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| Memorial Day Massacre 1937/ Cops Kill Ten Workers |
This Blog recently published a piece on the Stonewall Uprising. In this we stated:
“The capitalist media tries to refer to the Stonewall events as “riots”. The idea behind this is to try and diminish the importance of Stonewall. Unfortunately many on the left also mistakenly use the term “riots”. Stonewall was an uprising of people who were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. They reached their breaking point and they rose up. The main lesson to be drawn from Stonewall is that changes for the better in US society comes from uprisings from below.
It was mass strikes and workplace occupations and street fighting that built the CIO and the trade unions in the 1930’s. It was mass movements on the streets and the urban uprisings of the Black revolt of the 1950’s and 1960’s that forced racist US society to make some concessions. It was the women’s movements on the streets of the 1960’s that made the gains for women. It was the anti war movements on the streets, in the schools and colleges and in the rank and file of the US military in Vietnam that undermined US imperialism’s slaughter in South East Asia”.
The Stonewall uprising, which was also against the Vietnam War and for better housing and jobs, brought about change for the better for all minorities who are oppressed because of their sexual orientation. It is an example to the working class movement. It is the duty of all worker activists and socialists to celebrate Stonewall and the courage of those who took on the state and changed things for the better for all workers and discriminated against minorities. Stonewall teaches us that change comes from movements from below not from lobbying or voting for capitalist politicians.
The present leaders of the trade union movement in the US have a different view. Some of them hobnob with the anti working class capitalist, racist, and sexual predator in the White House. Some of them prop up the most right wing faction in the capitalist Democratic Party against the rising pressure from its more left wing members. All of us working class activists can learn from the Stonewall uprising and from the struggles in the 1930’s and the 1960’s, which are referred to above. Along with this all activists in the working class movement must support the rights of all minorities and of women. We must do so for two reasons. We have the responsibility as activists in the progressive class in society to stand against all discrimination and special oppression.
We must also do so as the capitalist class, a tiny minority in society, can only rule if they divide the majority, the working class. The conclusion from this is the need to unite the working class. Only a united working class unity can end capitalism. As Malcolm X said “You cannot have capitalism without racism”. And I would add sexism, injustice, poverty, climate change etc. What is most certainly true is that you can’t overthrow capitalism without uniting the working class.
In this regard it is important to look at the capitalist media and the Stonewall uprising as well as identity politics and class politics. It is very interesting to see the coverage for Stonewall. The organizers of this Blog have a division of labor as regards following the capitalist media, which represents our enemy the capitalist class. It is my task amongst others to read the New York Times. (NYT) We are familiar with its slogan “All the news that’s fit to print”. The issue of course, is who determines what is “fit to print” and in which class interest do they determine what is “fit to print’.
The June 23 edition of the NYT had two thirds of the front of the Business section and two other full pages dealing with Stonewall and LGBTQ issues in one way or another. On June 24ththe NYT had two and a half pages on Stonewall and LGBTQ issues. On June 28th it had one full page. On June 29th it had two full pages on these topics. On Sunday June 30th, over half a page. On July first it had two and a half pages. And most interesting of all in June 30th, the Sunday edition, the entire editorial from top of the page to bottom was given over to Stonewall. Its heading was: “50 Years After Stonewall”.
I do not have the resources to get this information but it would be interesting to see how much coverage and what kind of coverage the NYT gave to the Stonewall uprising when it was taking place. I would not be afraid to bet that it was a very different ball game.
But what I want to deal with here is to try and explain how important it is to think about how we read the capitalist media, the voice of the enemy, the capitalist class. In this regard I would like to also refer to my opinion that the main weakness of the socialist left in the USA, and this includes DSA, of which I am a member, is its lack of class consciousness, in particular working class consciousness. The reality is that DSA, like most of the left, does not base itself on the working class as the progressive force in society. It does not base itself on the collective power and the collective brain of the international working class as the only force that can end capitalism and save life on earth as we know it and give a future to the human species.
This is partly because of the role of the capitalist media, its education system and its general propaganda machine from the so-called entertainment industry to its advertising industry etc. Look at this issue we are discussing and at the role of the so-called liberal NYT. I have explained that in less than a two-week period the NYT had 12 pages on Stonewall and LGBTQ issues. There is more coverage on this issue than any other topic over this period except the Trump presidency and the Democratic Party primary. There is a staggering amount of coverage. It is important to ask why, to what end. To answer this let us look at what the NYT considers is news that is “not fit to print”.
If you Google repression of workers organizing drives in the US or words to that effect you will see that time after time, in all parts of the country, there were serious attempts by workers and family farmers to organize that were repressed by the capitalist state and its hired thugs. In this assault, workers and farmers were killed. Just look at a few examples from many. On September 30th, 1919 African American farmers tried to form what they called the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of America. This was suppressed by military force and an estimated 100 farmers were killed by the capitalist state and its thugs. This September marks 100 years since that massacre. The New York Times doesn’t give over 12 pages to those events.
In 1921 there was the Battle of Blair Mountain in West Virginia as miners tried to organize. An estimated 50 to 100 miners were killed by the capitalist state and its thugs. In 1937 in Youngstown Ohio there was what is known as the Memorial Day Massacre where between 10 and 16 steel workers were killed. Ludlow, River Rouge, The Everett Massacre, there are simply too many massacres to include them in this commentary.
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| Ludlow Co. Using machine guns 21 workers, women and children killed |
The US capitalist media commemorates none of these events, these killings of US workers, by the US capitalist state and its thugs. They are not commemorated because they undermine the boss’s propaganda about how democratic US capitalism is and how there are these wonderful American values. I am sick of hearing the Democratic Politicians whining about Trump that his degenerate behavior is not what “America is about……We are better than this”. But that is what America is about. Violence, genocide, slavery, shooting workers, deporting them and so on. These massacres of workers and farmers are a more accurate picture of what America is about.
But the most important and central reason that US capitalism and its media and propaganda machine do not commemorate these events is that it wishes at all times to deny the existence of the working class as a separate class with its own class interests. It also wishes at all times to hide the fact that the class interests of the working class are opposed to those of the capitalist class and that the working class has the potential to build a different society to capitalism, that is a democratic socialist society.
To return to the left in the USA and to my own organization DSA. US capitalism sees the increased power of women as they enter the paid workforce as never before. It also sees the increased demand for an end to all special oppressions. It especially sees the young people in society refusing to accept all special oppressions. It sees that it has to take this into account. It also sees that it has to separate this desire for change and these new movements for change from linking up with the working class struggles and developing a class understanding and analysis. So it promotes identity politics. It promotes identity politics to prevent class politics and consciousness from developing. Unfortunately many on the left have fallen into this trap.
Those of us who insist on standing on a class position, on developing working class politics and consciousness are accused of being “class reductionists”. This is to fall into the trap of the capitalist class and their liberal middle class defenders in the media and universities. Of course all working class activists must defend all specially oppressed minorities but this to be successful must be made part of the working class struggle against the capitalist class and its capitalist system.
Look at the rise of the Me Too movement. This reflected the rising struggle of women and their increased power as they have increasingly entered the paid workforce. This Blog 100% supports the fight of women and of all against being exploited and oppressed by those who have the power to do so. This Blog has had many articles on this issue. In these we have explained that the way to end this oppression and the inequality in pay and conditions is to organize democratic fighting trade unions. Where in all this coverage of the Me Two movement are there articles explaining this in the capitalist media? This is in spite of statistics showing that the gap between male and female workers wages is less the more an industry is unionized, that in general the struggle against racism, sexism and discrimination on the job is easier if you have a union. . The NYT carried one article that we could see that argued this case. This Blog sent an article to the NYT arguing this but it disappeared without trace.
Facts For Working People Blog would like to suggest to DSA that it open up a regular feature in its magazine and its Internet outlets to commemorate workers struggles and how we had to fight for our interests. This would be a step towards developing working class consciousness amongst our members and amongst the working class with whom we have influence. We propose to DSA that it now set up a special department to this end, that is to commemorate the struggles of the working class and to explain that it is only the collective power and the collective brain of the international working class that can prevent the developing catastrophe of capitalism from destroying life on earth as we know it through climate change, nuclear war and the degradation of the environment.
In a discussion we were having with other comrades, we shared out view on the issue of what is called today, intersectionality and what we knew as specially oppressed minorities. That can be read here: https://weknowwhatsup.blogspot.com/search?q=intersectionality,+class+reductionism
Here are more posts dealing with the issue of class, class consciousness and identity politics:
A few comments on Politics, history and class.
The Divisive, Reactionary Nature of Identity Politics and Video
Marxism, Socialism and Identity Politics
Class Consciousness and the Struggle Against Capital
The reactionary, class nature of left Academia today.
Trumka, Trump and the White Worker
Why US big business prefers the term White Privilege to Racial Discrimination
Why do politicians lie?
Hillary and Michelle and the Ties That Bind
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