Your fears are 100% valid. PSL has a strong public-facing presense as its own shield, it’s the honesty and integrity of PSL that keeps the public more on its side. However, there’s also the Action Network, an informal, secondary level of membership with minimal requirements that means you just volunteer when the opportunity arises, and aren’t a disciplined cadre. This is also a valid form of organizing, both the mass organization and the dedicated cadre are necessary!
there’s a STRONG trend of black and brown social media influencers warning people not to get involved if they have too much melanin for american standards and learning about the black panthers and the night of the long knives (coupled with my anecdotal experiences with white-passing family members) makes me think that they’re right.
some small part of me hopes that my contributions to the greens and psl are so long ago that that i’m no longer on their rosters.
I mean, the Black Panthers murdered by the state are heroes in my eyes, ya know? That seems like a strange argument. As bleak as it is to mention, I feel I must point out that having only the fear of future violence while others must face violence presently is a privilege. The good thing is that getting involved in organizing is also a privilege, the other side of the coin I guess you could say. Way I think about it, you’re gonna live with the fear of state violence already, so the fear from organizing is marginal, possibly negligible.
I’d rather be alive than be your hero. Black and brown people in the US already face violence without voluntarily painting targets on their backs. If people want to stick their necks out, good for them. But it’s kinda ballsy to try to shame black and brown people in the current USA for avoiding violence from some “place of privilege “
Alright. Privilege is still relative. Being defensive is not going to change that.
The fear of “sticking your neck out” is still very individualistic thinking. The goal is to learn and organize so WE can stick our necks out together. My lionizing of former martyrs is not an attempt to shame you. I still think that “don’t be like the people who actually induced change because they were martyred” is a terrible take.
If that day comes, do you really think that the absence of your name on a roster is going to stop them? Obedience in advance only teaches authority what it can get away with. The capabilities of authority generally are much less far-reaching than what they lead us to believe. Oppression breeds resistance and struggle, whereas the state would have us believe in the fantasy of unilateral control and suppression of dissent.
You owe it to yourself to study revolutionary history beyond just the most shocking events that scare you away from organizing. In the words of the late assata shakur; It is our duty to fight. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
thanks, but don’t be; i’m convinced that i would be yet another liberal doomscrolling my life away, embittering myself further by the day because of the deep ignorance from the western propaganda like it is for some of my siblings/cousins/nephews/neices who turn to alcohol, drugs and other self destructive coping mechanisms.
i’m convinced that my dark skin; my queerness; and my nuero-divergence have forced me to develop tools that have proven themselves useful in thwarting the asshattery that life in this late stage capitalist world throws at me.
i’m a liberal because most of the leftist theories requires a shit ton of reading and self education, which is going to take me decades to complete at my pace
That’s the indomitable human spirit at work, we develop the tools we need. We may not live in a just world, but we live in one where we can and will win.
Your fears are 100% valid. PSL has a strong public-facing presense as its own shield, it’s the honesty and integrity of PSL that keeps the public more on its side. However, there’s also the Action Network, an informal, secondary level of membership with minimal requirements that means you just volunteer when the opportunity arises, and aren’t a disciplined cadre. This is also a valid form of organizing, both the mass organization and the dedicated cadre are necessary!
there’s a STRONG trend of black and brown social media influencers warning people not to get involved if they have too much melanin for american standards and learning about the black panthers and the night of the long knives (coupled with my anecdotal experiences with white-passing family members) makes me think that they’re right.
some small part of me hopes that my contributions to the greens and psl are so long ago that that i’m no longer on their rosters.
I mean, the Black Panthers murdered by the state are heroes in my eyes, ya know? That seems like a strange argument. As bleak as it is to mention, I feel I must point out that having only the fear of future violence while others must face violence presently is a privilege. The good thing is that getting involved in organizing is also a privilege, the other side of the coin I guess you could say. Way I think about it, you’re gonna live with the fear of state violence already, so the fear from organizing is marginal, possibly negligible.
I’d rather be alive than be your hero. Black and brown people in the US already face violence without voluntarily painting targets on their backs. If people want to stick their necks out, good for them. But it’s kinda ballsy to try to shame black and brown people in the current USA for avoiding violence from some “place of privilege “
Alright. Privilege is still relative. Being defensive is not going to change that.
The fear of “sticking your neck out” is still very individualistic thinking. The goal is to learn and organize so WE can stick our necks out together. My lionizing of former martyrs is not an attempt to shame you. I still think that “don’t be like the people who actually induced change because they were martyred” is a terrible take.
If that day comes, do you really think that the absence of your name on a roster is going to stop them? Obedience in advance only teaches authority what it can get away with. The capabilities of authority generally are much less far-reaching than what they lead us to believe. Oppression breeds resistance and struggle, whereas the state would have us believe in the fantasy of unilateral control and suppression of dissent.
You owe it to yourself to study revolutionary history beyond just the most shocking events that scare you away from organizing. In the words of the late assata shakur; It is our duty to fight. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
I’m sorry you have experienced that, comrade. I can only say that the goal is such a society where this kind of bullshit will be a thing of the past.
thanks, but don’t be; i’m convinced that i would be yet another liberal doomscrolling my life away, embittering myself further by the day because of the deep ignorance from the western propaganda like it is for some of my siblings/cousins/nephews/neices who turn to alcohol, drugs and other self destructive coping mechanisms.
i’m convinced that my dark skin; my queerness; and my nuero-divergence have forced me to develop tools that have proven themselves useful in thwarting the asshattery that life in this late stage capitalist world throws at me.
The fact that you’re still a liberal after witnessing the raw face of the empire means you haven’t fully woken up yet.
i’m a liberal because most of the leftist theories requires a shit ton of reading and self education, which is going to take me decades to complete at my pace
You can start here before reading.
Are We The Baddies?.
Why Is The US Always At War?.
How The US Took Over The World.
Socialism for Absolute Beginners.
Debunking every anti-communist talking point
What Exactly is Liberalism? (no, it’s not about being “woke”).
“We need a mixture of Capitalism AND Socialism” - BULLS#*T.
Why Social Democracy Isn’t Good Enough.
What Should New Leftists Do? A Guide. (Highly recommended)
Non-Theory books(Page count in Brackets):
Podcast:
Blowback (Highly Recommended)
The Deprogram (Recommended)
RevLeft Radio
Red Menace
That’s the indomitable human spirit at work, we develop the tools we need. We may not live in a just world, but we live in one where we can and will win.
Not the indomitable spirit; simply A LOT of ass artificially bouying my spirits. Lol
Both can be true!