Why I hate samba
A shorter version of this piece first appeared in the Occupied Times of London
I have a confession. I don’t like samba. OK, that’s not quite true. I often enjoy it. It’s cheering. But I have a political objection.
But that’s probably not where I should start. Perhaps more to the point, I don’t like dressing up on protests. If I am going on a demo then I am putting my body in a place in order to say that I, Adam Ramsay, believe this. Because it will make my life better, or because that will make worse the lives of the people I love, or of people who I have never met, but about whom I still care. I am not anonymous. I am not a clown. I am me. Because that’s the most I can be.
And, whilst sometimes for a photo op it can easier to get coverage if we are dressed up, I prefer not to. Because I think people are more likely to identify with us if we are authentically ourselves. They are more likely to take us seriously. What is the point in demonstrating that fictional characters are against something?
Of course, I understand why we dress up. Every time I go on a demonstration, I get a little embarrassed. I’m British. We are raised to queue, drink tea, and be cynical: the cultural echo of our war traumatised grandparents and of years of imperial drilling still haunts us down the generations. We don’t express emotion in public. And so we combat our awkwardness by copying the main traditions in which we are allowed to be raucous – those of the theatre, and the circus. We step out of ourselves, and pretend to be someone else. Because that someone else can be liberated from the shackles of Britishness.
But in pretending to be someone else, we take away what is most profound about protest. That we are real people, not fictitious representations. And we are there because we care.
And that authenticity often seems to be missing from British demonstrations. And this is why I don’t like samba. Do any of us listen to Samba music other than at protests? What do we really listen to? Why don’t we represent ourselves at protests as we truly are? Why isn’t the music we listen to from our culture? Now, when I say ‘our culture’, I don’t mean Morris Dancing – unless you genuinely do it. I mean whatever it is that you and I listen to and do in the rest of our lives – whether that’s Rap or Rachmaninov.
In my generation (I’m 26) many of us haven’t grown up with a domestic protest culture. And it is always hard to know what to do when demonstrating – other than standing in, or walking through, a space, there isn’t really anything to do. And so we learn from others, and we mimic. We don’t chant that we are ‘anti-capitalist’. We chant ‘a-anti-anti-capitalista’. Because that’s what the Spanish speakers do. And Latin America has the best socialists, and Spain the best anarchists, so let’s copy them.
If we sing when we march, we sing Bella Ciao – a song about Italian struggles. Which is a lovely song, and so we should sing it. But I’ve never heard a British demonstration sing the song of the Suffragettes – based on a poem written by an early anarchist to protest against the rise of industrial capitalism – “Jerusalem”. And so it has been co-opted by conservatives as a nationalist song. I have rarely heard Scottish demonstrators sing Robert Burns’ early socialist anthem ‘a man’s a man’. Nor have I heard UK hip-hop, or Welsh male choirs, or dubstep.
Of course, mimicking can be good. As one prominent activist put it recently, the occupation of public spaces is a meme that is going feral. In itself, there is not a particular reason to go for this form of protest over any other (though it does hark back to an Irish tradition of protesting against one who has wronged you by sitting outside their house). But at a time when millions around the world are livid, but no one knew what do do, having something simple and repeatable – go and camp together in a public space – was crucial. And the mimicry has been extraordinarily powerful.
But when we copy the best bits of what others around the world are doing, let’s copy not by pretending to be them, but by being ourselves – a wonderfully multi-cultural, multi-linguistic group of people. And yes, let’s sing the songs of Italian Partisans, and use the chants of Latin America’s Bolivarian socialists. But let’s also teach them about who we are, about our many different cultural backgrounds, about the music our parents and our grandparents listened to, and the music we listen to today. And let’s remember that our cultures too – all of them – have proud histories of struggle.
The first demonstration I ever went on, I was playing in a band. It was my school pipe band – I was a snare drummer. We led a march through Perth against the closure of the local Accident and Emergency Unit. No one could ‘Other’ us. No one could define us as ‘abstract protesters’. We were clearly real – we were the local school band. And perhaps when we protest, we should be who we are – don’t let them put us in that abstract box ‘protester’. Come as us. Because that’s the best we can be. Because that’s honest. Because we are all rooted in communities, and it is for them that we stand up, and let’s make sure that the world understands that.
A musical protest that I feel defines me and caught on because of authenticity: when I led an impromptu “happy birthday” to critical mass (bike ride). I mean who doesn’t know that tune!
Re: Jerusalem, I would encourage readers to look at Dr Derek Wall’s PhD thesis which quotes the adapted lyrics at the beginning of one chapter, sung at the Newbury Bypass protest in the ’90’s. Jerusalem was the signature tune of an Indymedia London show, spacegirl’s poetry salon about 10 years ago.
Rosa –
Glad to hear that samba rehearsals are a diverse and inclusive place.
On the demo scene, surely you have met people who find demo culture including the samba to be a bit too much at times? Or outwith the scene, snigger that it’s a bunch of weirdos (i.e. a culture very different from what they are used to).
Would it be nice if demo culture more broadly represented the range of cultures in our society,? Or is it just ‘their problem’?
Ellie –
Funny you should say that about Samba being a symptom of activists being “cut off” from the rest of society. In fact I find the samba bands I’ve played in to be places where activist culture intersects with everyday society – at rehearsals we get people with completely diverse politics and backgrounds, not just activists, and samba often attracts people who wouldn’t generally go to protests to go along and play, and get more involved with the cause. A samba band is a much more open space for activists engaging with wide society than, say, a direct action group or a trotskyist party, because it’s as political as you want it to be.
And it’s interesting that on a thread about Occupy we’re talking about stealing ideas for protests from other countries 😉
Great article, Adam. I keep meaning to comment and then getting derailed by wanting to reply to the other comments … and now I have to go to work (where I will be interacting with “normal” or “mainstream” people all day long, just like — OMG shock! — most political radicals and “professional activists” do in their daily lives as well).
Topiman – I don’t understand why criticism, even negative criticism, shouldn’t be allowed in the paper. This isn’t criticism saying that the protest is wrong. I have taken part in it as much as I can, staying what nights I can, etc. It is saying that there are some minor things we do which frustrate me – and which I know alienate us from people around us. I know, because they tell me that they do.
Yeah, I’ve often thought we should have a pipe band leading some of the Scottish protests – the EIS have got a great pipe band, as I recall.
How very dull and British to bring class into it – where the hell is progression – c’mon people!
As for the Poll Tax – yes there was indeed a samba band there leading one of the charges, so I’m told by people who were there. Music played its part in the Miners Strike too of course.
Ellie – you make an interesting point about activism / activists creating a barrier. In some ways that’s always an issue for any movement – how they’re perceived by others etc. To my mind, seeing people creating safe fun inclusive spaces is one way, and for me music is great facilitator of this. I’ve had so much feedback over the years from people who say they’d never have stepped in to the demo / didn’t know about the issue etc if it weren’t for the ‘colourful’ protest going on.
I don’t think samba should be the major factor of any demo, just one of the components of it, one of the diverse components amongst all the others which the diversity of the people involved bring to it.
Some of this thread reads like the typical responses to the Occupy movement itself – ie complete conjecture and some strange desire to create barriers and dividing lines – ie ‘they’ are all white middle class etc. I’d advise you take a closer look / get involved.
I still feel that the original article had absolutely no place in that first edition of Occupy – it’s a negative which is unwelcome. It’s being discussed at Occupy, and hopefully a second edition will contain more pertinent views and ideas.
‘Activists’ seem to me to be rather pretentious, privileged and above all annoying middle class types with expensive electronic ‘accessories’ that talk to you upon first meeting as if your the thickest thing they’ve ever encountered, or if they think you’re one of them, as if you agree with everything they say.
And they don’t have a chance in hell of ‘connecting’ with ordinary people because they wind ordinary people up. I expect you’ll hate me for saying it but well, there you have it. The poll tax demos and miners’ strike got many thousands of people galvanised, and out on the street without a ‘professional’ protester or hyper-real representation of struggle by a samba band in sight. Did I mention pretension?
As usual, some people appear to think the demos are more about themselves than what’s happening to the country and its population.
Of course, dressing up as a deliberate piece of theatre eg naked topshop or bankers is something else entirely. And a graphic/humorous way to get a point across. But these are based on showing through theatre, not just ‘demonstrating mass support’.
Funny how popular posts on activist anthropology always are! Little excites people like talking about themselves 😉 (and I include myself in that of course).
Samba itself is of course not the problem. It is a symptom of the problem. The problem is the cultural isolation of much of the ‘activist community. Too many self-identified activists are socially and professionally cut off from mainstream society.
This has allowed an ‘activist culture’ to develop, which has no necessary connection to the causes we campaign for. It is nice insofar as it creates a fun environment for ourselves which we can relate to. But it remains a cultural barrier to engaging with the rest of the community. It also allows some activists to become eerily detached from the worldview and concerns of ordinary people.
The most successful demonstrations are always those where you can look at the crowd and see the whole country represented.
Samba and clowning is easily branded as ‘the same usual suspects’. The 1%.
tl:dr – “I hate samba cos I’m English and want to sing Jerusalem”
I disagree. I’m sure you’d expect me to. Although I agree that just nicking things without context in essence trivialises them to the point where the samba band itself becomes the hyperreal form of protest, I think these things can also bring people together. When copying we are showing how closely the world is connected.
And what’s wrong with dressing up? What defines us personally anyway? Dressing up brnigs out the originality and the diversity of a march. It also removes the standard kitsch of the demostration (a la Kundera) and transforms it into a space for discussion.
The only reason I don’t dress up is because I lack originality.
Agree (see my first paragraph), just thought I’d point out the other side a little 🙂
Seb,
yes, that I don’t like doing something doesn’t mean that I don’t think that we should ever do it. I have taken part in street theatre despite these views on a number of occassions. I just think that, as well as considering the impact this has in positive ways, we should also consider the down sides…
Agree we shouldn’t randomly copy stuff and agree we should carefully consider the best ways of communicating our message, but sometimes this can be achieved through political street theatre.
This has a rich history in many countries, from Serbians during the Balkan wars, Chilean students recently demonstrating against education cuts, art students on Oxford Street to this:
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/10/27/1319714899979/Bogota-Colombia-Students–014.jpg
And in many cases it turns out to be an excellent form of communication – it can simplify an idea into something which is easy to understand, like a cartoon in a newspaper.
So whilst I agree random dressing up isn’t especially helpful, I think thoughtful, creative street theatre can be and has been helpful, even if you don’t do it at home.
You say “I don’t like dressing up on protests”, but often this is a great way of communicating:
You missed the dubstep at the Parliament Square anti-fees demonstration then.
Shivawearer:
first:
“Last time I looked Britain had MANY DIFFERENT cultures within it’s borders and this is something we should be proud of rather than belittling ‘other’ cultures.”
um, yes, as I say in the article:
“Now, when I say ‘our culture’, I don’t mean Morris Dancing – unless you genuinely do it. I mean whatever it is that you and I listen to and do in the rest of our lives – whether that’s Rap or Rachmaninov.”
If people listen to these things in the rest of their lives, then great. Bring it on the protest. If you don’t, then why are we pretending to be something we aren’t?
“just cos the author doesn’t like dressing up or Samba does that mean the rest of us shouldn’t?”
As I say: “I often enjoy it. It’s cheering.”
If protests were a celebration of British multiculturalism, then that would be great – that is what I want. Instead, they are sloping towards a specific and reified British protest culture all of its own, with its roots in the anti-capitalist movements of Latin America.
Topiman – yeah ‘hate’ is probably not the right word. I actually quite enjoy it. But ‘why I have a bit of a political objection to Samba’ isn’t as punchy a title…
At the march in NYC last night against police brutality in Oakland, there was a guy playing bagpipes. I approve of this.
So we should all protest in the same way? what a load of rubbish..just cos the author doesn’t like dressing up or Samba does that mean the rest of us shouldn’t?…disappointing article but then just one persons opinion and we can all ignore it….shame to waste space in the first issue on personal opinion tho’…. Also as this movement was supposed to be about SOlidarity against Greed it feels sad that already people are demanding that there should be a particular culture represented in the protests, which seems to me to be devisive. Surely this kinda protest should be bringing people together. Last time I looked Britain had MANY DIFFERENT cultures within it’s borders and this is something we should be proud of rather than belittling ‘other’ cultures. Lots of people LOVE Samba, and it is an important cultural expression in many places and I agree that many of the UK Samba bands have added a disticntly British Flavour to Traditional Samba….Surely there is room for all types of expresssion at a protest…if not then that’s very sad.
To the writer of this article – If you want people to start singing Jerusalem at demo’s, may I humbly suggest that you set a good example and start it off. I’ve sung Jerusalem on a march before now, and honestly, there is absolutely nothing to stop you. People do what they feel comfortable with on demonstrations and occupations – and so they should. Some play samba, some carry placards with thought provoking slogans. Some use a megaphone and shout. And lots of others do not, and that’s great too. I doubt the people who dress as clowns, chant slogans or play samba are holding you at gunpoint insisting that you do the same. You want everybody to just be themselves? Maybe those people who dress up or play samba really are just being “themselves”. Perhaps you are just squeamish about people who are a bit different to you. I’d prefer dancing at my revolution thank you very much, and I won’t mind if I’m dancing to a brass band, a samba band a string quartet or a penny whistle.
Hi – thanks for your comments – as someone who’s been involved in street samba for over a decade it’s really interesting to hear what folk have got to say about it.
Opinions on samba aside, I was saddened to see this particular article included in the Occupied Times as I think a negative article in the first edition is incredibily un-helpful, especially the use of the word ‘Hate’.
That aside, I too would love to see more ‘other’ types of music etc on demos, and generally there are loads in the mix.
Historically music has always had a place in demos and direct action, from protest songs to the big sound systems to drums and so on. There’s an excellent book called “Rhythms of Resistance” charting the roots of this.
For my part, I loved the use of sound systems in the CJB marches, the way they created temporary autonomous spaces and invited people to enjoy themselves and be creative, network etc. This seemed to evolve away from sound systems on trucks (and even tanks!) to the more portable and mobile drum blocs.
I’m not suprised that some people can’t stand samba on demos – everyone has different tastes of course, but I’d argue that those of us involved aren’t “smug” about it. There are certainly occasions when it’s not appropriate to the action taking place etc.
This artcle though seems to have very little with samba itself, (it’s hard to gauge what it is trying to say).
Also, if we want to get really pedantic we can point out that the majority of what is played at UK protests actually has very little to do with ‘samba’, even if it is played mostly on drums with funny Portuguese names.
Finally “Why don’t we represent ourselves at protests as we truly are?” – I agree 100%. Let’s be passionate, true to what we believe, have fun, be creative, inspire change + question authority.
I’ve found that samba does that for me (and countless others). I invite you to do what fulfils you – and please do come up with something to substitute / complement the samba at protests. Something even better, able to engage and include people, something to inspire, and to be powerful force. I look forwards to it.
Well, so long as these are all done by people who do them, yes, I am all in favour of all of these.
Oh thank God. At last. I’m so sick of the needy, smug ubiquity of the activist samba band. Let us draw a line under it now and never hear of them again.
Having said that I’m not sure I’m with you about this kind of native culture thing. I’m not keen on the anti-capitalista and bella ciao stuff more because it’s activist speak that may as well be designed to exclude new comers and first timers not because it’s foreign.
I’d be happy to hear some jazz, gregorian chanting or bangra on demos to shake things up a little as the activist monoculture can get a bit stifling frankly as I’m sure there are people out there who’d be well up for getting involved but aren’t really at home with samba, camping and ‘twinkling’ which have a place but shouldn’t dominate.