Orwell Online

Snowball, a British socialist blogger, writes:

If only Orwell were still around to see that certain things seem to run in the family of the British Union of Fascist leader…

Anyway, instead, we will have to make do with the fact that Orwell’s old diaries will be serialised online starting from tomorrow, day by day, here. Orwell I think would not only have approved of the blogosphere, he is a very much needed new presence in it given the kind of idiocy which currently dominates it, not least from those who claim to stand in his legacy yet cheer on imperialist war.

[Hat Tip: Bhupinder]

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Demokratik Toplum Partisi Under Attack from Turkish State

Shiraz socialist blogs:

Interesting summary in today’s Zaman of goings on at the congress of the Demokratik Toplum Partisi, the left-Kurdish nationalist coalition in the Turkish parliament which is threatened by closure along with the ruling AK Partisi. It would seem that the party’s “moderates”, led by Ahmet Türk, have the leadership but have gotten it on the basis of an accommodation with more radical factions. It is pleasing to see such unity in the face of potentially devastating attack from the state.

Albeit deeply flawed, the DTP is the nearest thing in national level Turkish politics to a significant left-wing force. It is therefore an entity whose persecution should be of some concern to all progressive and left-wing people in the West who care about Turkey and its future. One would certainly hope that, even where people (wrongly in my view) might support the use of the Constitutional Court against the Islamist-descended AKP, they would at least stand in defence of a party explicitly set up to stand for progressive politics and Kurdish rights.

Race & Class in Ethical Consumption & Sustainability Movements

At the blog Vegans of Color, Johanna quotes a new anthology to be edited by Breeze Harper:

Rarely, if ever, has the status quo of these movements written about how [white] racialized consciousness and class status impact their philosophies and advocacy of animal rights, veganism, fair trade, ecosustainable living, etc., in the USA. Deeper investigations by academic scholars have found that collectively, this “privileged” demographic tends to view their ethics as “colorblind”, thereby passively discouraging reflections on white and class privilege within alternative food movements (Slocum 2006) and animal rights activism (Nagra 2003; Poldervaart 2001). Consequently, academic scholars such as Dr. Rachel Slocum feel that rather than fostering equality, “alternative food practice reproduces white privilege in American society”.

Ad she states:

The discouragement about reflections on white & class privilege has definitely been more than just “passive” from readers of this blog at times, especially lately, although obviously the passive discouragement is a big player as well. As one of my favorite LiveJournal icons says, “White privilege: you’re soaking in it.”

The Left, Religious Fundamentalists, and Lebanon

As’ad, a professor at CSU Stanislaus and a visiting professor at UC Berkeley, blogs about the radical left and the situation in Lebanon and the dangers in blindly supporting Hizbullah:

I believe that the radical left, or the revolutionary left, should be careful in evaluating the situation. I see that the Lebanese Communist Party has for all purposes conflated its position with that of Hizbullah–at least during this crisis. The radical left should keep a distance from an organization (i.e. Hizbullah) with which it does not share an ideology–a religious fundamentalist one at that. Today, I kept thinking of the leader of the Iranian Communist Party who sang the praises of Khumayni only to be forced to appear on TV (after the revolution) and make Stalinist-style “confessions”. He later was executed as were other communists.

[Hat Tip: Farfahinne]

Learning and Doing

Marco, a graduate student in Western Australia, blogs:

So many people have written about what’s wrong with the world, but very few are writing about what people are doing to change the world. Getting politicised requires: a) learning about what’s wrong with the world, and b) knowing what to do about it. So many people reach A; You know, they read Noam Chomsky and all about the horrors of capitalism and the like, but they never learn or become convinced of their own power to intervene in reality and change things because often they’re not exposed to the rich history of people’s movements and what they’ve achieved, and all the creative things that people are doing in the present… Therefore, in my work, my focus is on activists and what people are doing to change the world, instead of just coming up with another theory of capitalism and how fucked it is.

Take Marx for example. As Harry Cleaver points out (see article here), Marx was more interested in writing about capitalist domination, and not in working class subjectivity! Like Cleaver, I would argue that this is the entirely wrong starting point! The starting point of my work is not capitalism, but the revolutionary subjectivity of those challenging capitalism, and it is for precisely this reason that I am studying social movements.

Obama and Progressivism

Margaret Kimberley, an editor for Black Agenda Report, writes:

The rush to tag along with Barack Obama’s presidential juggernaut shows beyond doubt that progressive “movement” politics is “on its death bed” in the United States, on both sides of the racial divide.

…

It doesn’t seem to matter that as a United States Senator his votes on Iraq are the same as Hillary Clinton’s. It doesn’t matter that he once opposed establishing a deadline for withdrawal. It doesn’t matter that he parrots the words of Republicans when he speaks of “the excesses of the 60s and 70s.” None of what he says matters, because speaking up would mean fighting back, and there is no movement left to do that.

“Troublemaker”

FAbulosa Mujer writes:

This here, I’m seeing more and more of. At 26 years-old, having been in the progressive circle for a couple of years now, mostly people of color and the few whites in positions of power in a nutshell this is what I see: when you’re new and excited about the work, always hopeful, dreaming, wanting to say yes to everything and not challenge everyone loves you. Speak in a tone that’s very welcoming…you are one with the movement. Beware once you fall, when you are not proper and you are speaking your mind “articulately” in a matter you believe in, and you disagree with um…the ranks, whether it be white women in the ranks or the men of color in the ranks or men of color colleagues when you challenge oppression, you’re a divider, trouble maker, punishable. You’re too loud and not as likeable.

“Troublemaker”

FAbulosa Mujer writes:

This here, I’m seeing more and more of. At 26 years-old, having been in the progressive circle for a couple of years now, mostly people of color and the few whites in positions of power in a nutshell this is what I see: when you’re new and excited about the work, always hopeful, dreaming, wanting to say yes to everything and not challenge everyone loves you. Speak in a tone that’s very welcoming…you are one with the movement. Beware once you fall, when you are not proper and you are speaking your mind “articulately” in a matter you believe in, and you disagree with um…the ranks, whether it be white women in the ranks or the men of color in the ranks or men of color colleagues when you challenge oppression, you’re a divider, trouble maker, punishable. You’re too loud and not as likeable.

The Peace Movement

The blogger at History is a Weapon (and a Blog) writes:

This weekend, we went to a peace demonstration in D.C. We talked with a lot of people and had a good time, but also left with a lot of concerns about the direction of the anti-war movement and renewed confidence in some of our earlier misgivings.

In Defense of Disruption

Greta Christina reaches back into her blog archives to repost a blog she wrote back in 2003 about the anti-Iraq War protests that tried to disrupt traffic in San Francisco:

I’ve had some disturbing conversations with friends lately. These are people I respect, people who are solidly progressive/liberal. They’re vehemently against the war — and yet they’re also vehemently against the recent anti-war protests that blocked traffic in downtown San Francisco. They argue that the protests disrupted life for everyone, disrupted the lives of people who aren’t responsible for the war and many of whom oppose it. They argue that the protests endangered lives by blocking traffic for emergency vehicles. They argue that a disruptive annoyance isn’t a good way to convince anyone of your position. Here’s what I want to say to my friends — and to any progressives/liberals who share their irritation and anger.

Carnival of Liberals 41

The Carnival of Liberals is up at the World Wide Webbers:

Is there something in the air? For whatever reason, the crop of submissions for Carnival of the Liberals #41 was especially strong. We’re proud to be hosting such a fine collection of leftist propaganda here at World Wide Webers.

Knowing Your History

Professor Black Woman posts:

Miss Profe recently suggested we post books that help us all develop a more historical sense of oppression across cultures and stand in solidarity with one another?

…

If you have your own blog, why not ask the question there as well, and then we can pool our responses. 😀

A Call to Leftist Movie Goers

AradhanaD, of the blog “Leftist” Looney Lunchbox, calls for movie review submissions:

I started “Leftist” movie reviews back in January, I would really like for it to be an aggregate of the best movie reviews in the blogosphere. The more contemporary the better!

I get a lot of hits here at LLL with the search terms “leftist movies”, so I figure there are enough people interested in this.

If you have blogged about a movie and would like to see it cross-posted at LMR, please email me…

Rebuilding the Left Coalition

The blogger of Anti-Capitalism writes:

The following is a summary of an article I’m working on, which proposes a framework for thinking about the strategic tasks confronting radical activists who want to work toward rebuilding the broad Left (of which the radical left is one component). One of my assumptions is that a rebirth of radicalism as an effective force presupposes a renewal and reinvigoration of the broad activist left in general.

NYPD: Suspect You

AngryBrownButch blogs about the NYPD surveillance programs of activists during the National Republican Convention in 2004:

Lots of the stuff is really creepy. Some of it is creepy because of the infiltration factor that’s evident in what they’re able to find out; how disturbing to think of organizations and groups being infiltrated. However, some of the stuff isn’t creepy at first because it’s such public information, so the methods of obtaining the info aren’t so creepy seeming. But then, when you think about it a little more, it’s almost creepier, because the things they’re documenting seem so tame and so benign. I’m talking regular old community organization meetings, happy family-friendly kinds of marches and activities, that sort of thing. Green Party events held in sunny Tompkins Square Park, for fuck’s sake. These guys aren’t just worried about their infamous scary black bloc anarchists here, the kind of mythological threat that the cops and the press like to put on display to terrify the populace. Nah, they’re after anyone who has the slightest inclination towards evil anti-American concepts like justice or equality or liberation.

Is Blogging Just A Game?

Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez posts an essay (which is making it’s rounds in the blogosphere) about racism in the blogosphere and blogging being an avenue for change, along with many other issues, in his blog The Unapologetic Mexican:

Any black or brown person who becomes political and stands vocally for Brown or Black Pride must become adept at handling the inevitable response. When people’s bedrock views on race and place and culture and national identity are offended, they do not always respond directly. In fact, as we all understand on an intellectual level that it is Wrong to Hate on Minorities for being a Minority (exercising rights that whites expect defaulted to themselves) it is the one motive that is never stated, even when it is involved. I know this because I deal with many of these responses in the course of my writing. To the one dropping the comment—For you, talking about race is a necessity; for us, it is a luxury was a mild but telling one—their words are very cutting and original. But they do not realize how many times we see and hear these familiar hateful shapes dressed loosely in various iterations of transparent garb.

Fighting Globalism

Bhupinder writes:

Economist Amit Bhaduri has an insightful article in EPW (pdf), where he argues for an alternative development model bypassing the corporate- led globalization. It is only the resistance of people at the ground level that seems to be working to thwart the current economic orthodoxy- that too, only when this resistance results in deaths as in Nandigram. If economics is nothing but concentrated politics, there is little to differentiate between the Hindutva BJP and the secular Left, to say nothing about the Congress party.

In Solidarity: Sanhati

Rama quotes a mission statement from the West Bengali activist organization Sanhati in the blog Cuckoo’s call:

We are voices of dissent. We oppose the murderous politics of the state government of West Bengal as well as the cheap populism of otherwise pro-liberalism parties. We stand in solidarity, in Sanhati, with all forces that oppose police terror in Bengal and the inhuman urban-industrial vision. We staunchly defend the rights of tillers over their lives and their lands.

The Left and Racism

Eugene, of the blog Pudgy Indian, writes about his experiences with racism in a leftist peace movement:

In this blog I have had to deal with racists. It started with folks using my race to drive home a point, and then telling me that isn’t racist. In my pain and anger, which the comment was designed to hurt me (paraphrased: I support the troops coming home, not killing, having health care, therefore I have no right to say anything about what America did to my folks) I treated them with the same racism they put forth.

After battling these folks for a couple of weeks, I experienced racism at the one place I truly thought I was safe from it. What a fool. It, too, is a lefty organization.

Bill Moyers on the Media

Louis Proyect writes:

Bill Moyers is an interesting figure. As press secretary to Lyndon Johnson, he turned against the kind of party politics that produces such wars and hooked up with PBS in 1971. Like Ramsey Clark, LBJ’s attorney general, he has been an effective voice for the left even if his ideas stop short of the anti-capitalist conclusions that are implicit in their dynamic. Along with Ralph Nader, these three elder statesmen of the liberal-left know how the system operates from inside and often have unique insights about the rot contained in its heart, as last night’s documentary demonstrates.

Erase Racism Carnival April Edition Coming Up

The Double Consciousness team is hosting the April 2007 edition of the Erase Racism Carnival and we are seeking contributions from as many people as possibly. Thanks:

Hey folks. This month’s Erase Racism Carnvial (blog carnival that is) is being hosted by Double Consciousness. Please, if you have any recent (within a month) blog posts please send them our way (you can submit your posts here); also keep this in mind in the future if you write any blog posts you think will be good for the carnival.

Is Mumia Forgotten?

Jimmy Higgins comments on recent developments in the Mumia Abul Jamal case in his blog Fire on the Mountain:

In recent years, the struggle to free unjustly imprisoned revolutionary Black journalist Mumia Abu Jamal has faded from consciousness, even on the left. This is a Bad Thing. Now his case comes before the Appeals Court on May 17 and we have precious little time to mobilize to publicize it and try and affect the outcome.

Holding Whites Accountable

Yolanda (of the Blog and the Bullet and Primary Contradiction) blogs about whites in the anti-racist movement:

Anytime we try to hold white allies accountable for their actions, we take a huge risk. Whether that is the loss of a personal relationship, a smeared reputation, or simply the wrath of someone whose ego we have bruised, people of color in all strata of the left have an uphill battle in challenging white supremacy. Good people, you and I have seen and experienced many examples of white ally catastrophe.

Christianity and the Working Class Movement

In subliminal tyranny G. posts an excerpt from Milan Kundera’s The Joke:

 “The churches failed to realize that the working-class movement was the movement of the humiliated and oppressed supplicating for justice. They did not choose to work with and for them to create the kingdom of God on earth. By siding with the oppressors, they deprived the working-class movement of God. And now they reproach it for being godless. The Pharisees!”

Building the Movement

Chris Crass writes a book review on the book Towards Land, Work and Power: Charting a Path of Resistance to U.S.-Led Imperialism in the blog Red Flags.  The book was done by members of POWER (People Organized to Win Employment Rights), an organization based in San Francisco.

A key contribution of the book is their centering of race, gender and sexuality in their class analysis. The authors review how the local ruling class planed the development of the Bay Area and have advanced their strategy for decades. The ruling class thinks and acts big and plans for the long-term. The authors not only argue that we can do this, they’re working on it and share the beginnings of where they’re at in the third chapter.