Top down or bottom up?

[Grinker]

> >Leo Panitch has made the point that the involvement of urban gay groups
> >in support of the coal miners' strike in England created a vast change
> >in their (miners') attitudes towards feminism and gay rights.
>
> I'd take that with a (kindly) pinch of salt.

Yes, who could ever forget the chant of marching miners somewhere in
Nottinghamshire (I forget quite where) of: "Get your tits out for the lads!"
as they went by?

There certainly were exceptional people who developed over the period and
took up the fight around issues such as the fight for Irish
self-determination and women's rights.  Given however the total failure of
almost the entire left to challenge the NUM leadership or its politics,
people like this remained a tiny minority. Most of the left spent its time
buying miners drinks down the miners' welfare.

Russell