If a left group puts forth its members of color to demonstrate that it wants to build that connection, you call it tokenism. If a group, for example, selects an African-American to confront a reactionary black capitalist group (in order clearly to finesse the race card), that's tokenism.
But if a group doesn't do any of this, then it's not guilty of tokenism, it's going to be just lily white.
D. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Thomas Seay" <entheogens at yahoo.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 01, 2003 4:20 PM Subject: Re: Color of Anarchism Re: Protest ISO...
>
> --- 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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