The Slightly Crossed Brigade

The Angry Brigade was an anarchist urban guerrilla group active in Britain circa 1967-72. They are often associated with Stuart Christie (perhaps wrongly). This small book is published by Elephant Editions, a small anarchist press sympathetic to the Angry Brigade and similar groups. They have also published works by Italian anarchist (and convicted bank robber) Alfredo Bonanno.

"The Angry Brigade 1967-1984" is somewhat confusing, conflating the activities of the Brigade with that of other armed bands, including the First of May Group and a 1980's copycat, called Angry Brigade II or Angry Brigades Resistance Movement. One Jean Weir has written an introduction, comparing the small terrorist "brigade" to the Luddites, the Wobblies, and various mass outbreaks of unofficial strikes at various points in history. Of course, there is no similarity whatsoever, Weir's musings being the usual conceit of a small and isolated "revolutionary" group.

Indeed, the Angry Brigade seems to have been even more conceited and delusional than average. They bombed the homes or offices of employers during strikes, and attacked the home of Conservative politician Robert Carr, the Secretary of State for Employment, on the same day as thousands of workers protested the Industrial Relations Bill. In this way, the members of the Angry Brigade somehow imagined themselves to be on the side of the "workers". One of the Brigade's slogans was "Bogside, Clydeside, join the angry side". Somehow, I suspect the Labour-voting populace of Britain didn't want the gracious aid of these people. (As for Bogside, they had the IRA!)

What the Angry Brigade really thought they were doing is anybody's guess, but it's interesting to note that they once bombed a boutique, and also blew up a BBC van used to cover the Miss World contest. Communique 8 from the Brigade reads in part: "The future is ours. Life is so boring there is nothing to do except spend all our wages on the latest skirt or shirt. Brothers and Sisters, what are your real desires? Sit in the drugstore, look distant, empty, bored, drinking some tasteless coffee? Or perhaps BLOW IT UP AND BURN IT DOWN". (Caps in the original.)

Perhaps that is what the Angry Brigade was, when all the drama and "intellectual" analyses are stripped off. A bunch of hysterical petty bourgeois blaming Edward Heath for their tasteless coffee.

Perhaps they should have ordered tea with lemon, instead.