SEEING RED: All My Homies Hate War Pigs

SEEING RED is an irregular column on Fremantle Shipping News by Barry Healy*. In this piece, Barry invites you to YAWF’s All My Homies Hate War Pigs event this Saturday night.

Missed out on one of the great cultural achievements of the 20th century — Black Sabbath’s 1970 anthem War Pigs? Don’t worry. The war pigs are still with us, and they’re doing very nicely in Western Australia, but not without opposition.

This Saturday, 19 September, YAWF – Youth Against War and Fascism – is bringing their anti-war culture to Fremantle’s Buffalo Club. All My Homies Hate War Pigs kicks off at 6.30pm, with bands, poets, stalls and a healthy dose of political opposition to the business of turning war into an industry.

YAWF, part of the WA Anti-War Coalition, is asking a fairly straightforward question: how much of WA do we want to hand over to the war machine? And they are asking the question with the volume turned up.

With defence industries set to become the state’s second-largest employer, billions are being poured into weapons, submarines and military infrastructure. Meanwhile, hospital emergency departments are straining and families are sleeping rough.

As YAWF activist Kandyce Kazmer told the Shipping News:

“War is like a parasite. And it’s trying to latch onto our state, with defence set to become the second-largest industry in WA.

“Is this who we are? Willing to turn on the tap for defence before paying our nurses? Before addressing families sleeping in their cars?”

There’s no shortage of money when it comes to preparing for war. But what could that money buy instead.

So, if you’re looking for an alternative to the patriotic spectacle of warships, weapons contracts and politicians shaking hands with defence executives, head to the Buffalo Club on Saturday night.

Bring your friends. Bring your politics. And, in the immortal spirit of Black Sabbath, bring your hatred of war pigs.

Money raised on the night will go to supporting Palestinian families in Gaza and the West Bank.

* Barry Healy is a life-long Marxist who first came to Perth in the 1970s to establish the Resistance young socialist group. He was a founder of the Green Left and currently edits the Culture section of the Red Spark website.

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