Letters of April 25

Afghan Women’s Fight Rages On

I recently saw film footage of women, waving red flags, without head coverings, marching joyfully on the streets of Kabul.  It was 1978. The People’s Democratic Party, (PDPA) a Marxist party, had just taken power after decades of building an anti-capitalist movement to end poverty and exploitation and to bring workers’ power to Afghanistan. 

Today women have lost the rights they worked years to gain. The rise of violence against women has led to high suicide rates. In the last 30 years Afghanistan has became a battleground between super-powers. The country is devastated; violence, poverty and unemployment prevail. A combination of external forces and internal PDPA mistakes created this situation. 

One glaring internal weakness was the PDPA became divided by the leadership’s personal egotism which focused more on building a power base than on developing a communist ideology. The energy of thousands of dedicated comrades was wasted in this internal struggle.

When the party came to power certain corrupt leaders brought in their own supporters who were interested in personal gain, not building a communist society. They imprisoned and killed those who opposed them and under the banner of communism these leaders and their gangs alienated the unorganized masses, opening them to the anti-communist propaganda of the Afghan ruling class, the imperialists and Arab fundamentalists. 

PLP, an international communist party, is learning from these past mistakes. PLP wants to build that party and link the fight of Afghan workers to their fellow workers worldwide. Join us.

Afghan Red

International Solidarity Marks Minnesota Occupy March

On January 28, in international solidarity with our working-class brothers and sisters of Tahir Square and our fellow anti-capitalists in Athens, London, Paris and Rome, the Minnesota Occupiers held Occupy Space Day in Minneapolis. It was thrilling!

A contingent of 70 demonstrators marched through the Steven Square and Eliot Park downtown neighborhoods protesting income inequality and housing evictions. Minneapolis has one of the Midwest’s highest eviction rates, after Chicago. Our demonstrators were men and women, black, white and bi-racial, union activists, workers and college students. While many were reformist in outlook, many others were anti-capitalists.

The Minneapolis cops harassed us initially but left before the march’s main event. In Eliot Park where the march ended there was an anti-capitalist speech declaring international solidarity with our working-class brothers and sisters in Egypt and with other global protestors against racist, imperialist capitalism.

The speech was in front of an abandoned church that Hennepin County declared county property. An unused church could be used as a workers’ cultural community center. However, the county bosses want to hold onto it rather than give it to workers, so we took it!

One speaker declared, “We take this property in the name of the Minneapolis oppressed!” The doors were forced open and we had a party! We held it until the cops forced us to clear out or be arrested. We all left together, orderly and disciplined.

Despite that outcome it was a small victory because workers are slowly learning we don’t have to take oppression, that we can collectively fight back. Workers took all the CHALLENGES I had. Personally the march and occupation made me think of the 1871 Paris Commune and the 1968 general strike in France.

This is a great time to be alive because the PLP will show millions of workers globally the revolutionary path to communism! 

Minnesota Red

Can’t ‘Wait and See’ While Bosses Close Hospital

Over one thousand  workers flocked to the auditorium at Downstate Hospital, so many that two more rooms had to be opened up to accommodate several hundred more via teleconference.  The administration had finally called a town hall meeting to talk about the proposed closing of the hospital, moving beds to the newly acquired Long Island College Hospital (LICH). Never in memory had so many of the Downstate community gathered for one event.

While nothing definite was announced regarding the closing or layoffs, the bosses proceeded to outline a grim economic situation for the hospitals’ Medicaid cuts, Medicare raids on the hospital, (auditing records and taking back funds paid for care provided years ago), low  patient census (something plaguing all hospitals in the city), and the “high cost of labor.” Earlier in the week Downstate President  LaRosa had fired off an e-mail announcing a hiring freeze, rumors about massive layoffs are rampant. The bosses angered workers by using this as a forum to ask us to sacrifice, work harder and “fill beds” in the hospital.

Three bosses,  LaRosa, CEO  Carey and CFO  Liztnitzer, who make hundreds of thousands per year each, said that one of the problems the hospital faces is a workforce that has pay and benefits that are too expensive!  When they acquired LICH they created a private company called Staffco to employ the workers there, making sure to maintain their lower level of benefits.

LaRosa said the administration wants to keep both hospitals open. But he also said they have many contingency plans. While he did not say this, one plan  attractive to them is moving services to LICH, effectively privatizing the workforce at a much lower level of benefits. Also he claims that a $140-million bequest was used to upgrade LICH plant (though those who work there deny this). LICH is a 500-bed hospital, but only 250 beds are open. As one worker said in the meeting, the average annual salary in Downstate’s neighborhood is $34,000 while the average salary in LICH’s neighborhood is $94,000.

Our response to these attacks cannot be “Wait and see.” We can’t let them pit Downstate workers against LICH workers. The bosses kept saying we are not two institutions, we are one. Well we need to demand of our unions CSEA, PEF, UUP, NYSNA and 1199 that workers at Downstate and LICH be united as one to fight the bosses’ attack on us and our patients.

We need to build a Downstate/LICH contingent at PLP’s May Day march through Flatbush on April 28th to build a movement that will exchange health care for profit for a communist system run by workers for workers.

SUNY worker

P.S. There was an error in last issue’s article about Downstate. The unions did not endorse Cuomo in the last election.

Ex-prisoners Picture A Communist System

Recently I attended a conference on the effects of mass incarceration in the U.S, something receiving great attention in liberal circles since the publication of Michelle Alexander’s book, “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.”

Present were people recently released from prison and were part of a rehabilitation program, community residents, organizers from churches and prisoner-support groups and representatives from drug-reform NGOs.

We watched a film, “Voices of Abolition,” narrated primarily by Angela Davis and Ruth Wilson Gilmore of Critical Resistance, an anti-prison organization that “seeks to abolish the Prison-Industrial-Complex” (http://criticalresistance.org). Their analysis of the role of drugs in imprisoning large numbers of black and Latino workers indicted capitalism, but although they did discuss eliminating prisons, they failed to mention getting rid of capitalism!

The film featured one prisoner re-entry program — A New Way of Life — begun by Susan Burton, an ex-prisoner herself, who purchased a house and made it a home for women just leaving prison. She’s organized several of these homes in Southern California.

In a workshop with women from one such home, residents were asked to draw large pictures of the kind of community they wanted to live in. They drew pictures of houses, gardens, schools, parks, playgrounds, health care centers, all planned as a community, but not one picture of someone making it rich, opening a business, becoming a movie star, or let alone going off to fight a war against workers in other countries. These women drew pictures of what communities under communism would look like!

I think CHALLENGE should include more articles depicting the structure of communist society. Yes, we must destroy capitalism, but we must also show how a communist society will address the needs of the working class.

In struggle, West Coast Comrade

How to Mobilize for May Day

A few comrades have been working in a non-profit group in our city for the past six years. The contradiction between the reformist Democratic Party politics of the non-profit and the revolutionary communist politics of the PLP and CHALLENGE is becoming clearer to our friends as we continue to participate in various events and campaigns together.

Our study group has grown to between 10 and 15 consistent participants. Our distribution of hand-to-hand CHALLENGEs and networks of friends has grown to 85 per issue. When we discuss and debate the Party’s ideas, our friends have the opportunity to observe how PLP relates to the working class and in the class struggle. They are beginning to understand how imperialist rivalry works and the inevitability of war as it relates to workers worldwide. Our study group’s goal this year is to mobilize 80 to 100 workers and their families for PLP’s May Day march and event.

PL’ers always insist that the working class must rely on itself, led by politically conscious workers who organize power from below. We must not rely on the politicians and their press who always serve the needs of the capitalists. PL’ers fight to put this idea into practice in the fight against attacks on workers on the job, unemployment, budget cuts and racism. Progress is slow, but we are growing, determined and committed.

A comrade

Union Retirees Lead in Honoring Trayvon Martin

The March 27 delegates’ assembly meeting of AFSCME’s District Council 37 was discussing its normal business. As a non-voting retiree delegate, I asked for a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin. The reaction of the other delegates was stunned approval. The leadership must have been embarrassed because I pointed out it was unusual for such a call to be made from a delegate rather than one of its leaders. 

After the moment of silence, I said the retiree executive board had voted to send a letter to Trayvon’s parents expressing our sympathy and outrage at their loss. I urged the leadership of the 110,000 members of DC 37 to do likewise and each of the other 56 locals of this council to also take action. I closed by saying I was sick of the numbers of young black men who have been murdered under similar circumstances.

After I spoke, I was approached my many other delegates and who thanked me (an older white male) for speaking out.

Red Retiree

Fascistic Movies: Thatcher to Shakespeare to Hoover

I want to call people’s attention to the fascist movies that the bosses have been pushing. The  “Iron Lady,” which uses the considerable talents of Meryl Streep to present Margaret “Murderer” Thatcher as a hero. She is shown crushing the miners’ strike, destroying the social network, and starting wars to prevent an uprising. We are supposed to feel sorry for her because she is suffering from dementia. But in the end, the net effect is to feel sorry for her more than the people whose lives she destroyed. 

Another fascist movie is “Coriolanus,” based on a Shakespeare play, in his most reactionary mode. Again, pretending to be a critique of the strong macho warrior, it ends up showing his call for dictatorship in ancient Rome. The masses are shown as gullible fools easily manipulated by the Peoples Tribunes who are shown as corrupt. In the end, his fascist approach is shown to be correct. Though he is brutally killed, his vicious anti-people ideas still live. 

Finally, there is J. Edgar Hoover, starring Matt Damon. Again a ruthless fascist evildoer is presented in a sympathetic light, reflecting KKKlint Eastwood’s ideology that even though the law may be used to do injustice, you can’t have democracy without it. Hoover’s role in allowing the beating and killing of civil rights workers, his vicious framing of members of the Communist Party, his collaboration with the Mafia, and his destruction of the Black Panther Party are all swept under the rug. 

And in the opening scene, the movie perpetuates the lie that Bolsheviks were responsible for bombings and destruction of property. 

As in “The Iron Lady,” fascist repression is presented as the best response to bank robbers, kidnappers, and terrorists. Their view is that fascism is the best alternative to anarchy that will emerge if the revolutionary communists move to organize the masses. But as PLP gets bigger with million of workers answering the call of the red flag during this time of racist imperialist anarchy, all the Iron Ladies, Coriolani, or FBI agents won’t be able to stop us.

Red Movie Buff

Occupiers Shout Down Racist Governor

Occupy American University (AU) took on racist Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona and won! Brewer recently signed into law SB1070, a racist piece of legislation legalizing racial profiling against anyone who may appear to “look” illegal by the police. On February 24, students walking home from their evening classes were supported by forty peers chanting, “Racist, sexist, anti-gay!  Jan Brewer go away!”  

When the College Republicans invited Brewer to speak on campus, Occupy AU responded by organizing around the question “Do I look illegal to you?”  They spilled out of the main building after they crashed Jan Brewer’s speech on “illegal immigration.” As the protest continued just outside of where the governor was speaking, students climbed to the roof of the building and hung a banner as allies told stories about the hardships immigrant workers struggle with in the U.S. 

Chris, a student at AU, reflected on the success of the evening saying that many of his peers “have been pacified and tricked into thinking everyone has equal access to free speech.” Chris was ecstatic because things were beginning to change on campus. “We engaged Jan Brewer and won,” he continued. “For the first time ever, the people shouted down Jan Brewer’s expression-oppression.”  

AU Occupier

Letters of April 11

PLP School: Communism in Action

PLP’s view on religion is an issue for one of the friends I brought to PL’s communist school.  He said that he is not religious but thinks that when PLP says, “We must fight religion,” it alienates people unnecessarily from the Party.  I believe that struggling with people around this idea requires sensitivity and skill.  Religious beliefs are buried deep inside a person’s psyche, wrapped up with love of family, hope, and various fears, all of which lie below the level of thought.  Most people who consider themselves to be religious or have loved ones who are religious are good people who need communism and could become communist organizers.  Therefore, it is important that they open and read “our book” rather than just judge it “by its cover.”   

Sometimes we can’t prevent people from judging us unfairly; they are just not ready to take in ideas that contradict their world view.  But sometimes we push people away prematurely by being insensitive or clumsy in the way we approach the question of religion.  In my experience, most religious people who are interested in PLP can accept the fact that “religion is the opiate of the people” and that organized religion is used to divide and oppress people.  It is our refutation of the existence of spirit, something that is independent of the body, that most challenges the religious world view. 

Marx and Engels provided a scientific explanation for the great love, inordinate courage, and vast intelligence of which humans are capable, which many people interpret as “spirit”.  (They said, “Human consciousness is matter at its highest stage of development.”)  We should have more articles in CHALLENGE that help us understand these historical/biological/philosophical ideas so we can struggle more effectively with our friends and family about religion. 

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My experience in this PLP school was fruitful. I brought my children and they enjoyed the school as well. Base-building with each other is always a benefit to the Party. Being involved in the group discussions aided me in attaining knowledge of the history of PLP. Participating in a revolution is a serious way of life. However, playing games and acting silly with comrades takes the edge off the ills of capitalism, which can really depress a soul. My children and I had a great time. 

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We dealt with issues involving racism, fascism, sexism, and capitalists’ greed for power, and the fight for the working class. PLP is aware of all the harm that is being done. They fight not for themselves, but for everyone. Day by day, millions of people worldwide are suffering and being abused. The capitalists are the main reason for this. The people, the power of their voices can be the answer.

More and more people are unemployed, and arrested, and most likely ignored. I support PLP for their organization and their attempts and determination in forming a new revolution!

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Our weekend school once again put the power of our collective on display. Young people who knew the Party from their localities came to know and see the organization on a broader basis. Aspects of our ideas on nationalism, racism and the history of the communist movement came out in the workshop discussions that had been on folks’ minds for some time. 

A weekend away affords us the time to allow long-standing questions to emerge and also to practice anti-sexist, multi-racial and intergenerational unity.

We enter our May Day season invigorated to organize, and look forward to holding this school again next winter.

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Seventeen years ago, I joined PLP as a HS student at a Party camping trip much like this one. I saw the potential of a multi-racial, multi-generational Party working collectively to understand the world. What made the greatest impression on me was seeing communism on a small scale put into action. This weekend’s retreat reminded me of the need to have confidence in the working class. Male and female comrades cooked together, cleaned up together, played games together. The young high school and college students gave sharp reports and led workshops. It’s always amazing to see young people so clearly explain the problems inherent in capitalism and engage in the struggle to better understand our world. 

Our future is bright.

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The PLP school has been a very enlightening experience for me. The discussions we’ve had have been particularly valuable, both personally and to sharpen the Party’s line. One of the subjects we touched on was the role of ethnic nationalism in moving the struggle forward. Although there could be reams and reams of articles and studies on the topic, we all benefit from the intelligent and insightful remarks that were made in the discussion.

My weekend here at the school has been extremely enjoyable. In addition to the powerful discussions we’ve had regarding all aspects of the Party, there was also a lot of time for fun. It truly felt like the Party members were building bonds. It was also just fun to hang around a bunch of Marxists for once. I certainly feel more committed to PLP and struggling for communism

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After coming to the communist school this weekend, my enthusiasm for working within PL to smash capitalism has surged. Living communally with this group of workers with various levels of revolutionary experience and passion has fueled my fire, inspiring me to work harder to build a stronger base at my college, my job, and among my friends and family. I still have enormous room for growth and know there are many specific areas I must strive to develop within myself, particularly my experience with dialectical materialism. Now, though — more than ever — I feel confident that I will take this responsibility seriously. We have a world to win, after all, and nothing to lose but our chains.

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I recently attended an inspiring PLP school with other students and workers from the Northeast. My favorite part of the weekend was participating in the discussion groups led by young Party members. From topics such as reform vs. revolution to organizing for May Day, the discussion leaders passionately fought for the life of the Party and struggled with others over our ideas. This reaffirms my belief that PLP will continue to grow and lead the struggle for communism!

We will win!

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Our 2012 communist school was a smashing success. Within the breakout group I worked with, we had many fruitful discussions. One in particular is worth mentioning here. On our final day, we focused our discussion on PLP’s “Our Fight” statement. We were told to analyze our line and think of anything we might disagree with or struggle with when talking about the Party with fellow workers and students.

For me, as a relatively new Party member, I wondered why we do not explicitly mention the Marxist-Leninist idea of the state withering away so that we can establish a classless society. This is the highest form of communism, I argued, and it should be the aim of the dictatorship of the proletariat we set up once the revolution is successful in seizing state power. 

A veteran PL’er argued that my point was already acknowledged implicitly in our call for the abolition of nations and for the world to be run by one party made up of the international working class. In addition, this PL’er explained the argument I made was philosophical and ethical while “Our Fight” is strictly a political vision.

I responded that philosophy and ethics are inseparable from politics. Adding a single sentence, in my view, about a stateless and classless society as the desired outcome of the proletarian dictatorship strengthens our line. It demonstrates explicitly our revolutionary optimism for the future. It shows our hope and faith in the prospects of our Party in that we can envision a time beyond the dictatorship of the working class, a time when we can finally abolish our own class because the bourgeoisie will have been totally destroyed, even if that is a thousand years away.

This is the type of discussion that makes me proud to be a PL’er. That new members can contribute constructive criticism with more seasoned comrades to make our Party better illustrates the dynamism of PLP. It should encourage those thinking about joining the Party to fully commit themselves to fighting for communist revolution under PLP’s red flag. We need you. We have a new humanity to build. Join us!

Letters of March 28

Communist School Inspires Many to Build PLP

On the weekend of February 24-26, more than 50 high school and college teachers and students came together for a Progressive Labor Party communist school in the New York City area. From veteran comrades to new friends of the Party, they discussed questions of communism and racism, sexism, religion, and nationalism, and what the Party’s tasks should be in a period of rising fascism. The school’s collectivity strengthened ties among those attending and also served as a model for the kind of communist society we are struggling to achieve.

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This winter retreat has been nice. I think that I am identifying more with PLP. There are aspects of it that I yet don’t know exactly how I feel. For the most part, however, I think I can consider myself a communist. I still have questions about how the law would work on those who may disagree with decisions of the collective, once we achieve communism or are in the process of achieving it. Religion is another issue that bugs me. I am spiritual and don’t see spirituality (a belief that a greater energy surrounds us and also lives inside of us) as the enemy. My conclusion is that (I think) I am now a PLP member. Therefore, from today on I will see myself as a communist.

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This was my first time participating in a communist school. The most inspiring part of it was everyone working together to work, clean, play, and mingle in the political and the personal. Having a communist retreat made me more confident in actually building for communism.

One thing I struggled with is realizing that building for communism isn’t just about being part of class struggle. While that is important, it also means building long-term relationships with our coworkers.

For May Day, I plan to show CHALLENGE to more of my classmates and to try to have an active presence on campus. 

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GO!!!!! COMMUNISM!!!!!

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Throughout the winter retreat of 2012, I can say I have learned much more about the values of the PLP, which are admirable in my opinion, despite my not being a member. 

The meetings held over the weekend were all fruitful for us highlighting some of the fundamental flaws within capitalism and the current regime within the U.S. And how we can struggle against the imposition of racism and sexism and all forms of oppression through constantly engaging others and organizing to spread the word of Revolution.

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There have been some good discussions in the groups, with many good points made. There were agreements and disagreements. There were two discussions that really caught my attention. One was about the question: Why is communism anti-religion? It was said that the bosses (capitalists) take advantage and use religion against us. They use it as a tool to separate the working class. And communists are anti-religion because we’re pro-unity. If the situation has anything to do with separation of the working class, then we disagree 100 percent. The other question was: What can we do individually before May Day? The main answer was to tell people about communism and how it’s not a bad thing. It’s not what others make it out to be. And tell them what we fight for. And if they agree, we invite them to May Day. The discussions in the groups were very interesting. 

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I attended my first PLP communist School this weekend, and as someone who isn’t very well-informed I found it to be a great way for me to get comfortable enough to ask questions and learn things. I had a difficult time understanding how communism could actually work because I feel that a lot of people would not agree with eliminating wages. After spending time with the rest of the people, I felt comfortable enough to raise my concern. While explaining myself, I came to the realization that I actually do think that it is possible to eliminate wages. I think that it’s necessary for time to be spent together to discuss and make newcomers comfortable enough to voice their opinions and ask questions. 

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A lot of issues were discussed over this weekend, including youth unemployment. I knew that youth unemployment was “bad” before the statistics were given, but when they were, they really put it in perspective. I learned that black youth unemployment is 50 percent in the United States. This demonstrates the blatant racism that takes place here. Unemployment is a particular interest of mine as I am currently unemployed. The only option I had when I couldn’t find a job was to go back to school and try to “weather” the economic recession. Many workers are not as lucky as I am to be able to go to school. Their only option was another topic that was discussed: the economic draft into the military. Capitalism needs the unemployed. There aren’t enough jobs for everyone. We need to work with all workers to form a communist society where all people will work.

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In the school I was able to actually envision a communist future. In my group setting we learned about the pros and cons of communism and how we can make our movement stronger. This cadre school has made me a better debater, and most importantly a better student, one who can work collectively with others. It was an extremely positive experience, where we were able to remove ourselves from the capitalistic mindset and live communistically for a weekend. We worked together to get jobs done and struggled together in discussion groups to sharpen our line.

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1. What we did for this weekend was great. But I think we should have more activities. We did nothing or almost nothing other than cooking together and cleaning, playing at night and having discussions. I think we should have more activities in a sense to make us feel connected and for enjoyment, too.

2. I disagree with this concept of “We must fight religion.” This is the biggest problem that I have with PLP. Communism in itself is about equality in essence, Christ was for equality and I don’t think any of those religions say that a group should take a larger piece of the pie and let others suffer over the last slice. 

Religion is about belief and they don’t oppress anyone who doesn’t want to join them. 

We should fight oppression and inequality, but not differences in belief or diversity among people.

3. I really like what PLP fights for, and I encourage them to continue in this way. I would like to support them from the bottom of my heart, but I don’t feel ready yet to join it. I love what you’re doing. All my blessings.

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I am new to the Northeast. I am of U.S. citizenship and of Mexican descent. Within two months in the area, I have found myself in the midst of a group of people who know the right way to change this planet, improve people’s lives, and evolve humanity into the next plateau of existence. A group of people that fights for unity, coexistence, collectivity, singularity and progression. A group of people that fights for communism. 

Somewhere along my life, the spark of communism was lit within me. It would have been my family’s role in the world, my observations of modern society, capitalism and its byproducts or maybe my relationship with the universe/infinity/god. Regardless, my ideals and thoughts on this future are the same as the Party’s. I am glad my faith in the progression of sentient life has brought me to this time and place, and I am given the chance to fight for a better tomorrow, be it for us, our children or our descendants.

I only have one suggestion that might actually be impractical. Through discussion with the Party, I have reached a better understanding of its stands on specific topics under our ideal state of communism. However, in CHALLENGE, I feel that more specific statements should be made by the Party on topics such as individual rights, responsibilities and freedoms. 

Thank you for showing me that the path I dream of is being worked by others like me. I look forward to our comradeship.

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I continue to struggle with the idea that violence must come with the goal of communism. Also, the idea of fighting for something that I might not see in my lifetime. However, I appreciate talking with a large group of people who want to fight for a better world. 

Letters of March 14

Medi-Cal A Quagmire that Makes You Sicker

You have to be poor to qualify for Medi-Cal, which is California’s version of Medicaid. But poverty is only the beginning of your troubles. 

For example, following an injury requiring hip surgery, Maria needed physical therapy (PT). A physical therapist came to her house once — then she was on her own. Several months later, Maria still had severely reduced range of motion in her hip, making her unable to walk. 

Between Maria’s surgery and when I first saw her, Medi-Cal changed a regulation to reduce cost of treatment. The new regulation requires everyone in 30 California counties who has Medi-Cal to enroll in a managed-care plan (HMO).

 For 3 million of the 4.4 million Medi-Cal recipients in 14 counties, only two plans are offered. Most plans contract out and require endless authorizations for each medical service. Before this regulation, patients had few choices, because most physicians would not accept Medi-Cal’s meager payments. Now, patients have only two.

Maria could not return to her orthopedic surgeon, who had stopped working with Medi-Cal. Her primary-care physician in her HMO referred her to a different orthopedic surgeon. That orthopod gave her a prescription for a PT 15 miles from her home. After many phone calls (partly because the original referral to PT had expired), I was able to get her a referral to PT within traveling distance. After Maria had three sessions, that PT group closed its contract with the HMO.

I arranged for a medical transportation company to take Maria to PT.  They couldn’t transport her because her leg was stuck straight out. I made other arrangements for transport, after going back to the primary MD and getting yet another order for PT. That doctor also ordered another ortho consult and additional diagnostic tests. 

His orders never reached the middle level of the insurance company. I kept making phone calls to try to straighten this out, but could never get a live person on the phone. When we finally got Maria to PT, they took one look and said “her case was too complex” for them.

It took more phone calls and threats of filing a grievance to get Maria another orthopedic appointment. The orthopod wouldn’t see her without a new X-ray, which required going back to the primary care physician. The primary doc had to write new orders for the diagnostic tests, because the first ones never showed up at the insurance company. 

These months of delays in getting Maria the physical therapy she needed resulted in irreparable damage to her hip and knee, and we still don’t know what harm may have been caused by the delayed diagnostic tests, which have yet to happen.

Many Medi-Cal patients try to deal with their HMOs and insurance companies on their own, and eventually give up. The politicians have no qualms about cutting services to those at the bottom. You never hear them talk about cutting interest payments to California state bondholders.

The state has also been slashing funds for In-Home Supported Services (IHSS) and for group homes that serve the disabled population. They keep tightening the criteria for IHSS and cutting the number of hours of care patients get. 

The cuts in the group homes force providers to cut corners in food quality and hiring standards. When the upcoming additional 10% cut is initiated, some providers say they will have no choice but to shut down.  These cuts result in further destroying people’s health and in shortening their lives. Seeing this is one reason why I participate in a CHALLENGE readers group.

Public Health Worker

Knowing a PL’er and CHALLENGE Changes Workers’ Ideas about Communism

Since being laid off from my job at a school, the distribution of CHALLENGE at my former workplace — combined with concerted efforts to build strong relationships with our friends and co-workers, in a conscious effort to broaden our base — is helping build the Party. 

When workers and friends saw an article about the circumstances at our job, their responses were positive. Comments were made like, “That is just what is happening here,” and “I hope people will see that we are really living under fascism”. 

Recently, we got together for some pizza, wine and political conversation. This event was the second in a series of meetings comrades from different workplaces are hosting. Our mission is to strengthen our relationships with workers and “cross-pollinate” our bases. We started by discussing the CHALLENGE article as previously mentioned. We reviewed how racism divides the working class and is used to depress the working conditions and wages of all. 

One worker, who is white, said that black workers on the job had told her, “You are out here in the fields with us”, when they were describing the disrespect suffered at the hands of black bosses on the job. She also said that PL’s analysis of racism made it clearer that bosses of the same ethnic group as the workers will still be racist. 

We concluded that even if our school was closed in the coming months, we could and should fight against what the capitalist class is doing to workers through the dismantling of public education. Some workers talked about their sharing CHALLENGE with their family and telling them, “Hey there is this guy at my job who is a communist”. 

We have encouraged every CHALLENGE reader to take two — “One for you and one for a friend.” These workers shared stories of hearing about the “evils of the communist enemy” as they were growing up. But knowing a communist on the job and having the opportunity to read CHALLENGE was changing their ideas about communists and communism. PL’ers pointed out that the fights posed by the old socialist movements led to many of the benefits workers won, and are now losing. 

We also strategized about how to fight for PL’s politics in the current labor movement, how to avoid the anti--communist ideas that capitalism can be made better for workers or that masses of workers can’t be won to fight for an immediate transformation to communism. Together, we read parts of the PLP document “Road to Revolution IV” and the “What We Fight For” section in CHALLENGE. 

We decided we should get together more often. Word of another gathering reached the workplace and workers who did not attend said they wanted to come the next time. Our base-building efforts require us to be flexible. 

The Party will grow through personal and political struggle. We should build strong relationships and win them to fight for the Party and its ideas in their personal and political lives. Pepperoni and Pinot Grigio do not make a revolution, but building personal ties and political honesty with our friends should definitely be put on our plates.

Red

Letters of February 29

Winds of Change Blow Fiercely As Workers Hug CHALLENGE

The wind was from the north, cold and sweeping. Our CHALLENGES fluttered in our attempt to keep them open to show the workers exiting Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn, NY at the end of their shift and others entered to start their shift. 

“Is that the latest CHALLENGE?” asked one worker. “Thanks.” He said a few words and moved on to get out of the cold wind. A doctor in scrubs who walked up to me said “Thanks,” when I gave him a paper, shook my hand, and moved into the building. 

A tall worker came out of the hospital and asked, “What’s that?” The front page spoke of class war and we discussed it for a few minutes. He moved on to a group of friends standing by the car service drivers nearby. He showed them the paper. A lengthy conversation followed as the biting wind continued.

One after another, almost every individual who went in or came out of the hospital entrance took a CHALLENGE and had something nice to say. In some cases I was thanked over and over again, and my hand was shaken. 

The other person distributing the paper had similar experiences.  One woman, on seeing somebody refuse the paper told the other, “You should read that. It has good information.”  

It was not just the cold wind blowing or the icy sleet that started to fall, it was as if a great change was beginning to take place. Their hospital is under attack. Half of the large institution is slated to be closed down. Not because it doesn’t serve its purpose to the large population in the area, not because the hospital workers and medical staff are incapable, but because of the needs of war, fascism, and profit. 

Our distribution of CHALLENGE brought all of these views to the workers. For those taking the paper, it reflected their growing workers’ anger, not only at the fraud that removed millions of dollars from their pension funds, but at the racism that would close a hospital that serves mostly a black, Latino and immigrant population.

We have been back about three times in four weeks with three different editions of CHALLENGE. The first time, two of us brought 60 papers, and they went in about 15 minutes. 

The second time we brought 65 papers, and they disappeared in about 20 minutes during snow flurries. 

The third time we had three sellers and 100 papers that disappeared in about 18 minutes. People were eager for information about the system we’re living under and information on the hospital.

I got a sudden feeling that this is what it means to be serving the people. The bosses’ newspapers raise all of the terrible things that exist in our society. 

The only answer that’s ever put forward is incarcerating more of our youth or voting for one of the bosses’ politicians. We point out the need to struggle and fight back, no matter who the politician or boss is, that the way forward is to read and distribute CHALLENGE, struggle on the job, struggle with our friends and help people understand the true nature of this class society.

A CHALLENGE seller
 

‘I know capitalism isn’t working so I want to find out more…’

“I don’t know exactly what communism is, but I know capitalism isn’t working, so I want to find out more.”

These were the words of a teacher who had just attended his first PL study-action group. He is a fellow co-worker of a PL’er in a special-needs high school for emotionally disturbed youth. He’s intimately confronted with the racism, injustice, and inequality inherent in capitalism’s education system every day.   

Another first-time attendee was a college student who had spent virtually every night at Occupy Wall Street (OWS). He had a lot to say at our discussion based on the CHALLENGE (12/14) article “OWS Slogan Hides Class Nature of Profit System.” The article discussed how part of the 99% is also a part of the power structure that supports the capitalist system. We all read the article together and listened to each other’s understanding of it. As a recent PL’er struggled with the student, it was inspiring to watch her give leadership based on her understanding of the Party line. A greater understanding of communism occurred. 

A PL teacher had arrived a bit late because several high schools had walkouts against school closings earlier and some of her students had participated in it. Excited to see so many youth and so few phony leftists at the walkout, she took the opportunity to get out 50 CHALLENGES. She also had good political discussions with her students who’d walked out. She invited them to upcoming PLP events and congratulated them on taking part in such a sharp political action.

With another large study group and protests to look forward to, this PL club feels that growth is on the horizon.  Within the context of a deepening financial crisis, the police murder of an unarmed teen in the Bronx, and sharpening imperialist conflicts, it is inspiring to see so much work transform into potential growth. 

A Comrade

Palestine: Youth Know the Score and Fight Like Hell

As a college student in the U.S. on my first international trip, I was astounded by the situation in Palestine and at how blatantly the U.S. media manipulates reports on Israel and Palestine. The trip was at once infuriating and exhilarating. The great ugly gray walls penning Palestinians in their allotted lands, the widespread pattern of rubble where homes had once been, are now taken over by either Zionist Jewish settlers or the government itself. The situation is similar to what the U.S. did to the Native Americans when penned into reservations. 

What was exhilarating, however, was the spirit of fighting back that was as strong as their coffee. The women, children — both Palestinian and Jewish — and workers united to fight and demonstrate on a regular basis. In Sheik Jarah, the demonstrations are militant and frequent. They recognize that the fight is not between “races” or religions, but between classes. 

As a young student, the most inspiring thing to me was the force with which the children fought. Young children no more than nine years old were leading massive marches. 

Their political consciousness is something that we can aspire to in the U.S. They understand democracy does not exist in the U.S. any more than it exists in Israel, before they have even memorized their multiplication tables. 

But it is also sad because their consciousness comes from growing up with brothers and cousins tortured in prisons, watching as the elderly are thrown to the ground and their homes taken in front of their own eyes. They grow up living in tents, cemeteries, encampments and streets. 

They grow up in racism and fascism so blatant and unavoidable that they have no choice but to be militant fighters and organizers. It is deep-rooted into their growing process. We can learn from their militancy and awareness that the working class is expendable in this racist system. Join the fight for a communist revolution!

Young Red

March vs. Racist Cops: ‘Can’t stand living under capitalism’

When I first heard about the shooting of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham on February 2nd in the  Bronx, I instantly called bull****.

According to details (which are sketchy at best), police saw Graham adjusting his pants on a street corner and, since he was black, assumed he was taking out a gun. They then chased Graham to his home, where one of the cops cornered and fatally shot Graham in his own bathroom. No gun was found on him at all. Shocker.

I knew that I had to be at the protest against this grave injustice, which took place two days later in the Melrose area.

As I arrived with my communist friends I could feel a palpable anger in the air — the unrelenting fury and disgust towards the NYPD’s treatment of an innocent youth who was doing nothing wrong.

A young Latino man dressed in a red hat with matching sweater passionately read off the names of the officers involved. Community leaders became southern pastors in full sermon, asking in booming voices when will the violence be stopped.  

Mere yards away, an auxiliary band of pigs in blue watched the spectacle, supposedly there to “keep the peace.” My journalistic senses kicking in, I took out my camera, activated the video function, pressed “record” and let the Cyber-Shot tell the story.

We traveled from an apartment complex to the 42nd precinct, the location which produced this particular group of pigs. On the way, I made sure to spit on a police wagon for good measure. Outside the station-house, cries of “Jail those killer cops” and another listing of the guilty party reverberated loud and clear for the officers stationed inside and out.

Soon after, the march’s leaders led us down another street, blocking traffic on one side and encouraging people to join in.

I eventually found Graham’s siblings, one of whom thanked me for showing my support. A man even took the opportunity to shout himself out before my camera lens.

Overall, I was enthused to have been part of this. While I don’t consider myself a communist, I am a supporter and I do believe that a revolution can and will happen. 

I can’t stand living in a capitalist world where the police pit bulls are free to harass and kill black and Latino people, with Mayor Bloomberg holding their leashes. If this murder shows anything, it’s that we need to protect ourselves. After all, these cops sure won’t help us there.  In the word of the rap group NWA, “Eff Tha Police.”

Friend of PL