Dear invisible woman,
Sorry, I didn't see you standing there.
Auntie isn't actually as old as she looks: she just takes a bad picture. However, she intends to age disgracefully and recommends you do the same.
Many of Auntie's older sisters complain about these 'invisible moments' but Auntie thinks there are advantages. After all, if no one can see you then you can say and do whatever you want. It's time to have some fun while you fight ageism. Start by serving yourself when they don't see you in shops and pubs - although for some reason the invisibility spell seems to wear off when you start reaching over the counter.
Subvert all expectations: sneak through security, pop up in front of the queue - no one's going to tell their grandma to get back in line, and as you're invisible, just ignore them if they do. Return those Saga circulars and read Red Pepper instead. And don't forget that as the baby boomer marketeers approach retirement you can guarantee that ageing will suddenly become cool.
Finally, always remember you have the advantage - you've been young but the young have never been old.
Email your questions to: Subcomandauntie@gmail.com
The crack pipe of peace Dear Auntie
_ War, famine, economic depression and global warming - the idea that 'another world is possible' seems remoter than ever. Will we ever have a just and peaceful world?
_ Desperate for peace, Preston
Learning by number Dear Auntie
_ At one of the Gaza protests in London, Stop the War put the number of protesters at around 100,000 but the police insisted it was only 20,000. Can Auntie reassure me that the Met has a scientific methodology for estimating crowd numbers?
_ Numberless in London
No hope Dear Auntie,
All my left-wing friends seem to be overjoyed about Obama winning the US election, holding real hope that he will bring change, that he'll stop the wars, and that he'll somehow make America all cuddly and nice. But haven't we been here before? I'm getting flashbacks to the expectations people had of politicians like Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, and how quickly they betrayed us. Is it terrible that I think Obama will be just more of the same?
Hopeless, London
February 15, 2003: The day the world said no to war Phyllis Bennis argues that while the day of mass protest did not stop the war, it did change history
Egypt: The revolution is alive Just before the second anniversary of the Egyptian revolution, Emma Hughes spoke to Ola Shahba, an activist who has spent 15 years organising in Egypt
Workfare: a policy on the brink Warren Clark explains how the success of the campaign against workfare has put the policy’s future in doubt
Tenant troubles The past year has seen the beginnings of a vibrant private tenants’ movement emerging. Christine Haigh reports
Co-operating with cuts in Lambeth Isabelle Koksal reports on how Lambeth’s ‘co-operative council’ is riding roughshod over co-operative principles in its drive for sell-offs and cuts in local services
Red Pepper is a magazine of political rebellion and dissent, influenced by socialism, feminism and green politics. more »
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