October 19: Be 1 of 500 Spreading this Speech on REAL Revolution: Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution

October 8, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

In less than two weeks, the new speech from Bob Avakian will premiere online: Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution.

This speech lays out why nothing short of an actual revolution will deal with the immense and unnecessary suffering humanity faces... and lays out the basis and strategy for an actual revolution. In it, Avakian speaks very concretely to how that revolution could be made, and how to go to work for this now.

On October 19, word of this speech—and the actual engagement with it—needs to reach tens of thousands.

How can this happen?

One important way: joining the voices of the hundreds who have seen this or want to see it in a national effort to amplify our voices through social media. On October 19—the day the speech is released online—we are aiming for 500+ people to post on their social media platforms what they think of this speech and why many other people need to see it. To organize this, we are signing people up on THIS Facebook event page.

If people aren’t on Facebook, sign them up on e-lists, text blasts, and more. We’ll update progress and centralize messages on revcom.us. Report regularly to revolution.reports@yahoo.com.

Five hundred people posting about this—all on the same day—can make thousands aware of this speech with a compelling case made by people, with their own voices and from their own perspectives, as to why—if they are agonizing about the state of the world and the need for real change—this is what they need to see.

In this speech, Avakian digs into a question that is UNSPOKEN otherwise, it is basically absent in people’s thinking and in the terrain: not how to accept what is and make changes within the margins, not how to put band-aids on people’s suffering, but how to actually overthrow this system... how to really bring into being a radically different, and far better, world. This is not something the mainstream media wants you to hear... it’s not something the defenders of the old order want you to hear... it’s not something those who have a vested interest in reform want you to hear. This is evident in the fact that GoFundMe has currently banned a fundraising campaign to raise promotional funds for this film! This is something we have to fight and, at the same time, reach even further with the word of this speech.

Putting this before all those who hate the way the world is, who want serious answers as to how it can change is going to require a mass movement from below... spreading this person to person... hand to hand. It’s going to happen through word of mouth, creating a real buzz on the ground and multiplying that through social media.

Sign up on the Facebook event page to be one of the 500+ who will post about the film on social media on October 19. Spread this to others on the street and on social media. Call and message your friends and talk with them about this speech, ask them to RSVP and they’ll get updates... reminding them to post about it on October 19. All across the country, we can monitor the progress. (Note: if you’re familiar with Thunderclap, this is aiming to be a Thunderclap-like campaign. However, Thunderclap is now defunct, so we’re doing it this way.)

This is not the only thing we need to go to work on, so here are some other ways you can be part of spreading this now, on the ground and through social media:

• At preview screenings being held all over, in groups big and small, record people’s comments on the film. What did they learn from it? Why do they think others should see it? Post on social media, and tag @tuneintorevcom. (And in order to set up preview screenings, explain to people what we’re trying to do between now and October 19 and learn their thinking on this.)
• If you’re in a Revolution Club, or have a group of like-minded friends, think of ways to involve people... maybe have a mass meeting to discuss why this film needs to be seen and come up with plans for broad outreach. Plan an outing to create a big scene about the online premiere of this speech... combine the strengths you have in terms of people, energy, materials, the trailer for the speech, and involve others as you go. Have an impact and project that out onto social media—take video and pictures. You can do light projections, banner hangs, play the trailer on a big wall with loud sound, get a lot of promotional materials in people’s hands and sign a lot of people up on the spot. Ask someone to join in whose main focus will be social media—signing people up, taking pictures and video, and interviewing people who watch the trailer. What you do on social media can amplify what you do on the ground, and all of it working together can contribute toward getting organized and have a lot more impact.
• Let everyone know—on social media and in the street—that funds are needed to spread this way beyond our reach. Contributing and helping to raise funds is something everyone can do. Through phone banking, messaging people, bake sales, smaller salons... and much more. Contribute online to raise $5,000 and more for social media promotion in the run up to October 19 or write a check to The Bob Avakian Institute at 1016 W. Jackson Blvd., Chicago, Illinois 60607 or, if you want to make a tax-deductible donation, send a check to the Revolution Books Education Fund, 437 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, New York 10037.
• Finally, in addition to what’s here, we really need to hear from you... your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. How is this speech going to reach the necessary audience? Please write with your thinking to revolution.reports@yahoo.com.

Over the next two weeks, word of this speech has to bubble up from the underground... involving all kinds of people... beginning an essential debate over reform vs. revolution... making it known in a big way that the possibility for revolution is REAL... that there is a plan and strategy and a future that is worth fighting for.

ALERT

GoFundMe.com cancelled the campaign to raise funds to promote the new speech by Bob Avakian
This is unacceptable! Protest, Donate and Spread the Word

October 5, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

We've just learned that GoFundMe.com cancelled the campaign to raise funds to promote the speech by Bob Avakian, Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. This will premiere online on October 19 and needs to be seen by many thousands who hate the way people are forced to live under this system. Over $2,300 of the $5,000 goal had been raised which has now all been refunded to the donors.

GoFundMe has yet to give a reason for this, but we are waiting for its response. This is unacceptable! What's at stake here is whether or not people will be able to get a basic understanding of the truth that this system can't be reformed... the need and possibility for a radically different world, and how to fight for that world through an actual revolution... or even be able to debate this!

What you can do:

1. CONTRIBUTE funds to spread the word of the online release of this speech. This is all the more reason you are needed... to get word of this speech everywhere, up from the grassroots. Spread the message that the defenders of the old order don't want you to hear. Spread this trailer and ask others to donate. For now, contribute HERE.

2. Write to GoFundMe in protest. Contact them through their help page here: https://www.gofundme.com/mvc.php?route=contact/suggest or on social media. Demand they re-instate the campaign from RCP Publications!

3. Double down! We're now 10 days away from when our promotional campaign was going to start and just 14 days away from the online premiere. We had an initial goal of $5,000... let's double it! This message of real revolution is going up against the whole status quo... all the naysayers who tell you to accept the horrors of this system and confine ourselves to the margins. Say NO to this! Contribute generously, spread this message, organize a fundraiser or bake sale. If you already contributed, and your money was refunded, contribute again HERE and give more than your initial contribution. Don't let this message be suppressed!

Come back to this page, and @tuneintorevcom for updates of the situation. Write to revolution.reports@yahoo.com with your ideas and suggestions.

Call from Refuse Fascism:

Regardless of whether you voted...even with a Democratic House

We Must Be in the Streets
Beginning the Day After the Midterm Elections

TO DEMAND AND DEMONSTRATE OUR DETERMINATION THAT:

IN THE NAME OF HUMANITY,
THE TRUMP/PENCE REGIME MUST GO!

Protest Wednesday, November 7—the day after the midterms, and
Protest Saturday, November 10

Updated November 8, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

This is not a “normal” election season.

11 people murdered in a synagogue while they worshipped, allegedly by a man with a terrifying record of unbridled antisemitism. 

15 pipe bombs sent to former presidents, high ranking officials, media institutions, and others who have been repeatedly targeted by Trump.

Two Black people murdered, allegedly by a man who spewed racist epithets and had just been denied entry to an African-American church.

Through it all, Trump never backed off his hate-filled, fascist rhetoric on the campaign trail. Rather, he ramped it up.

Trump’s “Make America Great Again” is a 21st century fascist program of Manifest Destiny – “America First” – wrapped in the flag and Mike Pence’s Bible taken literally, with a program of white supremacy, misogyny, and xenophobia.

Stopping this rapidly escalating fascism cannot be done through the normal process of elections!

Millions of us are shocked and horrified by what is happening, but that only matters if we dare to act in a way that can stop this nightmare. Ultimately, this means millions in the streets day after day, refusing to stop until the whole regime has been removed.

On November 7th and November 10th, join a different kind of protest movement, one that refuses to get swept up in another election cycle that buys our silence and capitulation to fascism, and instead demonstrates our singular demand and determination that:

NO! In the Name of Humanity,
We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America!

To endorse, volunteer, donate, and/or partner in this effort: RefuseFascism.org

RefuseFascism.org is a movement of people coming from diverse perspectives, united in our recognition that the Trump/Pence Regime poses a catastrophic danger to humanity and the planet, and that it is our responsibility to drive them from power through massive nonviolent political protest. We are united in these demands:

This Nightmare Must End:
The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!
In the Name of Humanity,
We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America

To endorse, volunteer, donate, and/or partner in this effort: RefuseFascism.org

Where to be & when »

New York City

Wednesday November 7, 5:00 pm Union Square @ 14th Street Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 1:00 pm Washington Square @ The Arch Facebook Event

Atlanta

Wednesday November 7,  6:00 pm CNN Center (Downtown Atlanta) Corner of Marietta Street NW and Centennial Olympic Park Dr. NW Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 1:00 pm Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park 450 Auburn Ave. NE @ Jackson St. Amphitheater In the plaza Facebook Event

Boston

Wednes​day, ​November 7, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Rally outside South Station (Atlantic and Summer Street) Facebook Event Saturday, November 10,12:00 Noon to 2:00 pm, Gather at the Park Street T Stop at the Boston Commons on Tremont Street for rally and march Facebook Event 

Chicago

Wednesday, November 7, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Federal Plaza, Adams & Dearborn, Chicago, Illinois 60603 Facebook Event Saturday, November 10, 2018, 1 PM – 2 PM Federal Center and Plaza, 219 S Dearborn St, Chicago, Illinois 60603 Facebook Event

Cleveland

Wednesday, November 7, 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm Cleveland Public Square (South side between REBol Cafe and Soldiers & Sailors Monument) Facebook Event Saturday, November 10, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Cleveland Public Square (South side between REBol Cafe and Soldiers & Sailors Monument)  Facebook Event

Detroit

Saturday, November 10, 1:00 pm Corner of 9 Mile and Woodward, Ferndale

Honolulu

Wednesday, November 7, 4:00 pm Thomas Square Facebook Event Saturday, November 10, 4:00 pm Gather at Atkinson/Ala Moana Facebook Event

Houston

Wednesday November 7, 5:30 pm Corner of Montrose & Westheimer Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 4:00 pm Market Square Park 301 Milam Facebook Event

Los Angeles

Wednesday November 7, 6:00 pm Pershing Square, 5th and Hill St., downtown Los Angeles Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 2:00 pm MacArthur Park, 7th and Alvarado, meet at MacArthur Park Metro Station Facebook Event

Orange County

Wednesday, November 7, 6:00 pm Harbor Blvd and Chapman Ave, Fullerton California Facebook Event

Philadelphia

Wednesday November 7, 6:00 pm Dilworth Park [City Hall – West Side] Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 2:00 pm Independence Mall [525 Market St] Facebook Event

San Bernardino

Wednesday November 7, 2 pm to 5 pm, Refuse Fascism Inland Empire, and MEChA of San Bernardino Valley College, are holding a protest to call for removing the Trump-Pence regime, on  at 295 E Street (at the corner of Court) in downtown San Bernardino. Facebook Event

San Francisco

Wednesday November 7, 5:30 pm San Francisco Civic Center (in front of City Hall) Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 1:00 pm Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco Facebook Event

Seattle

Wednesday November 7, 6:00 pm Cal Anderson Park Facebook Event Saturday November 10, 1:00 pm Cal Anderson Park Facebook Event

The Importance of Protesting the Supreme Court Confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh... and Doing So on the Right Terms

October 8, 2018 (updated and reposted from an earlier article) | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

(New editors note added at end.)

Brett Kavanaugh represents a grave threat to the future of humanity, and his nomination to the Supreme Court should be thoroughly rejected. As we have written:

Brett Kavanaugh has a long ugly history in both the executive and judicial branches of the U.S. government in pursuing a reactionary Christian fascist agenda. This proven public record is why his nomination to the Supreme Court should be and must be stopped. Kavanaugh played a thoroughly reactionary role in the Republi-fascist Starr Commission’s inquisitional attempt to impeach Bill Clinton in the 1990s. As a member of the Bush regime he justified torture. Later he said that the president should be immune from prosecution. And his judicial decisions in the last decade trampled on basic constitutional rights especially regarding women and LGBTQ people.

If he is approved for the Supreme Court he would lock in a pro-fascist majority in a branch of government which can decisively affect all parts of the government, as well as the rights of the people to speak out and dissent. Further: The decisions he would almost immediately participate in will significantly intensify, to put it mildly, the oppression and degradation of women and LGBT people. The protests of the past two weeks have been righteous and should continue.

In short, Kavanaugh has done great harm throughout his life, and if given the chance to ascend to the Supreme Court he will do far, far worse.  

What we knew and what is even now further coming to light concerning Kavanaugh’s views on the rights of women to control their own reproduction, especially but not only the right to abortion, as well as a number of other serious issues, including torture and executive power, to name a few—which in every case he has verged from stonewalling to deception to outright mendacity—all argue that his ascension to the court would do grave and incalculable harm and must be opposed and STOPPED.

Up to now, despite the efforts and sacrifice of several thousand people who did turn out in DC, with many getting arrested, the struggle to stop this has NOT been commensurate with the threat posed. As for the top Democrats, they have exposed some of Kavanaugh’s record and complained about the cover-ups, but they have not brought out anything close to the full extent and substance of it nor have they pinpointed it as fascist, they have not called out masses, nor have these Senators simply stopped the hearings as illegitimate until a full disclosure was made and a full interrogation allowed; in the main they have basically gone through the motions. 

Yet it is not too late to mount the major struggle required—if masses of people are led to grasp the depth of the harm Kavanaugh’s ascension to the Court will do and its connection to the overall fascist program. But this struggle must be fought on the right terms.

The Accusation Against Kavanaugh of Sexual Assault and Attempted Rape

Early in this whole process, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford told her congressional representative that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted and attempted to rape her when she was 15 years old and he was 17. At this point, other than those who were in the room, nobody knows the exact truth of this allegation; yet many are speaking with utter surety, with no real basis to do so beyond hunches and what they know from press accounts, as to what did or did not happen. To deem something true because it comports with your experience, or is consistent with larger pervasive social phenomena (the outrage of sexual assault in this case), or what feels right to you does NOT lead to actually correctly understanding reality; getting to the truth requires a serious and open-minded sifting of concrete evidence. To act on the basis that something seems true without such evidence can lead, and has led, to very bad outcomes.

At the same time—and this is also very important—some basic truths that have been underlined in this past period include the fact that many women do in fact wait years before bringing truthful accusations precisely because of the huge social forces arrayed against women when they do so, including shaming and outright revenge attacks, all of which multiply in vitriol and pervasiveness in the age of social media. Connected to that, most women do not make such accusations lightly; and virtually all women have stories of harassment, abuse, beatings, extortion, or rape perpetrated by men and boys in their backgrounds. That this is so is one extremely important reason for revolution, for overturning this social order and its putrid relations between people and values (relations and values fostered and reinforced by virtually every institution in society), and replacing it with a genuinely emancipatory one; indeed, were this pervasive harassment and abuse the only thing wrong with this system, that would be reason enough to make revolution. However, this larger social truth does not itself determine the truth, or falsity, of any particular assertion.

Following the emergence of this accusation, for many people the truth or falsehood of this charge has become the decisive issue in the Kavanaugh nomination. And even some people who have up to now opposed Kavanaugh for the more overriding reasons we enumerated at the beginning of this article are shifting their emphasis to make this the principal issue. All of this is wrong. Even if the evidence eventually points unambiguously to Kavanaugh’s guilt, that should not be the decisive question or even the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

How Should We Judge a Person’s Past?

First, even assuming that the weight of evidence brought forward proves the charge leveled against Kavanaugh, what someone did at 17 years old has to be mainly looked at in relation to their entire life. People at 17 are not fully responsible adults; they are still in the process of becoming who they will be.^*

The decisive question is not what someone did as a youth but what has been the subsequent arc of their life. People can change; the question should not be whether they did bad things as a youth, but: have they fundamentally confronted and broken with that—or have they continued in the same essential direction? In the case of Kavanaugh, these facts are beyond clear: whatever he did (or did not) do as a teenager, as a full-grown man he has been a major player in strengthening patriarchal oppression and in driving forward the overall fascization of the U.S.—and this is true no matter how many women who knew him way-back-when say that he was a polite teenager, or whether Dr. Blasey’s accusation proves to be true or not. It is for these reasons that Kavanaugh must be opposed or defeated.

The Importance of the Right Terms

This leads to the second point. If Kavanaugh is to be rejected not mainly, or decisively, for his proven record as an adult but for accusations—even if they prove to be true—of what he did as a juvenile, on what basis will the nominee who will surely succeed him (for instance, if it is the even more right-wing, if that is possible, Amy Barrett) be opposed?

More important: what kind of society are we going for? One in which errors and even crimes in people’s youth are brought forward and wielded against them when they are adults, and in which these are deployed for political ends (no matter how just and correct those ends may seem in the short run)? Or one in which people are judged on the arc of what they dedicate their lives to and in which there is a fundamental moral unity between means and ends?

The Struggle Against Kavanaugh Must Intensify

Again, the struggle to prevent Kavanaugh from being seated must not only continue but intensify, with the correct focus—on his thoroughly fascist history and what that portends for the future of humanity. Revolutionaries and radicals should be wherever people are struggling against this nomination, exposing the full weight of the danger involved with this nomination and directing the outrage against the fascist reshaping of the Supreme Court, the Trump/Pence fascist regime overall, and the capitalist-imperialist system which brought forward this whole nightmare.

* For this reason, comparisons between this situation and Anita Hill are not entirely apt. Hill brought her accusations against a grown man who had authority over her in a governmental agency. [back]

From the Revolution Club, Chicago:

A GUILTY Verdict! A Whole System to Go!
Getting Organized for Revolution in the Streets of Chicago

October 8, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

When the word hit and started spreading that a verdict was reached in the trial of the murdering pig who killed Laquan McDonald, a small group began to gather on 71st and Jeffery. We pressed in close to hear while someone held the phone up to the microphone of the loudspeaker. The judge explained what a second-degree murder charge meant and then the jury read the verdict: Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty... Guilty. Second-degree murder and sixteen counts of aggravated battery, for every bullet that ripped into the body of 17-year-old Laquan.

For a moment—silence. Processing the news. Everyone was looking at each other to see how to react. Then a yell of “GUILTY!” as we stepped into the street together with the bittersweet joy of a little taste of justice in an ocean of blood shed by police bullets. All we could shout was “guilty!” and cars honked their joy with fists up and hanging out their windows. People hugged each other and danced in the street. Others angrily shouted, “It should have been first-degree!” And some worried aloud about whether even with guilty verdicts the killer cop would do any jail time.

All afternoon, while downtown hundreds marched in the streets, the small street corner celebration continued in South Shore. The Chicago Tribune described it as a demonstration “near the home base of one of the protest groups.” In a lot of ways, the celebration in South Shore was an expression of that “home base,” but not of a “protest group,” of a beginning revolutionary movement, made up of members of the Revolution Club, people who are part of this movement joining in throughout the day, and people from the area both who know the revolution and have been part of things here and there, as well as people who knew little or nothing about the revolution but were acting out their joy. As we yelled and laughed together, the club also put clearly forward that this victory, won through people rising up in places like Ferguson and Baltimore and taking to the streets in Chicago, has to be part of growing stronger in getting organized for revolution.

In the days before the verdict, the Revolution Club had been working to set the right terms in the city, and drawing people into contributing to that effort, speaking out and getting the word out that if there was a not-guilty verdict, the city should come to a halt, taking on the barrage of upside down fear being stoked about “riots” erupting (Which Carl Dix called out rightly: “I’m not afraid of what THEY call a riot, I’m afraid if there’s a quiet.”) As people watched the trial unfold, more and more it was clear that Laquan was being demonized in that trial—literally described as a monster—and the jury was being told to believe the lying cops rather than the video we all saw.

On the morning of closing arguments, the Revolution Club had a significant presence in front of the courthouse, with new members clearing their schedules to come and represent. Then, newer people who have been meeting and checking out the revolution started popping in to the organizing center to find out what was going on, get connected, and contribute in whatever ways they could. Throughout the day, several newer people came through and joined in to be part of teams going out around South Shore and out on the trains through the city making announcements and getting out flyers. This was all part of what then came together when the verdict was announced.

And then the next day, we called a celebration party at the Revolution Club Organizing Center. People who have been seeing the Revolution Club, some who have themselves put on the REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! T-shirt at times, some who had been out on the corner celebrating the day before, many who were coming into the organizing center for the first time, came through. One person brought some mac & cheese, another brought a chicken and pasta dish, and another brought boxes of chips and sodas to go along with the hot dogs we threw on the grill out front. We had a good playlist of music going all night and some periodic episodes of dancing (mostly people really wanted to talk). More than one person came up to people in the Revolution Club and told them, with hugs and some pride, that they had seen them on the news the day before.

Mid-celebration we paused everything to toast to the struggle of the people, and the struggle needed to go further, and this came with powerful remarks by Carl Dix. Many who came through were seriously engaging questions of what is it going to take to really put an end to the terror carried out by this system, making an actual revolution and the leadership and strategy for that revolution, and making plans to see the film of the new speech from Bob Avakian, Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, and we talked about people getting organized into the effort to spread the online launch of the film in addition to seeing it. In all this, people were getting a sense of their own role in the victory that was won, but also how to contribute right now to making revolution.

Revolution Club Chicago, October 5, 2018

Join the Revolution Club!

Cop Who Murdered Laquan McDonald Found Guilty of Murder—This Pig Must Be Locked Up for a Long Time

October 8, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

On Friday, October 5, the jury announced they found Chicago cop Jason Van Dyke guilty of murdering Laquan McDonald, a 17-year-old Black youth. Van Dyke was convicted of second degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery with a firearm—for each of the 16 bullets that he fired into Laquan. As the dashcam video showed, Laquan was walking away from Van Dyke and the other cops, arms at his sides, when the killer cop fired his first shot. After Laquan was spun around by the force of the gunfire and crumpled to the ground, Van Dyke continued firing shot after shot, stopping only when his gun ran out of bullets. This was the video that was covered up by the police, the whole city political machinery, and the mayor himself until it was forced into the public eye and sparked a huge outrage.

Van Dyke is due back in court on October 31 for his sentencing hearing in front of the judge. The minimum sentence he faces is six years. As Carl Dix said right after the verdict, “It should’ve been first degree murder. The evidence showed this.... Right now, it seems that these convictions are enough to send this murdering pig to jail. But we need to be vigilant that they don’t find some loophole to let him walk. We can’t go to sleep on this.”

This was one of the very rare instances of a cop getting convicted of murder—the first time in Chicago in almost 50 years. After decades of police all across the country getting away with killing hundreds upon hundreds of Black people and other oppressed people, here was a little bit of justice, won through the masses of people rising up in places like Ferguson, Baltimore, and Chicago itself and shaking up society very broadly.

People all over Chicago were waiting tensely for the verdict on Friday. There were massive police mobilizations in different parts of the city, ready to react to protests. When the verdict was announced, cheers went up from the protesters gathered outside the courthouse. One activist, filled with emotion, said, “It just felt like all those years of work from the time the video came out was worth it. Like all the organizing and being out in the streets, it was worth it. It was worth it—for once.” There were shouts of “Van Dyke: guilty. CPD: guilty of conspiracy”—referring to the fact that it was not just Van Dyke but all the other cops on the scene and in fact the whole police department that was complicit in lying about the murder of Laquan.

The Chicago Tribune reported, “The largest demonstration Friday originated at City Hall and headed through the heart of the Loop [the downtown office and shopping area] on Madison Street. Protesters shouting, ‘All lives won’t matter till black lives matter!’ and ‘Back up, back up, we want freedom, freedom, all these racist-a-- cops we don’t need ’em!’ marched east in the street, blocking traffic at intersections as they headed toward Michigan Avenue.”

The marchers taunted the cops, shouting out “16 Shots and a Cover-up—Guilty!” and “Hands up—they still shoot!” The Revolution Club chant was taken up at different points: “Indict, convict, send the killer cops to jail! The whole damn system is guilty as hell!” When the police formed a blockade refusing to let the protesters pass, marchers shouted, “Move pigs, get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way!”

The New York Times quoted a Black woman from the South Side saying, “Just because we got this one victory doesn’t mean we’re free. We’ve got a long way to go.”

The Revolution Club was an important part of the protests during the trial demanding that Van Dyke be convicted and sent to jail. And as they celebrated the verdict with other protesters in the streets, they brought out how in order to bring an end to the horror of police murder and other crimes of this system, we need an actual revolution to overthrow this system.

From Carl Dix:

One Killer Cop Convicted—Get with the Revolution and Get Rid of This Whole System that Needs Killer Cops!

October 5, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Jason Van Dyke, the Chicago cop who murdered Laquan McDonald, has been convicted—of second degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery. After decades of police and racists getting away with murder—from Emmett Till to Fred Hampton and up to Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Freddie Gray, Darius Pinex, Justus Howell, Rekia Boyd, Aquoness “Quono” Cathery, and Harith Augustus—we finally got a little bit of justice. We forced a conviction of a cop for murdering a Black person. People are right to celebrate this, and the pigs have no right to suppress them or take vengeance against them when they do.

It should’ve been first degree murder. The evidence showed this. The video shows Van Dyke opening fire on Laquan as he walked away from the police with his hands at his side. Van Dyke pumped 16 shots into Laquan’s body, most of them as he lay on the ground bleeding.

Right now, it seems that these convictions are enough to send this murdering pig to jail. But we need to be vigilant that they don’t find some loophole to let him walk. We can’t go to sleep on this.

During the trial some activists and leaders said, “Yes, we should protest but we don’t want another Ferguson.” Let’s be clear: this murdering cop never would’ve been on trial in the first place if it weren’t for what people did in Ferguson and Baltimore and the other places where people straightened their backs. This spread all across the country, including Chicago taking to the streets to demand police terror STOP! And as part of this, there were all the exposures, the marches and rallies in Chicago in response to the release of the video of the murder of Laquan and the massive coverup that ran right to the entire city administration. 

This struggle has impacted the way people more broadly look at these police murders of Black and Brown people. So much so that in this case, even though there was only one Black juror and the state put on a lackluster prosecution, the jurors still looked at the video of Laquan being murdered and saw it for what it was—MURDER. HOW WE CAN WIN, How We Can Really Make Revolution, the guide to making revolution, says: “We need to oppose and disrupt the moves of the ruling powers to isolate, ‘encircle,’ brutalize, mass incarcerate and murderously repress the people who have the hardest life under this system and who most need this revolution. We need to ‘encircle’ them—by bringing forth wave upon wave of people rising up in determined opposition to this system.” This was a step toward that.

We don’t want to just keep fighting these same battles year after year. What they do to people here and all over the world is a horror ... and it is unnecessary. It is caused by their system of capitalism-imperialism—and we must and we can overthrow that system. We have the science that lets us know how to fight. We have the strategy for fighting and winning in HOW WE CAN WIN that you can read at www.revcom.us. We have the plan for a new society, where all exploitation and oppression can be abolished and humanity can be emancipated, in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America. And we have the leadership, in Bob Avakian, architect of the new communism, whose film Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution goes online at revcom.us on October 19.

I call on everyone in Chicago and all over the country who wants to see a better day, who yearns for freedom—get with the revolution and join the Revolution Club (for information, go to Revcom.us).

Bob Avakian: Masses Don't Know The Effect They Have On Society

Clip from BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS.

Carl Dix is a representative of the Revolutionary Communist Party and a follower of and advocate for Bob Avakian, his leadership and his visionary new synthesis of communism. He is a courageous freedom fighter from the 1960s who went on to become a revolutionary fighter and a communist. Dix spent two years in military prison for refusing to fight in the unjust Vietnam War. He emerged unrepentant and went on to become a founding member of the Revolutionary Communist Party (RCP), USA, dedicating his life to the emancipation of all humanity. Carl is a co-initiator of Refuse Fascism. He co-founded, with Cornel West, the Stop Mass Incarceration Network (SMIN), and initiated Rise Up October that brought thousands into the streets in New York City in 2015 demanding a stop to police terror.

From a Prisoner:

"A Huge Revolutionary Salute to the Revolution Club of Chicago..."

October 5, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

We greatly appreciate receiving these letters from prisoners and encourage prisoners to keep sending us correspondence. The views expressed by the writers of these letters are, of course, their own; and they are not responsible for the views published elsewhere in our paper.

PRLF*,

First and foremost, I would like to send out a huge revolutionary salute to the Revolution Club of Chicago for boldly demanding that Van Dyke be convicted and locked up for Murder and showing how the whole system is guilty of the murder/cover-up of Laquan McDonald all in front of the courthouse and for the world to see—I always make it a point to highlight what the Rev. Club is putting forward whenever the local news comes on.

Revolution’s coverage of this Killer Cop’s trial has really ignited some lively and intense discussions involving murder by police, mass incarceration, and the overall oppression of Black people as well as other oppressed nationalities and how all of this is rooted in the murderous system of global exploitation and oppression.

These weekly compiled articles from revcom.us continues to play a vital and dynamic role in here. Not only do these articles expose the crimes and outrages of this system, but also shows us scientifically why this system can’t be reformed and why it is so essential and indispensible for us to be engaging and grappling with the revolutionary leadership and scientific works of BA, in particular the new synthesis of communism that BA has developed and brought forward.

As prisoners who have a heart for humanity, we need to help spread the word of the new film Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution—this film needs to get out in a big and powerful way!

We need to make a “future of revolution, actual revolution, guided by the vision, ethos, and plan of the New Communism developed by Bob Avakian” a point of contention in the face of the “Trump/Pence fascist regime” and “Imperialism-as-usual.”

A “Not Guilty” verdict in this pig’s trial will have genocidal implications for Black and Latino people and other oppressed nationalities across the country, especially as the Trump/Pence regime is preparing to lock in a pro-fascist majority in a branch of government by installing Kava-Nazi onto the Supreme Court.

Whose interests was Van Dyke “serving and protecting” when he pumped 16 shots throughout the body of Laquan McDonald?

Can you please arm me with the following:  1) Conquer the World 2) Demarcations 3) Away With All Gods! 4) Bastion of Enlightenment… or Enforcer for Imperialism: The Case of Israel. Thank You!

Fight the Power, and Transform the People for Revolution…

* Prisoners Revolutionary Literature Fund

From the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

To Do This, We Need To Know:

Why we need an actual revolution.
What we need to do now.
How we could defeat them.

ABOUT THE BOOK, ORDER HERE

See excerpts HERE

Pre-publication PDF of this major work—including the appendices—available HERE

Insight Press has announced that in addition to the print book, THE NEW COMMUNISM is now available as an eBook at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble and other retail and library websites.

Points of Attention for the Revolution

The Revolution Club upholds, lives by and fights for the following principles:

1 We base ourselves on and strive to represent the highest interests of humanity: revolution and communism. We do not tolerate using the revolution for personal gain.

2 We fight for a world where ALL the chains are broken. Women, men, and differently gendered people are equals and comrades. We do not tolerate physically or verbally abusing women or treating them as sexual objects, nor do we tolerate insults or “jokes” about people’s gender or sexual orientation.

3 We fight for a world without borders, and for equality among different peoples, cultures and languages. We do not tolerate insults, “jokes” or derogatory names about a person’s race, nationality, or language.

4 We stand with the most oppressed and never lose sight of their potential to emancipate humanity—nor of our responsibility to lead them to do that. We work to win people of all backgrounds to take part in the revolution, and do not tolerate revenge among the people.

5 We search for and fight for the truth no matter how unpopular, even as we listen to and learn from the observations, insights and criticisms of others.

6 We are going for an actual overthrow of this system and a whole better way beyond the destructive, vicious conflicts of today between the people. Because we are serious, at this stage we do not initiate violence and we oppose all violence against the people and among the people.

Now is the time to spread these messages to all of society

"HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution" is a companion to the Message from the Central Committee of the RCP, USA posted on www.revcom.us on May 16, 2016.  Get "HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution,” together with “Time to Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution,” out everywhere.  Now is the time to spread the word to all of society.

Download "HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution" HERE (36”x24” PDF): ENGLISH  | ESPAÑOL.  Download “Time to Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution” HERE (17"x 22" PDF): ENGLISH | ESPAÑOL.  Our suggestion is that they be printed on white bond paper and posted together in the appropriate ways all over the place. Here’s a rough picture of what this could look like.

“HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution” now in booklet form!

Printing Instructions:
The PDF of a booklet that includes “HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution,” “Time To Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution” and the “Points of Attention for the Revolution”is now available. This booklet is 16 pages long. The size of the laid-out pages is 5 1/2" x 8 1/2". It can also be printed 6" x 9". There are two layouts here. 1) One is a single PDF with 16 consecutive, individual pages. 2) The second is a printer's spread; that is, the first spread is page 16 and page 1, the second is page 2 and page 15, etc., so that when it prints and is folded, the pages will be in order. Printers can tell you which layout they need. Readers should make plans for printing this 5 1/2" x 8.5" booklet, raising money, and getting it out in the tens of thousands everywhere as soon as possible.

ENGLISH:
Download 5.5x8.5 PDF, single pages
Download 5.5x8.5 PDF, printer spread

SPANISH:
Download 5.5x8.5 PDF, single pages
Download 5.5x8.5 PDF, printer spread

Editors' note: The following is an excerpt from the new work by Bob Avakian, THE NEW COMMUNISM. In addition to excerpts already posted on revcom.us, we will be running further excerpts from time to time on both revcom.us and in Revolution newspaper. These excerpts should serve as encouragement and inspiration for people to get into the work as a whole, which is available as a book from Insight Press. A prepublication copy is available on line at revcom.us.

This excerpt comes from the section titled "III. The Strategic Approach to An Actual Revolution."

Excerpt from the section:
Forces For Revolution

Contents

Publisher's Note

Introduction and Orientation

Foolish Victims of Deceit, and Self-Deceit

Part I. Method and Approach, Communism as a Science

Materialism vs. Idealism
Dialectical Materialism
Through Which Mode of Production
The Basic Contradictions and Dynamics of Capitalism
The New Synthesis of Communism
The Basis for Revolution
Epistemology and Morality, Objective Truth and Relativist Nonsense
Self and a “Consumerist” Approach to Ideas
What Is Your Life Going to Be About?—Raising People’s Sights

Part II. Socialism and the Advance to Communism:
            A Radically Different Way the World Could Be, A Road to Real Emancipation

The “4 Alls”
Beyond the Narrow Horizon of Bourgeois Right
Socialism as an Economic System and a Political System—And a Transition to Communism
Internationalism
Abundance, Revolution, and the Advance to Communism—A Dialectical Materialist Understanding
The Importance of the “Parachute Point”—Even Now, and Even More With An Actual Revolution
The Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America—
   Solid Core with a Lot of Elasticity on the Basis of the Solid Core
Emancipators of Humanity

Part III. The Strategic Approach to An Actual Revolution

One Overall Strategic Approach
Hastening While Awaiting
Forces For Revolution
Separation of the Communist Movement from the Labor Movement, Driving Forces for Revolution
National Liberation and Proletarian Revolution
The Strategic Importance of the Struggle for the Emancipation of Women
The United Front under the Leadership of the Proletariat
Youth, Students and the Intelligentsia
Struggling Against Petit Bourgeois Modes of Thinking, While Maintaining the Correct Strategic Orientation
The “Two Maximizings”
The “5 Stops”
The Two Mainstays
Returning to "On the Possibility of Revolution"
Internationalism—Revolutionary Defeatism
Internationalism and an International Dimension
Internationalism—Bringing Forward Another Way
Popularizing the Strategy
Fundamental Orientation

Part IV. The Leadership We Need

The Decisive Role of Leadership
A Leading Core of Intellectuals—and the Contradictions Bound Up with This
Another Kind of “Pyramid”
The Cultural Revolution Within the RCP
The Need for Communists to Be Communists
A Fundamentally Antagonistic Relation—and the Crucial Implications of That
Strengthening the Party—Qualitatively as well as Quantitatively
Forms of Revolutionary Organization, and the “Ohio”
Statesmen, and Strategic Commanders
Methods of Leadership, the Science and the “Art” of Leadership
Working Back from “On the Possibility”—
   Another Application of “Solid Core with a Lot of Elasticity on the Basis of the Solid Core”

Appendix 1:
The New Synthesis of Communism:
Fundamental Orientation, Method and Approach,
and Core Elements—An Outline
by Bob Avakian

Appendix 2:
Framework and Guidelines for Study and Discussion

Notes

Selected List of Works Cited

About the Author

Today's Message from the Revolution

October 26, 2019 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

October 26, 2019

From RefuseFascism.org:

It’s Time to Stop Waiting for a Hero

by Sarah Roark, editorial group, RefuseFascism.org

October 8, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

This piece by Sarah Roark, a former volunteer for the Hillary campaign and current volunteer with RefuseFascism.org, gives voice to one of many perspectives on why relying on the Democrats to stop Kavanaugh or the midterms to stop Trump is so dangerous. The article was written before the Senate confirmed Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, but the core themes remain very timely, and with so much at stake, we urge you to read, share and deeply consider her arguments.

Our “institutions” haven’t stopped this regime from pouring thousands of refugee children into concentration camps. Democratic leadership couldn’t block Gorsuch and can’t block Kavanaugh. We must at long last accept the simple truth: only the people can save the people now.

This is not a dream. If it were a dream, we’d have woken up by now to find it all mercifully gone.

This is not a movie. If it were a movie, we could rest assured that everything will turn out fine in the final reel — no matter how screwed Our Hero looked to be in the second act.

And as much as some in our media might like to think otherwise, this is not a reality show. It’s reality.

This was brought home once again to an already-reeling American people over the course of the last two weeks. We’ve all become a little punch-drunk since the Trump/Pence regime came to power, but for many, the blow of the impending Kavanaugh confirmation crashed through even that haze. Particularly on September 27th, when it looked as though Brett Kavanaugh—a nominee chosen specifically for his hostility to civil rights and his signaled willingness to accommodate this fascist regime’s lust for ever more executive power—might sail through his Senate hearings without even a pretense of investigating the serious criminal allegations against him.

But let’s be honest in here: the only difference this week is that now there’s a pretense. And it’s unlikely to last long.

In fact, let’s be even more honest. A good part of our angst over the backs and forths of this nomination doesn’t actually come from the sickening uncertainty we’re enduring day to day. In a way, getting our stomachs knotted up over this is an escape (though it doesn’t feel like one) from the even more sickening awareness of a certainty:

That even if this confirmation is somehow defeated, the same sword will stay hanging over our heads. If it’s not Brett Kavanaugh, it’ll be someone else from the Heritage Foundation’s fascist-friendly list. And a 5-4 court where Roberts is the moderate can and will reverse the most hard-won human-rights victories of the last fifty years.

And the November election is unlikely to change that. Not just because the GOP is clearly hellbent on installing some lackey of the religious/Trumpist right-wing before that, but also because Democrats are battling a highly unfavorable map in the Senate. And that’s if the election is free and fair in the first place, a point on which there’s sadly substantial doubt.

The certainty whose well-founded dread currently has us by the throat is the simple, terrifying fact that none of this can get better while this regime remains in power. If anything, it’s entirely on track to get worse. Forget making it to 2020—how many more things and people will Trump have destroyed in the next month, using only his executive powers?

And yet here we stand, playing for time—in this case a week, in another case a few months—knowing that we can’t keep taking blocks out of a tower forever before it finally becomes one block too many for the whole thing to hold up any longer and…CRASH!

But playing for time only makes sense when you’re expecting a rescue.

Think about it. Who do you think is coming to save us? Which movie hero are you waiting for to give you permission to step outside your boundaries and follow their shining leadership to where you already know you need to be? Is it Beto O’Rourke? Bernie Sanders? Elizabeth Warren? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? Robert Mueller?

(I certainly hope it’s not Jeff Flake.)

They’re not coming, folks. They are unwilling to give us that permission, and they will remain so. It’s not that they don’t want what they think is best for us, or don’t work very hard at it; I personally believe they do. But we must understand that they are fully committed to fighting this battle either from within the system or not at all. Because of course they are. Because that’s what we sent them to do.

In other words, the very nature of their work—their government work—constrains them to working inside the very same traditional democratic structures that this regime is steadily dismantling right out from under all our feet as we speak. Including theirs!

This is a well-known mechanism of historical fascism. It doesn’t emerge from other authoritarianisms. Fascism is always an ailment of failing democracies, because the way it comes to power is by using a country’s own democratic processes against it, until it’s thoroughly rotted out the superstructure and can replace it with the more blatantly tyrannical system it craves.

This is why Chuck Schumer has no power to stop this Trump nominee—or any Trump nominee. And even if a mighty Blue Wave crashes over the Congress in a few weeks, the Democrats mathematically cannot win a majority big enough to pass legislation over a Trump veto, to say nothing of impeachments.

(They could in theory keep the SCOTUS seat open if they take the Senate, but a) that’s unlikely, and b) how have we been doing with the 4-4 split Supreme Court we have now? For the most part, it hasn’t served as any real check on Trump and Pence, and in fact, has often helped them: devastating our unions with its Janus ruling, eviscerating LGBTQ rights by allowing “religious conscience” laws that re-legalize discrimination, instituting the third version of the Muslim ban, and more.)

So. Even with a “best-case” scenario of Democratic wins, where do you truly expect us to be on the morning of November 7th? Other than more or less where we are now, only with less time on the clock?

No, there’s no savior coming. No one who can give you official permission to stand up with millions of others and demand an end to this nightmare NOW. Again, our officials are constrained to doing this through the normal processes—and we know that the normal processes have become too weak to stop the widening destruction. We know this both by logic, and by the churning pit of our stomachs.

In the end, permission isn’t really theirs to give in any case. It’s yours. It’s mine. It’s ours. The only people who can save our country and the world from a metastasizing fascist regime…are the people. As the poem says, “We are the ones we have been waiting for.”

Only a true mass movement of the people, nonviolent and noncompliant, has any hope of removing this regime before thousands more children end up scarred and terrified in concentration camps. Before Jim Crow is fully re-implemented. Before an angry prep-school man-child—a proven misogynist and most likely a sexual assaulter of women as well—sets down his beer just long enough to destroy women’s control over their own bodies.

And what doesn’t make sense about that? Has any great victory for human rights or rule of law been won without the pressure of a mass movement from below? That’s what it took in the 60’s. That’s what it took in the Velvet Revolution and the Arab Spring. And that’s what it took in South Korea in 2016. We shouldn’t expect this to require any less.

No one will give us permission to do this. But we can grant it to ourselves. There’s no wise expert or brave hero who will guide us all safely through this (most of the experts are just as lost as we are right now, I’m afraid), but we can put our heads together, bringing the wisdom and creativity from all our different backgrounds and perspectives. And we—in numbers that command assent—each one looking out for the others—are our own best defenders against the horror of a resurgent fascism.

We can do it, and Refuse Fascism has the analysis, the understanding and the plan to do it. Want to learn more? See the Call to Action from RefuseFascism.org.

Trump/Pence Regime Targets Legal Immigrants...
Millions of Children Threatened!

October 8, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

On September 22, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new front in the Trump/Pence regime’s war on immigrants. DHS is about to implement a new regulation that threatens to deny green cards—permanent legal residency—to hundreds of thousands of immigrants here lawfully, or eligible to come here. If this new rule is not stopped, any immigrant who has received, is receiving, or is likely to need any public benefits they are entitled to—such as food assistance, Medicaid, or low-cost housing—can be denied a green card and face possible deportation, or can be prevented from immigrating to this country. The rationale is that they are, or could be, a “public charge” and therefore not eligible for a green card. Previously, “public charge” referred only to those, such as pregnant women or unemployed parents, who are relying on government cash payments for more than half of their income.

Not only is this going to inject new fear among hundreds of thousands of low-income immigrants who have done nothing to be denied permanent residency and citizenship. It’s also going to bring great harm to millions of children.

Imagine you’re an immigrant parent living lawfully in this country. You want to apply for a green card so you and your two children, both born here and thus U.S. citizens, can stay together in this country. The job you’re working at, six days a week, barely pays enough to cover all your expenses, so you’ve been getting SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, formerly food stamps), to be sure you can provide nutritious meals for your children. Then the government implements their new rule. Think of the choice you face. Are you going to continue receiving the SNAP benefits for your children’s health, knowing this is enough for the government to deny your green card application and place you in deportation proceedings? Or do you withdraw your children from programs like SNAP in hopes that your green card application will not be denied—at the expense of your children’s health?

This deliberately cruel proposal is intended to deny basic supports like food, health care, and housing to immigrants and their families here lawfully and eligible for these programs who work, pay taxes, and go to school, but who are not paid enough to make ends meet. In fact, when the rumors of this new regulation were first in the air, families across the country began dropping out of these programs. A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that nearly 20 million children in immigrant families could be affected by these policy changes, even though nine in 10 of those children are U.S. citizens.

This rule could dramatically cut legal immigration from Mexico, Central America, and other oppressed countries. Right now family members of legal residents or citizens of this country are eligible to immigrate and get a green card. In fact, 40 percent of the immigrants to this country each year are family members. If this new rule goes into effect, huge numbers of these immigrants could be denied entry based on the DHS determining that their income is too low to assure that they won’t seek government assistance once here, from now forward, making annual income the principal factor for immigration. This, together with the vicious assaults on undocumented immigrants, is a crucial part of the Trump/Pence regime’s fascist promise to “Make America White Again.”

All of this escalating horror is “justified” by claiming these immigrants are taking advantage of America’s generosity. NO! It is your criminal system, exploiting people all over the world that is completely illegitimate. The people are coming from countries where U.S. capitalism-imperialism bitterly exploits the labor of the masses of people. When people forced out of their countries come here they are again ruthlessly exploited, forced into the lowest paying, most dangerous jobs, barely able to stay above water, while being essential to the profitability of this system as a whole. Bob Avakian spoke sharply to this reality in the first chapter of BAsics:

Now I can just hear these reactionary fools saying, “Well, Bob, answer me this. If this country is so terrible, why do people come here from all over the world? Why are so many people trying to get in, not get out?”...Why? I’ll tell you why. Because you have fucked up the rest of the world even worse than what you have done in this country. You have made it impossible for many people to live in their own countries as part of gaining your riches and power. (BAsics 1:14)

From the film of a talk by Bob Avakian, BA Speaks: REVOLUTION-NOTHING LESS!

Letter from a Prisoner after watching the new film

“BA makes it clear that it does not have to be this way”

October 10, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Comrades, I just finished watching the new film by Bob Avakian, the architect of the new synthesis of communism: Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, this film made me realize that the situation that humanity is in right now is not something we should aspire to continue for generations to come, but it not only points out the dire consequences of this capitalist-imperialist system, but BA makes it clear that it does not have to be this way. There is a scientific approach that the masses (most oppressed) can take to emancipate themselves and all of humanity. The masses can make revolution if they take the proper time to prepare in order to succeed in overthrowing the system. 

Society is at a tipping point. Bob Avakian, passionately speaks about the outrages happening with the killings of brown and black people mainly youth by police that serve only to protect the interests of the ruling class. BA, lays out the science behind the approach to go for revolution with a real chance to win. This really inspired me to continue to pursue the emancipation of those exploited and oppressed under this dehumanizing system called capitalist-imperialism. Bob Avakian, states historical facts about the “Great America” of the past and there is nothing great about it. This country was built by fear, terror, and horrors by white supremacists. BA says that white supremacy goes hand in hand with capitalism, they are interwoven and tightly stitched. He gives us two choices, live under this system, or make revolution. With so much violence being done to the most defenseless and oppressed people in this country, they need to wake up and see that these horrors are being committed in their own backyards. BA, has a solution, he had an approach, it is to replace this system of private appropriations with a system where wealth is socially produced and also wealth is socially appropriated by a government that has the people’s interest at heart. He says that the bridge between these two worlds is revolution. This is possible as long as we do it right. 

I’m in prison, and people here have begun to feel that it is time to do something. I believe that if prisoners had a chance to see this film and other talks by Bob Avakian, the revolution condition would begin to ferment. He calls on us behind bars to stand up to the injustices going on around us. He believes in our revolutionary hearts and he knows that it is not our true essence to be criminals, that this system has caused the situations we’re in and we were trapped by the system. He calls on all the oppressed and exclaims that we must be prepared when the revolutionary situation comes by putting in the political and ideological work.  

The revolution has already started! We must refer to HWCW [HOW WE CAN WIN—How We Can Really Make Revolution] our working document for revolution and get with the “3 Prepares.” Bob Avakian says that the reason for revolution is focused on the “5 Stops.” If anybody reads the “5 Stops” they would see that this system must be overthrown. We have the strategy, science, leadership, and program for revolution. I am ready to help build the ranks for revolution and get organized. I’m already gaining influence in here with some of the prisoners and if I can plant the seed in them maybe it’ll grow and blossom into a full blown revolutionary force.  

Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution, a film by Bob Avakian, is a compelling and critical description of what is actually going on in society and that analyzes what needs to be done and breaks down the need to go for revolution. It was thought provoking and an eye opening account to the state of the country. I highly recommend anyone who cares about humanity to check this film out and get with the revolution and get with Bob Avakian. 

Comrade,
XXX

The Message They Fear Must Be Heard

GoFundMe Censors Bob Avakian Speech on Real Revolution

October 11, 2018 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

Last Friday, without warning, GoFundMe.com cancelled the fundraising campaign for the forthcoming speech by Bob Avakian, being released online on October 19: Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. 

All GoFundMe.com has said about this was that the campaign violated their “terms of service,” providing NO other details or information or what part of their extensive “terms of service” they’re talking about.  Their response said that if we followed up more than once, it would just delay our request.  Meanwhile nearly a week has gone by and they’ve provided no other answers.  Like an eerie detail from one of those capitalist dystopian movies where everyone is turned into a consumer robot, this message came from their “Customer Happiness Team.”

But let’s get real.  This is a suppression of revolution and the revolutionary message in this speech.  Taking on—and reaching out further—in the face of this kind of suppression is essential to how the revolution is going to advance.

Defying this suppression, advancing the revolution

The significance of this speech can’t be understated and the title says it all: Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution. 

This speech concentrates what people need to go to work for revolution right now... it’s an essential tool and guideline to carry out the “3 Prepares”: Prepare the Ground, Prepare the People, and Prepare the Vanguard—Get Ready for the Time When Millions Can Be Led to Go for Revolution, All-Out, With a Real Chance to Win. The more this speech is spread, being seen by thousands today, the more it can impact all of society, letting people know that, to quote How We Can Win—How We Can Really Make Revolution, “we have the leadership, the science, the strategy and program, and the basis for organizing people for an actual, emancipating revolution.”

What we’re seeing with this censorship from GoFundMe is an attempt to silence and suppress the most uncompromising and farseeing revolutionary voice in this country and on the planet, Bob Avakian—the leader of the revolution and architect of the new communism.  We need to go up against this and reach many more with this speech.  This is the only way revolution is going to advance: when they attack and try to silence us, we reach even deeper and broader.  We show the illegitimacy and fundamental weakness behind their censorship, and build up the organized forces and influence of the revolution.

Right now, this means doubling down on the fundraising for the promotion of this speech.  It means reaching out even further, in protest of this suppression and to get deeper into what is being suppressed, spreading the word of the release of this speech on October 19, organizing even more people to watch it and share it themselves.

What are they trying to silence?

In order for you, and people throughout society, to remain imprisoned in this horrific setup, to put up with this world of needless death and destruction, you are constantly told that this is the only way the world could be, and you are trained to look for answers within the suffocating confines of this system as it is or to blame yourself for not making it in this dog-eat-dog system.  Then the rulers and their mouthpieces tell you lies that you’re free because you get to choose which oppressor is going to run all this, that the answer is to just claw your way to the top of this dogpile or that you should just give a little to charity and go back to sleep while the machinery of this system grinds up humanity and the planet.

This speech exposes the lie that this is the best of all possible worlds and lays out why this system cannot be reformed, why it must be overthrown and how to go to work now to bring this system down, at the soonest possible time.  This is what those who run this system, those who push forward its program... in the media, on the internet don’t want you to hear. 

If GoFundMe is allowed to ban the fundraising for this speech, it sets a dangerous precedent, silencing the discussion of fundamental solutions.  You can talk about some of the symptoms of the problem, you can make people feel good by participating in redressing some of those symptoms... but you can’t talk about where those symptoms come from and what the real cure is.  This can’t be accepted, accommodated to, or allowed.

You are needed

Write to GoFundMe.com in protest.  Create public opinion around this by posting your sentiments about this on social media (tag @gofundme and @tuneintorevcom).

Many more thousands of dollars are needed to go up against and break through what these gatekeepers will allow.  We need to reach to people directly and that will require a targeted promotional campaign.  Every dollar counts to enable this message of revolution to spread.

We’ve almost met our $5,000 goal for social media fundraising but aim to double this.  Defy this censorship and suppression and give generously.  Reach out to others with this call.

Even more people need to watch this speech the day it’s released online, October 19, and in the days after.  Be 1 of 500 posting about this on your social media on that day.  Gather friends and watch it together... in a dorm room, community center, barbershop, or wherever.

Write to revolution.reports@yahoo.com with your ideas on how this can spread even further.