Revolution Interviews Chicago High School Students About Nov. 2: Think of the Impact!
Revolution, October 29, 2005, posted at revcom.us
Revolution talked with three students at Chicago’s Roberto Clemente High School who have been organizing for Nov. 2. Clemente is a heavily Puerto Rican and proletarian school. The following are excerpts from the interview:
Revolution: Why are you participating in World Can’t Wait, and why do you think it is important for others to participate?
I: I have grown up in an environment where I’ve been given this freedom to go and explore different philosophies. And as I’ve grown up I’ve gone through a lot. But I’ve also realized that if I can help with something then I’m obligated to do so. So when I see something like the WCW, I’m perfectly capable to do this for the betterment of my people and for the betterment of everybody...
M: The way I see it there are a lot of injustices and a lot of stuff you can be critical of the government... We get these people and we trust them to guide us and take us in the right direction. But sometimes we have to step up and say no. Most of the time they are not willing to listen to the little people. This is a way of saying we are not small anymore. We are here and you have to listen to us. We have to fight for ourselves and for other people...
E: I see it as rising up for what you think is right and wrong. Look what actions Bush is taking right now. Do you think it’s good or bad?
Revolution: Could you speak on the need and potential to accomplish the goal of driving out the Bush regime?
I: What we are setting out to accomplish right now is kind of a far-fetched thing, but it is possible... To get rid of this whole Bush and Bush administration and Bush cabinet is going to be like tearing down the Berlin Wall but with a couple of people instead of hundreds. It’s something that has never been done...
M: There is a lot of stuff that we thought couldn’t be done like going to the moon, flying an airplane... There is always that possibility that you can do it and it goes down in history. So why not be part of history now? You know, it’s like solving an equation. You have the problem there and you know it’s hard and complicated. But you won’t know if you can solve it or not without trying...
Revolution: Rosa Parks is someone who took a stand. What is the importance of someone taking a stand first even if a lot of other people might not be there yet?
I: Taking the first stand is what gets other people to thinking and gets others to take their stand as well. If let’s say Rosa Parks didn’t get on the front of that bus, she wouldn’t have gotten media attention, she wouldn’t have gotten her people’s attention, she wouldn’t have gotten arrested and she wouldn’t have started that bus boycott there, which forwarded the movement. If we don’t take our own stand here, and get it known among our neighborhood here so they can get their families in on it and their friends in on it, we are not going to do anything... Taking a stand takes a bit of courage — E., M., V. and I are putting ourselves on the line of being expelled by putting this thing together in our school. Security guards and administration don’t really like this right now...
M: People always need a leader. Not everyone is always willing to take a stand. They need to see somebody stepping forward so a massive movement can arise...
Revolution: What would you say to people who are trying to figure out if they are going to take that first stand around the WCW and November 2nd—-to lead a walkout at their highschool, or organize their campus or work place?
I: If you get your friend in on it and they get their friends in on it and they get their friends in on it, all of a sudden you have a nice little mass of people that are ready to go... The whole point of this is to throw off the city and everything going on — to cause such an impact. What if we could shut down the city for a day? Think of the impact.
M: Many are complaining that Bush is an idiot but they are not willing to do anything about it. If you have the time to complain you have the time to do something about it, ‘cause apathy gets you nowhere.