MikeDunnAuthor
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 16 hours ago

Today in Labor History August 16, 1819: Police attacked unemployed workers demonstrating in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England. When the cavalry charged, at least 18 people died and over 600 were injured. The event became known as the Peterloo Massacre, named for the Battle of Waterloo, where many of the massacre victims had fought just four years earlier. Following the Napoleonic Wars there was an acute economic slump, terrible unemployment and crop failures, all worsened by the Corn Laws, which kept bread prices high. Only 11% of adult males had the vote. Radical reformers tried to mobilize the masses to force the government to back down. The movement was particularly strong in the north-west, where the Manchester Patriotic Union organized the mass rally for Peter’s Field. As soon as the meeting began, local magistrates tried to arrest working class radical, Henry Hunt, and several others. Hunt inspired the Chartist movement, which came shortly after Peterloo.

John Lees, who later died from wounds he received at the massacre, had been present at the Battle of Waterloo. Before his death, he said that he had never been in such danger as at Peterloo: "At Waterloo there was man to man, but there it was downright murder." In the wake of the massacre, the government passed the Six Acts, to suppress any further attempts at radical reform. The event also led indirectly to the founding of the Manchester Guardian newspaper.

Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote about the massacre in his poem, “The Masque of Anarchy.” The authorities censored it until 1832, ten years after his death. Mike Leigh’s 2018 film Peterloo is an excellent portrayal of the massacre, and the events leading up to it. Many writers have written novels about Peterloo, including the relatively recent “Song of Peterloo,” by Carolyn O'Brien, and “All the People,” Jeff Kaye. However, perhaps the most important is Isabella Banks's 1876 novel, “The Manchester Man,” since she was there when it happened and included testimonies from people who were involved.

#workingclass #LaborHistory#peterloo #waterloo #unemployed #poverty #freespeech #massacre #anarchism #novel #poetry#literature #books#poet #author #writer #fiction @bookstadon

Caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the British military charge upon the rally of unemployed workers, attacking women and children. One man is bleeding from the head. By George Cruikshank - Symes, John Elliotson; Traill, Henry Duff (ed); Mann, James Saumarez (ed) (1904) [June 1897] "The Social Economy" in Social England: a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day (Illustrated Edition ed.), London: Cassell and Company, pp. facing p. 126 Retrieved on 7 April 2010.Uploaded by Jappalang, April 2010, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3778047
Caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the British military charge upon the rally of unemployed workers, attacking women and children. One man is bleeding from the head. By George Cruikshank - Symes, John Elliotson; Traill, Henry Duff (ed); Mann, James Saumarez (ed) (1904) [June 1897] "The Social Economy" in Social England: a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day (Illustrated Edition ed.), London: Cassell and Company, pp. facing p. 126 Retrieved on 7 April 2010.Uploaded by Jappalang, April 2010, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3778047
Caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the British military charge upon the rally of unemployed workers, attacking women and children. One man is bleeding from the head. By George Cruikshank - Symes, John Elliotson; Traill, Henry Duff (ed); Mann, James Saumarez (ed) (1904) [June 1897] "The Social Economy" in Social England: a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day (Illustrated Edition ed.), London: Cassell and Company, pp. facing p. 126 Retrieved on 7 April 2010.Uploaded by Jappalang, April 2010, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3778047
MikeDunnAuthor
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 16 hours ago

Today in Labor History August 16, 1819: Police attacked unemployed workers demonstrating in St. Peter's Field, Manchester, England. When the cavalry charged, at least 18 people died and over 600 were injured. The event became known as the Peterloo Massacre, named for the Battle of Waterloo, where many of the massacre victims had fought just four years earlier. Following the Napoleonic Wars there was an acute economic slump, terrible unemployment and crop failures, all worsened by the Corn Laws, which kept bread prices high. Only 11% of adult males had the vote. Radical reformers tried to mobilize the masses to force the government to back down. The movement was particularly strong in the north-west, where the Manchester Patriotic Union organized the mass rally for Peter’s Field. As soon as the meeting began, local magistrates tried to arrest working class radical, Henry Hunt, and several others. Hunt inspired the Chartist movement, which came shortly after Peterloo.

John Lees, who later died from wounds he received at the massacre, had been present at the Battle of Waterloo. Before his death, he said that he had never been in such danger as at Peterloo: "At Waterloo there was man to man, but there it was downright murder." In the wake of the massacre, the government passed the Six Acts, to suppress any further attempts at radical reform. The event also led indirectly to the founding of the Manchester Guardian newspaper.

Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote about the massacre in his poem, “The Masque of Anarchy.” The authorities censored it until 1832, ten years after his death. Mike Leigh’s 2018 film Peterloo is an excellent portrayal of the massacre, and the events leading up to it. Many writers have written novels about Peterloo, including the relatively recent “Song of Peterloo,” by Carolyn O'Brien, and “All the People,” Jeff Kaye. However, perhaps the most important is Isabella Banks's 1876 novel, “The Manchester Man,” since she was there when it happened and included testimonies from people who were involved.

#workingclass #LaborHistory#peterloo #waterloo #unemployed #poverty #freespeech #massacre #anarchism #novel #poetry#literature #books#poet #author #writer #fiction @bookstadon

Caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the British military charge upon the rally of unemployed workers, attacking women and children. One man is bleeding from the head. By George Cruikshank - Symes, John Elliotson; Traill, Henry Duff (ed); Mann, James Saumarez (ed) (1904) [June 1897] "The Social Economy" in Social England: a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day (Illustrated Edition ed.), London: Cassell and Company, pp. facing p. 126 Retrieved on 7 April 2010.Uploaded by Jappalang, April 2010, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3778047
Caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the British military charge upon the rally of unemployed workers, attacking women and children. One man is bleeding from the head. By George Cruikshank - Symes, John Elliotson; Traill, Henry Duff (ed); Mann, James Saumarez (ed) (1904) [June 1897] "The Social Economy" in Social England: a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day (Illustrated Edition ed.), London: Cassell and Company, pp. facing p. 126 Retrieved on 7 April 2010.Uploaded by Jappalang, April 2010, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3778047
Caricature by George Cruikshank depicting the British military charge upon the rally of unemployed workers, attacking women and children. One man is bleeding from the head. By George Cruikshank - Symes, John Elliotson; Traill, Henry Duff (ed); Mann, James Saumarez (ed) (1904) [June 1897] "The Social Economy" in Social England: a record of the progress of the people in religion, laws, learning, arts, industry, commerce, science, literature and manners, from the earliest times to the present day (Illustrated Edition ed.), London: Cassell and Company, pp. facing p. 126 Retrieved on 7 April 2010.Uploaded by Jappalang, April 2010, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3778047
toddmedema
@toddmedema@techhub.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

My first novel, How to Surf a Hurricane, is available today! I'm honored to share two years of challenging, stimulating and creative work with you.

The book is a heist, it's true (if you liked Ocean's Eleven, you'll love this).

It's also a well-researched look at what the future might be like in 2040 (if you liked The Martian, you'll enjoy this).

But most importantly, it's a story of hope and action. If you're tired of stories of doom and gloom, that the future will be a hopeless dystopia... if you want to fan the fire inside of you that we can take the future into our own hands... you'll want to read this!

https://howtosurfahurricane.com/

#booktok #solarpunk #crime #novel #book
MikeDunnAuthor
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

Today in Labor History July 31, 1968: Students protested the Olympics in Mexico City. They occupied schools and began a General Strike. Cops violently attacked them. The violence culminated with the Tlatelolco massacre, October 2, during which the cops slaughtered 350-400 people, using snipers. They arrested and tortured over 1,300.

Alejandro Jodorowsky dramatized the massacre in his surreal film, “The Holy Mountain” (1973). In it, he showed birds, fruits, vegetables and other things falling and being ripped out of the wounds of the dying students. The late author, Roberto Bolaño, recounted the massacre in his novel “Amulet” (1999). He also retells the story in his novel, “The Savage Detectives.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #students #olympics #mexico #protest #massacre #tlatelolco #generalstrike #police #policebrutality #policemurder#robertobolaño #film #author #books #fiction #novel #writer @bookstadon
MikeDunnAuthor
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 weeks ago

Today in Labor History July 31, 1968: Students protested the Olympics in Mexico City. They occupied schools and began a General Strike. Cops violently attacked them. The violence culminated with the Tlatelolco massacre, October 2, during which the cops slaughtered 350-400 people, using snipers. They arrested and tortured over 1,300.

Alejandro Jodorowsky dramatized the massacre in his surreal film, “The Holy Mountain” (1973). In it, he showed birds, fruits, vegetables and other things falling and being ripped out of the wounds of the dying students. The late author, Roberto Bolaño, recounted the massacre in his novel “Amulet” (1999). He also retells the story in his novel, “The Savage Detectives.”

#workingclass #LaborHistory #students #olympics #mexico #protest #massacre #tlatelolco #generalstrike #police #policebrutality #policemurder#robertobolaño #film #author #books #fiction #novel #writer @bookstadon

Alex, the Hearth Fire
Mre. Dartigen [maker mode]
Alex, the Hearth Fire and 1 other boosted
MikeDunnAuthor
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

Today in Labor History July 29, 1962: British aristocrat and fascist leader, Oswald Mosely, was beaten by antifascists in London’s east end. Even after police began to escort him away, activists from the antifascist 62 Group (AKA 62 Committee), led by Jewish, communist, and black activists, were able to pelt him with eggs, fruit and rocks. He later called a rally, which the activists successfully disrupted with shouts of “down with fascists.” The only people arrested were antifascist activists.

62 Group disrupted fascist meetings throughout the early to mid-60s, beating up or attacking fascists whenever they had the chance, much like the Jewish antifascist 43 Group did in the 1940s. As a result, they were able to significantly reduce the power and effectiveness of the fascists in the 1960s.

Mosely had been a Labor MP and junior minister from 1918-1931. As the leader of the British Union of Fascists, publicly supported antisemitism and tried to form alliances with Mussolini and Hitler. During the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, antifascist demonstrators including unions, anarchists, socialists, communists, liberals and Jews, prevented the BUF from marching through the East End of London. During World War Two, Moseley and his wife were imprisoned as threats to the national security.

Mosely is portrayed in numerous works of fiction, including the television series, The Peaky Blinders. He is portrayed in Pink Floyd’s the wall; Aldous Huxley’s 1928 novel, Point Counter Point; HG Wells's 1939 novel The Holy Terror; PG Wodehouse's Jeeves series; and Philip Roth's The Plot Against America.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #oswaldmosely #fascism #antifascism #london #antisemitism #anarchism #communism #socialism #racism #books #novel #author #writer #fiction @bookstadon
MikeDunnAuthor
@MikeDunnAuthor@kolektiva.social  ·  activity timestamp 3 weeks ago

Today in Labor History July 29, 1962: British aristocrat and fascist leader, Oswald Mosely, was beaten by antifascists in London’s east end. Even after police began to escort him away, activists from the antifascist 62 Group (AKA 62 Committee), led by Jewish, communist, and black activists, were able to pelt him with eggs, fruit and rocks. He later called a rally, which the activists successfully disrupted with shouts of “down with fascists.” The only people arrested were antifascist activists.

62 Group disrupted fascist meetings throughout the early to mid-60s, beating up or attacking fascists whenever they had the chance, much like the Jewish antifascist 43 Group did in the 1940s. As a result, they were able to significantly reduce the power and effectiveness of the fascists in the 1960s.

Mosely had been a Labor MP and junior minister from 1918-1931. As the leader of the British Union of Fascists, publicly supported antisemitism and tried to form alliances with Mussolini and Hitler. During the 1936 Battle of Cable Street, antifascist demonstrators including unions, anarchists, socialists, communists, liberals and Jews, prevented the BUF from marching through the East End of London. During World War Two, Moseley and his wife were imprisoned as threats to the national security.

Mosely is portrayed in numerous works of fiction, including the television series, The Peaky Blinders. He is portrayed in Pink Floyd’s the wall; Aldous Huxley’s 1928 novel, Point Counter Point; HG Wells's 1939 novel The Holy Terror; PG Wodehouse's Jeeves series; and Philip Roth's The Plot Against America.

#workingclass #LaborHistory #oswaldmosely #fascism #antifascism #london #antisemitism #anarchism #communism #socialism #racism #books #novel #author #writer #fiction @bookstadon
Brett Sheffield (he/him)
@dentangle@chaos.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 weeks ago
נאריש זשלאָב מענטש
@dukepaaron@babka.social  ·  activity timestamp last month

Fair warning: I kind of despise Jacobin, and Balthazar is a shitty writer... but this novel sounds amazing!

"It's something of a truism to say history does not reveal the past but rather the present: the refracted light of dead stars, to use the French philosopher Daniel Bensaïd’s image of the gone revolutions, will disappear in a daylight of mere facts if not recognized as a “concern of the present.” Annie Kaufman’s new translation of Ben Gold’s 1944 #Yiddish language #proletarian #novel Your Comrade, Avreml Broide: A Worker’s Life Story is one of those events, in which a seemingly lost footnote of left-wing #American #history suddenly brushes against the grain of the present."

https://jacobin.com/2025/07/ben-gold-communist-jewish-literature/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon
נאריש זשלאָב מענטש
@dukepaaron@babka.social  ·  activity timestamp last month

Fair warning: I kind of despise Jacobin, and Balthazar is a shitty writer... but this novel sounds amazing!

"It's something of a truism to say history does not reveal the past but rather the present: the refracted light of dead stars, to use the French philosopher Daniel Bensaïd’s image of the gone revolutions, will disappear in a daylight of mere facts if not recognized as a “concern of the present.” Annie Kaufman’s new translation of Ben Gold’s 1944 #Yiddish language #proletarian #novel Your Comrade, Avreml Broide: A Worker’s Life Story is one of those events, in which a seemingly lost footnote of left-wing #American #history suddenly brushes against the grain of the present."

https://jacobin.com/2025/07/ben-gold-communist-jewish-literature/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon