Peace Y'all, had a minute and thought I'd give the list a hit on this one. It's hard for me to picture a homogeneous "Black Community". Great pains have been taken to keep us from having that much power, i.e. the building of malls and freeways, gentrification, waterfront theaters, aquariums, parks and a tremendous influx of people from other countries dividing, dilluting and diffusing Black Communities. A great many members of the "Black Community" are behind bars, where some of the strongest, both physically and mentally, are now warehoused. I've lived all over the united snakes including southern and northern rural, innercity ghetto, new and old projects, middleclass suburbs on the east and west coast and in the middle. One thing I've learned from my nomadic life is that the last thing the power hungry, techno-rats and poli-tricksters want is a united communty of any kind. TV, radio, video, magazines are tools that control the Black Community, telling us what to wear, what to eat, what is hip, what is not, who is beautiful, the best kind of gun, the best way to rob, and kill, love and hate. One of the most consistent things, everywhere i've lived, including Sudan, is the watching of television, it stays on from morning until night in every home. Being Muslim, I find that there are as many kinds of Muslim communites here and abroad as there are trains of thought. Which gives us again, little or no predictability when it comes to how the "Black Community" will act at any given time under any given circumstance. Looking forward, staajabu --- John Woodford <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > It is an unfortunate vacuum that the NOI is filling. > There isn't much NOI > action in many Black communities, and where there > is, the NOI presence is > small, so it's a big vacuum filled sparsely and with > particles carrying little > force or potential at this point to do much but > fill. The individuals and > caucuses within the Democratic Party and labor > movement and civil rights and > religious organizations have far, far more force. > Just mouthing "tut tuts" at > these folks for not being more radical may make some > feel good and superior, but > that's cheap talk. > As to the question of reactionary nationalist > trends: On one hand, a people > undergoing genocidal pressures may well make use of > some forms of preservation, > defense and fightback that "progressives" find > unfortunate. But who are they to > judge? On the other hand, we can assist in the > sorts of organizing and acting > that Stan mentions that would tend to accentuate the > positive (or the "truly > progressive," as it were). > Having been the editor in chief of Muhammad Speaks > in the late '60s and early > '70s, though not a member of the NOI, I have fond > feelings for many rank and > file members of the Nation. The experience gave me, > I think,, pretty good > insight into such movements. I would not like to see > their leaders at the helm > of a large Black American movement (or leaders from > any similar group based > upon a similar ideology and brute internal > practice). That's something that > could occur only if we in the USA enter a horrendous > period of economic woe > and vilent communalism. At that point, we're in the > former Yugoslavia and a > "you're with us or against us" scene. > That would be the day of the New Ben Chavis and > similar demagogues. > > bon moun wrote: > > > I hope I was clear with the bit of post-election > hypothesizing about trends > > in black communities. No one was endorsing Ben > Chavis conversions. I > > simply pointed out that this is a trend growing > out of frustration. > > Moralizing about it doesn't seem very helpful, and > in fact falls into the > > trap I see capturing many academic leftists and > sectarian "marxists," who > > demonstrate an unwillingness to acknowledge > unpleasant realities--especially > > if those realities complicate their mechanical, > often simplisitic, often > > manipulative premises ( a general critique, not > directed at anyone here). > > This is precisely the predisposition, seems to me, > that leads to the error > > of moving from the theortetical assumption to the > concrete conslusion, > > instead of dialectically relating the concrete to > the theoretical. > > Marxists, especially--given that we have laid > claim to the title scientific > > socialists--should actively resist the > ossification of theory into dogma, > > and continually subject our tentative > generalizations to critical scrutiny > > based on actual--and changing--conditions. > > > > Some first impressions of CONDITIONS here in the > hegemon: > > > > Black communities are politically bound to > Democrats because the only real > > option at this juncture is to risk exclusion from > the political arena > > altogether. > > > > Black communities still suffer from the same kinds > of problems other > > neo-colonial communities do--dependence, poor > infrastructure, domination by > > colonial surrogates and opportunists, poor > educational systems, crime, etc > > etc. By and large, the functional core of black > communities is still > > religiously centered, and in many ways very > socially conservative. > > > > Democrats need black voters but they also must > take them for granted, > > because the "center" they have to target for > campaign activity is steeped in > > the ideology of white supremacy. > > > > The crisis in black communities is getting > steadily worse, and anger is > > growing faster than consciousness. The cowardly > sell-out of those > > communities by the Clinton Justice Department when > Florida re-introduced > > elements of Jim Crow during the election has > fanned the flames of that anger > > and led many to question--yet again--their > connection to the Democrats. > > > > The NOI and others are at least articulating that > anger through the message > > of nationalism. > > > > With all the obvious problems of the NOI, > nationalism is rooted in > > the--legitimate, I think--perception that the > situation of African-Americans > > is analogous, in many ways, to that of a colonized > people. > > > > With the voices of the black left still weak, and > often extremely academic > > and "intellectual", it is difficult to connect > pan-Africanism, socialism, > > and other progressive perspectives to the masses. > > > > Black progressives have worked very hard to build > multi-racial alliances > > with white progressives, who themselves often > manifest the symptoms of white > > supremacy and reflect the power structures of a > white supremacist society, > > especially in their refusal to give up aspirations > to "lead" blacks and > > these "coalitions." > > > > Every bit of time, energy, and resources devoted > by black progressives to > > these black-white coalitions--a very resource and > time intensive > > activity--has taken away from direct contact with > the communities in crisis. > > That's the void that the NOI stands to fill, and > is filling in many cases. > > > > These are not judgements, but assessments. > > > > The Republicans, who have taken power, have their > own contradictions to deal > > with... they are a coalition of factions, some > theocratic, some > > petit-bourgeois, some libertarian ideologues, some > corporate, and some > > fascist-like. Their popular appeal and their > electoral strategies, ever > > since Nixon's initiation of the southern strategy, > has been an appeal to and > > fueling of white resentment of perceived loss of > privilege at the hands of > > blacks. The centrality of racist ideology gives > the proto-fascist elements > > in the RP a special influence, partiularly in the > realm of policymaking. > > > > But if Democrats lose the loyalty of significant > sectors of black voters, > > and Republicans--while in power--can manage to > hold together, this will have > > very real and very devastating consequences. Just > as we talk about how to > > manage and organize when the inevitable crashes > happen, we need to factor > > these very likely IMHO political > developments--unpalatable as they may > > seem--into our organizng strategies. > > > > Given the inordinate amount of influence the US > government and US economic > > establishment exercises over the rest of the > world, this has implications > > for everyone. > > > > That's all I was saying. > > > > Stan Goff > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Crashlist resources: > http://website.lineone.net/~resource_base > > To change your options or unsubscribe go to: > > > http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/crashlist > > > > === message truncated === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. 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