[lbo-talk] "Cadre"? Re: dalai lama in nyc

[andie nachgeborenen]

They're wrong, of course, and only people with their
heads and lives deeply entwined in the partisan left
could believe for an instant that even most of the
people who participate in mass events, or even in
organizing mass events, even know, or think they know,
or give a damn, about the WWP's relation to ANSWER and
its (the WWP's) position on the Hungarian Revolution
or whatever. The audience at whom all this is
directed, of course, hasn't a clue and doesn't care.
Actuvists get involved with ANSWER (or whoever)
because the groups are organizing in a public way
that, if effective, appeals to a wide audience. (Loony
pleas to "Support the Iraqi Victory Over US
Imperialism!" do not thus appeal. The public responds
because someone has done something that speaks to and
focuses its feelings of anger. If sectarian groups
manage to recruit a few activists through their good
organizing, that may be unfortunate for those persons,
but is hardly a reason to redbait the coalitions as
Stalinist fronts. 

The real effect of such redbaiting is to weaken the
broad popular movement; instead of directing our
opposition to govt policy, we are smearing each other
as commie scumbags. And if you thing for two seconds
taht the broad public or even the rank and file 
activist distinguishes between the Stalinist you
despise and the democratic socialsits you love, think
again. It's like the old story of the cop beating on
the scab at a strike, snarling about You Fucking
Commies, while the scab yells, But I'm an
Anticommunist. Ahhhcch, says the cop, all you reds are
the same to me. 

I feel especially sensitive about this because at the
time of the first Gulf War, I was at the receiving end
of Perrin-like attacks. Solidarity and DSA had built
an antiwar coalition in Columbus, Ohio, with some
religious and liberal groups. Unsurprisingly,
precisely because we were reds, we had taken a leading
role in the enterprise. The night the war broke out,
several of the religiosu-liberal leaders launched an
attack on us as commie radicals who were using the
movement for our own evil ends. The coalition split.
Many spent the rest of the war debating commie
perfidy. We -- the commies -- took those who wanted to
act and formed a  new group; we did waht was done in
the next 100 days, but the effect on the people who
just showed up to protest was devastating. Evers ince,
I have had no patience, if I ever had any, for
reactionary, right wing redbaiting. It's a sell out.
It's a betrayal. It makes you unworthy of even
thinking of yourself as on the left, or progressive.
It makes you on the other side. I've seen it at work.

jks

--- lweiger at umich.edu wrote:
> Justin wrote:
> 
> > the fact is that political work involves making
> coalitions with
> > people you don't agree with on lots of issues.
> 
> Well, yes, but there's an important question about
> what sorts of tactical 
> alliances are actually tactically smart.  People
> like Dennis and Nathan 
> don't think tactical alliances with the ANSWER are
> very helpful.
> 
> -- Luke
> ___________________________________
>
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk

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