[Peace-discuss] Universalism and Particularity: The Occupy Movement and Race

[David Green]

Almost exactly a year ago, the AA department hosted a discussion about Tea Party racism, which gave Obama a huge pass. This year, they apparently choose not to give OWS a pass. Their topics are anti-racist in the most trivial ways imaginable.
 
DG


>________________________________
> From: C. G. ESTABROOK <cge at shout.net>
>To: David Johnson <dlj725 at hughes.net> 
>Cc: Peace-discuss List <Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; sf-core <sf-core at yahoogroups.com> 
>Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 2:53 PM
>Subject: [Peace-discuss] Universalism and Particularity: The Occupy Movement and Race
> 
>
>David--
>
>
>Why are you participating in this "identity-politics" diversion?
>
>
>Forty years ago, when it looked like issues of economics and inequality might actually penetrate the limits of allowable debate in American politics, liberals (and the Democrats - always a business party) hastily substituted diversity for equality as their announced goal. 
>
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>Not that diversity isn't a good thing. But the US political establishment was using it to take the place of demands for economic equality. (And in the meantime they launched neoliberalism, which enforced economic inequality at a rapid and accelerating rate - that's what the Occupy movement opposes.)
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>In subsequent years, we heard much about the "trinity of oppression" - class, race, and gender.  But class is not like the other two. Conflicts of race and gender can in principle be solved by reconciliation, if not easily. But conflict between exploiter and exploited cannot - one or the other must be liquidated (the social role, if not the physical persons).    
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>We all of course oppose racism, for political and personal reasons. But it's a great error to use that opposition to undercut the Occupy Movement.
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>
>Regards, Carl
>
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>
>Begin forwarded message:
>
>>Message: 1
>>Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 18:03:20 -0600
>>From: Karen Medina <kmedina67 at gmail.com>
>>To: Peace List <peace at lists.chambana.net>
>>Subject: [Peace] Universalism and Particularity: The Occupy Movement
>>and Race / Tuesday, December 6, 2011 7-9:30 P.M. Department of African
>>American Studies 1201 West Nevada Street, Urbana, Illinois
>>Message-ID:
>><CA+0uwiaf2p5ap5Z+RHEm0=Tc2zFEzJLCbpL9Nu=EH9FXVsrsTQ at mail.gmail.com>
>>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>>
>>Universalism and Particularity: The Occupy Movement and Race
>>Over the last 90 days the Occupy Movement has focused attention on the
>>capitalist class? 40 year
>>devastation of the working and middle classes. In the 1960s, corporate
>>executives made 26 times workers,
>>by 1980 it rose to 32 times; and in 2009 it was 263 times. Led by
>>young largely white college graduates
>>Occupy is part of a worldwide movement that is challenging global
>>class disparities. Yet, as inspiring as the
>>Occupy movement has been, like previous U.S. radical movements it
>>seems mired on the rocky shores of
>>race. Is the Occupy movement doomed to repeat the errors of the past?
>>Can it move beyond seemingly
>>universal ?colorblind? reformist proposals and engage the
>>particularities of racialized oppression and chart
>>a genuine struggle for a multiracial democracy?
>>Tuesday, December 6, 2011
>>7-9:30 P.M.
>>Department of African American Studies
>>1201 West Nevada Street, Urbana, Illinois
>>
>>Chair: Helen Neville, Departments of African American Studies &
>>Educational Policy Studies
>>Panelists: * Abdul Alkalimat, African American Studies and Graduate
>>Program in Library and Information Sciences
>>* Gene Vanderport, CU Socialist Forum and Illinois Educational Association
>>* Jermaine Light, Socialist Forum
>>* David Johnson, Labor Notes and Vice President of the United Electrical Workers
>>
>>
>
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