CHICAGO, May 15 — Today, a multi-racial group of workers converged on the office of a national politician in an effort to expose and protest his indifference to the plight of workers currently suffering racist terror in Arizona. The reform group we have been working in planned a prayer vigil and press conference in the parking lot just outside his doors. While we, as members of the PLP, know that electoral politics and faith in religion ultimately betray the working class, we attended this demonstration and supported our friends who organized it. In addition, we saw this as an opportunity to inject a communist analysis to the event.
While many spoke of reform and the power of prayer, some gave strong historical, economic and working-class analyses. They spoke about how racism is at the core of SB-1070, the new Arizona law, and how black, Latino and white workers need to unite instead of letting superficial differences keep us divided.
While a lot of the day was good, it had its weaknesses. The purpose of the event was to “pray” for a reform. The leadership’s goal is to further the DREAM Act and have Obama pass comprehensive immigration reform. This faith in the system and Obama is a death sentence for the working class. The DREAM Act would use the promise of “legalization” to trick these youth into giving eight years and maybe their lives to the military. Any reform passed will not have our best interest at heart; rather, it would be a vehicle for perpetuating our exploitation.
A Party member spoke and exposed the racist history of the United States. She also spoke to the importance of having faith in our fellow workers, and not politicians or even a “god.” She also exposed the racist link between the current financial crisis and the scapegoating of Latino workers, falsely blaming them for “taking away” the jobs of citizens. Lastly she stressed the importance of militant political action. Her analysis was well-received, and many wanted to hear more.
The purpose of working in these groups is not to win the reform; but to grow as communists and build ties with other workers. This is the only way to build the fight for communism, an anti-racist society where all workers would work together for our common needs. Lenin once said, “Unions are schools for communism.” Groups like this are similar to unions, because they give us the opportunity to fight the bosses, meet other workers, and share communism with them. We look forward to further struggle with these new friends. J