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Letter: “All You Had to Do Was Pay Us Enough to Live”
“I do not think that life will change for the better without an assault on the Establishment, which goes on exploiting the wretched of the earth. This belief lies at the heart of the concept of revolutionary suicide. Thus it is better to oppose the forces that would drive me to self-murder than to endure them.” —Huey P. Newton
On April 7th, 2026, Chamel Abdul Karim set fire to a Kimberly-Clark Corporation paper goods warehouse. He filmed this, telling the capitalists, “All you had to do was pay us enough to live.” Since then there have been several more warehouse fires, some intentional, some undetermined, and other bold acts of resistance.
Social media comment sections have lit up with discussion of the fires. Whether a post was from mainstream news, leftist, right-wing, or liberal content creators, there was little criticism of the arsonist. There was a great deal of understanding, much glee, and even some gratitude. People spoke about the crushing weight of trying to survive the capitalist system. And how this was the first bit of hope they had felt in a long time.
Chamel had already been elevated to the same status on the internet as the existing meme hero Luigi Mangione. Luigi assassinated the CEO of the insurance company UnitedHealthcare in 2024 with three bullets etched with the words “Delay, Deny, Depose”.
I’ve spoken to some comrades who support these actions. I’ve heard from others who denounce them as “adventurism” and “individualism.” While it is true that collective action will always be more powerful than solitary acts of resistance, I believe they still have their value. The revolution will not come solely through the organizing of the workers. The fuse is often lit by spontaneous action.
A big benefit of the arson was people discovering how common anti-capitalist sentiments have become. Every article, every post has created yet another comment section where people share personal stories, education about workers’ rights and the stolen value of one’s labor, concerns about the rise of AI and data centers, and many other interconnected grievances.
This is a valuable propaganda opportunity for the Party. It has captured the imagination of workers across the US and made them hungry for action.
In such moments, we must not lead with criticism of actions that don’t align perfectly with the Party. We must not only ask others to join us, but also find ways to join the energy of our allies and build a large tent. We must “yes and” those who are excited about the individuals sacrificing themselves to fight back against the capitalist class.
We must say, “Yes, it’s exciting that people are rising up. After feeling alone and scared, it’s exciting that so many people have had enough. And we must join together to demand much more than a living wage.” “Yes, this act of vandalism cost a corporation 15% of its annual profits, and we can do much more with collective action. Let me tell you how.”
—Comrade in Los Angeles (USA)
Letter: Capitalist Reality and Our Communist Future
“We talked about real stuff,” a person said after our May Day luncheon in Oakland, California (USA). We ate delicious food at a Cambodian restaurant. We discussed the world situation including Iran; our personal experiences of racism on the job and in graduate and professional school; and the Michael Parenti book, Blackshirts and Reds, we are reading in our book group.
We pushed back on the mythology of super achievement – Blacks must be twice as good to get jobs and enter professions. An ICWP member urged us to go to local May Day marches, read Red Flag, join our book group and ICWP.
People want to talk about “real stuff.” However, we must explain and teach that “stuff” is due to capitalism that must be destroyed. We must work today to fight for a communist humane society.
—Oakland (USA) comrade
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