Jesse D Garcia That calls to mind Fear of Falling written by Barbara Ehrenreich, and how multi-racial and otherwise diverse coalitions are key.
The gap between 1 percent and the rest of the top 10 percent is far greater than that between top 10 percent and the bottom 90 percent. But so far, where is the solidarity between working class and well-to-do professionals?
That solidarity would also help counter the rightwing trick if bashing the professional elite while kowtowing to the very top of the pyramid, the rentier capitalists.
History shows solidarity is possible but it’s not a given and its can be fragile.
For example, exploited Irish immigrants to the US had a lot in common with Af Americans but they embraced racism against Blacks to assimilate into the US. Anti-racism is key to any organizing on various other issues be it feminist, Queer, animal rights, climate justice …etc in its focus.
Having a clear sense of strategies for coalition building around issues and values is very demanding, mentally and spirituality.
In that vein, I’d ask Stephen Jackson Leas and JJVerbino how they envision ‘revolution’ in terms of a range of social and ecological issues.
People against fascism often cite anti-racism. That’s key but else does it involve?
If we look at historical cases, what do we see?
In overthrowing Apartheid do we see that anti-racism isn’t enough, given the current neo-liberal austerity patterns in South Africa since 1994, whereby masses of Black South Africans are as destitute as they were under white minority rule?
If we look at the Black Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, do we also see the limits of a racially focused movement?
MLK concluded that structural racism needed to be addressed thru diverse coalitions and that it’d be harder and take longer than undoing Jim Crow. King was murdered as he started the more in-depth stage of anti-racism.
Fred Hampton had a similar aim and was murdered. It seems the most potent threat to abusive systems is the formation of diverse coalitions.
Forming them seems to require a very intense process of developing strategies regarding the issues.
Shaking one’s fist and puffing out one’s chest in search of phantom nazis is maybe a distraction?
Maybe some of anti-fascist militancy involves machismo and patriarchy?
I don’t claim to know it all. Obviously I have a lot to learn, and will gratefully admit to error.
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