Letters of April 28, 2010

May Day Social Crosses All Borders

The importance of social occasions never gets enough credit. We had a pre-May Day party with 23 people from six different countries, the majority NOT born in the U.S. We had planned to focus on the centuries of attacks on the working class in Haiti. Some people didn’t know that the only successful slave revolution occurred there 200 years ago, which provides both inspiration and lessons for us today.

People arrived at various times due to different work schedules, including overtime and Saturday work, now mandatory for some in schools and for all day-laborers. People introduced themselves one by one, relating their countries’ conditions, their parents’ stories, their own history, why they came here and how they arrived.

In Ecuador, the phony land reform divides property among people who already own some land and gives little to those in dire need. The father of one person fought the 1965 U.S. invasion of the Dominican Republic because it was obvious to everyone there that U.S. rulers weren’t invading to improve the lot of working-class people.

Another spoke of fascism in Hungary which appealed to nationalism and “bettering” conditions by deporting “undesirable” immigrants, Jewish people and dividing workers. One man from Pennsylvania talked about the recent deaths of 29 miners because of safety violations.

We discussed the limitations of corrupt unions. Several people from Haiti wanted us to understand that the revolution that ended in 1803 with national “independence” went backwards, subject to the imperialists’ profit needs. We agreed that attempts at reforming conditions don’t deal with the reality of class society and capitalism’s profit requirements.

The best part of the discussion dealt with how communism would be the best system. We all agreed that borders only serve the wealthy. We would use houses already constructed instead of building new ones. Someone pointed out, therefore, that most people might need to work less to produce what we need, giving us more time to create a healthy, beautiful environment.

There were many topics we didn’t have time for — like linking the social-service and education cutback fights in our unions to the need for communism — so we decided to have a post-May Day BBQ!

A Comrade

Immigrant Workers Need Red Flag, Not U.S. Flag

I attended the March for “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” in Washington, D.C. True to capitalist U.S. history, immigrants were called on to prove their patriotism by waving the American flag, bowing down to Democratic Party politicians and chanting U.S.A.! (led by SEIU president Andy Stern.) Many of the participants, documented and undocumented, and citizens, mostly Latino, complied. But many did not. A group of PLP members who participated distributed several hundred CHALLENGES and led chants, such as “We are workers, we are not illegals!” and “Workers struggles have no borders.”

The liberal wing of the U.S. ruling class clearly controlled the event, politically and organizationally. But things are not always as they seem. The marchers are working-class families whose lives contradict the hype, manipulation and glitter of politicians and the call for sacrifice and patriotism. These workers have families and friends in desperate conditions in the countries of origin. They are workers and youth who gravitate to the call for a communist revolution for a world without exploitation, racism, imperialist war and national borders.

As PLP members continue to build a base in the working class, with confidence and patience, as we recruit new PLP members and expand CHALLENGE networks, organize study groups and forums, unite the working class internationally and intensify the class struggle our communist political influence will grow. Not overnight, but definitely. Not only in the future, but now.

Pro-immigrant Red

‘Alice in Wonderland’ Fairy Tale About Capitalism

I went to see the new movie Alice In Wonderland. The story unfortunately makes it seem like fighting sexism can only happen by ignoring racist imperialism and embracing capitalist fairy tales. In the story, Alice is the daughter of a businessman in Victorian England. She is 19 when she travels back to Wonderland, a place she visited as a small child and thought she had only imagined. The people of Wonderland believe Alice is the champion they’ve been waiting for to slay a dragon and defeat the evil Red Queen.

I was excited to see a fantasy story with a female hero, and, more importantly, I was happy that no one in Wonderland questions whether Alice can do it because she is female. They simply accept her. Through her adventure, she gains the self-confidence to take charge of her own life in the real world. But the script has her do this by learning to “believe in the impossible” — like her deceased father, who was known for his risky business deals.

All I could think of were the risky deals cut by traders at investment banks like Goldman Sachs and bankers pushing sub-prime mortgages on low-income workers who could not afford them. These capitalists also believed in the impossible, and encouraged the workers they exploited to do the same. We’re all suffering from their reality check now.

At the end of the movie, Alice asserts her right to choose her own life. She refuses a marriage proposal that her family was pressuring her to accept. That’s great. But instead of being the wife of a man she does not like or respect, she decides to take over her father’s business. It is only at the end of the film that we find out that this British business’s goal is to open up markets in India. There’s nothing in the movie to remind the audience of the nature of the violent, colonialist British regime in India. Instead, we’re encouraged to cheer Alice’s triumph, which is really just her successful transformation into a capitalist, exploiting workers in a faraway country.

I hope everyone who sees this film will read up on the history of India and capitalism, and talk with their friends and families about why this ending is unacceptable.

Red Critic

Editor’s comment: PLP has plenty of openings for revolutionary women to lead the struggle. Too bad Alice didn’t check us out!