Sol, Brad
> this does not mean that I think that you must work on race and gender
> first, then class. it means that I think we should take peoples' current
> struggles seriously now, and then contribute to a process of
> self-clarifying those struggles.
>
> i'm a lazy ass but I've mentioned my work in a deindustrializing community
> -- a project on citizenship. when a plant closed, what we did was work with
> people from all walks of life to set up forums for civic dialogue. long
> story short: what i witnessed and later wrote about was this fascinating
> process where peole, angered by a plant shutdown and, earlier, angered by
> an attempted siting of a nuclear waste dump, managed to get beyond NIMBY
> politics and make alliances with people in Mexico. Those people were
> getting the jobs that they were losing. But through this self-clarification
> process, they eventually came see Mexican workers, not as stealing their
> jobs, but as being subjected to the same capitalist exploitation as they
> were.
>
> Meanwhile, one night were were televising the forum -- because that was
> part of the deal, the local ABC affiliate was doing its public programming
> on our project - - some wankers, I think they were -- I can't think of the
> marxist sect now, but they fancy themselves as a group which goes to any
> and all seemingly liberal, prog, radical events and disrupting it by
> blathering on about whatever they think is more radical than what the group
> is about. Anyone know the sect I'm talking about?
>
> Anyway, to me, they are the kind of activists who don't work with people
> where they are. They shower banners and slogans on everyone and expect
> people to kneel before them.
>
> So, it is my contention, that if you work with some identity movement or
> some protest against the state's siting of a radioactive waste dump, that
> you are working with people on the struggles and wishes that define their
> age. and that you work to advance their understanding -- and your own.
> where theory isn't imposed on them, but where theory is informed by
> political practice.
>
> in that sense, at the SAME TIME you are working on gender and race
> struggles that animate people on the ground -- you ARE ALSO working on
> class struggle.
>
> it's not a linear process, one before the other. because people don't
> experience life where, in one place they are exploited by class and in
> another place they are oppressed by gender or race or whathaveyou.
>
> furthermore, i think it's very important to work on gender, race, etc.
> _now_ AS WELL AS CLASS because, the standard line is "we'll worry about it
> later" or, that will all go away when the revolution comes.
>
> but we already know that, while the revolution hasn't come, the most
> advanced examples of socialist struggle continue to be plagued by social
> structural oppression. and as carrol keeps pointing out, if you are working
> on these struggles completely clueless as to how social structural
> oppression is, indeed, perpetuated in organizing and activist groups, then
> you are instantiating, perpetuating and legitimizing oppression by
> upholding institutional norms within the organization. you are simply
> perpetuating the very thing you (not brad you, general you) say you
> understand: that race, gender, etc are used to divide the working class.
>
> so, where you see me as struggling for gender, race, queers first, I
> definitely do not. They are bound up together and you have to attack them
> all if you are going to have an effective struggle against capitalism.
>
>
> shag
>
>