[lbo-talk] communist witches were not spectral

John Lacny jlacny at earthlink.net
Wed Jan 11 08:55:12 PST 2006



> I've met some CP people in the past (in Berkeley and New York,
> where else?)

Pittsburgh, for instance. I don't know where Lee's been, but there are CPUSA people all over the place -- but the old-timers rarely identify themselves as such, and since they're almost all old-timers (and that's putting it mildly), you rarely know. I know a number of them in the unions in Western Pennsylvania as retirees, rank-and-file members, and staff. Further, there are lots of ex-CPUSA people in the unions that have a left tradition; you can probably guess which ones these are.

On a national level, I remember that YCL people (both open and not-so-open) were and are heavily involved in the more serious and mass-oriented wing of the student movement. I am talking USSA and especially its pro-labor projects (which are close to Jobs with Justice, where YCL and Party people can also be found, though I won't say more on the subject), student of color organizations, the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, and to some extent USAS -- less so the whiter "coalitions" and more elite schools where front organizations of the Trotskyite grouplet International Socialist Organization get a lot more attention. I was always more impressed with YCL activists than with the Party proper.


> One referred to Joan Baez as singing a "racist" song ("The
> Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," originally by The Band).

But that IS a racist song -- arguably as bad as or even worse than "Sweet Home Alabama."

- - - - - - - - - - John Lacny http://www.johnlacny.com

Tell no lies, claim no easy victories



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