Leaderless resistance, culture-jamming and other things

[Singa Crew]

“Internet activism is a form of leaderless resistance. Bloggers and online commentators lack command links and operate without the constraints that hierarchies impose. Since there is no visible hierarchy, like in a political party or NGO, internet activists are not susceptible to the sort of "infiltrate and destroy" tactics commonly employed by government agents. And, given the current climate in Singapore, internet activism is more effective than street protests because you can get more participants, and not just from around here but from outside of Singapore as well. Trying to shut down the internet would be like trying to punch fog, but if you take to the streets in the dozens they just have to send in the police.”

“My first culture-jamming project was when I printed a set of postcards about Singapore. The Singapore Tourist Board uses postcards to promote tourism by showing off glamorous images of Singapore. The postcards I printed showed activists being arrested by police. I had them printed in England and distributed them to show the world the other side of Singapore that they [the PAP] try to hide. Singapore Sucks! is my second project. I have other ideas but they cost funds to implement.”

“Yes. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate what I just said about the future of activism in Singapore. In dealing with the modern police state, activists must learn to think outside the box of traditional tactics. Otherwise, they are just making the PAP’s efforts at suppression uncomplicated.

Also, I no longer believe in the political myths of intellectual messiahs who will save us from ourselves. The 21st century is shaping up to be an age of leaderless resistance and ordinary, anonymous heroes.”

Excerpts from my interview with Kieran James. Read the full interview at:
http://singaporecivilsociety.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/my-exclusive-interview-with-singa-crew.html

 

[Rogue Trader]

Excerpts from my interview with Kieran James.

This hairdresser in London?

Kieran James Hairdressing launched in 1999 and has been hairdressing for over 25 years. Kieran and Sharon and their team have worked with many high profile clients. His name is synonymous with expert cutting and technical excellence. Our state of the art salon uses only professional hair care and styling products and has been designed with the comfort of the client in mind. A friendly, personal, and professional approach is guaranteed from our experienced team.

 

[scroobal]

Singa crew reminds me of a chap that i knew. Quite a rebel and refuse to confirm. If everyone sported long hair, he would sport crew cut. If everyone was a vegan , he would be eating meat. The idea is to create a individual identity and want to be perceived as special. Anyway this guy would take part in every protest, from whales to politics. In this end he became barista in Frisco. I asked why and he said that it helped him meet people from various background and allowed him to use his creative mind ie mixing drinks and creating new drinks!!. I suspect that it was trendy and cool at that time so show your latte making skills. Anyway, met 2 years ago and he was between jobs and complained that he was being discriminated because of his age. A 40 yr old chap with wispy ponytail, earrings in both ears and tats are not exactly prime candidate for the beverage scene when you can get good looking chicks, with real ponytails, earrings, tats and a fabulous body and good looks that also can make latte.

I also noticed that he does not understand the role of NS. Nobody wants NS. It is a necessity unless you want to be second class citizens like the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia.

Also many people can differentiate between politics and society's myriad of illness and anamolies. Culture-jamming in politic? This alone speaks volumes.

Anyway back to whales. I asked an aggressive chick why she wanted to save the whales and her honest and sincere answer was that they were cute, do not harm anyone and it went along these lines. She did not understand the concept of protecting the species pool so that future generation can appreciate the what we had.