queers. On making Class real.

Carrol Cox cbcox at rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu
Mon May 25 09:59:55 PDT 1998


Maria Gilmore writes (in part):


> Um, the working class needs to "somehow" incorporate males of European
> lineage? This is where I get very annoyed. This seems to assume that all
> white guys are president of the local lending institution or something;

Wrong. This simply assumes the fairly accurate empirical proposition that as of now "most [ordinary, decent, working-class] white guys" are victims of racism, sexism, homophobia, and national chauvinism, and that they therefore regularly act as scabs. But it also assumes that successful class struggle requires bringing at least a sizeable minority of these scabs back to the fold, hence somehow "incorporate" them into the class rather than just shoot them. Giving strategic and tactical content to that "somehow" is perhaps the core task at present for progressives. Rorty and company are wholly dedicated to aborting that task, to protecting the right of "true Ameicans" to a permanent status as scabs.

Carrol



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