A-Infos (en) Britain, afed: CONFRONTING STATE ABUSE IS LUSH

An AFed member's thoughts on Lush, their support for the Police Spies out of Lives 
campaign, and what we can learn from the establishment backlash against both. ---- Lush 
has a long history of funding grass roots activism, especially in the field of animal 
rights and environmentalism, and of running explicitly political campaigns across its 
stores to draw attention to certain struggles. Of course, all companies like to give money 
away to charity, and be seen supporting worthy causes, it's all good PR! I'd like to give 
Lush's motives at least a little benefit of the doubt, though we should still be wary of 
any company, and the chance of our struggles being recuperated into the capitalist system. 
Often Lush's funding is done with little publicity or fan fare, which counts in their 
favour, as does the fact their campaigns are usually of the sort a PR firm would tell you 
to stay well away from (such as this one). A PR firm certainly would not advise a company 
to launch something like Lush's Paid to Lie campaign, designed to raise the profile of the 
long running #SpyCops struggle, and the Police Spies Out Of Lives support group. ‘Far too 
controversial', ‘no good for your bottom line', ‘stick to something nice, maybe about 
kittens', all things I'm sure our fictional PR agent would've told them.

Lush founded in '95. Fight Club published in '96. Coincidence?

For those For unaware, the SpyCops campaign formed around a group who had been deceived 
into having close relationships with undercover police sent to spy on them due to their 
involvement in environmentalism, animal rights, anarchism or other ‘subversive' 
campaigning. These officers were deployed for years at a time, deliberately forming close 
emotional bonds with those around them. Often this meant having long-term romantic 
relationships with women involved in the groups, even marrying and having children with 
them. There have also been numerous cases of these spies encouraging others to commit 
criminal acts, one would assume in an attempt to entrap them. Once their ‘deployments' 
were complete the police spies would disappear. Those left behind were confused, concerned 
and often genuinely devastated. It was often this concern, more than suspicion, that led 
to the truth being exposed. After years of activists struggling to piece together what had 
happened, there is now a public inquiry into the use of undercover policing. While the 
political motivations,and instances of abuse are clear, those affected are becoming 
increasingly angry that the inquiry is becoming an exercise in white washing to cover up 
the abuses of power.

Enter Lush. Lush have launched a publicity drive online and in their UK shops. It features 
police tape with ‘the police have crossed a line', posters with ‘Paid to Lie' next to an 
image of a two faced cop, videos about the cases, in-depth articles, and more. They focus 
especially on the new petition from The Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance, which you 
can sign here.

The back lash that came was swift. Police officers, including some very senior ones, along 
with right-wing media pundits, fueled a social media storm around Lush's so-called ‘anti 
police adverts'. Anger was tweeted, furious messages penned, and thousands of police 
supporters down-rated the companies Facebook page to ‘1.1/5'. Though it has since bounced 
back up a bit thanks to some positive ratings from anti-police or pro-soap activists. 
Never mind that this was a campaign specifically about the abuses of the SpyCops, which 
even many supporters of the police would vehemently oppose, the ball was already rolling. 
It didn't matter that Lush literally spelled it out in a statement (disappointing to us 
anarchist types) that ‘this is not an anti-state/anti-police campaign'. Why would they 
risk launching the campaign in the first place, when they must've known it would result in 
so much negativity? Simple, that negatively is exactly the kind of thing that gets your 
story talked about, in person and in the press. By the end of the day hundreds of 
thousands of people who had never heard about the SpyCops inquiry were made aware of it, 
and were learning about the SpyCops campaigns. Lush are probably quietly thanking the 
outraged police supporters and right wingers on social media for playing their parts so well.

There are some important lessons here for those of us who engage in politics, things to 
remember about how the establishment reacts to criticism. First off, they seem to be 
taking it very seriously. Lots of people with important sounding titles like ‘vice-chair 
of the police federation' and ‘home secretary' quickly jumped into the fray. Why is this? 
Part of it might be the source of the criticism. Lush is a world renowned and respected 
company, with an annual turnover of up to £995million. For the police and politicians this 
is a major business ‘breaking ranks' and criticising a core part of the establishment. The 
Home Secretary provided evidence of this with his statement saying ‘Never thought I would 
see a mainstream British retailer running a public advertising campaign against our 
hardworking police.' It isn't something we should forget either, we should not rely on, or 
feel the need to support capitalist enterprises, even ones that help fund our campaigns. 
Lush's financial muscle also meant they had a platform much larger than most political 
groups, too large to ignore. Also at its core I think its because the establishment are 
scared. The SpyCops revelations are accompanied by cast iron proof, they were shocking 
even to those of used to seeing the ugly side of policing, and they strike against the 
very core of what the political and business establishment like us to think about the 
police. They shatter the illusion that the police are impartial upholders of justice, that 
their goal is to protect the innocent or uphold virtue. They expose the rotten core of 
policing in the UK in a way that even those who don't consider themselves ‘anti-police' 
will take notice of. Forget scared, this is the kind of thing that makes the establishment 
terrified.

So that is the why, what about the how of this establishment back lash? Well, it had a 
frankly immense reach. It was on a scale that money (almost) can't buy. Every major media 
outlet in the country has run a story on this, not focusing on the campaign itself, but on 
quotes from police, politicians, and miscellaneous angry people on twitter. Headlines 
included the likes of ‘Lush branded "Offensive, disgusting, and an insult" by Police 
Federation chair', ‘Fury over Lush campaign', ‘Lush Sparks Outrage' and ‘Cosmetics giant 
blasted over bizarre campaign'. Headlines that reveal the thrust of what the corporate 
media wanted to get across. Luckily for the campaign however the articles did have to 
include at least some substance, including writing about the SpyCops abuses and the 
campaign around them. Politicians and police also employed a ‘trickle affect', with 
different spokespeople, often from the same organisations, releasing similar quotes though 
out the day. Not only does this give news websites an excuse to write a second, or third, 
article on the subject it gives the illusion of a ‘public conversation' taking place that 
fits the narrative those in power want to construct. Picking a few random twitter quotes 
helps add to this idea. Don't bother investigating for yourself (they really, really don't 
want you to do that) the public at large have spoken, agree you peasants!

What about the contents of all these official tweets, press statements, articles, and 
reports? This is where it gets really interesting. First off, they do what we all expect 
politicians to do, lie. Lie like their lives depend on it. The first lie was to deflect by 
accusing the other side of being the liars. Believe our rulers and the campaign is 
unfounded, misleading, full of lies! Do they have any specifics to back that up? Of course 
not, and if you ask they'll reply with something vague about how brave the police are and 
hope you'll shut up. Their next big lie is that the campaign is ‘anti-police'. Not anti 
SpyCops, anti ALL police. This seems to be the thing that people have latched on to the 
most. With many police supporters tweeting that its #NotAllPolice. Which is great in 
itself, as it means even ‘the other side' has realised that what the SpyCops did was 
awful, and they can't bring themselves to defend them. It also misses the same point that 
those who tweet #NotAllMen in response to accusations of sexism miss. It doesn't matter if 
every individual is directly involved in the abuse and corruption, they sure as hell 
associate with people that are, they fail to challenge their friends and colleagues who 
are, and they continue to benefit from the system wide oppression that is created. Of 
course not all police are SpyCops, I mean, we would've noticed if every uniformed police 
officer in the country was replaced with a shady looking activist. It doesn't mean that 
all police aren't part of the same corrupt institution however, and it dosen't mean they 
aren't complicit. After all I've seen plenty of serving police officers talking about how 
all police feel ‘offended', how they are outraged at the campaign... but none going on the 
record to say the campaign raises important points about the nature of policing, and the 
awful actions of some of their colleagues.

Along with the lies, came the calls for censorship. Often in the same papers that run 
outraged stories under the guise of ‘defending free speech', talking about anti-fascists 
‘no platforming' racist speakers, or women ‘daring' to raise their voices against sexism 
in the media. Suddenly the right-wing media's free speech at all costs mantra is gone, and 
Lush should end their campaign and silence themselves immediately or else. It's almost 
like the papers, politicians, and right wing personalities don't actually care about free 
speech, except when its a handy weapon to use against their opponents. Likewise its 
amusing to see those who describe the left or anarchists as delicate ‘snowflakes', voicing 
their offense at the drop of the hat, doing precisely what the accuse us of; shouting 
loudly about how offended they are, as if this is the most important thing in the world. 
This move toward censorship isn't restricted to words either. Along with dozens of 
complaints to the advertising standards agency and other authorities, have come calls for 
boycotts, and even harassment of retail staff in the shops. Working retail is a 
soul-crushing experience at the best of times, so if you can spare a few minutes go say 
something nice to the folks in your local Lush, maybe drop 'em round some chocolates. Most 
worryingly of all, the calls for censorship are actually working. Lush have curtailed to 
their critics and removed part of their display from at least some stores. It is this 
pretty decent poster, apparently its ‘offensive' to the right wing snowflakes (or 
broflakes as the predominantly macho and right wing snowflakes are often termed), so 
careful where you share it.

By no means did the establishment limit themselves to just these tactics of course. There 
was plenty of misdirection, attempting to change the conversation to how hardworking they 
think the police are, or to how they've suffered under government cuts (those things that 
the same police were on the front line defending). They also attempted to undermine the 
credibility of Lush's campaign, labeling it ‘bizarre' and pretending they didn't know why 
it was happening, or what could've caused it. Other tricks included the knee-jerk reaction 
of blaming Corbyn, who apparently once met the guy who founded Lush, and appealing to 
emotion, in one instance by quoting the widow of a police officer. All of this was just 
damage control. It was too late, the campaign had succeeded in its aim of getting the word 
out about the SpyCops to loads more people, All the police could do was try and twist the 
narrative, all the while further boosting the profile of the the thing they'd like people 
to ignore. If you plan on launching any campaign, whether its one that involves actively 
courting the media, or just doing an action and running away you can expect to face all 
the same tactics. It's important to remember this when looking at how we frame our own 
demonstrations.

Feels very odd writing something positive about a multi-million pound business on an 
anarchist website. I'd better balance it out with something negative. Damn you Lush, 
you.... make stuff that smells like it should taste really nice, but then if you try to 
eat it mostly tastes of soap. Hmm. Nope, still feel dirty for the coverage of Lush. So 
dirty I should probably go wash myself. Perhaps with some deliciously fragranced hand-made 
soap.

Click for big (and more readable) version 
http://afed.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/lush-twitter2.png

Final Note: I'm supportive of the #SpyCops campaigns, and in relation to being victimised 
and fighting back against the police state, everyone involved. However, I'm not supportive 
of at least one prominent member of the group Helen Steel, in relation to other 
activities. Despite impressive activist credentials built up over several decades, Helen 
Steel has come out with some deeply reactionary views over the past year or more. These 
are largely in relation to trans people, and have included going as far as labeling trans 
activists part of an MI5 conspiracy, accusing trans women of deliberately furthering 
patriarchy or suggesting they only exist as a means to threaten women. I don't think this 
should stop anyone from supporting the #SpyCops campaign itself, and as a core participant 
there is no way anyone would remove Helen Steel from said campaign. I do think we should 
call out bigotry and prejudice where ever we see it, even amongst those we previously 
considered to be comrades. Especially when beyond merely voicing it, they actively 
organise to spread it. It's a shame that others at the core of the campaigns have not done 
this themselves. Whist I'd welcome other speakers from SpyCops at events I was hosting, I 
wouldn't go out of my way to organise a platform for Helen Steel - especially given that 
she has on occasion used such events to mention her TERF views.

Tags: Solidarity, state repression, UK

http://afed.org.uk/confronting-state-abuse-is-lush/
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