Hey all, popping back in after a year of fucking around in other circles physical and virtual.
No joke, between the (selectively anti working class) government shutdown, the increasingly unlivable costs of living, the loss of autonomy and dignity, the rich laughing off conservative taxes and wondering why starving people donāt just get more money, the party leaders punching left and arguing for slow solutions, the fascists popping up around the globe, and the existential climate crisis putting a 10 year timer on all of this, who else feels like it is time to burn this motherfucker down? Not literally, but not far off from literally either.
Weāre all going to die sooner than later unless we remove all of the current ruling class from power and change the system to lock them out, and they are absolutely adamant about holding onto it. Weāve been trying reformism for a long time, but our history seems to indicate that here and elsewhere reformism is not able to completely change who holds power. What are we prepared to do when the ruling class is prepared to lie (using the media companies they own, the social media platforms that cater to their advertising, and the āmedia influencersā they can buy), cheat (with gerrymandering and every legal loophole they can find or every law they can afford to break), and use force (in dollar amounts, in suits carrying badges, and in riot gear) to stop us?
ETA: This is more of a temperature check on unrest than a call to arms. I know itās impractical and unwise to ājust set shit on fireā, but I canāt be the only one that has been feeling like this cannot continue and that we have to do something, right?
I have no problem with some things like serious sabotage, but I would hope that if it came close to revolution, that we were smart about it and targeted those responsible in concentrated fashion, rather than just throwing rocks in the streets.
There have been civil unrest in several countries in the past years: occupy wall street, podemos in Madrid, today we have yellow vests in France. In each case, the protests lasted for several months. I am not aware that they achieved a significant breakthrough. I may be wrong.
I feel that the context of revolutions has changed. I am not quite sure why. Maybe part of the weakness is that nowadays revolutions are organised on networks financed by advertising. The revolution will never by financed by advertising.
I have to add this will also require strong resolve. I canāt remember which CEO or CFO it was, but wasnāt there a moment sometime around the beginning of Occupy Wall Street where a large group of protesters found their way to his house, prepared for a showdown?
He came outside, his wife served refreshments, and he debated bluffed his way out of swift retribution by pretending to be aligned with their interests.
Here are some half formed thoughts about what to do about it:
-Do not buy non-essential stuff, none
-Grow as much of your own food as you can
-Do not have kids
-Work towardsā¦ fuck it, burn the shit down
āThe average Venezuelan lost an average of 11 kilos (24 pounds) in 2017, the result of years of inflation, economic mismanagement and corruption. Venezuela was once the richest petrostate in the region, but in one Caracas supermarket last week, no eggs or bread could be found. A modest basket of water, nuts, cheese, ham and fruit cost $200 US.ā
āIn Caracas, children scavenge the cityās streets. In one of the capitalās fancier neighborhoods, we met 14-year-old Uzmaria with five or six other children, who rummage through the trash to supplement their familiesā diet. āWe gather stuff, we beg, a piece of chicken skin to take home,ā she said.ā -CNN
You want revolution, this is how you get revolution.
Venezuela is the new standard for how not to run a country and throw away a bigger pile of money than the Saudis rake in. Itās staggering to think how corrupt and incompetent you have to be to become essentially a failed state, while sitting on the biggest oil reserves on the planet. Chaves really did a number on the collective psyche of the people it seems, I canāt explain why his heirs are still in power otherwise. Itās the one place in the world where Iād think a revolution would have broken out years ago, yet here we are. Weird in the extreme.
Weāre not at the crisis point yet. At the margins of the current āempiresā thereās unrest as thereās always been but itāll take more. The Yellow Vest protests are a good starting point but it must get much worse. Think a quarter of the US population canāt afford even basic food worse. When we reach that point of crisis I think rebellion will be inevitable. The real problem comes when whoās going to try to take over as a result? Thereās lots of would be kings among the elite and many of them really do think their farts smell of sweet perfume. So instead of some socialist revolution we might get a āTen Kingdomsā kind of situation with many fiefdoms spread throughout North America with Canada selectively annexing bits that are more stable like New England (probably under the request of some of the state governors). California and Texas might endure to become their own republics but the rest I expect to turn into a crap hole like my home state of Kansas.
With that said, this is assuming things stay the same but Trumpās election win taught me anything is that things are not fixed in their courses. Many things could or would change even if it just in a minor way. I think some kind of socialist movement will eventually come to the fore but for now itās mostly social democrats pretending to be socialists (which might dilute the meaning of the word, but it also proves itās a toothless scare word as well so thatās good imo). But if itās succeed it must avoid strongmen and other dictators as weāve seen in the past they simply derail the project of a more equitable society. I think a confederation of socialist and anarchist communes might be possible but like I said earlier all of this is a moving target. Things might go that way or they might blow up and weāre back to square one. In any case, donāt get suckered into violent revolt (agent provocateurs) or anything illegal. Never talk to anyone you donāt know personally about any kind of protests or civil disobedience. And always have some friends that are lawyers whether theyāre pro-bono or not youāre going to need them. Also, donāt spoil for a fight under any circumstances (expect one and expect to finish them but never start them or give anyone cause to start one).
Yeah, any conversation about Venezuela should take into consideration the metagame thatās being played here as it has been in any other country the US deems unfriendly to corporate control:
ETA Boots Riley is the director of āSorry to Bother Youā, and he has been on fire for the past month and I am here for it.
Yeah well, that pretty much always happens here. The general political mindset, at least among the USians who comprise most commenters here, is liberal, Democratic, centrist, moderate, āpragmatic,ā etc. And rarely much to the left of that.
Itās such a shitshow, keep the current kleptocratic dictator or fall back into the arms of an old fashioned right wing eliteā¦ not a choice I care to make.
The very last thing you say in the book is that millennials will have to become either fascists or revolutionaries. Is the choice really that binary? Are you convinced revolution is the only answer, knowing all that that implies?
Malcolm Harris
Yes, is the very simple answer. Itās not for me to say what must be done, but people can look at the world and decide for themselves. What I can tell you now is that we appear to be running out of options for reform.
Until thereās a generational turn over
of those in power,
It is primarily a waiting game .
The geezers clutching the
Levers of Power
wonāt let go willingly,
until itās taken from their cold
dead hands.
Thank God humans have
Term Limits.
I donāt agreeā¦ weāve been believing that since the 60s, that young people will have a more progressive point of view. Thatās not necessarily the case. Plenty of young white reactionary men supported Trump in the most recently election for example. Itās not the geezers that are the problemā¦ itās a much more complicated set of problems related to various kinds of privilege.
