Last week, the union of TV and film writers went on strike to demand a living wage and better working conditions. Thousands of creative thinking people—in New York and Los Angeles—are walking the picket line in front of major TV and film studios and streaming services. Interestingly, and in some ways for the first time, the other Hollywood unions (directors, actors, support staff) are supporting the strike—so it's giving people a sense of collectivity, in the face of such a cutthroat society.

Another revcom and I decided to head out to join the picket line to talk to people, and distribute the new proclamation: “We Are the Revcoms”! Since it's written to “everyone who can’t stand this world the way it is... who is sick and tired of so many people being treated as less than human...,” this is the right audience! We've gone to different places for a few hours on different days—and reached a pretty broad, and open, audience.

We met a number of people really agonized—not just, or even mainly, about their personal working conditions, but about the state of the world and the larger problem of capitalism. I would hand people the broadsheet, and just say briefly, “The problem is this system of capitalism which is fucking people here and all over the world, and this [the proclamation] is from the revcoms: about making a real revolution to overthrow this system to bring a new, emancipating system into being.” A lot of people didn't want it—just weren't interested. But a lot of people did, and several thanked me for being there, and thanked me especially for naming the system. In addition to giving people this new statement, we were pointing people to watch the Interviews with the revolutionary leader Bob Avakian (BA) on The RNL—Revolution, Nothing Less!—Show.

There were a few people who—right away—understood what we meant by revolution. One person responded, “So you are not talking about reform? That's important, I think revolution has to be considered.” Another person agreed that this system is not reformable, but had big questions and concerns about what would be involved in revolution, including whether people would turn into who they were fighting—but he took this as a challenge and said he'd watch the BA Interviews to learn more.

The people who wanted to talk were people who are paying attention to, and seriously agonized by, the immense suffering of people in the world. One person responded to me, when I talked about this system, recognizing that while we have to fight to not be fucked over in this country, we're still living off the real exploitation of the people of the world—he referenced the cobalt mines in the Congo and the child labor of immigrants in the U.S. Another person said the problem isn't just what we're facing in the U.S., but it was a whole “atmosphere” on the planet, and he referenced an article he'd just read about the devastation in Guinea caused by the mining for bauxite which is used in the aluminum in Teslas. Another person was very clear on the world divide and the suffering of those in the countries robbed of their resources, the horrific conditions that creates everything we feed off of in this country, and that this can only function because of massive and violent armed enforcement. This last person wanted to think more about the possibility for revolution in this country, and said he would watch the Interviews with BA to hear more about BA’s analysis and strategy.

One point I struggled with a few people over was against the idea that “we're all responsible for this because we all participate,” as if the problems are people's individual choices. I pulled the lens back some and talked about what it means that “this system, not humanity, needs to go extinct.” We are organized into a global system of exploitation and oppression and we don't get to “choose not to participate.” You can't deal with this individually, and your existence and ability to make change is not defined by your “consumer choices.” I quoted BA, that in the face of confronting this horror, “We have two choices: either, live with all this—and condemn future generations to the same, or worse, if they have a future at all—or, make revolution!” And emphasized that this “We Are the Revcoms” broadsheet speaks to the fact that it's a rare time in this country when revolution has become more possible.

Some people were very interested because this was clearly and boldly from “revolutionary communists,” while others were pretty anti-communist but still open to the debate. A young woman said she had just read Marx and was excited to read this. Another said her parents were Cambodian but she doesn't understand anything about the actual history of communism. She read some of the statement while we were standing there and said she would like to talk further. There was an older man who was deeply anti-communist but also anti-capitalist, and was arguing for social democracy. At the same time, he was terrified that the fascists are shredding all the basic reforms that he was part of fighting for in the 1960s. He wouldn't budge on his anti-communism, but did say he would read the broadsheet and look up the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America.

One point I made to people was that we need to fight for a world where people's ability to make art is not tied to whether they can eat, or one country feeding off the world. This struck a lot of people—and it was clear that most really hadn't thought of that—that there could be a “whole new, emancipating way to live,” to quote the proclamation. In the face of this, several people talked about feeling hopeless—especially in the face of the way society is being ripped apart by the fascists.

After talking for a while, one writer said it was clear that I was more hopeful about the potential for change than anyone else he knows, and why is that? I got more deeply into the fact that the rulers of this system haven't been as divided as they are now since the Civil War, and what it can change if there's a force of thousands and millions ready and organized to seize on this—for revolution. This was one of the people who had a sense of the exploitation of the people of the world and we talked about what it would mean for the world if there were a revolution in this country. He had big questions about all this but was seriously thinking about it.

I met an actress who's been pretty outspoken politically, and is deeply worried about the future. She has daughters and doesn't want them to live in a society without basic rights. She said she's trying to hold it together and to help them navigate, including not being broken by the feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. I said I appreciate that, but if you're looking to solve things within the confines of this killing system of capitalism—which is threatening the existence of human life on this planet—then you will be hopeless. I talked about this being a rare time when revolution is more possible, and the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic.

A film director I spoke with said he thinks that big things are changing, we're facing something drastic either way, but he doesn't know if the change is going to be really good or really bad. Here he was talking about politics, but also technology. I expanded on what BA has said about “something terrible, or something truly emancipating,” and that if we want the latter, now is the time to get organized for revolution. I told him more about who Bob Avakian is, and mentioned the new communism. When I said that he spent decades studying the first stage of communist revolution, he asked me what was the main thing that BA took from that study. I answered, first that there were huge advances in terms of the oppressed rising up to get free and BA is building on that, at the same time as he's broken with the poisonous idea that the ends justify the means. He took this in and said that was interesting. He was getting pulled away from the discussion, but I pointed out on the broadsheet where he can find the Interviews with BA where he discusses all this further, and especially pointed to the question that BA highlights that it's dangerous to lead a revolution if you don't have a poetic spirit, and he answered, a bit surprised and appreciative, “interesting, I definitely agree with that.”

Another person, a Black TV writer and producer, said he agrees that we are at this kind of precipice—and was very disturbed about the U.S. proxy war in Ukraine, the environment and “the civil war divide” in this country. He read the first paragraph and said he would for sure read the whole thing when he got home. He said he thinks about revolution—meaning systemic change—every day. But he said he was interested in this because we were talking about something very specific, not just a big change. He recognized the role of the police and the armies in enforcing this oppressive system through violence and terror. He was very interested in watching the Interviews with BA to hear more about strategy and vision.

We did have some struggle with a couple people at one place who said we shouldn't be bringing this message—that people were concerned about their ability to feed themselves now, and they should just focus on the issues in front of them. I talked about the problem with staying in your lane in the face of what this system is doing, what is the situation in the world that this strike is taking place in? A situation that urgently cries out for revolution to rid this world of the system of capitalism-imperialism, and that things are coming to a head in this country one way or another. Now is the time to get organized for this revolution. Interestingly, even though this guy was actually kind of nasty, I saw him at another picket place later and he said he would read the statement.

The strike itself is likely to last some time—with writers taking daily shifts on the picket lines. There are also major rallies in LA and NY being called for May 15. Right now, the revcoms have to take every opportunity to reach people like this with this proclamation—the invitation and the challenge to raise their sights, and be part of this revolution.