This is the front and back of the A5 flyer for the SHUT DOWN ETON event which will take place on Wednesday 28th September, 2011. Keep up with details of the event by following Ian Bone’s blog…
Click here to download the front of the flyer.
Click here to download the rear of the flyer.
Print & distribute as you like 😉
AMP 
It is = it’s
The possession of it = its
Observatory does not need a capital O if it is in the middle of the sentence.
Why wouldn’t it be fair for 19 Prime Ministers to come from the same school? The public chose to elect these people because of their competence, not because of their background. Discriminating AGAINST a certain school wouldn’t be fair.
xx
I agree. I’m at eton and it is not true there is a course in Hunting. Don’t speak about what you don’t know about. And all facilities are open to the public from slough, windsor and Eton.
Firstly can can you take up your petty grammatical qualms with the person who wrote the text… http://www.ianbone,wordpress.com (we’re sure that he will be as taken with your generous display of mediocrity as we are).
And secondly, when the potential candidates are drawn from such a staggeringly limited pool it negates any hope of true democracy. And, being that our particular blend of oligarchic veneer is known ‘representative democracy’, perhaps you can tell us how an over-privileged Oxbridge elite can ever genuinely ‘represent’ the everyday needs of the working class?.. Our own MP, Ed Miliband, certainly has no clue when it comes to life in Doncaster.
(May we apologise in advance for any grammatical errors, we were forced to resort to an autodidactic education because ours schools were shit and our parents’ bank-balances were even shittier.)
1. As you say, Eton is a registered charity. I don’t know the tax figures, but it also supports over twenty charities around the world, raises £30,000 every year through the Eton action fair, and has collections every Sunday for different charities.
2. Not everyone at Eton is a posh toff. Every year, more and more people come from state schools through the new foundation scholarship.
3. It’s not just Eton which gets grants. Many schools charge more than Eton. E.g. Harrow
These people were ELECTED. I assume that, even though you received a poor education, you understand what this means – the MAJORITY of the public believe that these people are the best when it comes to running the country. Clearly you believe that you would do a better job. I think that the rest of the population would prefer to place their trust in someone with a good education, not an anarchist without a goal.
Despite our poor education we know enough math to realise that the majority of a minority (voting numbers are at an all time low because the majority of people in this country are not politically represented) is still a minority 😉
Also we don’t believe that we’d ‘do a better job’, because, as anarchists, we don’t believe that it’s a job worth doing in the first place! The state is as antiquated as the bureaucracy which serves it (which is almost as antiquated as those Eton uniforms). Looks like it’s only got a limited lifespan though 🙂 Gary Cartier is probably closest to our own thinking on the matter…
http://www.fr33minds.com/product_info.php?products_id=467
There is no hyphen in “bank balance”.
🙂
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=2288020334196&set=p.2288020334196&type=1&theater
This picture only deals with one side, but it shows everything that is wrong, and you can barely see the actual writing… quite a lot is wrong.
OH THIS IS CLASSIC! Like 20 people turned up for the biggest fail of a protest the world has ever seen. Jog on you clueless bitter wankers.
So fail that people like yourself took all the time and effort to find this blog and write a comment, what a crushing display of nonchalance.
You do realise that the photo of the boy in the second handout is actually from Harrow? Awk.
No we didn’t… but then how would we? We are but poor uneducated fools 😦
If you’re so uneducated, maybe it shows that you haven’t fully read and understood all the facts about this school?
So…. let’s get this right:
Point 1 is a complaint about a lottery grant for the running track. The analysis is that the track was built for the local community (where Ewan Thomas amongst others have trained) and in return for providing the ground FOR FREE, the College boys are allowed to use the facilities.
Point 2 is a complaint of the tax status. This could be viable if it weren’t for the fact that the law (anarchists won’t know this word) prevents any other status for such an institution. Nevertheless, Eton College represents less than 10% of a company that owns assets and business around the country to as far higher value than you can comprehend (therefore providing more tax than is comprehensible to uneducated people… tax that pays the benefits of anarchists).
Point 3 mentions an observatory. Big deal… my prep school had a giant chess board, so what’s your point?
Point 3 also mentions a course on hunting. I spent my first 4 years following the hunt as an alternative to football (which I despised) and I was in charge for my final year. I can assure you that I was offered no such course, so that is a lie (no surprises there then).
This leaves us with point 4, a point of jealousy that 19 Prime Ministers have come from The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton Beside Windsor (that’s the full name, but you wouldn’t know that). PERHAPS YOU ANARCHISTS WOULD PREFER AN INCOMPETENT OAF IN CHARGE LIKE THE ONE THAT WROTE THE FLIER? No? I didn’t think so.
Choose life.
Choose a job.
or
Get a life.
Get a job.
Why would you assume that we haven’t got jobs? I for one am typing (very badly apparently) on work’s computer 😉
One more point… why is one of the anarchists responding to comments at 2:40pm, precisely the time when you are supposed to be marching on Eton?! This proves your wish solely for online publicity and a total lack of belief in what you are saying. If you believed it, then we could at least say you have your right to an opinion. Actually you are just bored.
And before you say that you are at work, why didn’t this get organised for a weekend when most people have a day or two off?!
DDDEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
I’m sure you’ve heard of mutual aid. It’s similar to the ‘jobs for the boys’ ethos that the privileged and powerful seem to like so much, but without the elitism and inequity. Well a friend was organising this event (which I agree was on a naff day of the week, but further events are planned apparently) and being a member of the AMP (a publicity project – which is not to admit to the self-publicity which you imply, I am getting nothing out of this – apart from a little grief from you lot that is 😉 ) I agreed to work on the graphics.
The Eton (by Windsor) march itself really isn’t my thing as I work towards the practice of my beliefs in everyday life – propaganda by example as opposed to the overt evangelism of the public protest (maybe I’m just shy). Each to their own, as they say.
Got to go and get my dinner out of the microwave, I’m working very late today for minimum wage and I need some sustenance. TTFN
GEORGE YOU LEGEND WHOEVER YOU ARE
“One more point… why is one of the anarchists responding to comments at 2:40pm, precisely the time when you are supposed to be marching on Eton?!”
Why don’t you think about it? Maybe they’re not in the country, maybe they’re at work or school. See? It’s not that hard now is it.
Think about it people. If Eton is shut down, which it never will be, that is 13,000 boys without education who would go into the state system. The government spending is already ridiculously high and this would only rocket it up even further. Public schools help the government by reducing their spending. The 100m in tax is also a stupid point. This money is used to give people who cannot afford it scholarships so that they can receive some of the education which Etonians are getting. Another one of your stupid suggestions is that Eton should be shut down for having 19 prime ministers. You would think that it would make more sense to shut it down if it hadn’t had any prime ministers. All that this shows is the schools sucesses. You really need to have a think about your arguments before you launch in.
“The government spending is already ridiculously high and this would only rocket it up even further.”
Government spending really means fuck all especially if it’s productive (the creation of sovereign credit for the purposes of job creation is not an inflationary risk, to borrow a chartalist mantra).
“You would think that it would make more sense to shut it down if it hadn’t had any prime ministers.”
That’s a logical fallacy of interpretation.
“You really need to have a think about your arguments before you launch in.”
Mate, you’ve got a massive beam stuck in your eye, jussayin…
1300 boys would leave a mark though. Also one of the pictures isn’t Eton, Eton’s £4m TVAC is not Eton’s and it spends over £8m a year giving bursaries to over half the boys, who could not otherwise be there. Sounds like they are really shutting out the poor, not giving them money to come at all. 17 boys have all their fees payed by the school for Christ’s sake.
“1300 boys would leave a mark though.”
Not really, it would mean that the government could increase taxes on the rich (as they’ve got another £30k a year floating round) and cut vat and taxes on the poorest in order to stimulate spending by the people whose spending actually makes a difference.
“Eton’s and it spends over £8m a year giving bursaries to over half the boys, who could not otherwise be there. ”
If they didn’t give out the scholarships to ensure an intake of very bright students Eton would have significantly less market appeal as a public school. It’s certainly not an act of benevolence, rather one of PR expediency.
It seems that nobody has as of yet has countered George’s arguments. It is clear that not some, but EVERYTHING mentioned in your flyer is misleading and comes to incorrect conclusions. Until you so called ‘anarchists’ put forward more convincing evidence as to why Eton should be closed down, leave us alone.
Why don’t you try and improve your own self proclaimed ‘poor’ schools than ruin others that actually do a good job. It’s simple.
Good luck with the October 25th one…
We’ll all be there to watch you…………not………………………………….
Good luck with the October 25th protest…you obviously know so much about the school that you know exactly when we are going to be there, and <<<<<>>>>>
retards
Isn’t it nice to have a well-organised, well-co-ordinated, intelligent and principled demonstration. The ideas raised in the well-written, well-made and factually correct flyer are simply inspiring, not to mention poignant and well-intentioned. If you haven’t realised already I’m being sarcastic and have nothing but bad words for your campaign.
What a bunch of uneducated, selfish, lazy, layabouts you lot are. All you do is take from society like the bunch of leeches you are without giving anything back and expecting everyone else to pick up the bill. Who do you think you are, preaching to us about our lives when your own are so riddled with hypocrisy. If you spent as much time actually educating yourselves as you do fornicating, drinking and spending your ill-gotten gains on narcotics you may be slightly more enlightened.
Eton is full of cunts. (Did you see what I did there?)
No. Also see ALL THE EARLIER ARGUAMENTS. Eton is not full of cunts, The pictures are not Eton, and the arguaments on the flyers are hypocritical, so… yeah. Also Etonians DO have to work to get their good grades, they are not garunteed (As you can tell by my spelling)
ever considered suicide?
dave, you really should look into libertas, I’m told they are quite big in switzerland
if you can extrapolate your head from your own arse for long enough to take the pills that is
also, eton is a school, and you guys are pissed off about how good it is…how the fuck are we uneducated?
ha ha ha! Nice one! I think if you read our comments properly you’ll notice that none of us think your school is ‘good’. The ability to produce 19 Prime Ministers isn’t exactly going to impress anarchists (we don’t support government, duh). So, ‘good’ – no. ‘Elitist’, ‘oppressive’, ‘wank’ – yes. And as far as ‘education’ is concerned, the argument about that definition could go on for weeks.
Regarding your pointless attempt to groom me into suicide, I am much more interested in Cuntryside – i.e. the mass extermination of pointless tits like you.
Is SPCMN short for ‘special’ man??
also, grrrrrrrreat use of the thesaurus there, really loving your ability to read…just…
Perhaps you should blame your ‘shit’ education on the political party that disemboweled the grammar schools, easily the best way for someone from a poor background to get into top universities just like the kids born with the silver spoons in their mouths. That’s right, Labour. In disestablishing the majority of grammar schools they, in one fell swoop, ensured that the private school stranglehold on the best universities, the best jobs and the best contacts would be strengthened and maintained for years to come.
That’s a load of bollocks, grammar schools didn’t take in many working class kids, it’s a myth that the modern comprehensive lowered the chances of working class kids. And yes we hate New Labour, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to ignore the rotten institution that is Eton, a malevolent parasite in disguise as a school.
Anyone trying to close down Eton is a mug
The Well Spoken Man likes this comment.
Hmmm…anarchists, I’m not sure what your point is. You claim that because Eton has educated more than 19 Prime Ministers and has a LOT of assets, you think that it should be closed down? Why? Eton does a good job of educating boys which is precisely why nineteen Prime Ministers went here. And not everybody here is posh – trust me they’re really not. It may have some wacky traditions and a lot of land it has collected over the years but it is no means a wealthy or snobbish institution. I know because I go there. I, along with many others, do not come from wealthy backgrounds so the school gives me a very generous bursary so that I can come here. And the school does make plenty of charitable donations despite the fact that it is slowly losing money. It is true that people that are taught here generally go on to do better jobs, but that is because it is a good school. Why should it be closed down because of that? If the government has closed down grammar schools and state schools, how is that Eton’s fault? It’s kept going by student fees and does not leech off of the government in any way – it cannot be held accountable for the education of others. Absolutely no good would come from closing the school down. If we get better jobs, well we paid to be better educated – anyone can get into Eton, or indeed any private school, because like I said they give out very generous bursaries. If you can’t get your children into a decent school, then take it to the government, not us.
“Eton does a good job of educating boys which is precisely why nineteen Prime Ministers went here”
Casuality fail.
“It may have some wacky traditions and a lot of land it has collected over the years but it is no means a or snobbish institution”
Lol. Do you write for the Eton equivalent of Pravda? Or do you just read it and regurgitate it when prompted?
I’m female so obviously, I don’t attend Eton, but I know many Eton boys who are some of the nicest people I’ve met.
I used to go to a state school, now I attend a grammar school, and yet somehow, none of them think themselves superior to me in the slightest, and I’ve never heard them make fun of anyone from a lower socio-economic background.
Frankly, none of your arguments make any sense, they are all simply fueled by hatred.
That is all.
I don’t attend Eton but every single Eton boy I’ve met has been pimply, stuck up and racist. They also make a lot of inappropriate jokes about perverse sexual activities and how the masters encourage this. I once saw a group of Eton boys spit on a toddler simply because it was poor.
ian bone
what a stupid name…
hope your protests went well, seeing as none of us were here…
we were all obviously pheasant hunting in scotland
ian bone
ha…
your whole campaign is flawed
the members are retards with chips on their shoulders, the protests are fucking hilarious, and the front of the flier shows people at OXFORD…see; OXFORD, not ETON;slight difference
People at Oxford who also happen to have gone to Eton i.e. the Bullingdon club, David Cameron, Boris Johnson etc…
one of the guys is from harrow…
shove it up your arse, faggot
Do you want to know why people at Eton get into Oxford (apart from obviously the Harrovian in the picture)?
Because we work fucking hard.
We have an intensive exam system, not even including GCSEs, AS levels, and A levels. You have to take an exam to get into Eton, and if you aren’t rich enough, you get a bursary. Or you take the scholarship, which is for even more intelligent people, which is completely based around the idea of proving your intelligence to recieve an automatic bursary.
Then, you go through 5 years of fucking hard work, three sets of public exams in three years, the hardship of university application, and then, THEN, you can get into the Bullingdon Club. If you are posh and safe enough.
Boris Johnson speaks fluent ancient Greek, and was ELECTED Mayor of London. David Cameron is practically a workaholilc, not to mention very clever, and also, was ELECTED Prime Minister.
Ian Bone is still living in the past (he resembles something from Dickens); try and truly evaluate a system before you reject it.
Floreat Etona.
you say you are an anarchist, a non-conformist who is completely against all systems and establishment.
and you are part of an online group.
your ideas are flawed and you are just flawed people
My eldest son has recently taken a scholarship exam to enter Eton. His local High School has a particularly poor OFSTED report even though the feeder schools have ‘Outstanding’ as their reports. As a result my wife and I looked around for alternatives. We are not rich, we are not landed gentry, we are ordinary people. My wife is a Council professional, I am an engineer. We saw the Scholarship opportunity and thought ‘why not’! Our son is bright and confident and Eton’s results are excellent, so why not take a look.
If he gets in I will be delighted since he will have proved himself against all the other candidates that he is worthy of a standard of education we could not find locally. As parents we don’t see Eton as elitist and bourgeois but an opportunity to educate our son to the best of our ability. I’m doubting that many of the contributors on here have children, because if you do I’m sure you would also want the best for yours.
If he does get in you won’t be confronted by some luxurious chauffered automobile but a rather naff VW Passat. Please smile at his good fortune rather than try to add another dent to mine.
I wish him all the best.
I can’t speak for everyone on here, but I AM a parent. I also have a bright, confident daughter and want only the ‘best’ for her. However, my definition (and that of my daughter) of the ‘best’ is NOT being taught elitism, prejudice and superiority over others simply due to the place where she goes to school.
Whether or not ‘education’ actually exists within the schooling system in this country is another debate, as is whether it actually makes your life any richer or that of those around you.
So many of the comments on this forum by the supporters of Eton have been down the lines of it being a ‘better’ school because it has produced so many PMs and others in the highest echelons of society. Thanks for that. I think I CAN speak for everyone when I say that we would rather Eton had kept those people to themselves and maybe we wouldn’t be in the truly awful mess we are in.
I agree with all you say. I don’t wish my son to be taught elitism but to be taught as well, academically, as I could possibly hope for. His leaning is towards maths and science and in this sphere Eton’s ‘A’ level achievements are up there with the best.
Whenever I see forums discussing Eton they always return to the same theme of people in high governmental and financial positions with similarly highly dubious characters.
Looking at the tables of academic comparison Eton is at the top of its game across the full spectrum of learning. What has happened to recognition of student’s successes in the fields of maths, medicine and humanities?
Why is not the notoriety of the few balanced with reverence for the academic accomplishment of the majority?
One of the points I was trying to make is that academic success is overrated! I have met people in life who are academically brilliant and yet can’t understand a simple joke. Equally there are many more people who would be considered educational failures but give so much more worth to the people whose lives thy touch than an army of doctors, professors and academic scholars. Knowledge, wisdom and schooling are all very different beasts – knowing stuff, learning stuff and passing exams doesn’t mean a thing if the individual cannot empathise and interrelate with others.
Eton I’m afraid certainly DOES teach elitism – you only have to look at some of the pro Eton comments posted above to see that. Your own comment – “he will have proved himself against all the other candidates” – is in itself elitist. You have to remember that as anarchists we don’t buy into any doctrine that supports hierarchy over other humans, whether it be academic, financial, social, racial, sexual or any other ual.
So as an anarchist how would you determine who would be best suited to fulfil an essential community position. What if you need a dentist or a bridge needs designing or your plumbing needs fixing. Do you invite in the first stranger off the street? Or, would you flip through, maybe, Yellow Pages and find someone with experience and, controversially, the relevant education?
Well. I’m not pretending to have all or indeed, many answers. It’s a common question as to what an anarchist utopia would look like, how it would work and who would make decisions, but nobody knows the answer.
I’m not saying for a minute that there is no place for training, TRUE education (not schooling), craftmanship and the search for knowledge, but I AM saying that Eton doesn’t provide any of these. Even if it does, the overwhelming ethos of superiority and elitism renders anything that is learnt useless – the kids unfortunately end up so full of their own self worth that whether or not they have learnt anything is irrelevant. You only have to look at all the comments left on this forum and others such as ianbone.wordpress.com to see that Etonians are racist, homophobic, elitist, violent, snobby and also unable to conduct a coherent argument without resorting to such witticisms as “I’m sick of you plebs thinking you have the capacity to change anything. Get a job and shut up.” Charming.
You seem like a someone who is at least interested in the debate surrounding Eton and other elitist schools. I’m interested to know how you ended up reading an anarchist forum! I would suggest you read the essay ‘am I an anarchist’ by David Graeber (a university professor no less!). You may find it enlightening.
Hi Dave, I stumbled upon this forum as I was Googling around for other people’s experiences of Eton. As I said, my son has taken his first steps to possibly being awarded a scholarship. Many of the aspects of the College impressed me, one of which is the attitude to learning. My formative educational background was the local Stoke Comprehensive which offered little in diversity from an interesting but myopic straight jacket of national curriculum.
One of the comments made by Eton’s head was that he looked to encourage debate amongst boys that would stretch them to think beyond the constraints of an education system directed towards a goal of simply ticking off a list of GCSEs and A Levels and in the process turn boys into ‘thinking’ men.
There was an interesting point on the site that you pointed me to where ‘b’, whilst having a bit of a rant, states ‘How long did it take you to recover from going to school?’ I can totally agree with his point because I left school with a hatful of GCSEs but socially inept and ignorant of a greater society.
Because of the debating opportunities and a far broader subject matter I believe this is something Eton proffers that the State system misses. My hope therefore is that should the Eton opportunity arise then my son would leave with as a socially rounded character, where his time at College will be countered with his ordinary homelife and parents who, through volunteering, are hugely involved in the local community.
Reading through the rest of the Eton forum it seems such a polemic debate that even if there were some common ground the contributors would never acknowledge it. Shame really.
Incidently, were you refering to ‘David Graeber:Are You An Anarchist The Answer May Suprise You
Hi,
In amongst all the ranting and raving there were attempts to debate constructively by both sides. There was in fact a provisional date set up for a debate which seemed to disappear once ‘occupy the city’ came along.
If Eton was nothing other than a good private school, then I think less people would have such a problem with it (despite private schools being inherently unfair as by definition you have to have money to be able to go there). However it’s the elitism and superiority that is instilled in the kids that is the issue – in my opinion it’s just a kind of ‘grooming’.
The kids at Eton can’t really be 100% blamed for their elitist attitudes – most of them are from the landed gentry and have been told since birth that they are ‘better’ than the majority of us. I worry that your son and the few others from a normal background will get swept along with the tide and develop the same sense of superiority.
Like yourself, I left school at 15 and have spent the rest of my 40 years learning from the school of hard knocks! Yes, I was referring to ‘David Graeber:Are You An Anarchist The Answer May Suprise You’.
Hi Dave,
As I said I do a vast amount of volunteering, part of which is with the Scouting organisation. I can’t think of a more inclusive activity, it’s open to absolutely everyone. The only restrictions are the age ranges for Cubs, Scouts and Explorers. However, there is an obvious hierarchy. Akela is the main leader in a Cub group. The kids are divided in to groups which have Sixers and Seconders as their patrol leaders. Without these more mature boys in the group Scout camps would be very difficult to run as they bring experience and confidence to the younger boys. I’m sure you can see already the point I’m trying to make. Scouting is inclusive yet has a pecking order. What would be an Anarchists view of such an organisation?
Ok, I’ve just read through the essay you suggested. Should have read it before my last post, oops 🙂
The principles are great however I think it’s difficult to translate from a small communal doctrine to one which will encompass a nation.
Consider the line:
“But just because something is complicated does not mean there is no way to do it democratically. It would just be complicated.”
The subject example is the rail service and, there are many more too, post, roads, water etc. This would require a centralized coordinated structure; call it a Workgroup, Central Body or Government. How would this be selected/elected? Election immediately brings about the problems we see today indeed the essay states:
“those who spend their entire lives seeking power are the very last people who should have it”.
Strong willed characters will naturally jostle for position and lobby for favour. Do you impose leadership upon individuals of high moral standing? Would this give the most efficient result? Without question there are people in Society with high morals and leadership qualities. What happens if they don’t step forwards?
In an ideal altruistic endeavour Anarchism could be a model for utopia but when Anarchism is in the minority how do you persuade the majority without transgressing through the moral abyss you stand to oppose?
Anyway, an interesting essay. Thanks for the link.
Hi,
I haven’t replied for a while as I’ve been busy doing community stuff myself – Santa at my daughter’s school, how about that for an anarchist atheist!!
Look, the whole prospect of an anarchist society IS incredibly complicated. It involves people, communities, towns and cities, social infrastructures, industries, shops, families, individual human beings, animals, roads, buildings, health and welfare, art, science, religion, music, trees, bouncy castles, rocking horses and cake. But then so does the way we do things now. I don’t have an answer as to how an anarchist society would exactly look, but I do know that it would be better than democracy, communism, capitalism, monarchism, republicanism, empires and all the other ways we have tried.
Note that anarchism is not about chaos, but about liberty through co-operation. Ask yourself this – if ‘law and order’ broke down and we were left to our own rule what would be the first thing you would do? Would you REALLY put a brick through the nearest shop window? I wouldn’t and I don’t know anyone who would…………………………
Peace