Anthony Teso is mistaken as far as what I'm proposing. I am not proposing waiting for a spontaneous uprising. I am simply explaining the perspectives - objective developments regardless of our wishes . As I wrote, there is no indication that either the union bureaucracy or DSA will vary from its past approach.
Teso proposes campaigns inside DSA and inside the unions. Has he tried campaigning inside DSA? I did for about a year or so some time ago. I found that there was simply no interest in debating any issue. The meetings were controlled from the top through an agenda that left no time for discussion... and the members liked it that way. They simply were uninterested in debate. Lack of curiosity and arrogance were their outstanding features. This coincided with a lack of interest in making any connection with the working class in Oakland. I am referring specifically to black youth in my city. It's one thing to have a group that is almost 100% white in Oakland. It is something entirely different not to be concerned about it, not to try to reach out beyond that demographic. I found that to be the case. If Anthony is curious, I can explain that concretely. I used to come home from those meetings so angry and frustrated that it actually started to cause problems with my wife. "If you are so frustrated, why do you go to those meetings?" she asked me. I realized she had a point so I stopped. A month or so ago I attended the annual conference of East Bay DSA. It was just a pep rally. Nothing had changed. I approached the election campaign of Nate Adams, the DSA candidate who is running for city council in my district. I tried to talk with him. I told him I've been living in the "Funktown" neighborhood of this district since 1969 and I know quite a few people and have some thoughts about how to approach them. He listened politely for a minute and then excused himself to go talk with somebody else. I tried to talk with two other campaign leaders and got the same response. (By the way, I doubt they've ever even heard of "Funktown", because that name for that neighborhood is unknown to the white newbies to the neighborhood.) So, when Anthony Teso calls for "passing resolutions" inside DSA, the problem is that it's impossible to even get a serious discussion going, never mind passing such a resolution. I posted my article on the DSA discussion bulletin board. There are hundreds who follow it. I got a couple of replies which entirely avoided the question. So, what can I do? As they say, "you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink." In this case, I can't even lead the horse to water! Anthony proposes something similar inside the unions. In my own particular case, I've been expelled from my union for my opposition role, including having led the 1999 carpenters wildcat strike. But that is a secondary problem. The main problem is the tremendous alienation that the overwhelming majority of union members feel towards their union. Just about the only ones who attend union meetings are those on the make. That includes the socialist left. To pass a resolution like what Anthony proposes requires an open battle with the union leadership, and the left simply is unwilling to engage in those battles. In the past, I have raised the example of the Yellow Vest movement in France. Like it or not, I think that is the best to be hoped for here. That is the perspective. John Reimann -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42542): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42542 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/120334411/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
