Red Flag aspires to be a newspaper of a new type for a party, dedicated to mobilizing the masses around the world for communism. We’re breaking new ground and learning as we go. We will inevitably make mistakes—and disagree about what the mistakes are that we’re making. The letters page is a good place for comrades to engage in criticism and self-criticism, and help us learn to write in a way that will advance the work. We ask writers to be brief, and to criticize in ways that are sharp, but comradely. Collectively we have a lot to learn.
Time to Show People the Communist Solution
As always, we held our meeting this Sunday. We discussed our own activities as a collective. We discussed how we are going to move forward since now the schools are open and we are planning that when the new issue of Red Flag comes out, to take it to the universities—two of them—so that we can mobilize more people.
We want to have as many people as we can who understand our political line to prepare for May Day. We are going to intensify our visits to the industrial areas and to the colleges. Today we discussed ways to do that.
Another piece of good news is that we welcomed a new member who is female, which is great news for us. Women workers can give vital leadership to build communism. We gave her the dialectics material and the pamphlet Mobilize the Masses for Communism. What’s cool is that she’s keen on learning more about our organization, and, since she is my neighbor, we can see her regularly.
We will update you as time goes on about our activities and our plans. We are really determined and focused now more than ever to achieve our promised number. I know its not going to be easy. But this is a great opportunity for us.
Many people are really seeing and realizing now that there is something wrong. But they’re just not sure what direction to take, what are the solutions. I think that this is a great time to grab that gap and to show them the solution, which is communism, and to really fight for it.
—Comrades in South Africa
Democracy Stifles Change
Today I voted for delegates to the California (USA) Democratic Party state convention. This was part of Bernie Sanders’ attempt to reform the Democratic Party. I was reminded how democracy stifles change.
Decades ago I went to the state convention, appointed by the congressman I worked for. The system is still the same. Most of the delegates are elected by any Democrat who learns about the vote and shows up to vote. Most are members of local Democratic clubs.
Nonetheless, the convention is controlled by elected officials and party hacks. Every elected official appoints delegates. So do the county central committees. The state convention has no real power anyway. The most consequential decision made is the platform, but candidates who win the primaries don’t even have to support the platform.
I got two ballots today. On one ballot I could vote for 14 delegates to the state convention. On the other I could vote for one member of the state party executive committee. The executive committee has some real authority. For one thing, they select some delegates to the national committee. That’s the committee that insured Hillary Clinton beat Bernie in the primary.
But almost all the executive committee members are chosen by the county central committees. These county central committees are chosen on the regular ballot in November. Only party insiders know who to vote for. All these layers of representation insure that insiders control the levers of power, insiders connected to people of wealth.
The whole business burns up grass-roots energy that might actually change things if organized to strike against the economic system. I voted for the Sanders supporters in the hope that, by becoming more involved in the system, more of them would realize how hopeless it is to try to change the system from within.
—Red Flag Reader
Red Flag comments: We agree completely that it is hopeless to try to “change the system from within.” Your experiences help to explain that. Others will surely have similar experiences. But disillusionment often leads to cynicism. We need to motivate activists with a vision of the communist system we need and a revolutionary plan to get there. We hope that you and others will help get communist literature to delegates at the California Democratic Party State Convention and elsewhere.
The Fight Against Sexism is a Necessary Part of the Fight for a Communist World
How Do We Fight Sexism on the Job?
Donald Trump’s attacks on women led thousands of women across the U.S. out to the streets this past week. This made me realize the importance of something that had happened the previous week: I was involved in the fight against sexism at work, and I’m not too sure I handled it the right way.
I work in a warehouse here in Los Angeles where we have very little contact with women besides the ones who work inside the office. A lot of the time the guys I work with go about the day joking around, talking about how macho they are and how sexy one of the women who happens to pass by is—sometimes in very sexual ways, which I don’t care to repeat.
That day, while talking about Trump’s plan for war, I asked my co-worker Maurice what we would do if we get drafted, which led him to say: “I wouldn’t care because if I went to the army at least I get to rape b**s.”
This immediately set me off. I punched Maurice in the chest. Hard. I asked him why he would say something like that.
Immediately my other co- workers tried to de-escalate the situation by saying he was just playing, but I wouldn’t have it
“Is that all you think of women?” I said. “Dude, women are not just good for that and rape is nothing to f*ing play about! Women are our comrades and you wouldn’t want someone saying something like that about your mom or your sister.”
Usually when these discussions have occurred in the past, I would stay quiet. just because I lacked the confidence at the time to have these conversations. But as fascism and Donald Trump’s constant attacks have created more unrest and fear amongst the masses I have felt more inclined to bite the bullet and have these conversations with my friends, family, and co-workers.
I don’t regret telling Maurice how I felt about his disgusting words, but I’m not too sure I should have punched him. I’m still getting used to taking on this responsibility as a man and as a member of ICWP.
I can tell the guys at work at the very least respect me enough not to have these conversations around me. Still, on the daily basis, if hear something, I tell them that just because women are not around doesn’t make it all right and that we should have some restraint.
My question to my comrades is how could I have handled the situation better and how do I continue this struggle with the guys at work?
—Young comrade
Who Says Politics is Just For Men?
“Politics is for men, not for us women,” somebody said to me while we were talking about the current political situation.
I answered, “NO, girl, that’s not true! We all have the physical and mental capacity to undertake an endless number of activities.”
For centuries, women have been seen as less. But the truth is that throughout history many women have been part of revolutionary struggles, some taking up arms and others doing intellectual work, or doing both at the same time.
I mentioned Petra Herrera, a fighter in the Mexican Revolution, who fought under the identity of Pedro Herrera, taking up arms. She became very well known among her comrades for the leadership that she gave and because she took part in significant battles during the revolution. She actively participated in the second battle of Torreón in 1914 with about 400 other women.
Capitalism wants to control us at will and bombard us day by day with lies that say that we aren’t capable of thinking. But you, like your class brothers and sisters, can do it. The International Communist Workers’ Party calls on you to read and distribute Red Flag to your friends and relatives, to come to study groups, and to write for Red Flag. You will fulfill you potential and you will see that only communism can break the chains of sexism.
—Young Comrade in El Salvador
