NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,1345762,00.html
Leftwing looters raid shops

Sophie Arie in Rome
Monday November 8, 2004
The Guardian

A group of 200 leftwing protesters wearing balaclavas, carnival masks and bandanas over their faces, went on a "proletariat shopping spree" in a Rome hypermarket at the weekend, carrying off goods and handing them out.

They swarmed into the Panorama hypermarket on the outskirts of the Italian capital on Saturday shouting "free shopping for all".

After failing to negotiate a 70% discount with the supermarket's manager, the group barged loaded trolleys past cashiers and distributed the goods to a crowd outside.

Police chose not to intervene but later claimed to have identified 87 members of the group, who now face legal action.

The "proletariat shoppers", included a Communist town councillor, Nunzio d'Erme, and the leader of the Black Block, Luca Casarini, who led violent G8 anti-globalisation protests in Genova in 2001.

Other "proletariat shoppers" went on to raid a Feltrinelli bookshop in central Rome.

The sprees hark back to similar, more violent protests in the 70s. They were condemned as looters led by Italy's most extreme anarchist groups. The stunts coincided with a march by more than 10,000 workers complaining of soaring prices, insecure work contracts, cuts in state benefits and overspending on the Iraq war.

The cost of living has shot up in Italy since the arrival of the euro but incomes have remained the same, and the economy has stagnated.

Italy's leading Catholic charity, Caritas, warned last month of a risk of increasing social discontent as 7 million young and old "new poor" - 12% of the population - live below the breadline in the seventh richest industrial economy in the world.

Italy's economy was hard hit by the post-September 11 slump in tourism and by losing the trade battle with cheaper clothes, car, domestic appliances and food and wine producers - notably in China and Australia.

With unemployment at 8.4%, and more than 26% of under-25s unemployed, the charity said it was alarmed by the numbers turning to it for help.

Great story, I'm off to walmart.

i think it's high time we organized things like this in the us

i think it's high time we organized things like this in the us

Okay, but let's do it somewhere nicer than Wal-Mart.

Okay, but let's do it somewhere nicer than Wal-Mart.

yeah, seriously. why go to all that trouble for low quality crap?

We need to have such things worldwide.

yeah, seriously. why go to all that trouble for low quality crap?

Nieman Marcus?

To be honest I don't know that much about shopping. We could just work our way down 5th Avenue. That might do it.

Actually, I might start in a car dealership. I could use some new wheels.

*Heads off to Collins Street*

Note: Collins Street is where all the "boutique stores" are. I.e. Cartier, Chanel etc. All those places were the rich kids from my uni shop... If I see one more LV bag in a lecture I'll scream!!!

*Heads off to Collins Street*

Note: Collins Street is where all the "boutique stores" are. I.e. Cartier, Chanel etc. All those places were the rich kids from my uni shop... If I see one more LV bag in a lecture I'll scream!!!

Hey...I'm there!!! Sounds fun :D

(Which Uni do you go to? :p)

Which Uni do you go to?

Melbourne. But it's a med student thing. Many of them are there because their mummies and daddies sent them to private schools, got them the best tutors and pay their HECS... *Went to a public school, was only tutored for 6 months when I was struggling with maths and is deferring all her HECS*

And why aren't there state selective schools in Victoria?

EDIT: But places like Cartier have security... Maybe we should stick to Myer and DJ's?

i think it's high time we organized things like this in the us

This is just stupid stealing.

No one gets a message out, just that a bunch of mask-wearing fools broke the law for a defunct ideology.
This is not civil disobedience, this is violating others rights.

Let's not be morons.

Melbourne. But it's a med student thing. Many of them are there because their mummies and daddies sent them to private schools, got them the best tutors and pay their HECS... *Went to a public school, was only tutored for 6 months when I was struggling with maths and is deferring all her HECS*

And why aren't there state selective schools in Victoria?

EDIT: But places like Cartier have security... Maybe we should stick to Myer and DJ's?

I'm at Monash, and i'm an arts student. Yuppie "Leftists" all around. Yay. :rolleyes:

Nevermind the security. We can recruit a mob of 100 people to derail a tram or something to cause a distraction. Then i'll run into music stores and load up. :D

Andaluciae, I know. I'm kidding myself.

This is just stupid stealing.

one person's stealing is another's "taking back what is rightfully ours in the first place"

I can't believe I am hearing this!

You propose to trample on others justly acquired property just for your political beliefs?
What kind of fanatics are you? Just as bad as jihadists, nazis and crusaders.

Jesus Christ.

You make me sick.

But "justly acquired" is a matter of opinion.

Ugh, now i've put my foot in it :/

one person's stealing is another's "taking back what is rightfully ours in the first place"

It isn't yours you fascist! It never was yours! They acquired what they have justly, through ingenuity and hard work!

Nevermind the security. We can recruit a mob of 100 people to derail a tram or something to cause a distraction. Then i'll run into music stores and load up.
Hurray, now I don't have to pay for my copy of "Reise. Reise."
And I'll tackle Allens. I hope they have a Cherry Red Gibson SG...

And let me just be annoying for a second here... Monash? boooooo! :p

It isn't yours you fascist! It never was yours! They acquired what they have justly, through ingenuity and hard work!

Or inheritance.

*leaves room before it catches on fire*

Hurray, now I don't have to pay for my copy of "Reise. Reise."
And I'll tackle Allens. I hope they have a Cherry Red Gibson SG...

Hehe, Allans was no.1 on my hit list.

And who said you had to pay for that album anyway...I didn...oh. *Looks around for scary music industry lawyers*


And let me just be annoying for a second here... Monash? boooooo! :p

Yeah, well I will say that Melbourne has the better bar by far.

*quietly agrees with Kanabia and sneaks out the back way*

I have dialup internet... so bah! My illegal practices are sadly limited.
I went to Monash for a med interview. It was deserted since it was the holidays. There were ducks though...

Or inheritance.

*leaves room before it catches on fire*
The hard work and ingenuity of parents so as to make their children's lives easier.

What kind of fanatics are you?

the kind that believes that:
1) capitalism is organized crime
and
2) no one should go without when there is plenty to go around

the kind that believes that:
1) capitalism is organized crime
and
2) no one should go without when there is plenty to go around

And evidence please?

It isn't yours you fascist! It never was yours! They acquired what they have justly, through ingenuity and hard work!

well, surely somebody did the hard work. but i've got a dollar that says it wasn't the people who earn a living by owning the companies that produce and sell the products.

It isn't yours you fascist! It never was yours! They acquired what they have justly, through ingenuity and hard work!


Whoa there. Now just relax and try and see the funny side.

Ugh, now i've put my foot in it :/

it's ok, just scrape it off against the curb

well, surely somebody did the hard work. but i've got a dollar that says it wasn't the people who earn a living by owning the companies that produce and sell the products.
I'll add my dollar to yours. And exploiting other people's labour doesn't qualify as hard work...

It isn't yours you fascist! You can't really be a socialist and a fascist at the same time but any way I agree their taking a extreme approach

I can't believe I am hearing this!

You propose to trample on others justly acquired property just for your political beliefs?
What kind of fanatics are you? Just as bad as jihadists, nazis and crusaders.

Jesus Christ.

You make me sick.

I invoke Gowdin's Law (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law)! You lose!!

Hey Free Soviets tell us next time there is going to be a looting ahead of time will you? Can't do any looting now!

Power to the Workers!

Smash the State!

Expropriate the Bourgeoisie!

1) People who don't add anything to the production of a good have no claim to it (ie the morons were just plain stealing and vandalizing)

2) The shop owners do provide the capital, energy and organizational skills to make these products available to the public.

3) Acts like this only hurt the people actually working in those shops. Great job taking food out of the mouths you are trying to help.

4) Am I alone in seeing the humor in some of the posts? Name brand looting. Even when you are trying to fight the capitalist machine you sound like a bunch of consumers

5) If anyone is going to be looting BestBuy or some other electronics store, I could use some new speakers for my computer.

5) If anyone is going to be looting BestBuy or some other electronics store, I could use some new speakers for my computer.

I tell you right now that the local Infiniti dealership is top of my list.

My mom just bought an Infinity off lease. She loves it. although, if I'm buying foriegn, I'd have to go Audi or BMW.

I'm not going to get into the "justly acquired property" argument, but I have to agree that it's a poor way of notifying people of your opinion. There are much more effective and less violent ways of doing so.

2) The shop owners do provide the capital, energy and organizational skills to make these products available to the public.I have shares of Carrefour (our local wall-mart). My banker advised me since I know nothing about investing. Hell it was a good advise. I now have 5 time the money I invested. I have this money because my mother owns a big farm. She never worked in her life. She gave it to me. Fortunately, the employees are doing a great job at running the farm, because I have no organizational skill at all. Dude life is good.

A group of 200 leftwing protesters wearing balaclavas, carnival masks and bandanas over their faces, went on a "proletariat shopping spree" in a Rome hypermarket at the weekend, carrying off goods and handing them out.
I saw almost exactly the same happen a few years ago at a Membury services on the M4. The "travellers" turned up in their vans and trucks, the kids piled off, into the shop, helped themselves to anything they fancied and walked out again taunting the staff.

I'm not going to get into the "justly acquired property" argument, but I have to agree that it's a poor way of notifying people of your opinion. There are much more effective and less violent ways of doing so.

except that it isn't about notifying people of anything. it's direct action.

I saw almost exactly the same happen a few years ago at a Membury services on the M4. The "travellers" turned up in their vans and trucks, the kids piled off, into the shop, helped themselves to anything they fancied and walked out again taunting the staff.
It is what happens every day with peer to peer networks all over the world as well.
The proletariat has already won the battle for the ownership of information, although the faceless bourgeois are still baffling to regain some ground but they lost.

except that it isn't about notifying people of anything. it's direct action.Perhaps instead of "notifying", I should have said "convincing people that your opinion is the right one."

It is what happens every day with peer to peer networks all over the world as well.
The proletariat has already won the battle for the ownership of information, although the faceless bourgeois are still baffling to regain some ground but they lost.

VICTORY TO TEH 1337 h4x0rz!!!!