Comrade Toussaint

United States: The United States “Justice” Department (a misnomer if there ever was one) has declared that three major cities are “anarchist” jurisdictions and thus on the verge of being “defunded”, or deprived of federal funding. This is following on the heels of Donald Trump’s memorandum of September 2, where he singles out the cities of New York, Seattle and Portland as jurisdictions that have failed to repress the popular movement which arose out of the response to the death of George Floyd. Trump’s memorandum singles out the CHAZ/CHOP “occupied zone” which held the streets of the gentrified Capitol Hill district of Seattle, claiming that participants were rioters and anarchists who threatened public safety and order until the dismantlement of the zone on July 1st. This, despite the fact that he has been stone silent on the fact that armed fascist militias are pulling over civilian motorists and searching their vehicles in the wildfire struck areas of the Pacific Northwest. Nevermind, also, the fact that Trump called the assassination of Michael Reinoehl justified and also excused the murderous actions of the fascist Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two progressive demonstrators in Kenosha, Wisconsin and wounded a third.

The DoJ and Trump seek to punish cities administrated by the Democratic Party by depriving them of federal dollars. AG Barr said Monday:

We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.

We see even more that there is no concern for the safety of citizens. America has never cared for the welfare of the masses of toiling and oppressed nationality people. It is a parasitic entity, it takes happily and gluttonously but never gives wilfully, all around the world, especially at home. If the welfare of the public was the motivation, they would be heeding the calls from the masses of Black and progressive people to defund the police. But, once again, we see the foolishness of relying on bourgeois political chicanery to serve the people’s interests. No American government branch or bureau cares about the welfare and wellbeing of the working class or oppressed nationalities people. Where has been the real relief of the people in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic? Whatever concessions have been extracted from the fascist regime, they have been just that – extracted by the popular movement and the fear of it growing larger. We see that the fascist regime fears the people developing even further and finding out more of what can be done through continued social practice and application of revolutionary principles and theory. The masses can do anything under a correct political line in command – feed themselves, organize themselves against landlords, and struggle against police repression. The fascist government fears this, and thus scrambles ever further towards its own doom and displays its unconcern and incompetence for all the world to see. The main danger at this time remains the ability of the State to repress and exercise armed force – the recent brutal arrest of 4 PSL organizers in Denver, Colorado, is just the latest example. For the non-offense of gathering a police station, organizers have found themselves charged with a wide array of extremely serious felonies, including kidnapping! Another growing danger is the resurgence of small fascist cells, individual lone wolves of the Timothy McVeigh and Anders Breivik types, and collaboration between these elements and State repressive forces.

Gone are the days where an individual, a collective, or an organization such as DSA or PSL could call a demonstration, gather a few dozen or few hundred people, and have a “peaceful” march, invite everyone online, with many photos taken for Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Such “organizing” is increasingly toying with one’s life. Armed fascists, the police, and other enemies of the people stalk these open events, disguise themselves as journalists or protestors, collect information, and eventually seek retaliation against organizers and participants. Activists in the imperial center must begin thinking like activists in places like the Philippines, who have lived through martial law and who are frequently red-tagged and murdered. As November and elections approach, the forces of reaction will engage in more desperate acts, and it is the responsibility of activists to go even deeper among the people and sharpen their skills in combatting repression and fascist violence. Strategy and tactics must be taken into account, and demonstrations must become more and more mass based and disciplined, and they must have a political purpose, not simply be reactionary or for the sake of protesting. We have seen dwindling numbers at protests and groups scattered all over the place arbitrarily declaring actions – this is against basic Maoist military principle, which is to preserve oneself and destroy the enemy. The strategy now seems to be “destroy yourself and preserve the enemy”. Leftist and progressive bodies lie in the streets while the enemy walks away free to kill over and over again. This must change and we must become ever more serious about our tasks and orientation. As Comrade Kevin Rashid Johnson said,

The reactionaries are coming out in greater numbers and more emboldened. The state has allowed them to attack protesters, even giving them clearance to use motor vehicles as weapons, stating that cars can plow into Black and Brown demonstrations under the pretext of defending themselves against perceived threats. Thus portraying demonstrations of people of color as inherently threatening. The New Afrikan Black Panther Party, the Brown Panther Organization, and the United Panther Movement have determined that these protests have expressed no concrete political objectives, are drawing the masses into meaningless confrontations with reactionaries that serve only to demoralize the people without any material gain and placed them in harm’s way, and offers leaders and radical elements as targets for police to remove from the streets.