Critical Mass (pressure group)

Critical Mass was a pressure group based in Kent, England.

In 1983 a 'rock the bomb' concert was heldon the Ramsgate sea front, where the rock band 'Hawkwind' performed in a disused swimming pool. The organisers were raising awareness of local objections to the use of RAF Manston, (now Manston Airport) on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, as a USAF airbase. The US Air force were blamed for extensive noise and pollution caused by their warplanes passing very low over playgrounds and residential areas.

With the closure of the east Kent coal mines imminent, various issues were in need of some kind of formal representation. In 1982 a town Councillor (Derek Dolding) had dressed up as an Arab Sheik to convince the local ferry operators into massive expansion work. Increased pollution (and bad publicity for the Council) resulted from what was considered ill-planned harbour expansion. Effluence being washed up on the residential beaches was to become a serious threat to the nearby nature reserve at Pegwell bay.

These events were compounded by the advent of the development of the Channel tunnel. Radioactive spillages on the roads at night made things worse. A general pressure group began to develop.

As if to focus the attention of local residents the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher introduced a new law placing restrictions on where the under 25's could live. This was vigorously supported by disgraced MP (for Ramsgate), Jonathan Aitken. 'The Board and Lodging Regulations', intended to deter migration from the Northern Counties caused housing problems for very many local youth. A strange alliance between hotelliers and lodgers emerged for a while.

Critical Mass decided to occupy the Social Security Offices, the press began to take notice and it was not long after this decisive action was rendered by the group supporting a squat of the old disused unemployment center.

Local radio, the press and the BBC all came up for a visit. The occupation was included in a BBC TV programme (Red Herrings: BBC2) on homelessness. The squat was to become a crisis center for people, mostly young and suddenly made homeless as a result of the 'Gale initiative' (Roger Gale MP for Margate supported government ruling.)

Most local shopkeepers and residents seemed to be generally supportive of the groups solution to this and it pressed the council (Thanet district) for official recognition and planning permission to set up an Unemployment Center. Some of the core group continued with regular visits to London and working with Shelter, Hassle and other National support groups for the protection of the rights of the homeless.

Shortly after these events, and after 'the bloke from Class War' had gone home, another faction of opinion developed and split from the group, calling itself 'Catch 22'. this was the first significant division of the core group that had its roots in Critical Mass.

Critical Mass quickly acquired a reputation as an anarchist cell, but the democratic members of the loose alliance of local citizens decided to continue with its program of concerns about pollution and world peace, working closely aside the green movement.

locally 'Heretic' emerged as the groups first 'coherent' voice. Another splinter group with the slogan 'It's party time', those active in the Ramsgate Flat Earth Society, and the music collective (Critical Mass) that was loosely funding the hydra initiated the magazine 'Slaughterhouse UK'.

At about the same time both Critical Mass and 'catch 22' were independently supporting a project for the education of 'gypsy' children,'The Travellers school bus project', associated with the Green Collective, strongly influenced by rogue Thanet voices.

Ramsgate is as a maritime community associated with the travellers way of life and a lot of people of 'no fixed abode', especially after the 'bxb'(bed and breakfast) incident took an interest in these activities.

"We decided to raise our concerns for the environmental protection of our sacred site (Stonehenge) and the Campaign run by the Polytantric Circle." Jazza Jarret.

A fundamentalist Occult cell named in 1985 the Ramsgate Illuminates of Thanet (Riot) (variations) catered for those partial to the study of Chaosmagic, inspired by the Official Uk Illuminates of Thanateros some years earlier. Riot is not to be confused by RIOT a German offshoot of IOT, Uk.

Other activity, notably on the road, speaks for itself. Their has never been a formal structure to the core movement other than in its ability to divide itself, endlessly changing, moving forward.

Other groups have vindicated this approach in the environmentalist lobby by adopting the strategy of mass blocking of roads on bicycles, and this movement is now global, it has been said that this group was founded in San Francisco, USA, but having chosen the name of an established and known English environmentalist lobby, (as above) some confusion has arisen as to the relationship between the two. It is the belief of this author that the global CM lobby grew from inspiration derived from the English circle.

Critical Mass cyclist lobby.

(RAMSGATE) CRITICAL MASS at Nada:[1] (http://www.arthurmicklethwaite.chaosmagic.com/index.html)

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