Dave – the editor
The South Essex Heckler was archived back in October 2020. There were two successor set up to follow on from it: The Thurrock and Basildon Heckler and The Stirrer. In addition, there’s our arm’s length project Alternative Estuary. Rather than the ‘all things to all people’ approach we had with the South Essex Heckler which left it with no meaningful identity, we felt it was best to have more specific, focused projects instead. This may seem to be complicated but after eight months, it has proved to be a wise move as each blog has developed its own audience. Anyway, here’s a brief explainer of what our three blogs are each trying to achieve…
The Thurrock and Basildon Heckler
Basically, this blog is run by fed up residents who want to hold both Thurrock and Basildon councils to account and get people stirred up enough to start fighting back against decades of bluster, bullshit and incompetence. It’s calling truth to power but hopefully keeping you entertained as well as getting inspired to take action:) Content note – we do swear a bit! Putting up with the shite we get from those who presume to rule us is enough to make a saint get sweary…
The aim is to act as a pole of attraction for people in Thurrock and Basildon fed up with being dumped on by arrogant, incompetent councils, rubbish employers, the likes of Highways England, dodgy developers and last but by no means least, dodgy gravel/sand pit and landfill operators.
What gets posted up on here are mainly my attempts to understand the weird, dystopian situation we’re in as a result of the coronavirus crisis, subsequent lockdowns and tiered restrictions and coming in on top of that, the great reset / fourth industrial revolution. There are also, more reflective pieces on issues such as planning, community activism, etc. For the record, having had my fingers very badly burnt in the past, I’m staying well away from saying anything about identity politics – life’s too short for the rows that could well erupt.
While the tone of many of the pieces here reflect my anarchist leanings, with all due respect, the target audience is not other anarchists. The audience I’m after are people fed up with the social, economic and political system as it stands who are looking for an alternative.
It’s easy to know what you’re against in a dysfunctional, unsustainable and increasingly dystopian world. Railing against the world we have to endure may make you feel better but…does it lead to positive change? We know that the political, economic and social system we inhabit is rapidly heading towards its use by date and that we have to bring about radical change if we’re going to survive. There are many ways of bringing about the change that’s needed. What this blog is about is what can be done in the here and now to boost sustainability, community cohesion and neighbourhood resilience in an increasingly volatile world. It’s about building the new world we need and want in the decaying shell of the old one we currently endure.
This is for anyone who’s had enough of the way things are at the moment and wants to work collectively at the grassroots to bring about meaningful change in their neighbourhood.
thestirrer.net 