This is Bob Avakian—REVOLUTION—number Eighty.

Revolution Books and the Revcom Corps for the Emancipation of Humanity Bay Area recently posted a powerful and hilarious satirical statement on the UC Berkeley campus (and online): “Message To The UC Berkeley Community, From new UC Berkeley Reich Chancellor Rich Liar.”

This statement, with the device of speaking in the name of this “Chancellor,” refers to a famous speech by Mario Savio, the main leader of the Free Speech Movement (FSM), on the Berkeley campus in 1964. But then this “Chancellor” says:

Savio's call for people to stand up against injustice, to disrupt and disturb our university and our nation is simply too dangerous in today's troubled times. I have ordered that Savio's statement, now on the wall of the Free Speech Cafe, be painted over. And we are changing the name of the Free Speech Cafe to the "Shut the Fuck Up, Stay in Your Lane Cafe."

This statement is right on time—and a lot of fun!—speaking in the “voice” of this “Chancellor” to sharply expose the blatant hypocrisy of repressive campus administrators. You can get a more complete feel for this by reading the statement itself at revcom.us.

Besides the overall importance of this, as someone who is proud to have actively taken part in the FSM, I especially enjoyed this statement and its use of biting satire—which calls to mind the inspiring culture of the FSM itself, including its use of biting satire. Humor, and a lively spirit, combined with serious determination to put an end to injustice—that is crucial for any movement aiming for meaningful positive change.

This brings to mind the fact that this fall is the 60^th anniversary of the FSM. In the midst of these heavy times, it is important that the basic principles that characterized the FSM be actively popularized, struggled for and applied: the bedrock stand of refusing to go along with injustice and putting yourself on the line to oppose it, without being derailed by the hypocritical maneuvers, or shrinking in the face of the repressive measures, of those wielding unjust power; the largeness of mind and generosity of spirit that leads to uniting all who can be united in the fight against injustice, with the orientation of valuing and encouraging critical thinking, with open-minded debate over the road forward and the biggest questions related to changing the world.

These are very important principles which have stayed with me as I have developed into a revolutionary and a communist, and which I have incorporated into the overall framework of the new communism that I have brought forward, including the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, which I have authored.

To any veterans of the FSM out there: Are there plans to commemorate this 60^th anniversary? This is an important time to be doing so—especially by popularizing the most important, uplifting principles that characterized it, and pointing to their lessons for today.