07, 2003 01:01

You are inciting hatred and violence against multinational corparations who are only trying to make an honest day's profit out of sweated labour by providing good solid junk food to ill-informed consumers ... !!!

And not only that ye insult the integity of the brown-paper bag school of Irish politics and its close links with the business community .... as if there was something wrong with a bit of "honest graft" ...... if ye shut up and played along sure ye might even get a few crumbs from the master's table .....

I hope that the uniformed lackeys of the Free State will put manners on ye ... anyway they'll be glad of the overtime ... the houses has got very pricey in Dublin I hear ....

by Acid Mon Jul 07, 2003 00:04

gates were closed several times, only to be re-opened by some less-then-willing staff. It was pondered on wether the gates should be locked, but someone remarked that it would cause a fire hazzard.

by just got home. Sun Jul 06, 2003 23:19

so they couldnt open them up again. But maybe next time.

Iosaf, you couldnt be anonymous if you tried :)

by still anùnùnimùs Sun Jul 06, 2003 22:28

they may be hiding their true nationality, probably their éxchange was financed by OpùsDei, to further confuse the Irish.

by Acidburn Sun Jul 06, 2003 22:24

And they said they were Spanish students.

by me 2 aononimùs Sun Jul 06, 2003 21:52

µ were spanish?
§ perhaps they were !basque or Catalan or Galizian. Did you ask them, or did you just make a presumption???
.~;µ)

by Acidburn Sun Jul 06, 2003 21:37

Me thinks most people will be wandering to the city.

by S. Aerobics - The W o EF ul Sun Jul 06, 2003 21:15

Wonder if there'll be some wandering out to the suburbs on October 20th as well ?

by anonimista - the nothing Sun Jul 06, 2003 21:02 0 non-existent street, fakesville, nowhereland disconnected phone line

Also included: the photo of the Garda blocking the entrance of the McDonalds, and a pic of the stressed out manager.

Hopefully more pix to follow - having some tech problems.


Q: What are you doing out here?

A: OK you don’t have to be a genius or highly informed of world affairs to know that McDonalds (and other fast food restaurants in the same mould) are slowly, no, rapidly destroying our planet, and also the people that live on it. If you want to find out more about the global view, then you can check out any of a million sites on the internet that are dedicated to bringing down this empire. www.mcspotlight.org is as good a place as any to start. But looking at it much more locally; what have this company done in Ireland? Aside from their usual dodgy practices with cheap non-union labour, Styrofoam packaging, meat products, etc, my personal hatred for them is focused on their presence in O’Connell Street.

Q: What’s your problem?

A: O’Connell Street represents to me what this city could be, but isn’t. At a distance, its quite beautiful. Its wide, has a nice plaza down the centre, and is steeped in local history and colour, with many struggles and important incidents from our past. If you look at it close up you get a wildly different picture. The northbound stretch of the street from the Bridge to Abbey Street is possibly the most revolting place in the city. The path is stained and stinks, every Saturday morning the kerb is choked with packaging, every evening there are enormous piles of black bin liners stuffed to the brim with (fully recyclable) rubbish. McDonalds is one head of a four-headed evil hydra that serves fat, greasy muck at all hours, and destroys the street. Some of you will also remember the Anna Livia statue. Now this is open to interpretation, but I considered that a beautiful statue. McDonalds, in conjunction with their evil ally Burger King, killed her. The water was always swimming with their chip cartons and shake cups, from their second outlet on the street. Not content with stuffing the Dublin public with their obesity-inducing processed junk, they’ll make a second stab (no pun intended) at getting you in further on the street in case you didn’t come in the first time.

Q: What’s this got to do with Bray?

A: Bray, and also the McDonalds in Navan, deserve particular mention. This is in the realm of dodgy handshakes, brown envelopes, whispered deals, campaign funds enriched. This is the corporate takeover of public buildings. Look at this building in Bray, the old Town Hall. It stands at the end of the street on a slight hill, an architectural pleasure for what is now basically a suburb of Dublin. Wander around outside – and admire the wooden features, along with the windows and details. Then you go inside under those ubiquitous arches… and that familiar, minging, filthy smell hits you like a brick in the face. A multi national corporation taking over historical buildings to sell their wares is not what Bray needs – its not what anywhere needs. By turning up here today we want to close them down for a couple of hours, and send a message to them that we don’t want this – we don’t want them in our city, we don’t want them in our suburbs, we don’t want them hijacking our history for their profit. Bray Town Hall may not rank among the top treasured constructed jewels in the country, but it represents the beginning. The idea of a McDonalds in the GPO or a KFC drive-thru at Newgrange might seem ludicrous, but what’s the difference between this and what’s happened in Bray?

Q: OK so its obvious you don’t like them or fast food restaurants. What’s your solution then?

A: Local councils should stop granting multinational fast food chains licenses to operate. Simple as that. There are many reasons for this, but one simple one is they destroy our country. Surrounding parks are choked with litter. If restaurants are going to operate then they should encourage ‘slow food’, i.e. you sit down and you wait a small bit longer (really, do you have to have that burger now?), and you use a knife, fork and plate, which don’t end up in a bush or on a public green. If you want ‘snack’ food for your kids, don’t bring them to a company that pays its workers crap wages and makes dodgy food. Why not go to one of your local cafes? These are more than likely locally owned, by people just like you, and they’ll be more keen to see you enjoy yourself rather than getting you in and out as fast as possible. The food will be healthier and any profits will be going back into the local community. Another cheaper alternative is to make your own food! Look around all the natural beauty close by – Bray Head, the Sugar Loaf, the stone beach – isn’t it better to go with some pre-made sambos and explore these places rather than sit in a stinking fast food dump?

Q: What’s this ‘Food Not Bombs’ business?

A: FNB is a fledgling collective in Dublin that collects food that would otherwise be thrown out at the end of the day, and gives it for free to people to eat. So much fresh food is put in the bin when there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. FNB cooks the food immediately and then gives the product out. FNB cooks only vegetarian food. This is for many reasons, including to show opposition to the meat industry which kills animals and turns the planet into over-farmed deserts, but also because they want to provide healthy food for you. The chance of you contracting disease from old vegetables is non-existent, in comparison to the multitude of health problems you expose yourself to with meat (CJD/BSE, Salmonella, FMD, etc). At present the collective help to feed demos and actions, but eventually would like to have a weekly presence in the city feeding the poor and homeless. They are ALWAYS looking for extra volunteers to help, so get in touch with them at [email protected]

Q: Alright, I’d like to get involved with Reclaim The Streets too.

A: Good. The more the merrier. We always need people to give a hand with: ideas, organising, supporting people in court after Mayday 2002, flyers, posters, stickers, banners, media contacts, and anything else you can think of. We want people to get properly involved. RTS is about empowering ourselves as well as others. It’s about DIY – and doing work so that RTS events can come together on a regular basis. We meet up reasonably regularly. You can find us hanging around here on the web: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rts-dublin, which is our open discussion group, or drop us an email at [email protected]