> It seems to me this false notion of UNITY plays a role
> in all of this. We think we will be tarnished by
> our association with Workers World Party, so we try to
> sweep them under the rug. We are all supposed to be
> UNITED, so one bad apple (whichever apples you happen
> to think are bad..not necessarily just WWP) will spoil
> the whole bunch, or so the thinking goes. Let's not
> go down that road of policing the movement or we
> become that which we criticize.
The WWP wouldn't be a problem if they weren't running a coalition that posits itself as THE movement. If ANSWER was just another coalition, there would be less controversy and animosity in activist circles.
> There are a number of ANSWER members who have no idea
> of the role of the WWP's role in their organization.
> Let's beg the Becker Bro's qua WWP leaders and other
> members of the WWP to speak their full position...then
> let the ANSWER rank and file make up their mind if
> they want to stay in ANSWER or not. For god's sake,
> dont sweep the WWP under the rug where, in some ways,
> they would prefer to remain.
I understand from a friend that there are groups within ANSWER that have become more aware about the WWP's role in running their show. They want to push for more internal democracy, but they are frightened by the rhetoric that the WWP uses towards critics. Since I found out about this, I've tired to focus more of my criticisms on the WWP, instead of ANSWER in general. There is the possibility that ANSWER constituent groups can organize and infuse that coalition with some internal democracy.
The first thing they can do is tell the Becker brothers to shut up and sit down. I mean, come on! ANSWER isn't a front for the WWP and the Becker brothers do all of the public speaking for ANSWER?
> The question of hegemony is another question...if we
> got rid of the present model of UNIFIED, CENTRALIZED
> MOVEMENT Organization, we wouldn't have to worry about
> this so much. I dont have a good idea how we should
> go in that direction, though I have the good feeling
> that we are headed in that direction. I think the
> Internet certainly plays a huge role in helping us
> move towards that.
The first step is to change the language we use. We should stop talking about THE MOVEMENT and instead talk about the "movement of movements" or "the multitude." Take you pick. Depends on how much of Empire you've read.
Secondly, this weekend's protests were a lot like the big days of anti-globalization protest (J18, N30, A16 and so on). Why was that? Part of it had to do with the decentralized nature of the protests. And the Internet played a big role in spreading the word and organizing.
Chuck0
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