LETTERS, CRITICISM AND SUGGESTIONS
Don’t we have the right to a home?
While we were driving to meet young lions (comrades), our car got stuck in an area where masses of homeless people were trying to build shacks on a vast area littered with garbage. The police attacked them. A comrade who saw this wrote:
Why are you saying that we should remove our shacks from here? And why are you removing us from this land saying that this is the government’s land when this land has not been used for years? It’s only been used as a dumping place for rubbish for many years. Vast areas were vacant. Now it is a settlement that is being demolished by the police who were ordered by the mayor to remove homeless people who were only trying to build homes for their families.
I could not help but wonder: is this land not for everyone? Don’t we have the right to a home? As tears rolled down my face, as I stood there and watched the masses fighting for what they wanted, for what they believed was theirs, I could not help but wish that the day had come that the masses all over the world were finally taking what belongs to them and they were dealing with the capitalists once and for all.
The masses had so much strength as they took big poles and stones to close the roads. They were burning tires and they were not scared of the police, even when the police pulled out guns and opened fire on them, they did not run away. They stood their ground. Instead they started singing, saying “Even though they are shooting at us, we will not stop. We are going forward.”
That proved to me that if we go out there and engage the masses, give them the line, we will have a Communist society sooner than we think. Let us go out there with our heads held up high. Let us mobilize as hard as we can and let us engage with the masses as much as we can.
—Comrade in South Africa
We Need Communism, Not Capitalist Politicians and Reformists
I wanted to tell you about the sadness and frustration that I felt this May Day when I saw how these worms from capitalist hell divided the working class, not only the immigrants but the working class in general.
They sent the so-called community organizers and pro-immigrant activists to form several marches in different parts of the city of Los Angeles only for the purpose of keeping us divided. I went to the last march that supposedly started at 4 PM at McArthur Park. The truth was that it was a disaster. The few people who arrived were late. Apart from that, the police quickly started to repress the people. A truck arrived with a sign that called for voting for a socialist politician for the Congress. Then they changed the sign for one that said “Union del Barrio” (Union of the Neighborhood).
They passed out papers with silly messages that I personally saw as disrespectful. The papers said “If Zapata lived, he would be here with us.” It is something stupid and shameful to use the name of someone who gave his life for many of us and put it together with prefabricated heroes like Cesar Chavez.
In addition, it wasn’t like a march. It was more like a parade of political candidates and activists who paraded to look good and take a picture for their campaign.
That is why it is urgent to make a communist revolution to put an end to these types of absurd situations that do not benefit the working class in any way. On the contrary it makes us forget a date as important as May Day, International Workers’ Day. Join the struggle for a better, communist world! The revolution is waiting for you!
—A comrade in Los Angeles, US
I marched for communism!
When I went to the march I was amazed by how many people were fighting for what they believe in. Everyone was fighting for different things but I marched for communism a world in which everything is fair. No one is wealthier or more powerful. Everyone and everything is equal and fair.There is no hierarchy and there is no currency. There is only sharing and no borders. There is no Mexico or America only the people who live in our communist world. There will only be good times and chill vibes, no unfairness.
The march was long and amazing and hard fought. It was truly an amazing sight and a great feeling to be there and fight for what we believe in. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The feeling I had when I was walking and we were chanting was great. We were all so determined to get our message out to the world. We weren’t scared of the police nor did we have second thoughts about how we felt. We stood proud shouting our beliefs at the top of our lungs while looking forward with nothing but determination.
To watch all of us was so inspiring to me and I hope someone else can be inspired as I was. It was truly a beautiful sight and a beautiful feeling to be there with all of us who had so much determination and so much enthusiasm. So sign me up for the next march because I’ll go with no hesitation.
—New high school comrade in Los Angeles
Advancing with Small Steps
“The May Day dinner went pretty well,” a comrade reported at a recent club meeting. “When it was time for discussion, I saw a table without anyone to lead. So, I went and sat with the workers there. I shared with them what I knew about the Paris Commune. It was the first time that workers held power. I talked about the role of women and the ideal of gender equality.
“The people who were new to the Party had the usual questions about communism, Russia, China. I explained that those countries had socialism, not communism. I told them about the difference.”
Then the club discussion turned to the front page of the May Day issue of the paper. We all read the article that outlined the general line of the Party and explained why more readers need to join. Everyone liked it.
A more experienced comrade mentioned that a question had been raised about whether the article was the right thing to feature for May Day marchers who might be seeing the paper for the first time. We all reread it.
“I don’t see why not,” said a friend who often meets with us. “It is to the point. It explains everything very clearly. It doesn’t make any promises.”
“You mean, promises for reforms like unions and politicians make?”
“Yes,” she replied.
That sparked a lively exchange about why unions aren’t the way for workers to solve our problems.
“That was a trick question,” said the comrade who’d asked about the page-one article. “If you think it’s good for first-time readers, then who do you know that you can show it to?”
She talked about the need for more comrades and friends to start building groups of people (like our group) to read, discuss and act on communist ideas. We talked about plans for the summer and who we could invite to activities.
“The one thing that sticks in my craw,” said our friend, “is the part about armed revolution. I am just not a violent person.”
“That cop who killed black activist Sandra Bland,” burst in a comrade. “I think I could kill him.”
Did the friend mean that she objected to armed revolution in principle, asked another? That there might be another way to get to the communist society we all want? Or just that she couldn’t see herself with a gun? More discussion. Probably the last reason.
It was time to go. Everyone (including the friend) took extra papers to distribute.
Not everyone in our group made it to the dinner and only a few made it to the May Day march. But overall, we seem to be moving forward.
—A collective in California
First-Time Marcher Learns About Communism
This was my first time marching for communism. When I spoke with other people on the bus, I understood more about communism, I imagined a little more about what communist society would be like, I liked the idea. My first thoughts about communism were only of a society looking for everyone to be the same but now I understand a little more.
Communism means that all workers have power, that there is no more injustice. There will not be that idea that one belongs to a country or not because there will be no borders. Communism will welcome everyone. No one will be looked down upon because of the color of their skin or their nationality.
When we arrived at the march, I saw that there were groups with a different way of thinking. But we were there to march for communism. In the beginning I was nervous because I thought that people would look at us in many ways. So it was. When I was distributing Red Flag some looked at me in an ugly way while others asked me for the paper or they grabbed it with a smile. A racist man approached to give negative options; he was being escorted by the police along the march, which infuriated me. I saw how the police looked at us with hatred but even so in the end nobody was able to take away the satisfaction I had of having marched and shouted for equality, for my rights, for something I want.
—High school student in Los Angeles
May Day Was Amazing
This year I went to my first May Day March. I’ve always wanted to do something like that and finally got to. I marched for communism, a world where we can all be equal and not just working for a higher class. I marched for a world where we can all be provided with our needs, where money does not exist, where our mothers and fathers don’t have to work two or three jobs just to be able to buy their children what they need. We all need a world where there are no rich or poor but to all be equal, we must break down the walls and unite for a better and equal world.
I invited a friend. When the day of the march finally came, we got in this beautiful bus with other students. We were excited. On the way there we practiced the chants.
When we got close to our destination, we got off the bus and started carrying our red flags and communist posters and this cool big banner my friend and I volunteered to carry. We arrived at the park where we were starting the march. I was surprised so many people were there, even my aunt was in the crowd. We began to walk chanting our communist slogans. We marched down the streets feeling free. After a half an hour of walking with hundreds of other people two students from our school came to hold the banner we were carrying. It was our turn to pass out Red Flag.
My friend and I went running down the streets so excited to see all the people and their colorful posters and flags. We honestly had so much fun and felt proud to do something. We handed out so many papers and returned to march with our group. At the end of the day we went back with our bus and all went home. It was an amazing day.
—New Los Angeles student comrade
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