gender gap (was Re: Scabs?)

Michael Eisenscher meisenscher at igc.apc.org
Tue May 26 21:05:39 PDT 1998



>From which you conclude?

That all white males (yourself excluded?) are racist, sexist, reactionary, potential or actual scabs, counter-revolutionary?

Please note, I did not say ALL women and men of color will vote for unions, nor that all are more inclined to do so. I merely reported the conclusion of a study of union election voting patterns that showed a statistical tendency.

It seems to me that you are drawing some very provocative and counter-productive conclusions about white men on the basis of a very unrepresentative sample. There is no denying that racism and sexism among white men are the principle fault lines in working class solidarity in the U.S. It does not follow, however, that all white males are equally guilty or that someone who expresses a racist sentiment or acts in a sexist way today can't be moved to act differently tomorrow. Seems to me that that is precisely the challenge to the Left and a place where there is ample room for leadership from those who are serious about radical/revolutionary social change.

In solidarity, Michael E.

At 05:57 PM 5/26/98 -0500, Carrol Cox wrote:
>Years ago (I think 1980 but it could have been earlier) when the Normal
>Illinois Fire Department went on strike, and they tossed them all into
>jail, a little group of us here carried a statement of solidarity around
>one of the local public housing developments. Almost everyone (mostly
>latino and black women) signed, and some of the latino women offered to
>circulate it themselves. The fire dept. consisted of all white males. And
>they didn't even acknowledge the statements when we mailed them in.
>
>Carrol
>
>Michael E writes:[SNIP]
>
>> Women in the U.S. are also more likely to vote for a union than are men.
>> Same for African Americans and Latinos.
>
>



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