SEATTLE (US), May 14— “Communist paper? Give me one. Here’s a donation.” Hundreds of people told us this as we distributed Red Flag at an abortion rights rally of thousands.
The US Supreme Court is threatening to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that declared a woman’s constitutional right to terminate her pregnancy. Rallies and marches across the US are protesting it.
ICWP comrades in Seattle and Los Angeles attended with Red Flag and our pamphlet “The Communist Fight Against Sexism.” Many marchers welcomed our message that only communist revolution can end capitalist misogyny, as well as racism, xenophobia and everything else capitalism uses to divide workers.
Capitalism places the responsibility of child-rearing on individual women and their immediate families. Pregnant people worldwide face hard choices. Those without access to resources to raise their children, or to affordable and safe contraception and legal abortion, often have only the desperate alternative of an unsafe, illegal abortion. The attack on abortion is an attack on the health of working-class and other poor women around the world.
But in a communist society, economics will have no role in the decision to have an abortion. Because there will be no money, no one will have to worry about the cost of raising a child. We will collectively share the responsibility of feeding, clothing, educating, and loving our children. Everyone will have access to the best health care, including reproductive health.
The biggest mistake the Seattle comrades made at the rally was not making any contacts, even though we distributed hundreds of Red Flags and nearly 100 pamphlets. We had underestimated both the size and the enthusiasm of the crowd. It took us too long to focus on our main task as communist organizers: to meet people, exchange information, and thereby create an opportunity to get to know them, struggle with them, and convince them to join the ICWP.
At first, we tried to distribute Red Flag by talking only about the communist analysis of sexism in the issue we were distributing. But many marchers did not want to limit themselves to that. They were very open to discussing the many ways capitalism oppresses the whole working class. And most importantly, how communism can end these horrors. They welcomed our communist internationalism.
Two young women raised their fists to have their picture taken for Red Flag. They were pleased to get a communist paper and read about what the party was doing around the world. Then they posed for another picture with the anti-sexism pamphlet.
“I didn’t know this was going on in El Salvador,” many said about the front-page article. They wanted to read about the communist fight against fascism there. One friend said, “I see the GOP is eager to copy laws from El Salvador about sending women to prison for miscarriages.”
Some young people were there with parents or grandparents who had stories about fights around abortion rights and other issues of sexism in the 1960s and 70s. One woman said her grandmother talked to her abut marching with communists in New York City when she was young. Another said she would gladly take the paper, as her sons-in-law thought she was a communist anyway.
We discussed how no “rights” are ever safe under capitalism. Whatever benefits the bosses is the order of the day. Many fear that gay marriage will be next.
Lessons: Have enough literature. Approach everyone – people you’ve stereotyped might surprise you. Ask anyone friendly for contact information. If they won’t exchange information, at least give them ours.
Capitalism is in deep trouble. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this at every opportunity. The anger of the people around us, wherever we are, can become communist internationalism and the fight to make a revolution.
We must spread our message via Red Flag AND make it our goal to have contact information and follow up with it very quickly. People are hungry for our message.
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