revcom.us, April 29, 2019 through May 5, 2019 (revcom.us)

Voice of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/they-have-no-answer-on-immigration-the-revolution-does-en.html

They Have No Answer on Immigration...
The REVOLUTION Does!

| revcom.us

 

In their own perverted way, the representatives of this system—from Trump “all the way” to Bernie Sanders—have hit on a truth. They all say that this system of theirs faces a massive crisis over immigration. In that they are right. Where they are wrong and/or lying is that:

  1. It is their system that has caused, and made worse, this crisis;
  2. Their system has no answers to it;
  3. The revolution does.

We’ll get to that answer—the solution to the “crisis”—in a minute. But first, let’s be clear on the problem. Imperialism is a system where a handful of “advanced” capitalist countries in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia dominate and exploit the whole rest of the world. The capitalists and then the imperialists have plundered the resources and people of South and Central America, Asia, and Africa for five centuries. These international gangsters have ripped apart the societies and deformed and dominated the economies of people after people, country after country. Constant wars and occupations—almost all of which can be laid at the doorsteps of the imperialist powers—create yet further misery. To top it all, the destruction of the environment (overwhelmingly the fault of these imperialist powers and the U.S. in particular) gives rise to massive drought and makes many of these countries unable to grow food and other necessities.

Because of all this, tens of millions of human beings in these countries cannot survive and are desperately seeking a haven in the countries that are responsible for their suffering. Tomorrow it will be hundreds of millions; and after that billions. Think about it.

And think about what YOU would do in their situation. Starvation or the threat of death by government or gang violence makes people take risks. Just around the Mexico-U.S. border, hundreds of people die every single year in the desert, seeking to evade the heartless border patrols.

Inflaming, Distorting, and Concealing: All in a Day’s Work for Representatives of this System

And what do the representatives of this system have to say?

The fascist Trump blames the immigrants themselves. He whips his base into a frenzy of hatred against them. He fans the flames of white supremacy still higher and “weaponizes” it for his whole fascist program.

The liberals may differ on the optics and they have some actual differences, but what is most striking is what they share with Trump. Remember, Obama set the record for deportations and told everybody after the elections that he and Trump were “on the same team.” He “worked with” Central American countries to stop immigrants before they even got to the border.

This week, the New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said he too wants a wall; but he wants to let in “high IQ” immigrants. He puts the liberal logic out there very plainly: “[I]n an era when more and more countries will fracture under environmental, population, criminal and technological stresses, we simply cannot take everyone who shows up at our border.” Friedman conceals the fact these “stresses” are caused by imperialism. And he doesn’t dare spell out the consequences of his conclusion: that the huge majority of people who are kept out of the U.S. should shut up and literally drop dead, so that the “gated communities” of the imperialist countries continue to gorge themselves with a clear conscience.

Bullshit from Bernie, or BS from BS

And then there’s the so-called radical Bernie Sanders. In his epic pander session on FOX News, Sanders said, “We need border security, of course we do. Who argues with that? That goes without saying. I happen to believe that there are more cost-effective ways to do that than simply building a wall.”

Who argues with that? WE argue with that. Take that first sentence—just who the hell is the “we” BS refers to? “We” the privileged Americans who consume 25 percent of the world’s resources with just 5 percent of its people; or we the more than seven billion on this planet?

“Border security?” Give us a break, BS—tell it to the Native Americans and Mexicans whose land the U.S. ripped off through force; tell it to the Vietnamese, the Iraqis, the Afghans and the masses in the dozens of other countries that the U.S. has invaded.

In Iowa last year, Sanders went further, answering a question on “open borders”: “[I]f your point is you open the borders, my God, you know, there’s a lot of poverty in this world, and you’re gonna have people from all over the world. And I don’t think that’s something we can do at this point. We can’t do it.” The American chauvinism, willful ignorance, and selfishness just drips from his every sentence.

So: from right to so-called left and all stops in between, every single one of these representatives ends up in the same place: let millions die, either from starvation or death in the deserts or on the sea.

There IS an Answer

But the revolution does have an answer. It’s in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, by Bob Avakian. The Constitution goes through the history of immigration in the USA and the way in which today “great numbers of immigrants ... were driven to the U.S., many of whom were not able to secure legal entry and consequently were forced to live in the shadows and remain vulnerable to extreme exploitation as well as to discrimination and to violence and terror carried out by the state and by mobs encouraged by reactionary policies, actions and statements of the government and government officials,” and how this was used to make things even worse. The Constitution goes on to lay out the rules of citizenship—that anyone residing in the territory of the new socialist republic at the time of its founding will be citizens, except for those who led the counter-revolution or committed war crimes and/or other crimes against humanity. And there are procedures outlined for people seeking residency, asylum, and citizenship.

But the main point is this:

The orientation of the New Socialist Republic in North America is to welcome immigrants from all over the world who have a sincere desire to contribute to the goals and objectives of this Republic...” [emphasis added]. The rules to facilitate this on the right basis are then laid out, but the basic orientation is clear—and it is not miles apart but a whole world away from what the imperialist representatives, even the most “radical” among them, stand for.

Coming from that understanding, revolutionaries must join with others in fierce and determined resistance to the outrages now happening, and this can have a powerful effect on how millions see what is possible. In doing so, and in going to people who are either passive or confused in the face of this, the movement for revolution must clearly make the point:

Either live with what will be continued and worsening persecution of people who have been driven from their homelands by this criminal system, shutting your eyes and ears against the bones and tears of your fellow human beings; or, MAKE REVOLUTION.

The choice—and the responsibility—is yours.

 

The demonization, criminalization and deportations of immigrants.

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“You Think You’re Woke...
But You’re Sleepwalking Through A Nightmare —

This System Cannot Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!”

The Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

Read about the Tour stepping up and stepping out »

Read the Call to the Tour »

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Q&A: Bob Avakian's Answer to People Who Complain about Immigrants Crossing Borders

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/plan-to-advance-the-revolution-in-may-en.html

| revcom.us

 

This is the text of the flyer being passed out at the Revolutionary picnic in Los Angeles on Sunday, April 28—and beyond.

The Plan to Advance the Revolution in MAY

Welcome to the National Get Organized for an Actual Revolution Tour.

If you want to radically change the world... if you want to make revolution... then you are in the right place. Here are some questions and answers.

What problem is the National Revolution Tour trying to solve?

We need a revolution. Any other solution will just keep the same horrors going on. And we have a lot of what we need to make revolution. We have the science, the strategy and really great leadership in Bob Avakian (BA). But we don’t have nearly enough people to really make this revolution known and growing.

We need to organize thousands of people in this next year, from different places and backgrounds. And, millions of people need to know that there is a movement for an actual revolution. To get this going we need to spread the word of this revolution—in big ways and small. When people see the signs of the revolution and the people with the T-shirts representing, that starts to make the possibility of an actual revolution real for millions of people.

This past month, we’ve been learning better how to do this. The Points of Attention are one big way that people learn what this revolution is really all about, start to change what they are about, and get organized. We need to keep doing that. And we need to do more.

How will we go to the next level?

This next month the National Get Organized for an Actual Revolution Tour has a plan.

First, we’ll keep spreading the Points of Attention, the “5 STOPS,” and the new “No More Generations” poster everywhere. We can do this wherever we go.

But we also have plans to do five other big things, which are at the end of this flyer.

At the end of the month, we want to come out with three accomplishments:

1) real impact by the revolution not just in LA but all over the country.

2) many new people organized into the revolution, doing things big and small, including forming and joining Revolution Clubs.

3) real organization in LA with people who are committed on different levels as they move forward in their understanding, continuing to spread the word about the Tour and revolution in many different ways.

The revolution needs everyone who wants a different world—your ideas, your work, your struggle. Together, we can change everything.

 

The Plan to Advance the Revolution in MAY

When we accomplish these 5 things, we can make a real advance in organizing the movement for an actual revolution in Los Angeles—the first leg of the National Tour. This will set a direction and pace for the whole country

1) We will show the filmed speech of Bob Avakian in the neighborhood of Slauson and Crenshaw on the weekend of May 11-12. This will let many more people learn about and be part of the revolution. We will invite all different kinds of people from all over the city to come to this.

2) We will do a big program on revolution at UCLA involving students and people from the community.

3) We will spread the revolution in California. We will send teams of experienced and new people to organize people in Inland Empire, Orange County, and northern California.

4) We will raise funds from many different people in many different ways.

5) We will hold a big event for the whole city on the weekend of May 25-27. A program where the revolution and its supporters all come together, live-streamed to people around the country.

During May, the Los Angeles Revolution Club will meet
every Sunday afternoon from 3 to 5.

INFO
Revolution Club Organizing Center
2716 S. Vermont Ave Unit 8 (upstairs)
Phone: (323) 424-6687
Email: revclub_la@yahoo.com
@revclub_LA

www.revcom.us   @tuneintorevcom

 

 

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/andy-zee-the-points-of-attention-en.html

A letter from Andy Zee

The Points of Attention: A Doorway and Guide to Making Revolution

| revcom.us

 

Dear Revcom,

Greetings from the Get Organized for an Actual Revolution Tour. Last week I had an opportunity to speak with members of the Tour and the Los Angeles Revolution Club about the special effort to make an impact with and to organize new people into the movement for revolution with a special focus on the Revolution Club’s “Points of Attention for the Revolution (POAs).” People found that this informal talk sharpened up the radical difference the POAs could make in organizing people into the revolution. Since this talk, the Tour has been going out applying and experimenting with this different approach. We thought that it would be helpful to others around the country if I reconstructed this informal presentation. I will do my best to recall what I said.

So here goes:

This two-week effort to highlight and focus work around the POAs has two purposes:

1. A radical re-orientation for how we are organizing people into the revolution right from the start of meeting them. This is a big change from what has been the working conception and practice of organizing people into the Revolution Clubs. So, we should recognize that over the next 12 days going out with the POAs in a concentrated way has, as one objective, transforming how we (the Tour) and the Revolution Clubs step to the masses.

2. And second, through this period we need to change the situation where we turn heads to revolution, to people getting involved with the effort to spread the POAs—impact society with them—and through which we make real breakthroughs in accumulating forces for revolution now, organizing people in new and basic ways.

I want to expand a bit more on the point of radical re-orientation or reset on organizing masses into the revolution. Think about how much a departure this is from what has been Club practice, to be oriented and have a way to go out and organize people from the outset of meeting them. Right after making the basic case for why we need a revolution and that we have the way and the leadership to do so, then as a key part of our “pitch,” we should put forth and give the people a living sense of the right process and basis of unity for them to be a part of the movement for revolution: to get organized and to organize themselves.

This process comprehends the understanding that people don’t go from zero to 60 miles an hour all at once. It comprehends that people act on what they come to understand through a process that involves learning while changing the world—initially through their spreading the word... Again, a process whereby people are out spreading word of, and in that way representing for, the revolution while they are getting deeper into what it’s all about themselves.

And, they should tell people that! The POAs provide a means for people to help solve a big problem for humanity—that most people don’t know there is another way we could live, that there is a way and leadership for a revolution for a radically new world, and that the forces for revolution need to grow now if there is to be a revolution. We are involving them in solving that problem. More, the POAs are a concentration of what the Rev Clubs are (or should be)—these are the principles we uphold and live by today and they embody the world we are fighting for.

The POAs embody a great deal of scientific understanding—they embody a great deal of the new communism and the character and leadership of BA. The Points of Attention are a basic concentration of the principles, methods, and goals of this revolution. The struggle by masses of people to live by and fight for these principles will also serve to “establish” revolution as a different pole in society, causing word of it to spread. It will be an impetus and a means by which people link up, form groups and networks, and get organized into the revolution. The popularization and engagement with the POAs will be an important link in a mass process whereby people change themselves towards becoming emancipators of humanity.

The Points of Attention are a pathway to BA—to the leadership we have in Bob Avakian, to the guidance from his body of work. As people dig into and apply these principles right away they will want and need to know more. In particular, BAsics and the films of BA are an essential “starter kit” for people seeking to change the world and get with the revolution. BAsics is the handbook of the movement for revolution. The film of the speech by BA in the summer of 2018 Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution is foundational to all we are doing right now concentrated in the Tour. The book of the interview with Ardea Skybreak, Science and Revolution, On the Importance of Science and the Application of Science to Society, the New Synthesis of Communism and the Leadership of Bob Avakian provides an incredible course in understanding the import and method and approach of BA. In drawing attention to these works it is not my point to undercut or drown the power in the simplicity of the POAs by “piling on the books.” But rather to provoke everyone here to think about how with these POAs as the basic departure and a reference point through which people get into the revolution, there will be a felt need to go deeper, to seek out the science, strategy, and leadership that we have in BA—the ideological and political framework and understanding—the tools—to develop their understanding and to train them to be leaders to win others to the same process.

With this let’s get into what Bob Avakian says in the speech, “Why We Need... and How We Can...”

Spreading the word, particularly as this is done together with others in a planned, systematic way, can be an important step in joining the organized ranks of the revolution and taking part in the process of building the revolution. A crucial next step in making this revolution real is that Thousands need to get organized into the ranks of the revolution now, while millions are being influenced in favor of this revolution.Getting organized into the ranks of the revolution means acting together with others in a unified way, as an organized force, guided by the strategic plan and leadership for the revolution, building the revolution among broader masses of people, while also getting deeper into the principles, methods, and goals of this revolution, the basics of which are concentrated in the “Points of Attention for the Revolution.” A key form of revolutionary organization are the Revolution Clubs, which live by, propagate, and fight for the “Points of Attention.” The core of the Revolution Clubs are people deeply committed to revolution who closely follow the leadership of the Revolutionary Communist Party, which has the basis, in the new communism, to provide overall leadership for the revolution; but the Revolution Clubs also need to reach out to and involve growing numbers of people who are new to the revolution. The Revolution Clubs are a means through which “people can take part in and powerfully represent for the revolution in an organized way, as they learn more about the revolution and advance toward joining the Party.”

Networks of people, working together to spread the word about and organize people into the revolution, need to be built, and expanded, in all parts of the country—and linked together. In areas where the Party and the Revolution Clubs have not yet established an organized presence, or in circumstances where people have not yet come into direct contact with this organized presence of the revolution but have become aware of the core principles and goals of the revolution, they should reach out to and involve others they can draw forward around those core principles and goals; they should link up with the central leadership of the revolution for assistance and direction in organizing a Revolution Club among the people they are bringing into the revolution, on the basis of the “Points of Attention for the Revolution,” which are included in the pamphlet HOW WE CAN WIN, and are posted at revcom.us. A crucial “connecting link” in all this is the Party’s website revcom.us and newspaper Revolution, which “sharply expose the crimes of this system, scientifically analyze why it cannot be reformed, and give guidance and direction for people to work in a unified way for revolution.” In everything we do, it needs to be clearly kept in mind, and boldly put forward to people, that, whatever part of the country we are in, and whatever the size of our forces at any given time, we are doing all this as part of a national movement, together with people in other parts of the country, aiming to impact all of society and building a revolution to overthrow the whole system, with the whole world in mind.

I have bolded two sections of these paragraphs to reflect the attention I drew to these sentences during the presentation even as I emphasized that these are not separate points from what BA is describing, but to underscore that even as people in the Tour and Club have had this speech for several months, the role of the POAs as described by BA has been overlooked by all of us.

I underscore this here because when the two-week POA focus for the Tour was announced there were tendencies to see the POAs only as a way to appeal to people’s desire for a just world—a statement of morality divorced from revolution. As important as it is that the POAs draw forward people’s often suppressed hatred for the way masses of people are set against each other in this society, the POAs are more than that, they are a crucial pivot in the whole process of making revolution. They are core principles of the revolution—polemical statements of what this revolution is for and what not: Point #1: for the emancipation of humanity, not personal gain... and each of the six sets forth an important ideological dividing line. The POAs set forth the methods of the revolution—guidelines for how we relate to and struggle with each other and critically in Point #5: on searching for and fighting for the truth. And, the POAs concentrate key goals of the revolution—the emancipation of humanity in Point #1 and that as it says in Point #6 since we are serious about aiming for an actual revolution to overthrow the system, “at this stage we do not initiate violence and we oppose all violence against the people and among the people.”

Everything we are doing is aiming for “the time when the masses of people can be led to go for revolution, all out, with a real chance to win.” For this to happen we need to Prepare the Ground—change the way different forces are aligned today: putting this revolution on the map as a pole, an alternate authority in neighborhoods, schools and nationwide. If people knew of these Points of Attention, if they knew there was an actual force all across the country who were living by and fighting for these principles, wouldn’t that go a ways to preparing the ground? 

We need to Prepare the People. How? In one important aspect—by bringing forward thousands of people who are living by and fighting for these POAs—while many more people are appreciative of, looking towards, and supporting those who are today doing so. Recall what BA said in the film REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! about the “church ladies” appreciating someone doing something about these youth out here. And, if there is an organized force around the Points Of Attention—in clubs and networks all across the country—then we will have taken a serious step forward in Preparing the Vanguard, in bringing forward the organized force with the principles, methods and goal that could be forged into a vanguard party to organize an actual revolution and win.

The POAs are not something separate from the strategy for revolution. A key part of the strategy is captured in the slogan, Fight the Power, and Transform the People, for Revolution.

Have you noticed that POA # 2 begins: “We fight for a world where ALL the chains are broken.” Or, that POA # 3 begins with: We fight for a world without borders, and for equality among different peoples, cultures and languages.” And, that the substance of all six POAs is what guides us today in transforming the people—which fundamentally means changing their thinking—and do constitute a great deal of what we are fighting for in this revolution: POA #1: “...the emancipation of humanity...”

The POAs are not a pipe dream, or some utopic scheme to get followers. This revolution for the new communism is real. We have been going out among the masses of people from Sacramento to UCLA to most recently the streets of South Central LA at the corner of Crenshaw and Slauson where Nipsey Hussle was gunned down in front of his clothing store. Everywhere we go, we are bringing alive for people that their lives and the things they care about can NOT fundamentally be solved under this system—even as today they largely don’t know this, or why it is so.  In fact, they have been systematically indoctrinated by the media, the educational system, the culture, as well as the way in which this system sets people against each other, on a world scale; they are locked within frameworks that they need to break from. 

To make this come alive and be sharply present in people’s thinking we bring them 5 STOPS—five horrific forms of oppression that this system can not eliminate, that can not be reformed away. This provides the material basis for making revolution including that people do care about one or all of these 5 STOPS.

These 5 STOPS present TWO CHOICES to the people: Either live with this and the oppression will go on and on, or, as BA says in the speech, Make Revolution.  And, if you want to be a part of making revolution, you need to spread the word of the revolution and GET ORGANIZED—and the 6 POINTS OF ATTENTION provide the principles by which you can do that.

So, as one of the people from the Tour put it: We have 5 STOPS, 2 CHOICES, AND 6 POINTS OF ATTENTION. Easy to remember and concentrating the path to getting organized for revolution.

We can recognize that this is vastly different than what has been common practice in the Rev Clubs. The Tour has been going out to provoke people out of the frameworks they have been living in—whether elections, the dog eat dog of entrepreneurialism (legit or not), intersectionality, etc... We have been putting forth problem and solution, leading with BAsics 3:1 and how that presents two choices: live with this system or make revolution. But, then while we may say what’s missing is you, the agitation and how we are oriented towards involving people does not break down the divide where people say, “I’ll check it out,” or, “I admire your dedication, it's good you are doing this,” and then we just get their contact information or invite them to an event. Our agitation, our “pitch,” has not given people a way in, a way to take this up and run with it.  

Instead, we have had a model where to get with this movement people have to be a full time activist on short notice.  More, they feel they have to know a lot about revolution and communism to be a part of this. If you think for five minutes about this, with this method and approach we will at best aggregate scores of hundreds of people, one by one. This will not a revolution make. Actually, it is antithetical—opposed—to the revolution we need where people are working on the problems of the revolution including organizing for it!

The point is not that we don’t have to lead. But, rather lead how? The POAs provide a way right from when we meet people for them to get into what this is all about, what it’s for and how to think about it. It provides a way for people to go out to others with these POAs and discuss them. We should find the right ways to lead and assist—being sure people have the tools they need from the website or in print to go deeper. In this way we should develop networks of people and beginning Revolution Clubs. People need to be connected to BA right from the start—giving them the science and understanding they need. We should be connected to learn from their questions and to guide them. A measure of how we are doing is whether and how people respond to calls that the revolution makes—such as for this POA picnic on April 28.

As people take up the POAs and start getting them around, linking up and talking with others about them, and forming beginning organization, what do they need to understand in a basic way? They should be getting a real living sense of the strategy for revolution, the critical importance of advancing through lively ideological struggle, including having a sense of how to do battle with the backwardness from different sections of the people such as posturing opportunists (see the fire extinguisher award to Al Sharpton)—even coming to see how sometimes these people assume the words of revolution. New people really need to be able to increasingly recognize bullshit wherever they encounter it, and use their developing networks, or groups of like-minded people, to regularly discuss and sum up these encounters, and advances forged through them, all as part of building scientific revolutionary “muscle”! 

We have work to do ourselves to incorporate all of this into our agitation and beginning encounters with people and into our work overall. There is a lot of thinking and experimentation we need to do. All of it aimed at getting to a situation where millions can be led to go for revolution, all-out, with a real chance to win.

Points of Attention for the Revolution

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.

Spread the Points of Attention on social media

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:



 


 

Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/testimonials-points-of-attention-en.html

What Resonates with You in the Points of Attention for the Revolution?

| revcom.us

 

The National Revolution Tour and the Revolution Club have been going out broadly, from the neighborhoods to the campuses and elsewhere, getting out the Points of Attention. On this page are videos and written testimonials from different people when asked, “What resonates with you in the Points of Attention for the Revolution?” Those who agree with these points and aspire to live by them should join and build the Revolution Club, now. When people spread the Points of Attention, they are spreading the revolution and being part of helping to build up the revolutionary organization of the people.

 

"Making a better way..."

I ended up meeting the revolution when I was in LA and they ended up coming up to me, all their members, and they ended up really welcoming. This was at Nipsey Hussle’s funeral.

I joined the revolution because at the end of the day I understand how it feels to be inside an oppressed environment and I understand with the right type of people you can make it out but not everyone is willing to drop their pride to go and talk to other people and try to get out.

I love the revolution because we are all fighting to make a better way for everybody no matter your ethnicity, your sexuality, anything. It’s like we care about everybody and not everybody has that.

For most of the points, they really are all on point. They should be the way people live, but in this society it’s not like that. My favorite one is number 4, because it talks about the people who are oppressed and how we won’t ever forget about the people who are oppressed and, you know, because they need help and at the end of the day that’s what we, the people who have a better mindset on it, that’s why we are here to help. So at the end of the day, I love that I have a different outlook, it took me a lot to learn that, but I’ve learned that. We’re fighting for a world without borders, for all people to be equal.

So I ended up printing out about 20 or 30 of the POAs and got them out at a legal program to help out people like me on probation. And people were really shocked about it because people don’t really see this. Like, they don’t really see that type of stuff. The first time they seen it, some thought at first that I was trying to be better than somebody. But I am just trying to help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“On POA #5”

From a young man in Crenshaw who took 10 flyers about the picnic to ask people to come:

“What really resonated with me is that we fight for and search for truth no matter how unpopular, even as we listen to the observations & insights from others. People sometimes don’t like to hear the truth and people gang banging don’t like to hear the truth or want to accept it. Because when they are in what they are in, they can’t. But we have to say it. We need the truth for this to stop. I took 10 flyers to get out to some students and the community, to get the word out because I’m fighting for what you guys are fighting for. I want to see a change.”

 

 

 

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/583/you-think-you-are-woke-but-you-are-sleepwalking-en.html

You Think You Are Woke...
But You Are Sleepwalking Through A Nightmare

Get Organized for An ACTUAL Revolution to Emancipate All Humanity

| Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

Read the #BEB - Bourgeois Electoral Bullshit - broadsheet

#BEB Revealed!

Read more

Read the text of this speech by Andy Zee

 

An Open Letter To Bernie Supporters

Read more

Why Does Bernie Sanders Invoke a War Criminal
as the Model of His "Socialism"?

Read more

 

5 Reasons "The Green New Deal" Is Misleading, Dangerous and Part of the Problem

Delusion and Deception in Service of American Empire

Read more


Flooding in Indonesia

 

Noche Diaz Presenting the Lifetime Fire Extinguisher Award to Al Sharpton at the Sacramento, CA State Capitol.

Intersectionality: Feel-good Make-believe in the "Woke" Spaces of Empire

by Nayi Duniya

Welcome to the land of intersectionality—where a seemingly radical and all-encompassing framework can comprehend and traverse multiple oppressions faced by billions on this planet without the “messiness” of overthrowing the system that generates and enforces these oppressions; where truth is determined and wrong is righted by anointing the most oppressed as authority and leadership in struggles for reform; where the most fundamental and deep-seated social divisions and lopsided gulfs of the world such as between rich and poor nations are effectively ignored and where identified “intersections” and “direct experience” shared across “lanes” are sufficient to change the world.

This is feel-good make-believe “woke” world. In the real world of horrendous—and needless—suffering, it is a cruel joke inflicted upon the billions of humanity. The world is a horror for the vast majority—oppression and exploitation of whole peoples, genocidal wars and violence in the intimate sphere, millions driven off homes by conflict and global warming. This world is shaped and stamped by a system: the system of capitalism-imperialism.

READ MORE

IDENTITY POLITICS AND PRIVILEGE

Have you ever noticed that the one privilege these “identity politics” hustlers don’t talk about is American privilege?—the privilege that comes from living in the USA, a country that plunders the world and whose wealth and power rests on brutal exploitation and oppression throughout the world, backed up by the massive violence of the American military. These hustlers want all they can get of that privilege. In opposition to that, what the masses of humanity need is to do away with and move beyond this whole vampire system, putting an end to all exploitation and oppression.

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Response to FEM Magazine:
Trying to Censor Revolutionaries in Safe Spaces of Empire

By Tala Deloria, Revolution Club, LA

After The Word on Wednesdays (an open mic poetry venue at UCLA) censored a revolutionary’s poem, we challenged the people attending to a debate about where the framework of intersectionality leads. They did not come to debate, but a contributor to FEM magazine wrote an article about the incident. This is a response to help bring clarity to the contention.

What we have here is two opposing models in contention. One aiming to sweep away oppression and exploitation throughout the planet, and the other aiming to curate the positions of oppressed people within this system—dictating who owns what oppression, and what stories can be told by whom—all of which leaves the world as it is.

READ MORE

Prison Abolition: How to Feel “Woke” Without Fundamentally Changing a Thing

A REVOLUTIONARY Intervention from Tala Deloria
Revolution Club member and UCLA student

If you’re serious about ending mass incarceration and police terror, you need to be talking about the OVERTHROW of this system. Anything short of this, in the final analysis, is bullshit.

This system of capitalism-imperialism is what’s driving the genocidal police terror and mass incarceration of over 2 million people, over half Black, Latino and Native American men and women. This same system terrorizes the globe with wars for empire, economic sanctions, coups, bombing and torture. It drives people from their homelands in desperation for a life and livelihood and then warehouses them in detention centers and concentration camps at the border. This same system enforces vicious misogyny, oppressive gender relations and has now brought to power a fascist regime reigning through undisguised dictatorship and intensified repression, concentrating the naked vileness that makes up the heart of America. This system CANNOT be reformed!

READ MORE

Stop Being Farra-CONNED!

We Don’t Need to GET IN ON Oppression,

We Need to END Oppression

Get With the Real Revolution

Welcome to Farrakhan’s “Saviours’ Day” message, where he will tell you how after 400 years of being bitterly oppressed, you should now learn to be a more obedient slave, prove you can be useful to your oppressors in hopes of negotiating a better deal and becoming their junior partners, and look to an imaginary ruler in the sky to one day give you a chance to be big-time oppressors.

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Going After the Sacred Cows of Identity Politics on a College Campus—Opening the Debate on Reform or Revolution

You Think You’re Woke... But You’re Sleepwalking Through A Nightmare! Intersectionality, “democratic socialism,” and all the rest of that stuff will keep you locked within the system we have now. These approaches can only lead you to bickering, begging and bargaining for seats at the imperialist table. We need a revolution—NOT reform—a revolution to OVERTHROW everything rotten and emancipate all humanity.

We brought this message to an Ivy League campus and challenged people to debate. Before we got very far, campus security freaked out and kicked us off campus. So we came back, but this time with a satirical flyer from campus security that said, “A Message From Campus Security: Do Not Talk To The Communists On Campus.” We dressed up in a police jumpsuit and the ugliest pig mask you have ever seen and handed out the flyer. A picture of our flyer was tweeted out by a writer to 47+ thousand followers, we ended up in group texts and somebody told us that we’d been made into a meme.

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Why I Went to Challenge Brittney Cooper—and What We Could All Learn From This

I recently went to an event on Black Feminism and Hip Hop to challenge Black feminist author Brittney Cooper. I brought an open letter written by a comrade of mine titled, “Hey Brittney Cooper—Do You Realize How Politically and Morally Bankrupt It Was For You To Invoke the War Criminal Nancy Pelosi When You Shut Down A Revolutionary?” When two of us in the audience separately posed this question to Cooper, she refused repeatedly to answer the question.

But the question matters. The problem of people taking up leadership based on “identity” rather than on the content of what is being brought forward and where those ideas will lead is extremely widespread and very damaging, far beyond Brittney Cooper as an individual. This kind of identity politics prevents people from thinking critically and sets them up to get played.

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Barack Obama comes to Oakland to make you think this meatgrinder of a system works!

To the Commander-in-Chief who waged war on 7 countries, drone bombed wedding parties, presided over torture at Guantánamo, and backed Israel’s genocidal massacres in Gaza.

To chief demagogue & peddler of false "HOPE," whose MBK (My Brother’s Keeper) program is predicated on the notion that the problem is our youth, that it's their outlook and their "bad choices" that need to be reformed....

Whose Justice Department supported every single act of police violence that came before the Supreme Court, but called the youth in Baltimore “thugs” after they dared to rise up in rebellion after the murder of Freddie Gray....

To Barack Obama, we say NO MORE EXCUSES. This system has enslaved, brutalized, tortured and betrayed Black people for 400 years! Your system can’t be REFORMED, it must be OVERTHROWN!

READ MORE

Booker T Washington–Style House Slave and the Line Behind Jay Z's Power Move
(Whose line is it anyway?)

Booker T. Washington is known for proposing—and fighting for, including through the establishment of HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)—a certain way that a recently enslaved and systematically oppressed people could become active members of society and to rise above the muck of the being deemed by birth less than human. He stressed that Black social mobility had to be approached by not messing with the white man's power but by striving to be just like them.

Recently, Jay Z pimped off of Colin Kaepernick's selfless resistance and then threw Kap under the bus when he declared, "We are past kneeling" and was featured in pictures with Roger Goodell, lead commissioner of the NFL. It's a giant power move that required distancing himself from anything too radical for the league – i.e.: athletes using their platform to call out the way this system's police kill Black and Brown people daily, all while portraying them as animal-like “thugs.”

Read more

Excerpts from a Daily Cal op-ed:
Berkeley needs to stand up to fascist ideas
by Rafael Kadaris

Over the last two years, pro-Trump fascists have attacked Revolution Books in Berkeley and even threatened to burn it down. This past Sunday, Sept. 1, pro-Trump protesters once again attempted to march on our bookstore but were prevented from doing so by a defiant and joyous counter-protest.

The call for their “No to Marxism” protest said, “Revolution Books is a communist anti-American store.” Innocent as charged. Revolution Books is the intellectual, cultural and political center of a movement for an actual revolution. At the heart of our store is the new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian—a further development of Marxism and an even more scientific and liberating understanding of the world and how it can be radically changed.

We will not be intimidated by these anti-communist protesters. At the same time, these threats must be taken seriously. This fascism is not a sideshow or something that can be voted away, but it is deeply rooted in this system—it can and is “happening here.”...

Read more

 

On the cold-blooded police murder of Willie McCoy in Vallejo

This System Has No Future For Youth, But The Revolution DOES

This system has enslaved, brutalized, tortured, and betrayed Black people for 400 years! They have NEVER valued Black lives, except as labor to mercilessly exploit in building up the wealth of this country. And now, because this capitalist system has moved so much industrial work to places where they can pay people even less and make even more profit—and because Black people in racist America have always been last-hired and first-fired—this system has no jobs and no future for millions of people besides a jail cell or a police bullet. And they patrol whole neighborhoods like an occupying army, treating people like Willie McCoy as nothing but a “problem,” to be caged or killed off.

READ MORE

Fascists and Pelosians Have No Right to Condemn Anybody...

Blaming "the Benjamins" Whitewashes Reality: The U.S. Backs Israel Because It Is an Enforcer for the U.S. Empire

Basic point number 1: Donald Trump said there were “good people” among the murderous fascist mob chanting “Jews will not replace us” in Charlottesville, Virginia. His regime has legitimized Nazis and created a climate that produced the most lethal anti-Semitic massacre in U.S. history, the mass killing at a Pittsburgh synagogue last October. Any leading figure who can uphold, or tolerate, or “reach across the aisle” to a fascist regime like that has very obviously forfeited any right to speak on who and what is anti-Semitic. So those people should shut up.

But point number 2: No amount of Benjamins ($100 bills) buys or sells strategic allies for this bloody-jawed empire. All the conspiracy theories about how the Israel lobby represents—as Omar insisted in a follow-up tweet—“allegiance to a foreign country” channel the outrage people in this country and around the world feel at Israel’s genocidal crimes against the Palestinian people into looking at the world through the lens of what is in the national interest of the United States! And when you look at the world through that lens, you are on your way to complicity with the ongoing crimes of an empire built on genocide, slavery, and wars of empire.

READ MORE

From Revolution Club, Los Angeles:

The Green New Deal: Sustainable Snake Oil for a Green American Empire

The Green New Deal is not only an utterly ridiculous delusion, it’s a program for an American chauvinist “better business plan.” It promises a complete reconfiguration of the American economy without confronting the reality that things are produced through vast and interconnected global networks of exploitation, and it promises Americans better distribution of the spoils gained from that exploitation.

The problem isn’t that we need a better business plan for a Green American Empire. The problem is this system of capitalism-imperialism that’s driving the destruction of the planet.

READ MORE

From our readers:

Reform vs Revolution at a West Coast Climate Conference

Members of the Revolution Club, LA went to a conference at UC Irvine called Fire and Ice: The Shifting Narrative of Climate Change. The conference, attended by about 500 people, featured well known activists and authors against climate change like Bill McKibben, initiator of 350.org; Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction; and Nathaniel Rich of the New York Times.

Through our interventions and impact, we repolarized to where a central question at the conference was reform or revolution. Various speakers felt compelled to speak to that question from the stage, and our interventions drew clear lines that repelled some and drew in others who were either curious or appreciative of the sharpening of the terms.

READ MORE

“The Arc of the Moral Universe Is Long, But It Bends Towards Justice.”

Bullshit!

This System Has Enslaved, Betrayed Black People for 400 Years!

We Need an ACTUAL Revolution to Emancipate ALL Humanity!

If ever a history brings out in vivid color that where there is oppression, there will be resistance, it is the history of Black people in America: a history of over 400 years of the most vicious, brutal and cruel oppression, from slavery, through Jim Crow lynchings and segregation, to today’s mass incarceration, police murder and brutality, with an open white supremacist back in the White House... and a history of heroic resistance and rebellion that has rocked this system on its heels and inspired people the world over, from slave rebellions to the Civil Rights Movement and Black Liberation struggles to today’s fights against police terror and mass incarceration.

If it was just a question of courage, of determination, and of sacrifice, Black people, and many oppressed people all over the world, would be liberated by now.

READ MORE

Standing Up Against Trump’s National Emergency & Calling Bullshit on American Chauvinism and Unprincipled Attacks on RevCom

We went right up against the imperialist chauvinism of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). We called out how, by placing their focus on health care, education, and housing for people in the U.S., they are just fighting for a bigger share for Americans of the wealth America extracts through vicious exploitation and plunder from the sweatshops of Bangladesh to the starvation in Yemen to the mass rapes and civil war in Congo and beyond. In contrast, we are fighting for—and what humanity needs—is an actual revolution to overthrow this system of global imperialism and bring about a radically new world for all of humanity.

This got under people’s skin in a good way.

READ MORE

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/step-up-to-my-1000-challenge-en.html

From a Mental Health Professional and Supporter of the Revolution...

Step Up to My $1000 Challenge to Support the National Revolution Tour

| revcom.us

 

This $1,000 Challenge has now been met. Another donor, who was inspired by this Challenge, has posed a new $1,000 Challenge to be matched by May 7. Many thousands of dollars more are needed this month and we hope to overfulfill this matching donation.

I will double your donation to the National Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour, up to $1,000, received by May 4. The National Get Organized for an Actual Revolution Tour goal: to spread the word and bring people into the process of building for an actual revolution.

I have searched my heart and soul, and either I choose to accept to live in a world based on heinous brutality and crimes against humanity in the US and around the world, or I stand up and fight for revolution. It is through studying the scientific work of Bob Avakian, that I am convinced that the only way out of this hell, is through a revolution that digs up this system's rotten roots and brings into being a whole new system that is not built on exploitation, but on the needs of the people and the highest aspirations of humanity.

 

I weep when I hear about the children in cages at the border with Mexico. I am enraged when time and time again, the lives of Black and Brown people are stolen by murdering pigs with no repercussions; and how the youth in the ghettos are pitted against one another to kill for a spot on the corner that is not theirs anyway. I am horrified when I imagine what it is like to be a Palestinian, forced to live, and barely survive, in an open air prison in Gaza. I am shocked when we can see and feel the actual climate disruption causing death and destruction all over the planet and there are no viable plans to stop it. I stand with my sisters who have been sexually harassed, beaten and raped every minute in this patriarchy. I grieve with the LGBT community as they are targeted through actions of hate or die at alarming rates through suicide. I have come to understand through years of delving into the work of BA, that these things are the result of the workings of capitalism and imperialism.

This kind of world is intolerable to me and it should be to you! If you REALLY get into this revolution, you will learn that the world does NOT have to be this way.

If you contribute to support this tour, you can help make it possible for hundreds and thousands of people to have the opportunity to learn about what this revolution is all about, what difference it can make in the world, and how we can win.

I am inspired by what the revolutionaries on the tour are doing. I loved that Noche Diaz presented a fire extinguisher award to Al Sharpton as a symbol that he plays the role of “extinguishing the fire” of outrage and desire to stand up to the powers that be and pulling them back into the system that causes needless suffering in the first place.

 

 

It was powerful that a white male comrade was kicked out of a “safe space” because he read a poem written about sexual trauma against women. There are no safe spaces in the world we live in and the team came back standing firm against intersectionality with the message that this would not lead to emancipation. The revolutionaries are out front at the Bernie Sanders rallies going up against the Bullshit of the democrats and solutions that will lead nowhere.

This Tour urgently needs our contributions to stay on the road -- for travel costs; lodging; printing costs; supplies; food; reading materials and more. This revolution is the only hope for a world without borders; a world where people can live in dignity no matter their race or gender or whom they love; a world where the planet is protected; where there are no wars for empire; and a world in which life is worth living.

Join me in donating to make this possible. Do it now, before May 4 and double your impact with my dollar for dollar match!

With warm thanks,

A Mental Health Professional and Supporter of the Revolution

 

 

 

 

Donate to the Tour:

Donations accepted here via PayPal and credit cards.

 

 

 

Word version of this letter, for sending out or printing

 

Click here to learn more about the tour, stay abreast, and find out more ways you can support the tour.

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/reflections-on-organizing-en.html

From NYC: When People Step Out...

From a member of the National Revolution Tour currently in New York

| revcom.us

 

I wanted to share a few thoughts... in terms of this historic objective problem, it seems that putting the problems of the revolution to masses of people from the beginning is something that we need, I feel, to transform further, in our orientation, agitation, overall approach. We have gotten sharper in our agitation (although it’s a continuous work in progress), and we’ve had experiences of challenging and inspiring people and beginning ways in which people have stepped forward. In part it was because our agitation sharpened up (the 2 choices, the Points of Attention for the Revolution(POAs) and “the bridge to a different world is revolution” point), for example at the high school, instead of agitating while students just passed us by, we started challenging the students, asking them questions in the form of a provocation and challenge (especially once we wielded more the POAs): do you want to live in a world where women are treated like human beings? (And other variations on this) And demanding students stop and answer these questions. This, along with “5 STOPS” visuals, creates a situation where yes still too many students just keep walking but some actually stop and answer the questions posed, and still others (a minority) stop to talk, engage, struggle, etc.

One particular youth (I’ll call him Benny) stopped and got on the bullhorn (after hearing some of the things we’d been saying, the challenges posed to students, etc.) to challenge his peers, “stop thinking about video games, sex, this is about your future...” Benny on the phone said he had originally stopped because he has personal experience with the things we were saying, he said (I’m paraphrasing) women are not treated right, I have friends who are women who are mistreated and disrespected, also immigrants... He also said he agreed with the BEB newspaper about the “crimes against humanity” from those in power. I’m leaving out much of our conversation (again, mainly the basics of the 2 choices, POAs and his role in solving the problems of the revolution) but the point is that I did pose to him the problems of the revolution, that people don’t know about this and spreading the POAs is (at least one way) how we’re going at this problem, and how all this is part of making revolution. He took extras to pass out on the bus he takes after school.

Last week we planned (and did) a speak out twice at the park where many of the students go thru after school, so I posed to him the importance of letting others know, which he did. Wednesday and Thursday he came by for several minutes and brought a friend here and a friend there. And Thursday in particular he got on the bullhorn and called over friends walking by to come over (friends that were either mocking him or maybe more questioning what the hell was he doing standing with “us”). But Benny was not seeing a separation between “us vs them” when he got on the bullhorn and read POA 2 and 5, he took the first steps in breaking down some of the barriers... but how to go further is the challenge.

To back track, two of the people asking him “Benny what the hell are you doing?” were these young women who passed by, but he called them over and then one of them ended up getting on the bullhorn and started chanting “viva la revolución” and then something in Spanish along the lines of men think they have the right to disrespect women but NO! women have rights...and she ended with “everyone in the world have rights.”

And there’s been experiences of other high school students initially stepping into this thru taking materials (extra POAs to put up, or putting on “The System Has No Future...” sticker, donating some money for these materials). And we are following up this week with a plan to go out with Benny and maybe others in the areas they live or areas they want to go (this is something we put to Benny) to get POAs up (this week is spring break for high schools). After summing this up we also started to read quotes from BAsics together with the POAs as part of people connecting up, straight up with Bob Avakian (BA) and his leadership. A key part of the plan is to engage the students with BA, this spring break and when they get back to school. I’ve gotten the link to BA videos to Benny and other students.

The main point is that we need to be putting the problems of the revolution to people; we should be provoking, challenging and inspiring and parallel to that has to be putting the problems before people where they see they have a role to play and that this very positive transformation of society cannot be done without them and lots more people like them getting involved, in an organized way, and helping to spread this and helping to organize lots of like-minded people into this! Relatedly, we (myself included) don’t enough emphasize the last part of that sentence, the organizing “lots of like-minded people into this!” I’ve been more focused on asking people to spread this and why this is meaningful revolutionary work (which it is!). But the challenge needs to be put to people, and people inspired to do so, to go out and get lots more people into this revolution. This is something I’d like to think through more.

***

Here I’m just ruminating more broadly although sparked by a few things on my mind (which I’ll speak to briefly below). Our problem is still too much not leading and working together with many others to lead many more others, etc.; but as this transforms, and I feel as part of getting to that transformation, our approach to people needs to be one where ideas and suggestions are not readily dismissed and build plenty of room for people to make mistakes and learn and understand (and lead in a way that comprehends) that people (those whose aspirations has been awakened and see the need to take this up) will come with all kinds of ideas (good ones and even seemingly quirky ones or that actually are quirky or worse).

We should comprehend that people will also make mistakes and that this “process” will be messy, in fact very messy most of the time and not neat. And we should not dismiss ideas just because they seem like we’ve done them before but be open to people taking this up based on what has been inspired and awakened in them (meaning on the basis of going back to the 2 choices, POAs, the point that “the bridge to that better world is revolution” and the role they play to make this happen) and then lead this process, not just one on one but with masses of people, summing up and continually going back with them.

How to apply solid core with lots of elasticity based on the solid core? This is something worth grappling with and ruminating with further, among ourselves in the Revolution Club and those coming forward, and more broadly. As more and more people step into the revolution, and aspirations awakened, many ideas will be flowing and so how not to tail and how not to shut down things? I’ve noticed among the Revolution Club sometimes we do that, we shut things down too quickly among ourselves and with others. But the contradiction is that while some of us have been around longer and know some things, the reality is that this is uncharted road and we must remain open to things (including to ideas people have) and approach things with science and imagination. We need more experimentation, etc. The point is that we are solving problems in the real world, and reality is very complex, but that’s what we are doing and must lead many more people, in fact thousands and thousands to do exactly that.

I was recounting the story of struggling with some high school students where I challenged them to take up the POAs, distribute them but also wield them, if they see a woman being harassed or someone being made fun of because of their language other than English, use the POAs and say no that doesn’t go here, we’re part of a movement for a real revolution that’s fighting for a world where all the chains are broken, all that degrading stuff doesn’t go here (something like that). Relatedly several Revolution Club members made a video posted on FB about “what if” we’d had the POAs back in high school, when youth have to deal with so much of the degrading culture and so suffocated with the idea that there is nothing you can do or that there is no alternative to this system of capitalism/imperialism. This was good, and we need more of this; and especially we need all kinds of initiative taken that’s aiming to and grappling with (among other things) breaking down this “us versus them” contradiction.

As an aside, the question of “revenge” versus emancipation has been coming up recently in discussions with the Revolution Club and more broadly. A member of the Revolution Club told a story and recounted the advice his older brother gave him back in the day, if someone does something to you then “do what they do to you but twice as hard.” Another person pointed out in a discussion about how common revenge is as a unifying approach in many countries and really around the world. And nobody else on the planet speaks more sharply to this then Bob Avakian in many of his works and it’s something we should wield more often, among many of the people we encounter (from the different strata since this is a question up and down all strata even if it takes different expressions). I’d be surprised if this hasn’t been a big question in L.A. with the murder of the rapper and the different gangs and others who’ve come out. The striving to unite right now is very positive... but how do we not let things “re-assert” themselves given this system really has no future for the youth and that the Nipsey model (the entrepreneurial model) won’t lead to liberation. Again, I was really glad to see the clips from REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! and from Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About where BA goes deep at this!

And we do have to keep coming back to what is the material basis for doing what we’re setting out to do with this National Revolution Tour as key to building this movement for revolution, making revolution and getting to a radically different world. Going back to the excerpt “The Five STOPS” from Bob Avakian’s speech Why We Need An Actual Revolution, And How We Can Really Make Revolution and keep grounding ourselves and others in the entire film and Q&As is key in all this.

Briefly (but relatedly), I teamed up with someone recently and went around to talk to people who work in this important part of town. He put on the BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! T-shirt as we talked with and handed out the POAs and the BEB [“Bourgeois Electoral Bullshit”] newspaper. Most discussions were brief but positive. One important lesson here is that the person I teamed up with was really grappling with this “us versus them” contradiction, he couldn’t understand why not many more people were getting with this. His ideas on approach had lots of insight, mixed in with other things I didn’t necessarily fully agree with.

But the main thing I’m trying to highlight is that aspirations were awakened through his engagement with videos and other materials from the National Revolution Tour (for example the video of Noche Diaz calling out Al Sharpton’s role in always trying to put out and extinguish the righteous anger of the masses of people every time there is a cold blooded murder by the police of Black and Brown people) and other things as well. He was deep and grappling on a problem that we need to solve, how to bring many people forward into the movement for revolution. And while in the main people we talked to responded positively, there was one occasion that was not so positive. We got into how do you deal with people who don’t want to hear it, even getting nasty about not wanting to hear it. I told him we shouldn’t and don’t take nonsense from people and it’s important to come back sharply ideologically, “ok you wanna keep them mental shackles and keep the world as it is, ok then, go on then, we got nothing to say to you.” Bob Avakian goes into this in a sharp way in the speech REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS!

Other deep questions came up as we summed up, having to do with the strategic approach to revolution, what about certain sections of the middle class, can they be won to revolution and how? How about “friendly neutrality”? He said, “this is my first time going out with this, so I’m bound to learn new things!” But another main lesson I wanted to draw was that as people take this up, they’re bound to run into opposition and a lot of bullshit. And as people run into difficulties it’s important that we fight to not let assert the strong almost gravitational pull towards the “us versus them” divide—that because there is bound to be negative experiences in taking this out that perhaps I can’t do this and maybe I’ll stay over here supporting from afar and you (revcoms) be over there. We have to challenge the notion that those stepping into this, taking those initial steps, (the many people that need to step into this from all kinds of backgrounds) couldn’t do this. Again, what is the material basis to do what we’re setting out to do? Continually coming back to this and grounding and re-grounding more and more people in this (in BA's scientific method and approach) will be fundamental in making some breakthroughs.

Read the Points of Attention

DONATE to the National Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:



 


 

Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/sharp-struggle-wide-embrace-en.html

Sharp Struggle, Wide Embrace

| revcom.us

 

From a member of the National Revolution Tour:

There is so much richness and texture to report on and I don’t have much time.

A few patterns to point to from the neighborhood and then I’ll get into some more specifics. First, among people in the life, going to Hoover Park seemed out of the question to people because of the beef between sets. This came up a number of times in different ways. Second, there are others we’ve now had a number of discussions with (in particular, the guys drinking in front of a local store) for whom coming is more of an ideological question of whether they’ll step into the revolution and let themselves hope. Third, we met a number of younger people in the neighborhood who are not in the life who fell out in different ways. These are important people to reach because they are influenced by the same circumstances but with different levels of openness. Finally, there are a couple people we are more actively “working with” who are taking responsibility for the revolution in different ways, reporting back, etc.

In all this, there are some very deep things being joined and opened up... for some, in the first discussions we are having... others from some of the repeated discussions. A lot of this is still very centered on whether the problem is the people, or the system. We have been getting up the new “no more generations” poster and used it in a couple important exchanges joining this question.

Also, we met with the person who runs an Afrocentric community center nearby. It’s used as a meeting place with local programming and arts projects. This was a place someone in the neighborhood suggested we go check out. I got a call back and a few of us went over to meet with the person who runs it. The director is familiar with BA from hearing him on Michael Slate’s show. He’s revolutionary minded even as he thinks you have to use “every tool at your disposal to make real change.” He said BA resonates with him and he can’t think of anything he’s ever said he disagrees with. We talked with him about the Tour, our mission, played the trailer of the new speech and gave him the text for it which he was interested in reading. He wanted to know how we all got involved in the revolution and we talked about this... it was a pretty rich discussion overall. He also wanted to know the response we’ve been getting from the neighborhood, our work, etc. And all three of us talked about this more.

We did put the different problems to him in terms of the overall mission of the Tour, but also asked his thinking on the terrain. He was somewhat reticent about this but did talk about how people are tired and, he thinks, ready to hear a serious argument for real change. He said that stepping out with our message in the way we are should separate the wheat from the chaff in a good way. We talked about wanting to show the BA speech at his center. He’s interested and we’re going to go through the process to apply for this.

He was glad we reached out and thanked us several times for what we’re doing. This is someone we should be working with going forward as well and we did invite him to the picnic.

We also went into a nearby school where it looked like a lot of students were getting out early and we passed out a bunch of flyers. Unlike other high schools, most of the students took them. At the Burger King later, when we sat down to have lunch, we talked to four of these kids who read the POAs out loud to each other (while doing an Instagram Live) and were excited about this. They kept saying, “hell yes.” We got their info to send them a BA video to watch and post.

I had a very heavy/important discussion with one student on the corner which I think is worth walking through in detail. He was standing with about 4 or 5 guys and seemed to be the leader of the group. He and they were kind of fucking around but took the flyers. We said what we were about—on a National Tour to organize for an actual revolution to overthrow this system—and he looked over the flyer while we pointed to the POAs and told him what they were. He saw the info about the picnic, and said, “Hell naw, I ain’t going over there, that’s enemy territory.” Even though I knew what he meant, I asked what he meant. He kind of laughed and said more to his friends more than me, “My parents told me all about that.” And he named the other set with an insulting nickname. I said, “Really, enemies huh? Let me ask you, what do those enemies look like?” His friends were still more messing around, laughing, rolling up the flyers. He got serious and said, “They look like me.” I asked, “So you think they control that territory over there?” He said, “No, I don’t think so.” I asked him who he thought controlled it and he said, “The government does.” I said he was right about that, and then asked who controlled the ground he was standing on, and he said, “Yeah, the government does.”

I did some agitation about how this system has people pitted against each other, but really who are the real criminals, their armies marauding all over the world, their bombs tearing children apart limb from limb, their pig police running roughshod through these neighborhoods, tearing babies from their parents at the border... the motherfuckers who run this system are the criminals and they are perfectly happy to have oppressed people fighting and killing each other, it helps them because they want to kill you off anyway. His friends had stopped listening and kind of walked away telling him they had to catch the bus. But he was intent and told them to chill, they’d catch the next bus anyway. He said he knew something about the government. His aunt told him about how they made all their money off of slavery. I said he was right about that and that same shit continues in different form today.

He responded, “Yeah, I know all that shit, but fuck it, I got to take care of me and my family, I got to get my money. I got to get up out of here and take care of myself, my people.”

First, I said, be real, most likely this system won’t let you make shit. Just a tiny handful make it up and out. But even more fundamentally, let me ask, you’re saying you want to get rich. Where do you think wealth comes from anyway? He answered, “From the government too?” I said not really, it comes from fucking over people just like you all over the world. I pulled out my phone and asked if he knew what prevented the phone from overheating in his hand. He said he didn’t know and I explained about the mineral coltan. That it comes from different parts of the world, including the Congo. That there have been resource wars raging in the Congo for years which have, in part, resulted in millions of women being raped. That there are kids his age and younger working in those mines. That’s where wealth comes from. Then those minerals and other raw materials get shipped to China where millions of people slave away in sweatshops working 18-hour days going blind from working so long with such small things, breathing all these toxins and shit. That’s where wealth comes from.

I put it back to him, is that what you want to be part of? Saying fuck it, and becoming like the criminals that run this system. He said quietly, “I don’t know.”

I then pulled out the new poster we made with BAsics 1:13, told him briefly who BA is and had him read the quote. He read it out loud and then I asked him to look at the pictures, which he did. I asked what he thought. He stood there quiet for a minute and said, “Damn, this picture hurts my heart.” Looking at the picture of the Syrian child washed up on the beach, drowned to death. I told him that America was responsible for that, they were part of the war, destroying the country that his family was fleeing from to survive. He stayed looking at it, and I told him he was as responsible for that child and his family as he was for his own family. He just answered, “Yeah, that’s true.”

I pointed to the pictures again and said, “Look man, all this shit is not necessary and it all comes from the system that we are organizing to take down. This is something you need to step into and be part of. The world could be a whole different way but we have to fight for that.” He seemed unsure and I said more about why he needed to be at the picnic on Sunday and asked if getting a ride from the neighborhood would help. He said he wasn’t sure and seemed like he was moving to head out at that point. I said I wanted to leave him with a question and challenge from BA, the same person who said that quote he read. I said that Bob Avakian says: we have two basic choices... either live with this nightmare of a system, condemn future generations to more of this or worse... if they have a future at all... or make revolution. I asked then, which will you choose? He was quiet, and said, “That’s serious. I have to think about it.” I told him he did and that I wanted to send him a link that gets more into what kind of world is possible. He gave me his number and I told him to keep the poster, I also gave him an extra flyer for his aunt.

I sent him the “What Ifs” clip and I’m going to call him later this afternoon to see if he watched it, also want to send him the one on the Corcoran SHU and talk with him about a ride.

I also spoke with a crew of guys that were getting on the bus (seemed like they were a little older than high school, or were cutting). A couple of them had skateboards and were getting high. The main kid I talked to, who was more interested and said, “I feel what you’re saying,” was wearing a Scarface T-shirt. He also said the main thing he wanted to do was get up out of here, live in the hills with a family and a white picket fence. He talked about hating all the gang divides, he’s not in the life but still gets checked everywhere he goes. “I hate people asking, ‘where you from?’ It ain’t your fucking business and anyway, I’m not into all that.” Their bus was about to come so they didn’t want to watch a BA clip but I did some brief agitation (referencing BA) about the Scarface mentality. The guy who was talking to me was torn because he could see what he was saying was selfish but also had questions about whether it was possible to defeat them. His friends stayed fucking around even when the bus came, but he got a bit more serious and gave me his number to send him the clip.

Other people in our team also talked to a 24-year-old kid from the neighborhood who was not in the life. He got a flyer and turned back around to get more, he said, “Give me some more of those, I’ve got some people who I want to share this with.” He lives in the area and said he thinks a lot about revolution. He mentioned knowing about a Black nationalist group that was active a few years ago, that he’s been thinking about the old Black Panther Party and revolution. He said, “I try to tell people they need to be aware and informed about what’s going on, but people don’t want to listen. They’re not interested, think it doesn’t concern them, but they need to hear this.” Someone on the Tour used the posters with him to show quotes from BA, illustrating what we’re up against that people are resigning themselves to this but here’s BA saying, “No, no more!” Talked more about who BA is, what he came out of and the work he’s done... but also what we don’t have in terms of the thousands of people taking this, what we’re doing with the National Tour and the need for him to step into this. (The person who had this discussion should fill this out more... there were important things, including he said you have to have food but really people need to get down with the content of what you’re doing.) We got his info and he took some materials. This was important.

We talked briefly to a Black woman, in her 30s/40s who read the POAs aloud and stopped at #4 on the point on we “do not tolerate revenge among the people.” She said, “Wow, making a revolution without revenge. That’s going to be hard. A lot of people are going to want revenge.” Unfortunately, she had to move her car at that moment and couldn’t talk much more but I did say this was a question the leader of the revolution, Bob Avakian, has done a lot of wrangling with. In opening the conversation, I told her about the Tour and she said she was surprised when I talked about what is missing are the people. She said she would think that a lot of people would be getting with this now because so many people are tired. She gave me her info to send a BA clip and she took a few flyers to get to people she knows and said she is interested in coming Sunday.

A few other people like this, people who were in a hurry, but interested.

We also talked for a while (perhaps too long) with some of the drinking guys, both some of the older folks and some of the younger folks more in the life. As I said above, some stubbornness among the younger dudes (in their 30s or so) about leaving their neighborhood, about the possibility of revolution, etc. We struggled over the POAs, including #3: “We fight for a world without borders...” Mainly this is about the imperialist borders, but also includes these bullshit borders among oppressed people here. Among the older dudes up the block, a lot of struggle about why they need to step into this. Talked to one guy who came up and said, “I want that book you all had yesterday.” I showed him BAsics and he wanted to get it. He spent 27 years in prison, and said he reads. He argued for religion and personal responsibility but also knows we need real change. He got BAsics and said he would give $10 on the 1st.

Importantly, talked with the guy who I wrote about yesterday. He came over to where we were to get BAsics and brought his $10. He also had been thinking about other people we should reach and told me about this meeting that he knows about with progressive Black nationalist forces. He said he would look into it more and see if he could get me a contact number. He also said that he’d taken a picture of the picnic flyer and sent it to a couple friends, one of whom wrote back, “Wonderful.” He can’t come because of work but he said that he would follow up with them. He also wrote that he’s begun reading BAsics. And then this morning wrote that he distributed the flyers about the picnic with the POAs on the other side.

This is someone who was more reticent to consider himself a part of the revolution but is actively working with the revolution and thinking about the problems we are facing and how to solve them. This is an important example of the process of people working on the problems of the revolution, an essential form of organizing people into the revolution.

Also, we’re trying to meet this morning with the guy who took the flyers out to the rap concert to interview him and he’s working on a statement for the picnic. He’s also figuring out how to bring speakers he has to the picnic.

There is more to report but this is already quite late...

 

Points of Attention for the Revolution

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.

Spread the Points of Attention on social media

Download and spread this poster (B&W, Color)

“On POA #5”

From a young man in Crenshaw who took 10 flyers about the picnic to ask people to come:

“What really resonated with me is that we fight for and search for truth no matter how unpopular, even as we listen to the observations & insights from others. People sometimes don’t like to hear the truth and people gang banging don’t like to hear the truth or want to accept it. Because when they are in what they are in, they can’t. But we have to say it. We need the truth for this to stop. I took 10 flyers to get out to some students and the community, to get the word out because I’m fighting for what you guys are fighting for. I want to see a change.”

Bob Avakian
This System Has No Future For the Youth... But the Revolution Does

From BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—NOTHING LESS! Bob Avakian Live. Watch the whole film at revolutiontalk.net

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:



 


 

Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/what-people-are-saying-en.html

What People Are Saying about the Tour

| revcom.us

 

From a Reader from Iran:

An Internationalist Salute and Call to Donate to the National Revolution Tour

I want to send an internationalist salute to the National Tour to Get Organized for an Actual Revolution and call for everyone to support it, to get involved with this all out struggle for a better world.

The present social and economic system we live under has become totally unbearable for billions of people throughout the world. We are also at a stage of human development when every conscious human being needs to seriously ask if our survival could be sustained in this capitalist-imperialist world order.

The urgent question begging for an urgent answer is whether we can tolerate the cries of tens of millions of dying, exploited and disease-ridden children? Tolerate the rapid destruction of the environment? Tolerate past and continual genocidal wars (direct or proxy) of the imperialists—invasions, occupations, bombings and even the possibility of nuclear war? Tolerate the everlasting white supremacy, mass incarceration, police brutality and murder of Black and Latino youth? Tolerate militarization of the border, cries of tens of millions of refugees, children ripped from parents and put in cages? Tolerate the misogyny that crushes women’s bodies and dreams generation after generation? Tolerate the normalization of outright fascism with the Trump/Pence regime? Tolerate all this that non-stop victimizes millions of people every minute of every day? Or...

In his truly breathtaking talk Why We Need an Actual Revolution and How We Can Really Make Revolution, Bob Avakian (BA) keenly and seriously challenge those who are fed up with such monstrous capitalist-imperialist horrors to get organized and get rid of such a rotten and outdated system, to make revolution to replace it with a new and much better world—one dreamed and longed for by billions worldwide. There is no other way. I’ve watched this film many times and feel everyone should see it...

Read full statement

From Isabel Cardenas

The young people in the Revolution Club are focused on a better world for humanity.  They aren’t just thinking about people in this country, but also those in the entire world.  They are working for revolution because they are very courageous, and it takes committed people to carry out this National Revolution Tour.  I believe in what they are doing—organizing people—it takes time and it takes support.  These young people are tireless and need our support!  I say this from the bottom of my heart: When I was a young activist, I used to “hear things” about the Revolutionary Communist Party such as: “if those people give you literature, don’t take it...”—but I have come to know them, and I admire and respect them.  I also have heard some activists say that the RCP is “too radical....” And what comes to mind is that “If the Germans and Jews would have been just as radical during the Nazi period, millions of lives could have been saved.”  Nobody is as courageous as the RCP.  Everyone should start working with them and, most importantly, also donate to the National Revolution Tour.  It’s a worthy cause—just think of the cost for flyers, posters, travel, food and more.  Those with thousands of dollars should donate thousands.  I am able to donate hundreds.  Please go to the revcom.us website and commit to donate $50 or $100 a month.  This tour stands for the people who have no voice.  They are out to help humanity.  I believe in what they are doing, working for revolution.  Bob Avakian has the plan... what is needed is for people to organize themselves and study this plan. 

I am in! You should also join and support this worthy cause!

Isabel Cardenas
American-Salvadoran / USA Citizen
And Community Activist since 1960

From Carol Downer

Funding ourselves

May 3: Last week, I had the pleasure of hosting the Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour at my home for dinner. We had roasted chicken with coleslaw, mashed potatoes and gravy and hot rolls that I purchased from Von’s. Additionally, I purchased the ingredients for and prepared corn muffins and potato salad. Tour members helped me set out the dishes and finish up preparations. Other volunteers brought salad makings and an after-dinner pastry.

The tour members had organized several actions to spread the word about how grassroots activism to push for a revolution would be more effective than putting our efforts into bringing about social change through voting for social reforms. They were righteously tired and hungry, so the first order of business was to eat heartily. They were interested in my experiences in visiting Iran after the Iranian people had thrown out the Shah, a U.S.-supported ruthless dictator who commanded the fifth-largest army in the world in an almost bloodless revolution. So, I shared the exhilaration and joy that I had in being in a free country; I witnessed in Iran how a brave and resolute people had overthrown tyranny.* Then all of us shared the events of the day and enjoyed our political solidarity which cemented our friendship.

I encourage others to provide this kind of concrete support to the “Get Organized” tour as it goes around the country to stir people and challenge them to throw off their cynicism and join in the effort to mount demands for revolutionary change. Although I spent a few dollars and I devoted some time to shop for and prepare the food, the meal cost far less than if we had sat down at a restaurant or ordered take-out, and we were able to take as long as we wanted to eat our meal and socialize. Pooling our limited resources makes them go a long way. No time wasted applying for grants. No strings!

No one is going to fund us except ourselves, and why would we even want them to? Even the most benevolent funder wants you to submit proposals, file reports and evaluations. Also, that evening we created through our collective efforts a democratic, egalitarian event that celebrated our diversity in class, age and ethnicity and reinforced our revolutionary fervor. After the dishes were cleared, washed and put away, we ended the evening stronger. That strength came from ourselves, not from outside funding.


1. In 1978, millions and millions of Iranian people, from virtually all walks of life with a wide range of political viewpoints, rose up against the hated Shah and his regime, which was overthrown in February 1979. Millions had been awakened to political life, and their awakening and struggle continued in different ways after the revolution. However, by the early 1980s reactionary Islamic fundamentalists led by the Ayatollah Khomeini had brutally suppressed their opponents, which included Iranian communists, and were able to consolidate political power and establish the repressive theocracy that still rules Iran today. [back]

 

“You Think You’re Woke...
But You’re Sleepwalking Through A Nightmare —

This System Cannot Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!”

The Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

Read about the Tour stepping up and stepping out »

Read the Call to the Tour »

Checks can be sent to:
RCP Publications, Box 3486, Merchandise Mart
Chicago, IL 60654-0486 (Mark for the Tour)

From Reverend Cecil L. “Chip” Murray:

April 17, 2019

Dear Friends,

I am referring you to open your minds and hearts to a message that has been begging for attention for 400 hundred years. I have personally listened to their presentation of the great concept they are embarking on, and suggest you do the same for their National Tour to Organize for an ACTUAL Revolution.

I am aware that there are many people in America who oppose communism on certain matters of great importance. I ask you to examine one matter which is birthed in communism, and that is what links us in the revolutionary need to emancipate humanity.

I am a Christian and not a communist nor am I an advocate of communism. However I commend all those who undertake the cause of justice and righteousness, such as opposing abuse of power by police and law enforcement, and opposing mass incarceration and massive homelessness. In Christian tradition, it is believed that “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Therefore you should engage their message and decide for yourself as to its merit for support.

As part of this, you may want to review and engage the film by Bob Avakian, the founder and designer of the new communism titled Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Reverend Cecil L. “Chip” Murray

From Fr. Luis Barrios, NYC:

“The revolution is not coming from the sky, sent in by God. We have to put together this revolution...”

 

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/592/putting-together-a-banana-pudding-en.html

"Collectively" Making Banana Pudding (!)

| revcom.us

 

From someone who is part of the National Revolution Tour

We met a woman who wants to be a part of the revolution. She’s on disability and is going to make banana pudding for the picnic, but does not have the resources or ingredients to make it. So we put the problems to others that we’ve been meeting. We put it to one guy who ran into the grocery store where we were talking to him and brought the aluminum foil. We went to another grocery store and got out the POAs, putting the challenge of the two choices to people. We also brought out a sign with the list of ingredients she needed to make the pudding, and small flyers of the ingredients. We were only out for about an hour, but somebody donated twenty dollars, and another person set down his grocery bags next to us after we talked to him and went back into the store and brought out some sugar and eggs.

There was also a guy next to us who was set up, who worked with a nonprofit for animals. As soon as we came up, he asked what we were about. I showed him the sign of the POAs and told him that were organizing for an actual revolution to put an end to the 5 Stops and that we have two choices, and that we have the leadership and the science, but what’s missing is people like you. When I showed him the Constitution he laughed and said, “Oh my gosh, you guys are for real!” He told us that he was a DACA person from South Korea, and went on talking about the gangs and the oppression of women and how much he admires strong women for what they have to go through. He told us he makes music and poetry so I posed to him, “Do you want to write a poem based on the Points of Attention and come read it at the picnic?” He said, “I knew you were going to ask me that!” And enthusiastically agreed to. After he packed up his stand he came up and stood with us and held the sign of the POAs. He also took part in making a video on suggestions on how to make a pitch to people for donations which we put up on Instagram.

YOU'RE INVITED: A Revolutionary Picnic - Be a Part of Radically Changing the World

From the Revolution Tour in Los Angeles

Read more

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/message-from-chicago-to-south-central-la-en.html

Message from Chicago to South Central, L.A.

| revcom.us

 

Dozens of people on the South and West sides of Chicago signed a banner this week sending a message to LA on the eve of the Revolutionary Picnic with the National Revolution Tour there. “From Chicago to South Central L.A., It’s Time to Unite to Fight for Revolution and a Whole Better Way and Stop Fighting Each Other.” It was mainly signed by young people—a lot of highs schoolers—but also people of all ages.

The Revolution Club took this banner out together with the Points of Attention for the Revolution and a display of the 5 STOPS that show this system’s crimes against humanity and why we need a revolution. We decided to make this banner and take it out to people after talking with comrades from the tour who suggested this after summing up that people in South Central who have been moved by Nipsey Hussle’s death are also talking about the violence among the people in Chicago. We know that Nipsey’s death is resonating with people in Chicago who know about the pain and loss and heartache of killings among the people. And there is an additional sense of loss that Nipsey was someone who had tried to get out of that kind of violence and do something seen as positive for the people.

We workshopped what should be on the banner, and came up with something that was grounded in the Points of Attention for the Revolution and which put the question of “stop fighting each other” in the context of the what people actually DO need to do, which is come together to make revolution so we can get rid of this system and get humanity out of this mess. We thought it was important to say not only “fight for revolution,” but also “and a whole better way” because there IS another way the world can be and another way people can be right now as they fight for that. And the lack of people being able to see any way out is part of why people are so stuck in going along with the way things are.

In taking this out to people, though, there was struggle in our crew over a tendency to approach people to sign the banner on the basis of their spontaneous feelings about the death of Nipsey and the violence among the people versus engaging people on the actual message of the banner and the Points of Attention. There was definitely a lot of spontaneous feeling that the banner tapped into, which was not all bad, and there were a lot of written messages about stopping the violence and love for Nipsey. But we were also able to bring forward the question of revolution and a whole better way and this was lofting up what was being projected by the whole scene where people were coming and looking at the 5 STOPS, reading and talking about the Points of Attention for the Revolution, and signing the banner, including getting a sense that this is part of a national movement organizing for revolution.

In all this, we were struggling overall to transform our approach to actually organizing masses of people for revolution, and organizing people right when they encounter us. This was something that was going through changes from one outing to the next, on the basis of studying and discussing the letter from Andy Zee and reports from the tour.

In our first day of outings with the banner, we went to two high schools and then we hung the banner on the outside of the Revolution Club Organizing Center and stopped people passing by. Among some of the students who were more engaged on the whole message, there was a real appreciation for something that was about bringing people together to fight for a better world. One student after reading the POAs asked us to write his message on the banner, “come together, stop the hatred.” Another read the POAs and responded to #3 about fighting for a world without borders by saying “We need to build a new world, not a wall.”

At the same time, they didn’t initially engage too deeply with what was meant by “revolution” and this became more sharply posed as being very different from their spontaneous thinking as the discussions went deeper. One said only people in the government can do something about what is happening with those 5 STOPS, another said she was going to join the Navy after high school so she could have a better start out in the world. And another said she was working on stopping police mistreatment of people by working with a group that is meeting with the police to tell them what they need to change. With all these students we challenged these ideas with the reality shown in the display of the 5 STOPS (and with one student we also shared with her quote 1:24 from BAsics). We talked with them about the need to make an actual revolution to put an end to the system that gives rise to all this hell for humanity, and we told them there is a way they can be part of working to make that revolution, by taking up and spreading the POAs. All three of those students did take extras of the POAs to share with others and gave us ways to follow up with them.

In between those outings and the next time we went out with the banner, we had a meeting of the Revolution Club where we read and discussed the letter from Andy Zee, “The Points of Attention: A Doorway and Guide to Making Revolution.” Everyone had to confront what Andy said in that letter, that we need a “radical re-orientation” to how we approach organizing people. There were a couple rounds of discussion, with people working together on identifying what is the different approach being called for and how does it look different to do that than what we have been doing.

A few things started to get clearer. One is that when people meet us, they think they need to be full-time activists, or have to know a lot more about the revolution before they can get involved. And WE have too much been thinking that too and reinforcing that idea instead of breaking it down! In contrast to that, the POAs actually provide a way for people to start organizing for revolution right away. Not only can people take copies of the POAs and spread them around, but more fundamentally people can get a basic understanding of what the revolution is about and use the POAs to start to fight for it even as they are learning more. A good example was someone in the club who had gone out on his own to put up the POAs in an area he’s familiar with and described arguing with someone over Point #1. The person was asking “what’s in this revolution for me?” And the comrade was using what’s in Point #1 to argue against that whole way of thinking. This person has been in the Club for awhile already, but it’s easy to see how any new person could do the same thing.

Another thing that was getting clearer is that people need to be able to get into Bob Avakian, the leader of the revolution and the architect of the new communism, right away and know that getting further into BA is how they can go deeper into what the revolution is all about. We summed up we tell people about BA, but have not been using the wealth of video clips that could get people into BA right on the spot. And we took note of what the tour has been doing, which is immediately texting people links of BA videos as the first step to follow-up.

Some people said that organizing on the spot meant giving people tasks and getting their numbers, which unfortunately is too much what we have done when we’ve talked about “organizing.” This is in contrast to people actually engaging what the revolution is about in contrast to the ways they are thinking about what the problem and solution is, confronting the challenge of what they are going to do in relation to what humanity needs, and being brought into working on the problems of the revolution. A key problem we have to put to people is that while we have the leadership, science, and strategy to make this revolution, we don’t have the thousands like you getting organized, and you can be part of going to work on changing that now.

Finally, the basic pathway to organizing people that was outlined in Andy Zee’s letter helped to simplify what it looks like to start organizing people when we meet them, presenting to people the 5 STOPS, 2 Choices (either live with all this hell for humanity and subject the next generations to the same or worse, or make revolution), and 6 Points of Attention.

When we went back out with the banner, one of the places we went to was a neighborhood where a few weeks ago six people, including two children, were injured in a drive-by shooting during a baby shower. One person we talked to was someone we had talked with before and he’s drawn to what we’re talking about, but had a different idea of what we meant by actual revolution, and the more he got clear, the more questions he had. We had the banner displayed and an older man had come up and talked with us and signed it and he read the Points of Attention out loud. The younger guy said he thought #4 was a contradiction, how are we going to tell people not to take revenge when revolution is about revenge? We all talked together some about this, that it is precisely that the revolution is NOT about revenge, and the difference between overthrowing the system that’s oppressing the people, defeating and dismantling their institutions of repression vs. doing to your oppressors what has been done to you. This was part of the process of him getting clearer on what we meant by revolution. Then there was an interesting exchange where the younger guy was basically saying he admired us for what we’re doing and he wanted to learn more. The people in our crew recognized this as being part of the wall we need to break down (between the people who need to be organized and the people who are already revolutionaries) and all threw in to help each other address this. One person asked him how he saw his own role in contributing to making revolution. Another talked about how you don’t have to know everything to get started, you can learn as you go. We watched the video clip from BA on the revolution and the gangs, which also helped to break this down. Then we talked a few minutes more, fleshing out the vision of how a movement for revolution gets organized in all kinds of ways all over the country by people like him spreading the word and organizing others. We reminded him what he had gotten out of the POAs and showed him how he could start with that understanding as he keeps digging into BA. He said he could and would do that.

I’m attaching a letter written by a newer member of the Revolution Club who is also summing up what he is learning and how we are going at these things. One last point here is that the banner did objectively put forward a different pole everywhere we took it, and it was meaningful for people to sign it, including getting an introduction to the fact that there are forces getting organized for revolution across the country and by signing the banner they are contributing to that. At the same time, there was much more potential for people to actually get organized in relation to this banner than what we did with it—engaging more deeply the message of the banner together with the POAs and getting a much more living sense of how it contributes to developing a national movement for actual revolution.

From a Revolution Club Member: Fighting for the Right Approach

So in getting out the POAs for the last week there’s been a lot of development; I say week because I thought it was enough to just get people to get the POAs and pass them out, but how is that organizing people and on what basis?

I do think reading the letter from Andy Zee was really helpful to concentrate on 5 Stops, 2 Choices and 6 Points of Attention (5-2-6).

So we’re out in a neighborhood getting out the POAs up on poles and out to some of the people. People like one older guy read all the POAs and said he liked it, liked how it was about equality and we spoke on how it wasn’t enough of that in society today mostly point 2 and point 3 and he offered to take some the POAs to get out in the area and to talk to others. But my reflection back on this is: We didn’t organize him on the basis of revolution, we organized him on the basis of the difference it would make for others to see these good things. We didn’t know what he thought about a revolution to overthrow this system and the science, strategy and the leadership we have in BA.

Another guy we talked to read the POAs his initial thoughts were “These are actually pretty good,” around point 2 and “Trump has no respect for women and he’s a racist” so we’re struggling with him on what’s the problem and he says, “The youth don’t have structure and discipline so they should have re-initiate the draft,” Me and a comrade start going at how fucked up that is and called out what the Army does to people. The guy brings up his experience in “Vietnam and being effected by Agent Orange.” He wanted some flyers to get out to people, which he kind of did on the spot saying “Hey brother, check this out” to different cars.

Afterwards we summed up, which helped me refocus and sharpen my approach for the next location. I was too focused on (just) getting out the POAs and too content with people just taking flyers and not organizing on the basis of (5-2-6).

So I headed back out with this refocused approach. I talked to a guy who seen the big POA poster we had out and gave him the (POA) flyer and asked him what he thought. He said, “I 100% agree with all of these points, how can I be a part of this?” I wanted to know what he agreed with and dig more into things, the guy talked about “the inequality of points 2 and 3” and said nobody is talking about all of humanity. I said, “You’re right nobody is talking about the highest interest of humanity.” He wants be part of getting the POAs out as part of making revolution. I also put the problems of the revolution to him where enough people don’t know this and aren’t thinking about revolution, the leadership, science and strategy for how to make a revolution; we worked through some of his thoughts together. Solutions that aren’t solutions and he agreed he didn’t “know how far someone could get trying to make revolution but I want a change like this.” He took copies of the POAs with ideas of where he would get them out to and said he would talk to his friends and was interested in coming to the potluck on Sunday. Being able to go back to the 5-2-6 helped and not just letting him take flyers but actually organizing him I thought went better than earlier and seeing the difference between the two.

“You Think You’re Woke...
But You’re Sleepwalking Through A Nightmare —

This System Cannot Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!”

The Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

Read about the Tour stepping up and stepping out »

Read the Call to the Tour »

Checks can be sent to:
RCP Publications, Box 3486, Merchandise Mart
Chicago, IL 60654-0486 (Mark for the Tour)

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:



 


 

Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/revolution-intellectuals-beginning-of-new-approach-en.html

Revolution, Intellectuals and the Beginning of a New Approach

| revcom.us

 

From a member of the National Revolution Tour:

As part of the National Tour for Revolution, we have been meeting professors on campuses. While too soon to draw firm conclusions, these very initial observations are worth sharing:

* THE 2 CHOICES, A RADICALLY DIFFERENT APPROACH: As someone who has been involved in this movement for a while, what was striking was the radically different approach to the professors—proceeding straight up with revolution, the 2 choices resulting from BAsics 3:1, what we do have in the strengths of the revolution and what we don’t have in people we need, involving them and getting their thinking on the problems of the revolution in this context. This is a different framework and approach than anything in the past and it opens up an entirely different conversation with very different questions, unleashing a different process on different terms. Proceeding from this, and the 5 Stops setting forth the need and basis for revolution set terms on what is objective, and what is objectively needed, versus remnants of “our thing.”

*A RELATIVE OPENNESS, SERIOUSNESS AND THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE NATIONAL TOUR: In this process, a couple of factors on relative openness come into sharper relief. To be clear: this is a relatively small sample, and somewhat "self-selecting" in who were intrigued by and "turned their faces" toward the National Revolution Tour, but still worth noting.

First, most are shocked and horrified by the moment, and where things are headed, with everything Trump represents, and a dawning realization that nothing fundamentally good—or lasting—came off Obama. Compounding all this, global warming is a major factor, a real sense of the scale and scope of potential devastation, the systemic nature of this versus “small problem/solution” being proffered and nothing remotely commensurate. Second, with all the contradictions, like heightened “individualism” among students, a few sense a perceptible shift in how students are looking at things. Concentrating this is a comment, You don’t see it on the surface yet, but if there is a moment to organize for a revolution, this is it,” talking about a very perceptible shift in mood among the students’ “instinctual response to capitalism,” saying it’s much more “of course, capitalism is bad” and “a beginning openness” to alternatives that she has “not seen in decades of teaching and interacting with students.” Third, there is a genuine curiosity, to varying degrees and in different ways, about Bob Avakian (BA), the revolution, and the National Tour to organize for an ACTUAL revolution, the last being a compelling factor in actually meeting.

Given the leading approach, BA comes into sharper relief, including around the positive alternative concentrated in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America, the strategy for revolution and the overarching framework of the new communism. A few asked up front “tell me about Bob Avakian” and had a lot of serious and substantive follow-ups. Others who had some familiarity wanted to learn more about the new communism, with probing questions.

They were all intrigued by the tour, what it is doing, especially on “crossing the tracks” as one put it, and that even while we were on campus, we were out at Nipsey Hussle’s funeral and neighborhood. Most really wanted to know, “what was your message, how was it received, etc.” This was very attractive to them, and some would go on to comment on how insulating the campus is, etc.

In different ways, the bankruptcy of other solutions and frameworks, among the more thoughtful, was starkly evident. When I mentioned what Bernie Sanders had said about the border and immigrants, one of the professors put his head in his hands. I said all that this means and reveals is “they have NO ANSWER,” and he said, “I know, but it’s still distressing to hear it being said so baldly.” Another said the Green New Deal is lying to people about what it will take in radically changing U.S. consumption patterns. On identity politics and intersectionality, one professor commented that this “just reflects back the world we live in.” When we pointed out the harm, he readily agreed, especially the focus on “me, me, me.” Another ranted on “oppression Olympics,” it’s about “who is going to be a winner,” and “this is a debate long overdue,” “I am really glad you guys are finally taking this on.” Others were more reserved, seeing how this challenge to a dominant framework on campus plays out.

Some “immediate” follow-up questions on the necessity, viability and strategy of making revolution revolved around whether we can actually win, given their strengths in repression and weaponry; on how do you go about transforming people’s thinking en masse when “they” have control over mass media and the internet; and can you consciously work towards a revolutionary situation like the sixties or does it just emerge spontaneously. Those who were serious were intrigued to watch the film from BA on why we need an actual revolution, and how we can really win, and to learn more, even while some initial answers were provided, that they found serious and provocative. One thing I further realized is that the intangibility of “seriousness” counts for a lot, not posturing but plainspoken about what we DO and what we DON’T have goes a long way... especially, that there are principles, there is strategy and then there is need for people, to go to work on and solve these problems, applying the overall strategy. I mentioned the “tech wizards” example from BA’s speech, the real need from the perspective of making revolution, and this had a good effect.

When I posed the question of “how do we crack this campus,” attracting and cohering students, people, and “what stands in the way,” there were many who commented on “individualism,” further exacerbated with social media, and people not feeling in any way “part of the collective.” Identifying this puts it much more in the collective realm for grappling, as part of building this movement for revolution.

* MOVING FORWARD: While too many of these have begun as individual meetings, WE have to figure out how to forge “NETWORKS” with COLLECTIVE forms, contributing to the aims and objectives of the tour. We are in the beginning phases of unleashing a process, what we have not done ever before with this approach or in any consistent fashion, and there is the need to lead this as part of an overall COLLECTIVE process.

 

“You Think You’re Woke...
But You’re Sleepwalking Through A Nightmare —

This System Cannot Be Reformed, It Must Be Overthrown!”

The Get Organized for an ACTUAL Revolution Tour

Read about the Tour stepping up and stepping out »

Read the Call to the Tour »

Checks can be sent to:
RCP Publications, Box 3486, Merchandise Mart
Chicago, IL 60654-0486 (Mark for the Tour)

Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution

A speech by Bob Avakian
In two parts:

 

Watch it, spread it, fund it

Check out clips and audio of the film and Q&As

Find out more about this speech—and get organized to spread it »

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/baking-for-revolution-en.html

Baking for Revolution

| revcom.us

 

From members of the Revolution Club in one area:

As the national Get Organized for an Actual Revolution Tour hit the ground in Los Angeles, in this area we worked to bring to life a fundraising idea that could broadly project the tour and the need to support it, involve people in taking this up and donating, contribute to developing networks of support, and actually raise money. We decided to do a community bake sale in a particular neighborhood, while also reaching out and involving people more broadly than that neighborhood.

First we started reaching out to all the businesses in the neighborhood and asked them if they would want to host a bake sale table, which means setting up a table inside the business during a high-traffic time where people could get information about the Revolution Tour and make donations. Then, two people who are excited about the tour and wanting to support it came to see the livestream of the LA launch and we pulled them together afterwards to make a plan. They both bake and had said this is a way they could help, so they signed up to make some baked goods. A Revolution Club member volunteered to design an image for the flyer. She created artwork, we sent it around to everyone involved to get feedback, she and another comrade worked together to make a couple changes, and soon we had a simple flyer.

Teams of two kept reaching out to businesses—talking with employees, managers, owners about the tour going around the country to meet the need of breaking through the mental shackles and organizing people for an actual revolution. We talked with them briefly about the 5 STOPS as to why we need an actual revolution—not voting or other dead-end “solutions”—and told them we have the leadership, strategy and science to make an emancipating revolution. Several expressed interest, and finally we had one location pinned down for the date we were aiming for. We did phone calling to contacts about baking and donating to support the tour, and kept reaching out to businesses. We also started thinking about other ways people could help to sell baked goods and widen out people finding out about and supporting the tour, like taking baked goods to work or getting orders from friends and relatives. We put up the flyers all over the area advertising the bake sale and the baked goods and calling on people to support the national Revolution Tour, with a couple sentences about the tour. In everything, we brought out to people what the tour is about, how it is part of working to make the revolution we need, and the needs of the revolution and the tour that they can help meet.

As it got closer to the date, we were short on bakers and some of the leaders of the project ended up doing some of the baking themselves, which wasn’t exactly what we had in mind because part of the point was to involve new people in meaningful ways to contribute. At the same time, a number of other people did also take part in the baking, some newly involved, others who are members of the Revolution Club or longtime supporters of the revolution. People recruited their family members to help out. One member of the Revolution Club recruited his two brothers to help him bake loaves of chocolate banana bread. The wife of another Revolution Club member contributed a carrot cake.

Starting in the morning, a couple people gathered the cakes and breads and cut everything into slices, priced at $3 a slice. Then we worked to bring everything together and continue reaching out to everyone we could. At a restaurant, two of us set up a table inside for about two hours. It was really cool because it was a different way for people to be introduced to and invited into the revolution. We had a display with information about the bake sale and tour and we were able to talk to a lot of the customers who were waiting for their food orders from the restaurant. There were discussions and some debates about what is the problem and solution. And we were able to talk more deeply with the restaurant owner about what the revolution is about. Several people had seen the Revolution Club around before and knew of it, but this was the first time they actually engaged with what it is about. We raised $23 there, which by itself is not that much, but was meaningful in relation to how it was raised and because it was put together with other things happening at the same time.

At another business, the owner invited us in to sell baked goods to his employees and customers. Our team there gave everyone flyers about the tour and sold something like $40 worth of baked goods. Then we connected up with a longtime supporter who lives nearby and he helped go around to businesses he knows and sell a few baked goods on the spot.

Throughout that day and the next day, people took part in the bake sale in a variety of ways. A woman who has been supportive of the revolution for a couple of years took a box full of the baked goods and sold them all to coworkers at her job. Other supporters worked out stopping by to pick up baked goods and make donations. One Revolution Club member bought baked goods to take to a social gathering he was attending, another took a box to sell to people at a family gathering. People stopped in off the street to donate or just to find out more about the revolution.

All together we raised a little over $300 for the tour. We actively involved about a dozen people who are not Revolution Club members. In most cases, this was a change in their relationship to the revolution, giving people a way to meaningfully contribute to making revolution and bringing them in on the mission of the tour. And we did this in a way that many more people got introduced to the revolution and the tour and were able to contribute to it on the spot, as well as having some impact in the neighborhood where socially and collectively people were finding out about the tour and the need to support it—including that people they know are part of doing that. This was a beginning, with the idea being to periodically do these bake sales, involving more people as we go.

Our immediate follow-up was to let the people involved know how much money we raised together and give them a sense of how people were involved in making this happen. We are now reaching out and involving some of those same people and businesses in reading and popularizing the Points of Attention for the Revolution.

 

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

Get a free email subscription to revcom.us:



 


 

Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/349/watching-Fruitvale-Station-with-Bob-Avakian-en.html

Watching Fruitvale Station With Bob Avakian

August 22, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

This article was originally published in 2014.

For those who don’t know, Fruitvale Station is a very powerful, moving, and excruciating film that depicts the last day in the life of Oscar Grant.  Oscar was a 22-year-old, unarmed Black man murdered by Bay Area Rapid Transit police on New Year’s Day, 2009.  He was returning home from celebrating on New Year’s Eve, when police stopped Oscar and the friends he was with, harassed and brutalized them, straddled Oscar as he lay face down on a subway platform, and fatally shot him in the back. 

Not too long ago, I watched Fruitvale Station with Bob Avakian (BA), chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party.  Towards the very end of the film, agonizing, heartbreaking and infuriating scenes are shown: The cop shooting Oscar in the back; Oscar’s girlfriend frantically rushing to the scene, trying to find out what happened; Oscar’s loved ones gathering together and waiting desperately to find out if he would make it, only to find out he was gone forever.

As these scenes unfolded, I looked over at BA.  He was sobbing.  Not just misty-eyed. Sobbing.  And he continued to cry tears of heartbreak and rage for several minutes, as the closing credits rolled.

This made a very big impression on me.  BA did not know Oscar Grant personally. But he felt the sting of his murder in an extremely raw and visceral way. And I think his reaction speaks volumes about who Bob Avakian is, what he represents, and what he is all about. 

BA has literally been fighting against this system for 50 years.  He has been a revolutionary communist for about 45 years.  He has been shouldering the responsibility of leading the Revolutionary Communist Party for almost 40 years. And over the course of the last several decades, he has forged the theory and deepened the science for the revolution humanity needs to get free, while also providing practical leadership to the party and movement working for that revolution.  And all of this has involved not only tremendous work, but also tremendous risk and sacrifice on BA’s part as anyone with a sense of U.S. history, and/or BA’s personal history—specifically, what this reveals about the way the U.S. government viciously goes after revolutionary leaders—should well understand. And over all these decades, and through everything described above, BA has never lost an ounce of his love and feeling for the masses of people, his sense of outrage and hatred for all the ways in which the masses suffer needlessly, and his fire for revolution to emancipate the masses all over the world.  Not one bone in his body has become numb.  

There is a great deal more that could be said about the experience of watching Fruitvale Station with BA. But I want to highlight two points.

First, I think that in BA’s reaction to this movie, there is a lot for revolutionary communists, and anyone with concern for humanity and hatred for oppression and injustice, to reflect on and learn from.  Even with all the work BA has done and continues to do in the realm of theory, in order to forge a deeper understanding of why police murders like the execution of Oscar Grant and countless other outrages keep happening, the larger picture they are connected to, and how these outrages can be ended through revolution; even though BA has been at this for decades; and even with all of the horrors that pile up every single second that this system remains in place, there is absolutely no sense on BA’s part of world-weary detachment or defeatism when something like the murder of Oscar Grant goes down.  His reaction is decidedly not:  “Oh, well of course, this happens all the time, what do you expect?”   Rather, he cries tears of rage and anguish, both because he feels acutely the pain of Oscar’s life being stolen and because he knows that outrages like this are completely unnecessary and that humanity does not have to live this way.

This brings me to the second point I want to make here—and it is one I want to give even greater emphasis to, even while the first point above is very important and very related. The point I want to close this letter with is: We had better fully recognize and appreciate what we have in BA, and act accordingly.

I’ll say it again: We had better fully recognize and appreciate what we have in BA, and act accordingly.

And when I say “we had better,” that “we” is addressed to many different people and audiences.  Yes, I am most definitely speaking to revolutionaries and communists and to all those who are already deeply familiar with and supportive of BA.  But in saying “we,” I am also speaking to those who are just now—or just recently—learning about and getting introduced to this revolutionary leader—including, to quote BA, “Those this system has cast off, those it has treated as less than human” who “can be the backbone and driving force of a fight not only to end their own oppression, but to finally end all oppression, and emancipate all of humanity.”   

To all the masses of people, here and around the world, who suffer brutal oppression minute after minute, day after day... and to all those who may not directly suffer this oppression but ache for a world where this oppression is no more, I want to say this:  If you do not know about Bob Avakian, or just recently learned about him, that is not your fault.  But you, and millions of other people, need to understand how incredibly rare and precious it is for the people of the planet that we have this revolutionary leader and act in accordance with that reality.

BA is not only the leader of the revolution, he is also a best friend to the masses of people.  He is a leader who has done decades of work in the realm of theory to bring forward the scientific method, strategy and vision needed to make revolution and bring into being a radically new world where all the horrors that humanity suffers unnecessarily would be no more. He is continuing to develop the advanced scientific method that he has forged, and apply that method to all of the big questions and obstacles confronting the revolution. He is able to break all of this down for people, without even slightly watering it down, in a way that everyone can understand, take up, and be inspired by. He has taken on the daily responsibility of leading a party and a movement to make revolution right here in the most powerful imperialist country in the world. He has dedicated his life to the emancipation of humanity. And, through all of this, he maintains a deep, visceral connection to and feeling for the masses of people who most desperately need this revolution.

A leader like this comes along very, very rarely.  And when this does happen, the absolute worst thing we could do is fail to recognize this, fail to act in accordance with this, fail to take this seriously, or take this for granted.  Instead, all of us—whether we have known about BA for decades, are just learning about him and what he represents, or anywhere in between, and whether you agree with BA about everything or not—must fully recognize and embrace what BA means for the people of the world.  We must study, and learn all we can from his incredible body of work on the biggest questions of revolution and human emancipation, as well as the lessons of who he is and what he stands for as a revolutionary leader.  We must realize that it is not just us who need to know about BA, his work and vision, and the leadership he is providing to this party and movement for revolution:  millions of people must know about all of this, and this must impact all of society.    

Furthermore, and very crucially, we must fully confront the reality of what it would mean for the people of the world to lose this leader, and take extremely seriously that there are people and forces—those officially part of the powers-that-be, as well as those willing to do the work of the powers-that-be—who hate what BA represents and would like nothing more than to tear him down, silence him, and take him from the masses of people.  And we must be absolutely determined not to let that happen.

This means taking very seriously the need to do everything we can to protect and defend BA. This means denouncing and not giving a millimeter of space to those who slander and personally attack BA, because these attacks and slanders are part of creating the poisonous atmosphere and conditions that would make it easier for the powers-that-be, or those doing their bidding, to take BA from the people of the world.  Protecting and defending BA, and building a wall around him, also means boldly and sharply challenging those who may not be part of the camp of the enemy, but who are wallowing in, or at least being influenced by, arrogance, cynicism and snark, and who seek to dismiss without seriously engaging what BA has brought forward; this arrogance, snark, cynicism, and dismissal, regardless of the intent of those who fall into it, stands in the way of BA and all that he has brought forward having the reach and societal influence that this urgently needs to have.  And this, too, creates easier conditions for those who would try to silence and isolate BA and take him from the masses.

Few things in life are more tragic than a critical lesson learned too late. And it would truly be a tragedy if BA were taken from the people, and then people said: “Wow, I wish I had realized sooner what we had here.”

But the good news is: It is not too late.  We, and the masses of the planet, have BA right now.  We had better realize, and let everyone know, what that means.

 

 


 

Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/bob-avakian-you-cant-change-the-world-if-you-dont-know-the-basics-27-en.html

You Can’t Change the World If You Don’t Know the BAsics

| revcom.us

 

 

Every week, revcom.us features one quote from BAsics, by Bob Avakian, the handbook for revolution. We encourage Revolution Clubs and other readers, everywhere, to take the time to discuss the quote—the whole quote—and to write us at revolution.reports@yahoo.com with accounts of these discussions, or thoughts provoked in yourself by reading the quote.

 

Basics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian

BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian

"You can't change the world if you don't know the BAsics."

BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian is a book of quotations and short essays that speaks powerfully to questions of revolution and human emancipation.

Order the book or download the book in ePub format HERE

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/512/see-and-share-this-talk-en.html

In this Film, Bob Avakian Analyzes the Deep Roots and Driving Forces of Trump/Pence Fascism and What Must Be Done to Stop It.

Watch It Here, and Spread It.

| revcom.us

 

Be part of bringing the most serious answers to the most urgent questions to tens and hundreds of thousands, and ultimately millions.

This talk from Bob Avakian (BA) provides a scientific understanding of the roots of this fascist regime—in the history of the U.S. and the deeper roots in the system of capitalism-imperialism. He does so with passion, humor, humanity, and a deep sense of history. He cuts into the deepest, most agonizing questions, first in the speech and then in a wide-ranging Questions and Answers.

If more people watched this talk, it could change today’s political equation. But far too few have seen this talk, or even know about it. You are needed to be part of changing this.

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Scroll down for the film trailer, videos of the Q&A session following the speech, and clips from the film


Click to view the full speech.

The film and all video clips are also available for download HERE

For instructions to download this film click HERE

 

 

 

Questions and Answers with Bob Avakian

NEW:  Download, share, and watch each Q&A in a separate clip. To download these clips, click the "v" icon on the bottom right of the clip to get to the Vimeo page, and scroll down to the button for "Download"

Q&A: What do you say to the comedians who ridicule Trump/Pence but also run the risk of contributing to normalizing fascism?

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Q&A: If we drive out the Trump/Pence regime, what will replace it?

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Q&A: How can we sustain the massive movement required to drive this regime from power?

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Q&A: What strategies are there to break through the mainstream news whiteout of Refuse Fascism?

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Q&A: How can we protect immigrants targeted directly by this regime?

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Q&A: What's the role of students in the movement to drive out the Trump/Pence regime?

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Q&A: The Democrats are supposed to be the lesser of two evils, but I don't want to vote for them. I know the system sucks, but what do we do in the interim?

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Q&A: As a revolutionary Christian, I believe that we do need this revolution but how can you have religious people not feel alienated?

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Q&A: What's the relationship between fighting fascism and making revolution?

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Q&A: How can we overcome obstacles in reaching out broadly to drive out the Trump/Pence regime?

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Q&A: Millions hate what's happening with the Trump/Pence regime, but does that matter if they don’t act?

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Q&A: Do you think that we need animal liberation?

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Trailer and Clips From the Film:

Clip: "Free Yourself from the GTF!"

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Clip: "For Black people, isn't Trump just more of the same?"

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Clip: "America: the leader of the free world? When was that ever true?"

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Clip: "What's the matter with liberals?"

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Clip: "Slavery? Genocide? And you think fascism can't happen here?"

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Clip: "What are we facing?"

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Clip: "Order or Justice?"

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Clip: "What Must We Do?"

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Clip: "The direct line from the Confederacy to the fascists of today"

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Clip: "Why is it the Democrats can only try to resolve this on the terms of the system?"

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Clip: "The Christian Fascists
Now In Power"

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Clip: "The 'Unholy Alliance' Between Trump and Fundamentalist Christian Fascists"

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Clip: What Has Given Rise to the Situation in Which We Have a Fascist Regime Ruling the U.S.?

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Clip: Why Can't We Rely On the Democratic Party to Root Out the Trump/Pence Fascist Regime?

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Clip: If We Drive Out Trump, Won't We Just Get Pence? And How Can Mass Action Drive Out Trump, Anyway?

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Clip: On What Basis Can Revolutionaries and People Who Are Not Revolutionaries Unite to Drive Out the Regime?

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/refuse-fascism-five-points-on-the-demand-for-impeachment-en.html

Reposted from RefuseFascism.org:

5 Points on the Demand for Impeachment

| revcom.us

 

Refuse Fascism Editorial Group

An outcry after the release of the Mueller report has forced the Democrats to have to respond to the impeachment question. There is an emerging split within the Democratic Party between the anti-impeachment stance of Nancy “He’s just not worth it” Pelosi and the minority stance of Elizabeth Warren, who said at her CNN town hall, “There is no political inconvenience exception to the United States Constitution...if any other human being in this country had done what's documented in the Mueller report, they would be arrested and put in jail.”

In the wake of the redacted Mueller report being made public, there is a lot of complexity to what has been happening, both within and among the ruling parties, from the regime itself, and among the people. For an unparalleled examination on what it all means, we urge people to listen to Sunsara Taylor’s conversation with Andy Zee on WBAI – The Mueller Report: “People have to Wake the F___ Up!” The Stakes are Nothing Less than the Future.

The uptick in impeachment chatter is an important development, and the “switchboard” of prominent voices lighting up and pushing back against the anti-impeachment argument is something we need to pay attention to. While this chatter has not yet translated into masses of people in the streets in sustained, nonviolent protest, more and more people are recognizing how profoundly Trump is tearing up the norms of government and the danger of him consolidating unchecked power before 2020.

People are being pulled in seemingly irreconcilable directions, not just between groups or between individuals, but inside individuals’ own hearts and minds. People want desperately to do something but are also afraid of doing the wrong thing, and these fears are being stoked both by the Trump/Pence fascist regime and the Democratic Party leadership. The fact that a section of people are not willing to concede this question to the dominant party-line points to openings in the movement to drive out the fascist Trump/Pence regime through sustained, nonviolent protest.

The following points provide some guidance in light of all this contention and complexity:

  1. Within the normal channels, impeachment alone is not a precedent for removal. No U.S. president has ever been removed from office through impeachment. A simple majority in the House of Representatives can impeach, but a ⅔ majority in the Senate is required for removal. Even after the 2020 elections, that kind of majority is unlikely, especially without millions of people acting now to stop a fascist locomotive on a collision course with humanity. If millions of people act on their conscience and step outside the normal channels into a sustained, nonviolent protest movement, impeachment can open the door to resignation or become one mechanism by which the ruling forces, if they are compelled to by a mass movement from below, can try to resolve a crisis of legitimacy.
  1. We do not want President Pence, the leader of the Christian fascist wing of the regime. Aiming for nothing less than a Christian theocratic society ruled by biblical law and morality, Pence’s ascension to the White House, through his unholy alliance with Trump, is bringing about a Handmaid’s Tale nightmare in which women are forced to bear children, LGBT people are persecuted and erased, and science is suppressed. Refuse Fascism is mobilizing people around one unifying demand, the removal of the entire Trump/Pence regime. This can create an overwhelming rebuke of all of the values and aims of this fascist movement—the white supremacy, patriarchy, xenophobia, vicious wars with the escalating danger of nuclear war, and the fascist assault on truth, science, and the environment. History has shown us that the people acting together, with creativity, courage, and conviction, can force out tyrannical regimes.  
  2. Impeachment cannot become another means by which the millions who hate what is happening become sucked into another waiting game as the Trump/Pence regime terrorizes more people. While people are arguing for impeachment, the decisive factor is whether or not a critical mass takes to the streets to stop this regime. The point needs to be brought home that no one’s vision of a positive future for humanity will be possible while this regime remains in power. The hour is getting late, and waiting until 2020 while this regime consolidates power is unconscionable. Sustained, nonviolent protests must be organized and launched at the soonest possible time.  
  3. Without a “clamor” from below in the form of a critical mass of people in the streets, this crisis will not be resolved by the ruling powers in a way that is good for humanity. What we are facing is fascism: rule by open terror and violence, civil liberties stripped away, dissent criminalized, and group after group demonized and targeted along a trajectory that leads to real horrors. Fascism advances in stages and makes leaps in a vacuum of opposition. This regime is waging war on Muslims, immigrants, women, LGBT people, the press, science, and on the planet itself. We cannot rely on the Democratic Party to stop this. Absent a mass movement from below, the Democratic Party’s calculus will put order over justice and prevent people from breaking out of politics as usual.
  1. This is a time for millions to seriously confront, take up, spread, and get organized around the message of Refuse Fascism: “In the name of humanity, we refuse to accept a fascist America. This nightmare must end. The Trump/Pence regime must go!” People who are engaging in the call for impeachment need to get into our Call to Action and the vision it lays out for sustained, nonviolent protests that “...will shake millions awake, with many losing their adjustment to life under this regime. The international credibility of the regime will be undermined. A determined struggle that doesn’t yield and won’t be provoked can create a serious political crisis. Those in power who are themselves now under attack by the regime but conciliating with it would be compelled to respond to our struggle from below, leading to a situation where this illegitimate regime is removed from power.”

 

RefuseFascism.org is a movement of people coming from diverse perspectives, united in the 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 non-violent protests that grow every day until our demand is met.

Go to RefuseFascism.org to learn more and find out how to participate.

The Democrats, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, etc., are seeking to resolve the crisis with the Trump presidency on the terms of this system, and in the interests of the ruling class of this system, which they represent. We, the masses of people, must go all out, and mobilize ourselves in the millions, to resolve this in our interests, in the interests of humanity, which are fundamentally different from and opposed to those of the ruling class.

This, of course, does not mean that the struggle among the powers that be is irrelevant or unimportant; rather, the way to understand and approach this (and this is a point that must also be repeatedly driven home to people, including through necessary struggle, waged well) is in terms of how it relates to, and what openings it can provide for, “the struggle from below”—for the mobilization of masses of people around the demand that the whole regime must go, because of its fascist nature and actions and what the stakes are for humanity.

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/ny-times-on-trump-and-congress-en.html

NY Times on Trump and Congress—Liberal Logic, Losing Strategy

| revcom.us

 

Editors note: Following is an edited version of a letter from a reader exposing the losing strategy of liberal logic in response to the fascist Trump/Pence regime.

This recent New York Times editorial, “Donald Trump Shows a New Level of Contempt for Congress”, exposes Trump's complete refusal to allow any Congressional oversight, invoking king-like executive privilege. It speaks to the courts being bogged down in lawsuits and counter-suits, and why the judicial branch won't be a meaningful check on Trump in any immediate way.

As the editorial moves towards a conclusion about what they think should happen, they write: “The process will grind on, as it must, if Congress is to demand any sort of accountability from a president intent on undermining its authority.” Note: “Grind On...”—meanwhile, all the actions of the Trump administration which the Times decries go on.

But, then the Times concludes their main editorial with this: "… in declaring war on congressional oversight, Trump is not looking to maintain a balance of powers. He is looking to blow up the scales." [emphasis ours]

Now that’s TRUE... From the perspective of the “norms” of bourgeois democracy, they sound an alarm. But to what end? Where are we left by the NYT? With Congress grinding on while concentration camps on the border fill up and the planet heats up.  

A perfect illustration of a LOSING STRATEGY and their VACILLATION, FEAR AND TREPIDATION of unleashing and mobilizing masses of people to take to the streets against this fascist regime and drive it out. This reveals that it's in the very nature of the liberal wing of the ruling class (as represented here by the New York Times and the Democratic Party) when confronted by the face of fascism—to try and use the norms of bourgeois democracy to oppose Trump, while Trump is busy shattering all those very norms. 

Watch this clip from a Q&A with Bob Avakian to find out why we can’t rely on the Democrats to stop fascism, what that has to do with the system the Democrats and Republicans BOTH represent, and why IT'S ON US to rise up and stop this fascist nightmare through mass noniviolent sustained protest to stop this fascism and to get organized now to prepare for an actual revolution when we can overthrow this whole damn system. 

Is There Going to Be a Civil War Between Republicans and Democrats?

From a Talk by Bob Avakian: Why We Need An Actual Revolution And How We Can Really Make Revolution.

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/avakian/bob_avakian-on-the-rise-of-fascism-and-how-to-fight-it-en.html

Bob Avakian On the Rise of Fascism and How to Fight It

| revcom.us

 

 

Bob Avakian On Revolution And The Fight Against Fascism

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Q&A: It looks like there may be a coming civil war between the Democrats and fascists. How should we understand this and act to realign things?

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Q&A: The rise of fascism & struggle in international communist movement

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What would be the next step if the Trump/Pence regime consolidates power?

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How to spread the fighting spirit confronting fascists despite what Dems say?

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Free yourself from the GTF!
Clip from the film by Bob Avakian The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! In the Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America - A Better World IS Possible

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Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/drop-the-charges-on-maya-cruz-en.html

UChicago students and others demand: Drop the Charges on Maya Cruz!

| revcom.us

 

On April 25, a five-foot board signed by University of Chicago students and others in the UChicago community was delivered to the university president’s office demanding that the charges be dropped against Maya Cruz. For two weeks the board was taken around campus by Revolution Club members and by other members of the Free Maya Defense Committee, together with flyers about Maya’s case and the Points of Attention for the Revolution. Law school students and UChicago students more broadly signed the board. Teachers and parents at the Lab School, the elite high school connected to the university, signed it. Alumni and workers at the university signed it. The demand states, “University of Chicago, Drop the Charges on Diya ‘Maya’ Cruz! 1) Revolutionaries should not be persecuted for fighting for a better world, 2) A non-violent protest against Trump’s attacks on immigrants should not be criminalized.”

Maya, a member of the Revolution Club, was arrested by the UCPD on March 1, 2018 for participating in a silent protest in support of immigrants under attack by the Trump/Pence regime. She is outrageously being charged with a bogus felony of aggravated battery on a police officer, and faces potentially seven years in prison if convicted. Even more outrageous is that University of Chicago is supposedly the standard-bearer for free speech on campus, which in reality means enforcing the right of fascists to spout white supremacy, demonization of immigrants and Palestinians and other oppressed peoples, while people speaking out against injustice and in the interests of humanity are viciously repressed. In particular, the Revolution Club has been repeatedly targeted by the UCPD, and has faced what a profile piece on the Revolution Club in the April 17 edition of the UChicago student newspaper, the Chicago Maroon, describes as “hostile reception by the administration.”

At the press conference to deliver the demand, very heartfelt statements were given in support of Maya, condemning her arrest and prosecution. In addition to the Revolution Club, a representative of Refuse Fascism Chicago gave a statement, Bishop Gregg Greer of Freedom First International spoke, and Rebecca Ridenour, an actor and writer, read a beautiful poem she’d written called “Free Maya.” Written statements were read from a UChicago student, from active supporters Janet and Norris Larson, and from Maya herself, who is banned from the campus so was not allowed to be there for the press conference. One local newspaper came to cover the press conference, but it was ignored by the mainstream media and the Maroon.

UChicago police and security were a heavy presence at the press conference, emphasizing yet again the political repression of the university. They stood in front of the entrance to the building where university president Robert Zimmer’s office is located, and a representative came out to accept the signed demand. The challenge to UChicago students remains: What will be the character of their campus? Free speech for fascists and jailing of those fighting for a better world? Or will the demand be felt that the charges against Maya be dropped while more students step forward to take up that fight themselves?

* * *

Statement by Maya

Thank you to everyone who is present. As you probably already know, I am not there because besides the felony charges I face, I am also banned from campus as part of my bond! I’m banned but I am not silenced!

Look, this system is a nightmare for humanity!

There is the continuous wars for empire, the destruction and plunder of the environment, the demonization and persecution of immigrants, the criminalization and demonization of Black and Brown people, and women treated as sex-objects, breeders and raped just for being born females.

This is a system that cannot be reformed. To put an end to this nightmare, this system must be overthrown. I’m a member of the Revolution Club and we are working to make revolution at the soonest possible time, with the science, strategy, and leadership needed to make an actual revolution in Bob Avakian and the new communism.

We fight for a world without borders and wars for empire, a world where no more will anyone be considered “illegal,” a world where women are not seen as less than human, Black and Brown people are not shot down like dogs or mass incarcerated, and a world where the people are caretakers of the planet. I did the silent protest because it can’t be tolerated for our immigrant sisters and brothers to be dehumanized and rounded up by this fascist regime. All of us need to be standing up about this, and I’m doing this as part of getting ready for revolution.

There are only two choices facing humanity: we either let this nightmare go on for future generations, if there is a future at all OR we make revolution.

I want to invite and challenge all the students, everyone hearing this to be part of bringing a whole better world. Read the six Points of Attention for the Revolution, and if you want to see that kind of world, begin spreading them right now and organize other students to take them up and stand with me in demanding that charges be dropped.

A five-foot board demanding that charges against Maya Cruz be dropped was delivered to the university president's office.

At the press conference—to deliver the demand that charges against Maya Cruz be dropped—very heartfelt statements were given in support of Maya, condemning her arrest and prosecution.

Free Maya

by Rebecca Ridenour

Her ask was eleven,
Silent were the minutes,
for the eleven million souls
shadowed in the nightmare of yesteryear,
written in the papers of today.
Light the BBQ on Sundays,
to smoke the blood away.
The undocumented are in process.
We will dock your life story.
We’ll take your baby from your giving lap.
Eleven minutes silence,
for eleven million thoughts.
The henchman from the house of learning
pluck her quiet tongue
her whisper body,
her rebel blood,
and slam it along the University
cobble stone.
Seven years they’ll slam.
At Cook County Court House,
baby cooing on mamma’s lap,
the blind lady Justice plays peek-a-boo
weighing coffee brown fruits
for stone years.
The story they’ve written
renews the public’s faith in fate.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow,
shuffles away into the clerks papers.
For eleven minutes
for eleven million,
for seven stone years.
for a moment the baby laughs,
eyes fixed on mama’s face.
The story is written so the truth is erased.
The rest is silence.

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/black-hole-letter-en.html

Correspondence on Science, Humanity, and Seeing the “Unseeable”:

“... the kind of scientific energy that COULD and SHOULD and MUST be released from the constraints of nations and borders...”

| revcom.us

 

Editors’ Note: We received this response from a reader, and thought it insightful and important to share excerpts. The reader points out this example of international collaboration around capturing the image of a Black Hole as a “... glimmer of the kind of scientific energy that COULD and SHOULD and MUST be released from the constraints of nations and borders...”

Thank you to revcom for publishing the letter from a reader which you introduced with the title “Science, Humanity, and Seeing the ‘Unseeable’” about the astounding and beautiful scientific accomplishment of the creation of an image of the black hole horizon on April 10. As the letter writer recounts, over 200 scientists in 40 countries gathered and combined massive amounts of data from eight observatories spanning the globe, essentially creating an Earth-sized radio telescope (the project is called the Event Horizon Telescope or EHT). The massive data was processed to reveal the image we all saw. The April 10 “reveal” press conferences were held simultaneously, in several languages, in Washington, Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo.

The letter published by revcom was by far the best reporting I read in trying to understand this deeply awe-inspiring breakthrough and its implications for humanity’s ability to scientifically understand the universe.

One thread that ran through a few of the questions, answers, and comments during the press conferences that I watched (parts of the National Science Foundation-hosted conference in Washington, DC, and the European Union-hosted conference in Brussels) deserves some mention and appreciation.

Ana Humphrey, a public high school student at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, (and the winner in March of the $250,000 Regeneron Science Talent Search grant for her research on exoplanets, that is, planets outside our solar system), asked the following at the Washington, D.C. press conference:

[T]his is obviously an incredible feat of global collaboration in the scientific community, and do you see a model for science going forward? If so, what are the challenges and what are this the things we can hope to accomplish?

Shep Doeleman, Director of the Event Horizon Telescope, answered:

That is a great question. It [VLBI, very-long-baseline interferometry, the technology that enables observatories around the world to collect and combine data to produce high quality imagery] is designed by its very nature [to be] cross-border activities, we don’t pay attention to where the telescopes are, just that they are high enough in command by scientists that share a common vision. In that sense, we built this team that is a 200+ member team by selecting experts from everywhere. I think it is a very good model for how we can do distributive science. We have published papers with people that we have never met before, but we consider them our true and trusted colleagues. That happens because we have the ability to reach out and form a distributed network of scientists. I think it is a good model.

It struck me that the creation of this extraordinary scientific breakthrough through science that was literally, geographically, international and that involved scientists across the globe, also revealed a glimmer of the kind of scientific energy that COULD and SHOULD and MUST be released from the constraints of nations and borders ... to solve very difficult problems of saving the Earth itself from the accelerating environmental disaster caused by the catastrophic global competition for profit, and to greatly expand collective human knowledge of, and scientific interaction with, the universe. Humanity, and the Earth, urgently need the revolutions that would in fact transcend borders as nothing more than expressions of archaic and barbaric divisions among people and totally unnecessary barriers to science.

Read also

Science, Humanity, and Seeing the "Unseeable"

Read more


The recently-released image of a black hole in the center of the galaxy Messier 87.

 

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Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/american-crime-case-21-chad-1981-1990-us-backs-ruthless-torturer-en.html

American Crime

Case #21: Chad, 1981‒1990: U.S. Backs Ruthless Torturer, Mass Murderer Hissène Habré—“Africa’s Pinochet”

| revcom.us

 

Bob Avakian has written that one of three things that has “to happen in order for there to be real and lasting change for the better: People have to fully confront the actual history of this country and its role in the world up to today, and the terrible consequences of this.” (See “3 Things that have to happen in order for there to be real and lasting change for the better.”)

In that light, and in that spirit, “American Crime” is a regular feature of revcom.us. Each installment focuses on one of the 100 worst crimes committed by the U.S. rulers—out of countless bloody crimes they have carried out against people around the world, from the founding of the U.S. to the present day.

American Crime

See all the articles in this series.

THE CRIME

In March 1981, the CIA under newly elected President Ronald Reagan began providing covert backing and military assistance to Hissène Habré, one of the most ruthless warlords fighting to take power in Chad. That U.S. support would continue for eight more years, as Habré seized power, and ruled so ruthlessly he became known as “Africa’s Pinochet,” after Chile’s U.S.-backed butcher, Gen. Augusto Pinochet.1

The Republic of Chad is a small landlocked country in Central Africa, bordered by Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Central African Republic, Sudan, and Cameroon. It was part of French Equatorial Africa until gaining formal independence in 1960. For most of the 20 years that followed it was racked by civil war and several invasions by Libya, often in support of various factions in Chad. Libya was headed by Muammar Qaddafi and had political and military ties with the Soviet Union, which was in a Cold War conflict with the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s.

The CIA knew of Habré’s opposition to Qaddafi and his allies in Chad, and they also knew of his warlord atrocities, which had also been reported by the New York Times and Washington Post. This included the discovery of several hundred skeletons of people murdered by his henchmen and buried in the back yard of his home. Nevertheless, in early 1981, Reagan signed a secret presidential finding that authorized covert operations to bring Hissène Habré to power and the CIA, along with France, began covertly supplying Habré with millions of dollars in weapons and other assistance.

In June of 1982 Habré overthrew Goukouni Oueddei’s Libya-backed government, established a provisional government, and declared Chad’s “Third Republic.” Oueddei’s forces continued to battle Habré’s rule from northern Chad with Libyan and Soviet support.

Habré’s regime responded with systematic violence and terror: carrying out arbitrary arrests of thousands of Chadians, systematically torturing and murdering those he considered political opponents, and targeting specific ethnic groups for mass killings.

During Habré’s rule, reports of mass crimes and atrocities continued to come out. In November 1984 Amnesty International reported: “Government troops in Southern Chad have carried out hundreds of summary executions in the past two months, killing prisoners in custody and shooting unarmed civilians at random.”

Documents of Habré’s political police—the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS)—discovered by Human Rights Watch in 2001 revealed the names of 1,208 people who were killed or died in detention, and the names of 12,321 others who were victims of torture, arbitrary detention, and other human rights violations. A 1992 Truth Commission, set up by the government that replaced Habré, estimated that he was responsible for more than 40,000 deaths.

Habré’s secret police—the DDS—had been created and trained by the U.S. from the start. American officials made regular visits to DDS offices for purposes of “advising, or exchanging information”—at the same time, according to Chad’s 1992 Truth Commission, that the worst of the torture and murder was taking place.

In “Enabling a Dictator: The United States and Chad’s Hissène Habré, 1982-1990,” Human Rights Watch reports:

DDS logs confirm that an embassy official who liaised with the DDS visited the DDS headquarters at the height of one of the waves of repression. The DDS headquarters, which included a torture chamber, and Habré’s underground “Piscine” prison—a colonial-era swimming pool divided into cells and covered with a cement slab—were located in the capital N’Djaména, across the street from the USAID office.

Over 25 years later, when Habré was tried in Senegal for crimes against humanity, 90 witnesses testified that he had thrown thousands of people into secret jails, where they were tortured and killed. The tortures people suffered included waterboarding, forced asphyxiation on the tailpipe of a car, and the “Arbatachar”—where all four limbs are tied behind the victim’s back, the cord yanked tight until the chest is thrust forward—which left some deformed, paralyzed, or unable to use their limbs at all.

During his eight bloody years in power, it’s estimated that Habré’s secret police killed tens of thousands, tortured as many as 200,000 and disappeared countless others. Yet during that time the U.S. never stopped providing him with tens of millions of dollars each year in military assistance, training, intelligence, and political support. That aid only stopped when Habré was driven from power in 1990.

THE CRIMINALS

Hissène Habré was put on trial in Senegal in 2016 and found guilty of crimes against humanity, summary execution, torture, rape, and sexual slavery. He was sentenced to life in prison.

President Ronald Reagan gave the go-ahead to the CIA to secretly fund Habré when he was already known as a brutal warlord hungering for power. To them he was “our man in Africa.” And Reagan continued his support year after year, despite the mounting evidence of atrocities committed against the Chadian people under Habré’s rule. In 1987 Reagan invited Habré for a special visit to the White House, where he said: “President Habré and I are convinced that the relationship between our countries will continue to be strong and productive, one which will serve the interests of both our peoples. It was an honor and a great pleasure to have had him here as our guest.”

CIA Chief William Casey and Secretary of State Alexander Haig played crucial roles in putting their “quintessential desert warrior” Hissène Habré in power. They also played key parts in ensuring that Habré was provided with all the covert aid he needed to remain in power, despite his growing mountain of crimes against humanity. A former director of Chad’s DDS said at his own torture trial in 2014 (which ended in a life sentence), “I was constantly assisted by a CIA agent who provided me with advice.”

The French government also fully supported Habré—supplying him with weapons, logistical support, and information. In addition, it carried out its own military operations to help force Libyan troops from Chad. French advisers worked with the military, and French intelligence also trained DDS and army officers in France as well as in Chad. This includes Idriss Déby, the current president, who forced Habré out in a 1990 coup. France was Chad’s largest financial contributor, investing $250 million per year.

Israel and Saudi Arabia were also a part of the coalition that trained and armed Chad’s security forces.

THE ALIBI

From the start of his presidency, Reagan had declared “international terrorism” a primary threat to world order, and targeted Libya’s Qaddafi as a prime supporter of terrorism. The U.S. justified its support for Habré in terms of its “global war on terrorism,” combating Soviet expansionism, and maintaining political stability in Chad and Central Africa.

As Habré’s atrocities began to come to light, the U.S. officials and intelligence operatives closest to Habré claimed they were unaware of the magnitude of his crimes. As the evidence became insurmountable in the years and decades following his ouster, the U.S. expressed shock and regret for what they might have contributed to that. After the verdict in Habré’s trial, Obama’s secretary of state, John Kerry, said, “This is also an opportunity for the United States to reflect on, and learn from, our own connection with past events in Chad.”

THE ACTUAL MOTIVE

Defending Chad was not Reagan’s principal concern. The U.S.’s actual motive was focused on encircling and undermining Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi. Throughout the 1980s, Habré was a centerpiece in that effort.

As Raymond Lotta put it, “The problem the U.S. imperialists had with Qaddafi was his close ties to the Soviet bloc [then the U.S.’s main imperialist rival]... the problem they had was assertiveness in supporting certain radical movements and groups that might benefit the Soviet bloc at a time when the rivalry between the U.S. and Soviet-led blocs was heading towards a global military showdown.”

U.S. support for Habré was aimed at preventing Libya from taking over northern Chad (or the entire country) and increasing its (and potentially Soviet) influence in neighboring countries. In 1983 Reagan said he was not only concerned with maintaining political stability in Chad, but that “the whole attitude of Qaddafi and his empire-building is of concern to anyone, but the main concern is to the surrounding African States”—which included Sudan, Niger, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Senegal. These were all considered “pro-Western,” and threatened by Libya.

For the U.S., Habré’s regime was also a weapon for weakening Libya. As Secretary of State Haig put it, working with Habré to launch a covert war against Libyan and pro-Libyan forces would “bloody Qaddafi’s nose” and “increase the flow of pine boxes back to Libya.” By 1987, Libyan forces had largely been driven from Chad.

Compared to these imperialist interests, concerns about human rights—or life—barely registered. As one former U.S. intelligence official who worked with Habré put it:

Little to no attention was paid to the human rights issues at the time for three reasons [...] (1) We wanted the Libyans out and Habré was the only reliable instrument at our disposal, (2) Habré’s record suffered only from the kidnapping (the Claustre Affair2), which we were content to overlook, and (3) Habré was a good fighter, needed no training, and all we had to do was supply him with material.

SOURCES

Michael Bronner,Our Man in Africa,” Foreign Policy, January 24, 2014.

Enabling a Dictator: The United States and Chad’s Hissène Habré, 1982-1990,” Human Rights Watch, June 28, 2016.

Revolution Interviews Raymond Lotta: The Events in Libya in Historical Perspective... Muammar Qaddafi in Class Perspective... The Question of Leadership in Communist Perspective,” revcom.us, March 8, 2011.

Truth Commission: The Commission of Inquiry into the Crimes and Misappropriations Committed by Ex-President Habré, His Accomplices and/or Accessories, Duration: 1991‒1992, United States Institute of Peace.

Chad profile—Timeline,” BBC, May 8, 2018.

William Blum, Rogue State—A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower (Common Courage 2000), pp. 151-52.

Bob Woodward, VEIL—The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987, Pocket Books, 1987

Libyan Intervention in Chad, 1980-87,” GlobalSecurity.org.

 


1. See, American Crime Case #57: The 1973 CIA Coup In Chile, revcom.us, October 22, 2017.  [back]

2. In 1974 Habré’s armed forces kidnapped three Europeans, including Françoise Claustre, a French anthropologist and wife of a French government official. Habré insisted on a ransom from the French and German governments in the form of cash, armaments, and medical supplies. In 1975, Habré’s forces executed a French captain who went to Chad to negotiate Claustre’s release.  [back]

 


Over 25 years, thousands of people were jailed, tortured and killed at the hands of Habré. One of the tortures people suffered was the “Arbatachar”—where all four limbs are tied behind the victim’s back, the cord yanked tight until the chest is thrust forward. This left some victims deformed, paralyzed, or unable to use their limbs at all.


President Ronald Reagan gave the go-ahead to the CIA to secretly fund Habré, a brutal warlord hungering for power. In 1987 Ronald Reagan invited Habré to the White House. He said: “President Habré and I are convinced that the relationship between our countries will continue to be strong and productive, one which will serve the interests of both our peoples….”


Hissène Habré was put on trial in Senegal in 2016 and found guilty of crimes against humanity, summary execution, torture, rape, and sexual slavery.  These three rape victims, seen here with their lawyer, testified at his trial about being raped repeatedly by his military forces.  (Photo: AP)

 

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/591/points-of-attention-en.html

Points of Attention for the Revolution

| revcom.us

 

These 6 Points of Attention (the POA's) are the principles around which the Revolution Clubs are organized.
Get in touch with the national Revolution Clubs here.

 

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.

 

 

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/revolution-books-on-the-fascist-assault-on-politics-and-prose-bookstore-en.html

Media Advisory

Revolution Books on the Fascist Assault on Politics and Prose Bookstore

Updated | revcom.us

 

The following statement was issued by Revolution Books in response to an April 27 attempt by neo-Nazis to disrupt a talk by Jonathan Metzl at Politics and Prose, a progressive independent bookstore just outside of Washington, DC. Metzl is a psychiatrist and professor at Vanderbilt University. He was reading from his book on the upsurge of white racism and its effects when a band of 10 white supremacists invaded the store, seized the front of the room, and chanted racist slogans. Members of the audience rose from their chairs in support of Metzl and the marchers left.

In its coverage of the attack, the Washington Post quoted from this statement and mentioned that Revolution Books in Berkeley has been attacked numerous times by right-wing groups. Other media outlets, like The Hill, have linked to the Post story. It’s a sign of the times that these kinds of fascist assaults are increasing. And this statement by Revolution Books, which reflects the principles of the store, is impacting the situation and setting the right terms.

Contact: Revolution Books Berkeley: RevolutionBooks@sbcglobal.net, Revolution Books New York: revbooksnyc@yahoo.com

Revolution Books in NYC and Berkeley express our solidarity with Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. On Saturday, a group of white-supremacist thugs stormed into the store and chanted racist slogans while author Jonathan Metzl was reading from his book Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland, the event that was part of the Antiracist Book Festival. This brazen assault came on the same day as the shooting at a synagogue in California.

The Trump-Pence fascist regime has emboldened these acts--escalating and legitimizing white supremacy, hatred of immigrants and Muslims, and antisemitism. These goons and killers are in fact part of a fascist strike force to consolidate the rule of fascism and to terrorize and intimidate people into accepting it. Bookstores and other institutions that value and promote critical thinking, the search for the truth, and social justice are in the cross-hairs. Revolution Books in Berkeley has been physically assaulted numerous times by fascists-racists in the last two years.

In these times people of conscience and conviction must come to the support of Politics and Prose. And, more, work to drive the Trump/Pence regime from power. We encourage people to watch the film of the talk by Bob Avakian The Trump/Pence Regime Must Go! In The Name of Humanity, We REFUSE to Accept a Fascist America. A Better World IS Possible.

Revolution Books is the political, intellectual, and cultural center of a movement for an actual revolution. This is a revolution to put a stop once and for all to the wars of empire, white supremacy, brutalization and degradation of women, and persecution of immigrants, and the destruction of the environment...a revolution to emancipate all of humanity.

We call on every person whose work, morality, and values aspire to a world of diversity, of overcoming the oppression of all peoples regardless of nationality, race, gender, or beliefs to stand with Politics and Prose and with authors and voices exposing this dangerous moment.

Andy Zee, spokesperson for Revolution Books
Raymond Lotta, Revolution Books, NYC
Reiko Redmonde, Revolution Books, Berkeley

 

Bob Avakian: "What are we facing?"

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/May-1-2019-en.html

May 1, 2019

| revcom.us

 

On May 1, in a world racked with turmoil, on a day that should be about revolution, internationalism, and the emancipation of ALL humanity, we make this statement to the world:

There is an urgent need for this new synthesis [of communism] to be taken up, broadly, in this society and in the world as a whole: everywhere people are questioning why things are the way they are, and whether a different world is possible; everywhere people are talking about “revolution” but have no real understanding of what revolution means, no scientific approach to analyzing and dealing with what they are up against and what needs to be done; everywhere people are rising up in rebellion but are hemmed in, let down and left to the mercy of murderous oppressors, or misled onto paths which only reinforce, often with barbaric brutality, the enslaving chains of tradition; everywhere people need a way out of their desperate conditions, but do not see the source of their suffering and the path forward out of the darkness.

—Bob Avakian, from THE NEW COMMUNISM: The science, the strategy, the leadership for an actual revolution, and a radically new society on the road to real emancipation

 

 

Download PDF (English and Spanish) for printing. Half sheet size, with room under statement for local information.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK, ORDER HERE

See excerpts HERE

Updated pre-publication PDF of this major work available HERE

 

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/593/national-revolution-tour-picnic-in-LA-en.html

National Revolution Tour Picnic in Los Angeles

Breaking Bread and Digging Into Revolution

| revcom.us

 

Over 50 people gathered on Sunday, April 28, in Hoover Recreation Center in Los Angeles to meet, eat, and get deeper into the revolution. This revolutionary picnic was called by the National Get Organized For An Actual Revolution Tour and the Revolution Club of LA. The picnic capped 10 days of taking out the revolution to the neighborhoods and campuses of the LA area, as well as to a clash with fascists in nearby Orange County. 

The Tour is in LA as the first stop on a yearlong effort to bring forward thousands as a force for revolution.  The idea is that such a force at this time could impact everything and everyone with the idea of revolution, and move things significantly forward toward actually making revolution. The Tour had been organizing people to go out with revolution, straight up, and to broadly spread the Points of Attention for the Revolution, or POAs.  The POAs let everyone know in a basic way what the revolution is about. 

Several dozen people in the week beforehand, new to the revolution, began to get into the POAs and in different ways called on others to do so. The picnic would mark a way to bring this together, and then go further.


Reading the Points of Attention at the picnic

People got acquainted at the nine or ten picnic tables around the stage. Then the program began. We played an audio message that Bob Avakian, the leader of the revolution, made several years ago.  It still rang deep, timely and true, and it captured the audience. Noche Diaz, from the National Tour, gave a short, gripping talk on the need for revolution and the strategy brought forward by Bob Avakian, (BA).  Different people who had just come into the revolution gave testimonials to the Points of Attention, and statements of support were on display. A basic plan for the next month was laid out for people to get into and wrangle with.  (See elsewhere on this page for the talks, statements, etc.) 


While sharing food, people got into deep talks about what they had heard, and what they thought, for hours.

People then broke for barbecue, vegan food, fried chicken, potato salad, banana pudding and more.   Almost all the food had either been donated from restaurants or made by people newly coming into the movement for revolution. People got into deep talks about what they had heard, and what they thought, for hours. There was struggle, and there was unity, deepened, on going forward together.

The movement for revolution has been doing a new kind of work these past few weeks. The National Tour and the Revolution Club had much more consciously and consistently applied Bob Avakian’s method of revolutionary work, “enriched what-is-to-be-doneism.” This means:

  • going to people straight up with the need for revolution and the basic choice that faces everyone of living with this madness, or making revolution;
  • letting people know that we have the science, strategy and leadership for an actual revolution and giving them the ways to get into those tremendous strengths;
  • on that basis, honestly putting the problems of the revolution before them (that we have these strengths, but we don't have the people yet);
  • and then involving them in helping to solve those problems. 

The Sunday picnic represented a significant step in this process. Members of the Tour and the LA Club gathered a few nights later to draw the lessons out of what had been done. The point now is to work with people to further develop and carry through the plan, involving more people in spreading the word, making an impact, and on that basis involving still more. Stay tuned to this site next week for more on what people are learning, and doing, in this strategic plan to bring forward thousands of people to the revolution in the next year or so.

 

 

           

"This is Bob Avakian, Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, with a New Year's message—A Call To REVOLUTION..."

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▶ Read

▶ Download audio
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Download Centerfold Poster:   PDF | JPG

Noche Diaz, from the Revolution National Tour, on the need for revolution and the strategy brought forward by Bob Avakian.

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Statements of support for the tour

Read here

The Plan to Advance the Revolution in MAY

Read here

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Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

 

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Permalink: https://revcom.us/a/580/points-of-orientation-on-situation-in-venezuela-en.html

Points of Orientation on the Situation in Venezuela

| Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

 

Introduction

On April 30, reactionary forces, working hand-in-glove with U.S. imperialism, attempted to instigate a military coup against the Venezuelan government of President Nicolás Maduro. Juan Guaidó—a right-wing politician and head of the legislature (the National Assembly) who the U.S. has declared the “legitimate” president—appeared at La Carlota Air Base before dawn, amidst a knot of soldiers and called for a military revolt, as well as for massive street protests against Maduro.

As we post this, the coup attempt appears to have failed—so far, there have been no major defections from the military, nor massive outpourings of anti-government protest. And by nightfall on April 30, one of the key plotters had fled to the Spanish Embassy for refuge. At the moment the forces backing Guaidó are in some disarray.

But it is important to note that this is the third time in four months that these forces have tried to launch a coup, with enthusiastic backing from the U.S. And the U.S. is still determined to destabilize and overthrow Maduro, including by imposing brutal sanctions that are causing massive suffering, and which may have—according to Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs—caused the deaths of 40,000 people.

Moreover, the U.S. has become increasingly belligerent in response to this latest setback. Speaking of U.S. military intervention to overthrow Maduro, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “If that’s what’s required, that’s what the United States will do.” Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton have blamed Russia and Cuba (which have given economic and military aid to Venezuela) for the coup’s failure and Bolton warned “This is our hemisphere. It’s not where the Russians ought to be interfering,” while Trump threatened Cuba with “a full and complete embargo, together with highest-level sanctions.”

In other words, this remains an extremely dangerous and outrageous situation. In this light we are reposting the important “Points of Orientation” that we issued after Guaidó’s first coup attempt last January.

Points of Orientation on the Situation in Venezuela

1) As we go to press, the U.S. is working feverishly to oust the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro. The vast majority of Republicans AND Democrats are supporting Maduro’s ouster, with Trump threatening military force. For all the talk of “supporting democracy,” this is gangsterism pure and simple. The U.S. under both Obama and Trump has gone after the Maduro government in many ways, and for more than a year has been intentionally exacerbating the suffering of the Venezuelan people through what amounts to economic warfare against the people, while attempting to foment coup attempts among the military. This latest machination—recognizing the head of the National Assembly Juan Guaidó as the “legitimate president” and demanding that Maduro step down—is an aggressive escalation and provocation aimed at heightening U.S. domination of Venezuela and tightening its grip on the region as a whole. As Bob Avakian has said:

The essence of what exists in the U.S. is not democracy but capitalism-imperialism and political structures to enforce that capitalism-imperialism. What the U.S. spreads around the world is not democracy, but imperialism and political structures to enforce that imperialism.
BAsics 1:3

2) The Maduro regime, like that of Hugo Chávez whom Maduro succeeded, poses as socialist and anti-imperialist. In fact, it is not. Chávez and Maduro attempted to angle for a “better deal” within the overall imperialist economic system, including through supporting and forming blocs with like-minded reformist governments in Latin America. They used some oil wealth to fund social welfare programs and build political support among the poor, while leaving the actual relations with imperialism and many of the backward social relations within Venezuela intact. (See “Three Alternative Worlds” by Bob Avakian.) But the U.S. found even this level of assertion by Venezuela intolerable, and has worked to undermine and ultimately overthrow the regime since its inception.

3) We need a whole new world—beyond the division of the world into a handful of imperialist powers who exploit, dominate, and bludgeon the whole rest of humanity... a world moving to eliminate all forms of oppression and exploitation, and all the relations between people and the ideas that are founded on and reinforce that exploitation and oppression. And as part of fighting for that revolution, we need to oppose the current vicious—and highly risky—threats and actions being carried out by U.S. imperialism against Venezuela.

We will have more coverage on the situation in Venezuela as the week progresses.

Follow: @TheRevcoms
Read: www.revcom.us
Watch: youtube.com/TheRevComs

 

Together, WE passed $40,000 in revcom's Winter fundraising campaign to “Transform Revcom.us’ Web Technology and Presence”!

Reaching this goal is a real achievement and a victory for the people of the world, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the dedicated efforts of many people working creatively and collectively to meet this pressing need: those who donated whether large or small contributions, who fundraised, who spread the campaign, who sent statements, who raised comments, questions, criticisms or suggestions – and of course those who worked so hard on modernizing and upgrading our web technology and presence. It all made a difference!

The Ongoing Need for Sustainers

During this four month fund drive, Revcom.us continued to incur thousands of dollars of costs each month for our office, maintaining our existing site and other expenses. But thanks to our existing monthly sustainers we were able to meet these expenses and use all the funds raised in the drive to transform the website.

So we encourage all our donors and those who’ve not yet donated to become monthly sustainers at whatever level you can afford.

Remember, humanity’s fate truly hinges on millions taking up the revolutionary science, strategy, and new communism brought forward by Bob Avakian which they can find at revcom.us.

You’ve read this article and now you need to be part of making sure revcom.us is able to make an urgently needed leap and transformation.

As Tens of Thousands Die in Venezuela from U.S. Economic Warfare...
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez: “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil”

The U.S. is waging economic war on Venezuela. It is just as deadly as the shooting wars it finances all through the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa, but you don't see the blood and hear the screams.

Read more

Three Alternative Worlds

Check out "Three Alternative Worlds," the Supplement to Chapter 2 of BAsics, from the talks and writings of Bob Avakian.

CONSTITUTION For The New Socialist Republic In North America

CONSTITUTION For The New Socialist Republic In North America
(Draft Proposal)

Authored by Bob Avakian, and adopted by the Central Committee of the RCP

Read and Download (PDF)

 

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