[lbo-talk] lbo-talk Digest, Vol 1056, Issue 2

brad bauerly bbauerly at gmail.com
Thu Nov 26 18:36:38 PST 2009


Everything you say below is all real good. However, it seems to assume that there is no sharp class distinctions or struggles that we could plug into. I mean come on. The last 30 years have witnessed a huge ruling class offensive. So I have no idea why we would need to go clandestinely into the struggles you mention in order to bring the class issue to the surface. It is fucking everywhere on the surface.

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
>
>



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