From the Desk of Carl Dix

MAKE 2013 A YEAR OF RISING RESISTANCE TO THE HORRORS OF THIS SYSTEM!

January 6, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

Sisters and Brothers,

I spent 2012 deeply involved in building resistance to mass incarceration. Along with other STOP "Stop & Frisk" Freedom Fighters, I faced several trials for having stood up in 2011 to say no to that racist, illegitimate policy of the NYPD. In waging a legal-political defense, we successfully turned the tables on the authorities and put stop-and-frisk on trial inside and outside the courtrooms, and beat back their attempts to put us in jail for standing up and fighting back.

Along with Cornel West, I issued the Call to "Blow the Whistle on Stop-and-Frisk" on September 13, 2012. In NYC alone, more than 20,000 whistles were distributed, giving people who the cops sweat non-stop a way they could enlist in the resistance to police abuse and the way the whole criminal "injustice" system comes down on them.

I did all this as part of building a movement for revolution, a movement that has set its sights on leading millions of people in doing all that's necessary to get rid of this capitalist system and all the horrors it inflicts on humanity — the wars for empire; the pillaging of whole countries; the brutality and sexual slavery enforced on women in many different parts of the world, including in the U.S.; the ravaging of the environment and more.

This kind of revolution is possible. In Bob Avakian, the leader of the RCP, we have the leadership we need to make revolution. And the new approach to revolution and communism he developed by studying the many great achievements and the errors and shortcomings of the revolutions in the Soviet Union and China make it possible to go farther and do better the next time revolution is made and power is in the hands of the people. And the RCP has a strategy for making revolution in a country like this: It's spreading revolution everywhere and "Fight the Power, and Transform the People, for Revolution!"

Look, I know a lot of people argue that the thing to do in 2012 was to make sure Obama got re-elected. And those same people now say the thing to do is to hold his feet to the fire to get him accountable to the people who voted for him. Doing this paralyzes and immobilizes people who should be out there building resistance to the crimes against the people Obama presided over and will continue to preside over.

At Obama's campaign rallies, the cry "Four More Years" rang out. Four more years of what? ...Of drone missiles rained down on Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries destroying whole villages and killing thousands of innocent people? ...Of Obama reviewing a kill list and deciding who gets assassinated on his say so every week? ...Of Obama instituting policies like his assertion that the president can kill U.S. citizens if he determines they are enemy combatants? On these and other fronts Obama is worse than Bush! Working to keep him in the White House, and trying to make him accountable to the people who voted for him, keeps the system that breaks the bodies and crushes the spirits of millions and millions of people around the world in effect. Doing this is worse than useless.

But there is something worthwhile you can and must be a part of.

Join me in making 2013 a year of rising resistance, a year that thousands—and even millions—stand up to say police murder, racial profiling, torture-like conditions in prison—all this shit—must end. The slogan—Mass Incarceration + Silence = Genocide—expresses the reality for tens of millions of people in the U.S. We must make 2013 a year of breaking that silence. I urge you to be a part of making this happen because it will make a difference: for the youth treated like criminals and seen as guilty until proven innocent, if they can survive to prove their innocence; for those warehoused in prison; for those discriminated against after they've served their sentences; and for all their loved ones.

There are practical ways you could be part of breaking that silence.

  • Join the Stop Mass Incarceration Network [SMIN] in its Bear Witness Project (click here).
  • Bring me to your campus or your area to speak on the horrors of mass incarceration and what to do about them. Contact me directly at comradecarl@hotmail.com.
  • Set up an interview so I can get into the media about what's being done to fight mass incarceration. Contact me via the SMIN at stopmassincarceration@gmail.com, or directly at comradecarl@hotmail.com.
  • Contribute money! Your contributions can play a crucial role in making 2013 a year of rising resistance. You could contribute to both my efforts and to the SMIN:
    • You can contribute to help me focus all my efforts on spreading revolution and building resistance. Make a check or money order to Carl Dix and mail to P.O. Box 941 Knickerbocker Station, New York NY 10002-0900.
    • You can make a tax-deductible contribution to the SMIN. You can do this by going online to make a contribution, or send checks and money orders to the Alliance for Global Justice (with a notation to "Stop Mass Incarceration"), and then send them to The Stop Mass Incarceration Network, P.O. Box 941 Knickerbocker Station, New York, NY 10002-0900.

Revolutionary Greetings,

Carl Dix

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