Letters of January 16

Push Fight for Communism, Map Future Struggles

At the end of our PLP college club meeting we felt that we had taken another step forward. Our club is where we plan and evaluate our battles, both ideological and material, against capitalism. Internationalism is very much present in our club body and politics. 

Not only are we from all parts of the world, but the nature of our work crosses all borders. Our involvement includes an immigrant youth group, Haitian Student Association group and a police brutality struggle.

After a bowl of chili and chips, we began with the editorial “Gaza Carnage Prelude to U.S.-Israeli War on Iran?” in the last issue of CHALLENGE. Present were our two newest PL’ers who joined at our last study group: Ann and Jack. One brought a friend “to check it out.” There wasn’t much discussion about the editorial. Instead, our newest PL’ers were primarily concerned with one thing: How do we get people to be active in the fight for communism? 

Before we could address that, we discussed the state of the working class. “Here, people accept the status quo. People aren’t rising up. Occupy is done,” said Jack. Though our new members are passionate about change, at times they lack confidence in the working class. 

Much of the cynicism stems from the defeat of the old communist movement. Restoration of capitalism in Russia and China has set back the revolutionary process. But learning from our revolutionary history gives us more reason to fight harder for communism today. 

Everywhere workers are fighting back. Just last week, Walmart and fast food workers went on strike in the U.S. “What did we get out of Occupy? We got you,” responded a veteran comrade.

Last month, three PL’ers went to join our comrades in Haiti on a teachers strike, in the battle against racist killer kkkops, and for a student conference. Our comrades in Haiti serve as a beacon of inspiration in their militancy and commitment to building for a communist revolution. 

Lessons these three comrades learned are helping the whole club become better fighters. There is a saying in PLP, “an attack on one worker is an attack on all workers.” Likewise, when fight-backs and the Party are strengthening in one area, it fuels other areas, strengthening the Party as whole. A win for workers in Haiti is a win for workers all over the world.  

Interestingly, the questions asked today at our club meeting were the same ones asked at our youth conference in Haiti — What’s the plan? What should we do to fight against imperialism? How do we mobilize masses of people for communism?

The solution and plan is the same worldwide. We have a powerful set of tools. First are our political ideas and the Party. We have a mass strategy of building serious lifelong political friendships with workers, students, and soldiers. We have CHALLENGE! We have our principles of constant criticism and self-criticism to guide our process forward. What keeps us going? Confidence in and love for our class and our understanding of the everyday disaster of capitalism.  

We understand the fight for communism is difficult and protracted. The revolution isn’t around the corner. There may well be bloody, long imperialist war that we will struggle to transform into worldwide class war and revolution. 

On that note, we discussed our upcoming plans — a vigil for the six-month anniversary of the kkkilling of Shantel Davis, a communist school, a conference against imperialism, and May Day! Our newest comrades can spread PLP struggle into two more college campuses. There is so much potential, and so much to be done!

Young Red

Marxist Prof Exposes Tea Party Red-baiters

Representatives of “conservative,” “Libertarian” and “liberal” politics aired their differing views at a debate on the campus of Montclair State University (MSU).

The debate was scheduled and paid for by Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), a right-wing, pro-capitalist student group with headquarters in Washington, DC and a big budget from conservative corporate foundations. The MSU YAL chapter wanted English Professor Grover Furr to represent the “liberal” viewpoint. They knew that Furr is a Marxist, not a “liberal,” but wanted him because he is an unofficial advisor to the MSU Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) chapter.

At the debate, a representative of the right-wing “Tea Party” asked  Furr: “Stalin killed 40-60 million people. Wasn’t that enough?” 

Furr replied: “That’s bullsh*t! That’s not true.” He said that he had done research on this topic for many years and has “yet to discover one crime that Stalin committed.” Furr concluded this remark by saying that U.S. history is certainly falsified, but that the history of the Soviet Union is the most falsified of all.

Since then Furr has received death threats and lots of harassing junk mail. Right-wing lawyers have repeatedly emailed the president of MSU and the chair of the English department, Furr’s immediate superior, to demand that he be fired.

Anti-communists have posted phony “evaluations” on Ratemyprofessor.com claiming that Furr teaches nothing but Stalin in his classes. The right-wingers then claim that Furr is misusing his classrooms to “indoctrinate” his students. 

All this is a lie. Moreover, it exposes this fact: The anti-communists have no evidence whatsoever to support their claims that Stalin killed millions, or even one person! They just don’t like anyone to tell the truth about the USSR during Stalin’s time.

The harassment and hate mail continue, but not everyone is resistant to a communist message. Furr has also received some positive emails, thanking him for daring to tell the truth. The MSU chapter of SDS has invited Furr to speak to them twice since then. PLP’ers have circulated CHALLENGE to many of them. Several have expressed interest in a study group. When communists are attacked by adherents of the bosses’ ideas, our friends have the opportunity to take a stand and take the next step in learning more of the truth about revolutionary ideas.

Red Researcher

Benghazi Debate Lies

The big media debate over whether the anti-Muslim video or a planned al Qaeda mission was responsible for the incident at the U.S. embassy in Benghazi is designed to obscure the role of U.S. imperialism.

Decades of anti-Muslim oppression in the oil-rich Mideast from invasions, occupations, military support of dictators and Israeli genocide against Palestinians in addition to slaughter from U.S. drone bombings are the real reasons why an anti-Muslim video triggered anti-U.S. demonstrations. They occurred in 30 other countries at the same time as Libya. Libya is ruled by armed militias who joined their anti-U.S. demonstrators when attacked by embassy forces.

The Benghazi incident has been reclassified as a premeditated al Qaeda terrorist attack to hide the real terrorists: U.S. imperialism.

Anti-Imperialist

U.S. Capitalism’s Violent Culture

The cause of the Newton, Connecticut massacre will not appear in the capitalist-controlled media because the rulers need to blame the mentally ill and guns for the proliferation of a violent U.S. culture. That culture was created by capitalists to make it easier to extract bloody profits from people through terror, racism, exploitation and war.

With the world’s biggest, racist prison population, fascist stop-and-frisk police terror against hundreds of thousands of black and Latino youth and the increase of violent TV, movies and video games, U.S. rulers are preparing workers and teenagers for a culture of racism and violence against people. The Newtown shooter Adam Lanza’s sixth-grade teacher said he talked about “blowing things up,” but that it was just typical talk for boys his age. (New York Times, 12/15)

Forty-six percent live in poverty in the U.S., with more homeless and hungry children than any developed country worldwide. Daily suicides from the 30 million unemployed and underemployed workers, war veterans and students attest to the violence capitalism imposes on people it can no longer exploit or use as cannon fodder in its profit wars.

Martin Luther King was condemned in the media and by his peers when he denounced the Vietnam War’s genocide and racism by saying the U.S. was the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. He was assassinated shortly after that.

The world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of weapons of war is the U.S., accounting for the largest percentage of its Gross Domestic Product. U.S. imperialism is hated worldwide because workers rising up against capitalist oppression are met by jet fighters, drone bombers, tanks, land mines and millions of gas canisters labeled “Made in USA.”

Millions of workers are being forced into poverty to pay for decades of invasions, occupations and endless wars that benefit the U.S. corporate empire. The bosses’ profit system depends on workers accepting a future of violence, austerity and dying in imperialist wars. Workers need to smash that murderous system by organizing with PLP for communist revolution and a system without profits, run for and by the working class.

A Comrade

Letters of January 2

Students Embrace Anti-Racaism, Move to Act

I learned many things at the Anti-Racism Conference this November. One shocking thing was how the Red Cross did not bother to help one man’s family and other families who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. They had to wait for long periods of times only to be moved to some other place, and still without receiving any help. I also learned about some of the outrageous things going on, such as Reynaldo Cuevas who was shot in his bodega. There was a robbery. He escaped, but ended up getting shot by the cops, mainly because of his “race.” At the Conference they said, “He was more safe with the robbers than with the cops.”  This is very true and depressing to hear. I enjoyed the Conference because I liked how people were determined to put a stop to racism. 

*********************

I really enjoyed the Conference. It felt good to see people of different origins come together to discuss a topic so crucial to society and want to change it. This Conference was filled with stories of the power of the police. Instead of protecting us from being killed, they were the unjustified killers. It showed how the government that is supposed to help us actually favors the upper class and screw the minorities.

*********************

 I thought the Conference was very interesting. Many people gave speeches against racism and about their own experiences. I learned the United States thrives upon racism to keep a division between people. Even in history, wealthy Americans wanted to separate “races” in order to keep them under control. I thought critically about the hidden racism in schools. Students in poorer areas or schools with more “minorities” are given less funding and opportunities than schools with wealthy or “majority” students.

*********************

I thought the Conference was going to be boring and long. But, it was pretty interesting and I actually learned a lot. I learned that racism still affects so many people today. I also learned that because of Hurricane Sandy, many people are still suffering, and no one is doing anything about it. Many people have neither homes nor food. The media isn’t telling us all this. They’re only telling us how everyone is working together to solve the problem. But they’re not telling us the entire truth. I think the Conference was a good experience and I really liked the people.

*********************

The Conference was a very positive and uplifting experience. I really enjoyed myself. Most of all, I loved the environment of people who were willing to take action and fight against racism and capitalism. I think it was an excellent Conference for people who’ve been in a bubble or unaware of the things that go on in the world and with the government. I learned there are people who actually want a better living not only for people in the U.S., but in other countries as well. We had a very good intricate discussion. The man’s and the families’ stories from Far Rockaway who were hit by Hurricane Sandy were very sad and depressing.

*********************

When I went to the Conference, I learned racism is everywhere, even when you can’t see it. I also learned about the government’s “help” towards Hurricane Sandy victims aren’t as effective as they want us to believe. This experience made me realize how corrupted this country, even this world, is. Higher authority has the power to do something about it; they say they will, but so far, they’re doing a crappy job.

*********************

I thought the Conference was interesting because it reflected the real picture of society and people’s lives that the media usually tries to hide. I learned how racism has an impact on people every day, and how innocent people are suffering because of racism. The police are not there to help people. In fact, they are out there to show their power and ruin people based on their colors and class. One thing that changed my mind is that society is not able to accept people the way that they are. Society accepts people based on their colors and class, and if you belong to the “low” class and are dark skinned, you are treated like garbage. They don’t give you any resources or help. 

*********************

It was fascinating seeing so many devoted anti-capitalists and anti-racists in just one room. The passion brought on by the hate they had towards racism really got the crowd roaring and cheering. I already knew racism can be seen anywhere from schools to the neighborhoods we live in, but now I am more aware of its consequences. One must be able to change every single person’s point of view, especially when it comes to the color of his or her skin. I believe that until we are able to stop the seed of racism from growing within a person’s mind, we won’t be able to destroy it completely. If we do eventually eliminate racism, it will live on in the forlorn past. 

Spread Unity Between Walmart Shoppers and Workers

The day before Black Friday, as Walmart prepared for the biggest shopping day of the year, we prepared to show solidarity with the Walmart workers being forced to work on Thanksgiving. It was a challenge to get our group going on Thanksgiving Day. The lack of motivation brought on by the turkey feasts and the fear of getting arrested for trespassing on Walmart property were serious struggles to overcome. 

But because of the leadership of a dedicated teacher and female high school student, after some struggle in the group, we were able to organize over twelve people, including high school students and teachers, college students and workers to go leaflet in front of several Walmart stores. 

Our plan was to get out as many leaflets as possible telling Walmart shoppers to stand united with the demands of the Walmart workers for better pay, hours and benefits. Over the course of Thursday night and Friday morning we were able to distribute over 1,000 leafelts to about half the Walmarts in our area.

In our conversations with shoppers, the majority was overwhelmingly sympathetic to the plight of Walmart workers and agreed that the struggles Walmart workers are facing are similar to the struggles we are all facing at work. 

In these dark times, our modest action is a light for workers that it is possible to fight for a world without capitalism. 

Our Black Friday action also inspired our friends and family to get involved. The following week we took the leaflets to work and to school and continued the conversations about the need for workers to unite. As we head into the holiday season, we plan to continue raising issues of solidarity with Walmart workers here and those being exploited by capitalism around the world. 

PLP’ers

1931 Film: Miners in Germany, France Smash All Borders

Internationalism is a cornerstone of the communist Progressive Labor Party. 

Kameradschaft (Comradeship), filmed in 1931and directed  by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, puts forth internationalism in a forceful and positive way. It was filmed in German and French with English sub-titles.

The story takes place in a mine that ended up on both sides of the border between Germany and France after the First World War. In order to protect their profits the German bosses built a border wall in the depths of the mine. A scene in the movie shows the French border guards stopping German workers who were looking for work.

A fire breaks out in the mine on the French side of the border and many miners are trapped down below. The German miners organize a rescue team to save their fellow workers. The rescue team is made up of French and German miners who enter the mine on the French side of the border. 

Another rescue team enters the mine on the German side of the border. 

In order to save the trapped miners, the rescue teams had to tear down the boss’s border wall. After the rescue there is a big celebration. Even though it is an old movie with English sub titles it is definitely worth seeing.

Red Movie Buff

Letters of December 12

‘Why I joined PLP…’

My interest in politics began in 2008 when I entered college. I wanted to be a Criminal Justice major, but after taking my first political science course I was so intrigued by it that I switched my major.  As I took more courses and learned more about the U.S. government, I discovered all of the flaws, the racism and the evils that surround it.

I also began to look at the two major parties in the U.S..  The Republicans are a party of conservatives who look out for nothing more than themselves, who claim to be Christian but turn a blind eye to helping fellow citizens, and who invest time and money to increase their own wealth instead of fixing social ills. 

Next are the Democrats who have a reputation for helping workers, but who really do nothing but carry on the rulers’ agenda of more wars to control oil, more deportations and more unemployment and lower wages for those lucky enough to still have a job.

The presidential candidates finance their campaigns from Exxon, BP, JP Morgan, tobacco and alcohol companies, and so on. How can a president possibly fix the social ills that plague us if he or she is looking out first for the interests of corporations like JP Morgan? 

I had no party to affiliate myself with until I discovered Progressive Labor Party, one that wants the working class to excel to new heights, a party that will not accept money from corporations, a party that is incorruptible and has the potential to do so many things. A party that marches, protests and tries in every way possible to help comrades and workers.

This is why I joined PLP!

A New Comrade

I Taught in Red China, Red China Taught Me

The following is an interview with a teacher who taught in China, referred to as “comrade.”

PL’er: When and where did you teach in China?

Comrade: 1984 to 1988, in Hurbin in Northeastern China and Beijing (the capital).

PL’er: What was teaching there like?

Comrade: I had the best students I will ever expect to have!

PL’er: What was your average day like?

Comrade: I would teach my English class for four hours each morning, in the afternoon I would prepare my lessons and meet with students. We also had to go shopping everyday for fresh vegetables, and more. 

PL’er: What was life like there?

Comrade: It was a collective lifestyle. Everyone was part of a work unit. Everyone had a badge, the same clothing and more or less equal wages.  I was reading lots of historical literature about socialism and communism. At this time, when Deng Xiao Ping said, “Socialism needed to be reformed,” I could see things were beginning to change. It began in the countryside.

Farmers had two plots of land. One was the collective plot where all was sold to the state. The second plot they could grow anything they wanted and sell it to on the open market. And so Deng Xiao Ping sowed the seeds of capitalism!

Even though we were living and reading about socialism everybody knew change was coming.

Workers and students used to call each other tongzhi (comrade in Chinese), that fell out of favor! socialism was gradually disappeared.

Stockton Comrade

Editor’s note: Deng Xiao Ping was an enemy of the revolution, as all revisionists [anti-communists in red clothing] are, who led China backward to capitalism under the name of reforming socialism. Today, PLP understands that fighting for socialism as the transition from capitalism to communism is both dangerous and erroneous. Drawing from the lessons of the old movement, we fight directly for communism. Anything less means retaining elements of class society, the seeds of the profit system. 

Sandy’s Lesson: Capitalism’s Selfishness Not ‘Human Nature’

In the wake of “Superstorm” Sandy, millions of mostly working-class people were left in the dark throughout areas of New Jersey.  In Hoboken, some of the poorest areas, were hardest hit. These are predominantly black and Latino areas, and had been left to fester while the city developed super-expensive condos on higher ground. For years, these areas have flooded whenever there has been a flash thunderstorm.  

During this storm, workers gathered together to collect their resources and check on their neighbors to make sure they were safe and warm.  As the days went on, and food started going to waste, many collectively made dinners and rode out the nights waiting for the three to four feet of water to recede from the front of our buildings.  

After the waters receded, a city-wide electric blackout continued. Many of us put pressure on local government to make sure these areas of Hoboken wouldn’t be forgotten.  We knew that the rich areas in the uptown section of the city would get power first, big names like Eli Manning of the New York Giants live there. 

Also, after the waters receded many of the better-off residents of the city were able to leave to stay with family or friends or in hotels, while the residents of the city projects were left wondering when the power would come back on. 

Through this storm and destruction, we learned, as workers, that greed and selfishness, which the bosses push as “human nature,” aren’t in our genes. Our instincts are about working together to take care of our working-class brothers and sisters in the face of capitalist-created disaster.  More importantly, it reinforced the reasons for fighting against capitalism and ending it — because it continues its racist exploitation of workers and keeps them impoverished in wage slavery hell.

New Jersey Comrade

Letters of November 28

Sandy’s Real Story:
Workers Helping Workers

In Brooklyn, Occupy Wall Street members have now created Occupy Sandy. Two churches have become drop-off locations for supplies and gathering points for volunteers. I reported there Saturday, November 10, with my car.

Volunteers piled in and we followed a truck loaded with supplies to a distribution location in Staten Island, which was amazing. It was a small restaurant that had survived the storm. The owners had re-opened as soon as they could, using generators. They planned to keep cooking and feeding people for free until their food ran out. After two weeks, it’s still running! Supplies and volunteers pour in every day.

As we walked through the devastated area, the sight of all the volunteers was inspiring. Equally so were the local workers who had set up grills and were cooking and distributing food door- to-door. This is a mainly white, working-class neighborhood. These were not fancy beachfront homes. They were modest ones, many that were originally just summer cottages. The destruction is massive.

On the other hand, we never saw a single government agency there to provide relief, nor a Red Cross. Sanitation workers were there with massive equipment clearing debris, and as well as one National Guard team with a truck. Otherwise the only government presence was cops, both NYPD and Military Police.

As it got closer to dusk, the few trucks left and the cop presence increased. The message couldn’t be clearer: there will be no relief except that which comes from the working class itself. This is an enormous challenge to the Party and we must work much harder to meet it.

Our class brothers and sisters deserve no less.

Inspired Comrade

Politics Raises Friendship
to the Highest Level

Sometimes we underestimate the importance of the whole range of our friendships, or at least I do. I tend to separate them into personal/social or political camps and then fail to see how they may intersect.

I spent several weeks in Haiti last summer. Part of the time I stayed with some close personal friends from my hometown who own a house in Haiti. I consider them loose supporters of PLP, maybe really just supporters of my work. While at their house, I met a number of their close friends. We talked about a wide range of things, but not my politics.

I returned to Haiti last week and was invited to meet with a group of union teachers from the same town where I spent last summer. I called one of my new acquaintances in that town. He happens to be an industrial worker and member of a union allied with the teachers, and invited him to attend the meeting.

Lo and behold, not only did he come in response to my last-minute invitation, but also he brought a retired union teacher.

They participated and heard not only the anger and militancy of the teachers and messages of international solidarity (which was noted to be in the great tradition of left movements worldwide) but also the solidarity of local communist students.

I made sure both friends had a copy of DÉFI, the local edition of CHALLENGE. On the ride back to the capital that night, we made plans to follow up: me with my friends at home and our comrades with the workers in this town.

When we dip our toes into the water, and put forward our Party’s line — fight against the ruling class and all of its rotten ideas, and lead struggles in the interest of workers everywhere — our social friends can turn into our political friends.

I don’t know where these particular friendships will lead, but I am certain we are on the right track.

MLS

Storm Losses Were Not ‘Natural’

I am retired from teaching now, but my Degree is Environmental Health Science. For the past 25 years, climatologists have argued NYC was overdue for a storm and storm surge of the magnitude of Sandy.

Global warming only increases the likelihood storms like this will occur more frequently and with greater intensity.

Yet after 25 years of conferences, studies and recommendations for pro-active government responses, Republicans and Democrats alike have done virtually nothing.

Prima Facie evidence: the new South Ferry Station — basically at sea level — where salt water poured in until it was lapping up to the top steps like the entrance to Davey Jones locker. It should have been built to a level that resists such floods. Nor should the Mayor who wraps himself in the mantle of an environmentalist be spared.

Storms are natural disasters but the tragic losses of the past week, in lives and property, are man-made. Like the leaders of a developing country wallowing in indifference and indecision, the political leaders in our industrial and financial capitalist state wasted 25 years doing nothing in response to warnings and solutions provided by engineers, scientists and activists.

It’s time for the press to stop giving hero awards to politicians like the Mayor and Governor and celebrate first responders and the teacher volunteers, nurses and others who manned the evacuation centers.

On a personal note, my partner put in over 70 hours as a nurse this week at Wadleigh high school. The working class came through in this crisis; they deserve better leadership and more power to handle the next crisis.

“Philosophers have hitherto only interpreted the world in various ways; the point is to change it.” Karl Marx 1847.

Retired Comrade 

Most Valuable Player?

Individualism is promoted under capitalism. The capitalists like to point out one key person even if it’s within a team effort. For example, the Most Valuable Play (MVP) award for the 2012 World Series was given to the San Francisco Giant’s catcher because he hit three home runs in the first game and batted .500 for the series Yet he didn’t score or drive in a run in the last three games of the four-game series.

But the pitching staff (10 players) gave up only one run (plus two worthless runs) in game 1, no runs in games 2 and 3 and three runs in game 4. You’re practically guaranteed to win three or four games when you allow an average of less than one meaningful run per game.

All 10 of the pitchers participated in this performance, but the MVP is designed for one person, not a group effort. The MVP (and other similar awards) reinforces a capitalist outlook that the individual is more important than the group.

In a communist society, sports would be based on cooperation first and competition second and the contribution of all participants would be enjoyed by their teammates and other interested people.

Everyone would participate in sports for the exercise and camaraderie. Even today, when former professional athletes are asked what they miss about the game, they often say it’s the camaraderie of the locker room.That will be the foundation of the society we fight for: camaraderie among all workers-athletes.

A communist fan

Letters of October 31

Impressed by Young Leaders

I commend the PLP for its activities at the recent AFT (American Federation of Teachers) convention in Detroit this past summer. I participated in selling CHALLENGEs, distributing leaflets and talking to teachers and autoworkers. 

What impressed me most was the leadership of young comrades who directed these activities with enthusiasm and skill. They were multi-racial and consisted of women and men from several parts of the country. 

As a veteran PL member, I gained more confidence in the Party’s capabilities and the future of our movement. Hopefully, some of these comrades will consider moving to Detroit and help rebuild the PLP in fertile ground.

Veteran Comrade