SEATTLE, USA, June 10 — For hours, over a thousand counter-demonstrators drowned out about two dozen fascists who tried to spew their racist, anti-Muslim filth at the ACT for America “rally” at City Hall. Surrounded by hired right-wing thugs and hundreds of riot-equipped cops, the first ACT speaker “welcomed all who came to stand up for America.” He was answered with a thousand boos!
The whistles, horns and chants followed. That was the last anybody would hear from these fascists: the din was so loud.
Taking a page from the South African anti-apartheid struggle, demonstrators — young and old, immigrants from all over the world and their children as well as native born; Muslims, Buddhists, Christian, Jews and atheists of all races — picketed, rallied and danced to chants like “Get up! Get Down! Kick these bigots out of town!
No debate here about free speech for fascists – the crowd voted with their voices and horns. And if the cops hadn’t been there, this xenophobic scum would also have lost their right to free assembly.
In communism, we will first use persuasion to combat racism and xenophobia. In schools and the media, we will always fight to explain how racism and sexism are deadly to the working class (as we do in Red Flag and our leaflets). Individuals who express racist sentiments will be struggled with.
However, we will not rely on persuasion alone. For a long time, there will be hard-core people immune to persuasion who, if left alone, will try to organize. We won’t let them.
In the last few years, these Islamophobic outfits have been funded by billionaires to the tune of over $200 million, according to the University of California Berkeley’s Center for Race and Gender. The largest group is ACT.
After we seize power, capitalists worldwide will pour even more financial, organizational and military resources into building racist counter-revolutionary movements like these. As always, mobilized masses and communist organization will defeat the worst the bosses can throw at us.
In communism, free speech and assembly won’t exist for fascists like ACT for America (see letter). These groups will be dissolved.
If they try to hold a rally or a march, the ICWP will mobilize the masses to stop it. We won’t have state police like the FBI but we will have an armed and trained security force. The communist security force must rely on, organize and mobilize masses. Only in emergencies would it act on its own. It will be subject to mass criticism and self-criticism as a regular part of its work. A far cry from what the Seattle cops did today!
At the demonstration, the ICWP was in the middle of the mix. Comrades distributed 500 copies of our popular leaflet entitled “Communist Will Act for the Working Class: Crush Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia.” Hundreds took our newspaper Red Flag.
As comrades were leaving, a couple commented to us that despite the large turnout and militant character, “our demonstration won’t change a thing.” They clearly realized the limits of even the most militant resistance. They compared the times to pre-Nazi Germany. Then they modified their opinion. “It won’t change a thing except for some good follow-up discussions.”
Yes: follow-up discussions about how communism can break those limits. Under communism there will be no borders, no nations, no citizenship. Anyone who comes to an area liberated from capitalism will be welcomed as a full member of communist society. They will work like anyone else and, like anyone else, receive food, clothing, shelter etc. to the best of our ability.
And we can expect that a lot of people will want to come once they realize that communism means no wage slavery and zero tolerance for racism, sexism and xenophobia. We may have to struggle with them to return to spread communist revolution!
This discussion inspired comrades to continue the struggle and distribute our leaflet at work sites like Boeing, high schools in the South End that are full of immigrants and their US-born friends, among university and public-school staff and Latino/Latina laborers.
Demonstrations can change things, depending on how they are followed up. If we do our work right, they lead to discussions about communism, then about the ICWP and revolution. They lead to us getting to know people who are interested in communism. If these people join Red Flag collectives and the ICWP itself, then we have made real progress towards communism.
No Free Speech for Fascists!
The issue of free speech is a big one at the University where I work. I was telling a co-worker my plans to attend a counter-demonstration against an alt Far-right (racist, fascist) group. She hates this group, but she was upset when I said, “No free speech for fascists.”
“But then they will take away your speech, too,” she said.
I told her, “Think of it as yelling ‘Fire!’ in a theater. How many more lives are in danger from the garbage these racists say?”
She said she would think about that, and I hope to talk to her further now that I have been to this demonstration.
Like many others, she’s under the illusion that there is free speech under capitalism. But who really has access to getting their ideas out? The owners of the big media are the ruling class! Big money gives you big access to getting your words out to many people.
Workers are not free to say whatever we want. As wage slaves, our jobs depend on our bosses. If we step too far out of line, not only will we not have a job, but we could be jailed or even killed.
Of course, we will always fight back and will not be silenced. We may be successful by shutting fascists down for a while, but they will always re-emerge when the bosses need them.
How would we deal with the issue of “free speech” under communism? First, we will remove the material basis of the divisions among our class. It benefits the ruling class to keep us divided and have a portion of the workforce that is lower paid. But under communism there will be no advantage to dividing the working-class-no competition for higher wages, no fear of losing your “job,” no basis to hate or fear your working-class brother or sister.
Segregation will not be allowed in any aspect of life. We will be living and working together with people from many different backgrounds. This will build a foundation to win many people away from racist ideologies. But not everyone, not initially.
Speech that is racist, sexist, xenophobic or has any other anti-working-class ideas will not be tolerated. There will, however, be lots of discussion and even heated arguments because we believe in struggle and working hard to figure out the right way to move forward in the best interest of our class.
Capitalist thoughts and ideas limit us from creating a better world. The bosses want us to worry about individual goals, and day to day basic survival. Our brains are imprisoned by this wasteful worry!
Communism will put science in our hands so that we may understand how the material world works. Without racism, sexism, xenophobia, and the daily grind to get the next paycheck getting in the way, our speech and thought will be freed to center on building communism. We have a world to win!
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