Posted by Comrade Jen on May 26, 1997 at 14:39:59:
In Reply to: Re: nonviolence posted by Comrade Jen on May 26, 1997 at 14:37:52:
if we're going to conduct a revolution here, we need to speak to people in a language that they can understand-- not straight from das kapital. and we need to educate people about the real concerns out there and convince them that the boss needs them but they don't need the boss-- and i don't mean here that we should be talking only about people's employers if they have them, but also the corporate-backed jerks in government who earn six-digit salaries every year while some people barely earn 5 digit fig ures. while some people will be convinced that the way to fight back is via a guerrilla revolt, i strongly feel that more will be wooed by the much less blatantly brutal paths of unions, political parties like the greens and labor party-- the latter of w hich is working on bringing together people who would never have been together before, like unionists and activists fighting police brutality in pittsburgh-- and other such popular groups that the people can relate to-- grassroots coalitions that are soli dly organized and working 24-7-365 for real, tangible change in the hopes of expanding their work to higher arenas. unity through such groups is to me the only way to go, because only a true revolution, a democratic revolution, can come from below, NOT a bove and with the entire people's consent. such a revolution here would also benefit most from being a gradual one in which transitional demands-- changes that may look like moves to create merely a social democratic society as we find in sweden or as to ny blair supports in great britain but which are really only stepping stones to a fully socialist society in which the people still control things via the vote and lobbying-- but really have control by having a say over what happens in their workplace too -- and, in this society, *all* will have a chance to work, because for once, the workers would not be competing with each other but collectively working for the good of their society overall-- not profits and a boss. and all would have the right to be wh o they are in terms of ethnic background, spirituality, sexuality, etc.-- barring any acts that would infringe upon the well-being of another, such as rape or the right (and i am sure this one will get me into a fight with someone that i probably won't bo ther with because it would be a fight that won't make a damn of a difference in what i do with my body) of a woman to choose either abortion or to carry a fetus to term.
well, this has indeed been a very complicated and incomplete post. i can't squeeze all my dreams and expectations for a just society into one post. but here's the point, and perhaps i strayed away from it-- all nations are united, especially now with globalization and legislation like helms-burton and nafta, by the oppression of kapi talism, the overall oppression of hegemony and imperialism which embraces a system like kapitalism, and its victors. in order for us to have peace in this world, that network needs to be done away with, because as the saying goes, an injury to one is an injury to all. yet, unless we get to the root of this network of brutality, and work at the dismantling of hegemony, as cuba and china and other nations have failed to do, and aim to do so on an international scale, there will be no peace. what's more, to change the dynamic in this country, we need to do so in a way that the people historically and culturally can relate to-- via grassroots efforts, popular organization, and non-traditional education that counters the spreading of misinformation and lies of the media. that may indeed involve violence-- but we didn't get the laws protecting unions and the right to organize them via a bloodbath, so who knows. in any event, the transition to a radically democratic society in which the have-nots get cooper ative ownership over what the haves have must be gradual so that we can unlearn the bad habits we've learned under the system we presently have. we need to form radical democracy worldwide-- a democracy that means more than just a vote, but common contro l over our jobs and our bodies and our rights to express ourselves without harming others-- and a common decision on what that all means.
now, i exit, recalling what one famous socialist said about philosophers having spent their time interpreting the w orld and the point being to change it, and another who said that he didn't dare let people follow him into socialism because if one person could so easily lead so many people into socialism, one person could just as easily lead them all out. and stemming from the above, i request that people not try to begin some petty bullshit debate with me over what i stated above but try applying what i said to real life, see if you buy it and consider acting on what you decide in the end to be true. (and if anyone is convinced that maybe i'm actually on the right track and thinking that they might want to actually work on some kind of campaign to change society, and not just via a college group like sdac, do feel free to email me at redgyrl@aol.com, because i do kn ow of several good, strongly organized and democratically run groups out there doing good, large-scale work and could help you get in touch.)
peace, but not without justice,
comrade jen
p.s. in case anyone really cares, the above allusions were t o karl marx (eleventh thesis on feuerbach) and eugene victor debs, founder of the socialist party usa (in indianapolis!) in the first half of this century (an excellent bio on him is by ray ginger-- more info on him and the socialist party is at http://ww w.socialist.org
Post a response to this opinion :