--- David Schanoes <dmsch at attglobal.net> wrote:
Tokenism
> historically has meant using one member of a group
> to continue the process
> of disenfranchisement of the whole group.
> Whatever our opinions of the left, I don't think
> tokenism applies.
I want to reply to this, even though your comments are directed at Chuck.
I dont define tokenism in this way. I mean, using minorities as part of the Left spectacle, "window dressing" if you will. No doubt, many of the people who do this have good intentions. Nonetheless, it betrays a sort of condescencion.
Why do I say this? It occurs to me that there are MANY forms of struggle. "The Left", in general, has certain forms of struggle it considers valid (some of which I think are often empty rituals...spectacles). One of these is demonstrations. And so white leftists get all shook up if there aren't a certain number of minorities, or as someone said earlier, there are always the same people there.
Now a lot of people might not think the classic leftist forms of struggle are worthwhile or take up their real needs. I will admit that demonstrations might have there place...but is it too hard to see why some people might think that these "walk in the park" demonstrations might not serve them?
Now demonstrations, signing petitions, etc might be some people's definition of struggle. However, other people have other means of struggle that might not be defined as such within the leftist lexicon.
As Chuck says, not everybody who has anarchist ideals wears black and "looks" like an anarchist. In the same way, a lot of people who are fighting capitalism dont join "leftist" organizations or struggle in the same way as "leftists". I suspect that those people might, in certain cases, have found better ways.
-Thomas
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chuck0" <chuck at mutualaid.org>
> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 2:31 PM
> Subject: Re: Color of Anarchism Re: Protest ISO...
>
>
> > Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:
> >
> > > What about now?
> > >
> > > The total number of Senators: 100
> > > The total number of Representatives: 435
> > > The total number of members of the Congressional
> Black Caucus in the
> > > 108th Congress: 39
> > >
> > > The percentage of African Americans in the 109th
> Congress: 7.3
> > >
> > > US Congress today is still far from racially
> representative, but far
> > > more racially representative than the anarchist
> movement now.
> >
> > Really? What are the numbers for the anarchist
> movement?
> >
> > I'd like to know where you got access to this
> information, because it
> doesn't
> > exist.
> >
> > > Not interested in attracting more blacks and
> other people of color to
> > > anarchism?
> >
> > Of course. But I don't think that anarchists
> should go around aping the
> > leftists with their tokenism and opportunism. And
> as I mentioned earlier,
> > sometimes it is better to develop respectful
> alliances with other groups,
> > organizations, and individuals, instead of trying
> to recruit them into
> your
> > project.
> >
> > > What would it have meant to "tame" the 1991 LA
> riot? What form would
> > > dissent have taken if "tamed" in the sense you
> mean? You mean fewer
> > > individuals would have been killed, deported,
> arrested, etc. because of
> > > the riot?
> >
> > You know, the WWP goes out and gets a permit and
> asks all the rioters to
> come
> > back to the meeting hall to hear what the Beckers
> have decided for them.
> >
> > Read up on the recuperation of dissent. It's a
> time-honered tactic that
> the
> > ruling class always uses successfully against us.
> >
> > Chuck0
> >
> >
>
------------------------------------------------------------
> > Personal homepage ->
> http://chuck.mahost.org/
> > Infoshop.org ->
> http://www.infoshop.org/
> > MutualAid.org ->
> http://www.mutualaid.org/
> > Alternative Press Review -> http://www.altpr.org/
> > Practical Anarchy Online ->
> http://www.practicalanarchy.org/
> > Anarchy: AJODA ->
> http://www.anarchymag.org/
> >
> > "The state can't give you free speech, and the
> state can't take it away.
> > You're born with it, like your eyes, like your
> ears. Freedom is something
> you
> > assume, then you wait for someone to try to take
> it away. The degree to
> which
> > you resist is the degree to which you are free..."
> > ---Utah Phillips
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
===== "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."
"Money eats quality and shits out quantity" -William Burroughs
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