[Peace-discuss] How to kill an uprising against fascist governments

[Carl G. Estabrook]

"The defensible heart of identity politics is its commitment to opposing forms of discrimination like racism, sexism, and homophobia [and xenophobia]. I share that commitment. But opposing discrimination today has no more to do with a left politics than do equally powerful ethical commitments against, say, violence or dishonesty. Why? Because the core of a left politics is its critique of and resistance to capitalism—its commitment to decommodifying education, health care, and housing, and creating a more economically equal society. Neither hostility to discrimination nor the accompanying enthusiasm for diversity makes the slightest contribution to accomplishing any of those goals. Just the opposite, in fact. They function instead to provide inequality with a meritocratic justification: If everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed, there’s no injustice when some people fail.” [W. B. Michaels, emphasis added]

Our rulers recognize how hostility to discrimination and enthusiasm for diversity (both good things) can be used as a distraction from a critique of the economic base of society. HRC knew quite well what she was doing when she attacked Sanders’ New Deal economics by asking a crowd, “If we broke up the big banks tomorrow, would that end racism? Would that end sexism?” 

Glen Ford made the point early on: "Hillary Wants a Crusade to Defeat Trump’s 'Bigotry' – and Leave Her Bankers Alone."

And now when I argue that Trump seems superior to Obama (and Clinton) on war and the economy, I get the answer (even from ‘progressive’ [sic] Democrats) that that doesn’t matter - because Trump is a racist!

He may be, but that’s not the point: the point is that Obama has killed 6,000 people with drones, and Hillary would have started a war with Russia in Syria.

IP is a conscious distraction from opposition to neoliberalism (more inequality) and neoconservatism (more war).

—CGE

 

> On Dec 22, 2016, at 2:57 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote:
> 
> Nit pick everything to death!!!!
> 
> I posted two lines of congratulations to those who brought about the Urbana Sanctuary City Resolution, and what do we get? Reams of emails “trivializing and criticizing the work and motives of those involved”. Trivializing the efforts of those from previous years attempting to save people who were undocumented, as a result of US war and interventions. 
> 
> Have those who criticized the Sanctuary Movement, read the document, do they know the facts and details related to the law, have they heard the arguments presented by Prof. Boyle, or the issues in relation to what the Immigration Forum has been confronting?
> 
> We know that currently most immigrants are economic refugees, and the corporations are responsible for bringing them here as cheap, slave labor. However, as one socialist/labor activist told me, “I’m going to support your efforts, because I don’t blame the “victims”. Maybe it only helps a few hundred people as compared to the millions we can save in the anti-war movement, but we here in Champaign/Urbana Il, are only a few grains of sand on the beach. It’s going to take tons of sand to accomplish our goals.
> 
> We should be organizing to resist war and poverty, but instead we alienate those who may now have awakened to that which is occurring. Yes, the Obama administration has been doing many of these things insidiously, while Trump announced in advance, like a “baseball bat in the face” his intentions. All one has to do is look at his Cabinet appointments and others in his administration, Prof. Peter Navarro a China hater for one, to recognize where we’re headed.
> 
> Yes, Trump may back away from Russia, for now. The “powers that be” recognize they must proceed more rapidly with China, as time is on China’s side, and attempting to take on two major world powers at the same time, is not strategically viable. This isn’t brain surgery, but it evaded the Obama administration who blindly just followed the advice of their warmongering Advisors, a misreading perhaps of Zbigniew? At least war criminal Kissinger has more sense than to foment wars that can’t be won, he sticks to the vulnerable nations, who have been suffering terribly and will likely continue to do so. 
> 
> So, we have a few more weeks to watch what the Obama administration does in respect to Russia and Syria, which maybe a lot. Given power is coming from “the system” the duck is lame, he isn’t yet dead. 
> 
> We need to prepare for the Trump administration on all fronts, and stop this nitpicking disguised as “intellectual discourse”. Those of us in the anti-war movement need to stop feeling superior because we’re concerned with the “big picture” we need to stop vilifying others for taking up Identity Issues, such as race, gender, etc., they are legitimate issues of concern. Criticize Prof. Dyson for making “race” the cause of all, with his articles in the NYT’s, thats fine. However, when our neighbors make an effort to change things for the better, for some, maybe we need to take a break. If we are to accomplish anything we need to unite and change our system of capitalism which is responsible for all, and we’re not going to do it if we alienate others because “we are right, and they are wrong”.
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