For a lot of people, the multitudes of protesters who shut down the Donald Trump rally in Chicago yesterday will symbolize some sort of victory against hate. For me, there is a much larger message contained in that action. My usual concern about spontaneous mobilizations is that when they achieve their goal e.g. turning a drilling ship away, stopping Trump's hate rally, or prohibiting the klan from marching, the sentiment on the left is that we have won something by the course of the action itself. This has never made sense to me because the reality is whether Trump has a rally or not, and he's going to have many more rallies, the backward ideology that dominates among those who support him is not going to be impacted by the events in Chicago. In fact, those people will become further entrenched. And since the reason the disruption of the rally is significant is because of the massive support Trump is receiving, what all this tells us yesterday's events reveal an already existing deep political divide in this society. That divide is extremely complex as there are many variables at work, but for us, the larger question is who has power and why power is so important.
The question of power, and the message sent yesterday around that question in Chicago, is the central point that we don't want people to miss. The dominant narrative about Trump - and all the other candidates within either party for that matter - and anything else associated with the capitalist system, is that these are the forces that determine everything. In other words, people with great intentions on the left have been talking about how critical it is to recognize what Trump's rise in popularity means to the future of human civilization. This is being talked about as if Trump and all the other proponents and mouthpieces of the capitalist system are the only stakeholders and decision makers that matter. The same type of analysis is utilized when assessing capitalism's relationship to the non-capitalist world. Of course, the U.S. is going to dictate the opening of relationships with Cuba right? Of course the Cubans will capitulate on everything they have spent the last half century fighting and dying for just to get access to Iphones, right? Of course the North Koreans are insane because capitalism said they are. They cannot possibly be permitted to have nuclear capabilities because only the capitalist world, or anyone they have a workable relationship and understanding with - like China, will ever be permitted to have access to those resources.
Of course, this is the analysis of imperialism. Its designed to convince you that all real power rests in the hands of your enemies. This way, you will believe that the only option you ever have is to appeal to those enemies because taking power from them - power that actually belongs to you in the first place - is never an option. The real strength in the protest yesterday is that it conveyed the simple message that the real power belongs to the masses of people. That it is those masses that make history. That despite all the worries about Trump, yesterday was a reminder to all that the masses of people are not going to just sit back and be brutalized. People are going to tolerate oppression and fascism up to a point. That the history of the African cultural resistance against imperialist oppression that Sekou Ture so eloquently talked about is alive and well. The disruption of the rally yesterday is probably as much about justice seeking people attempting to challenge the myth of capitalist hegemony as anything else. We can disrupt the machinery of this system. We can confront capitalist power bases.
So, understand that the people spoke in Chicago yesterday, but that should be viewed as only the opening salvo. Spontaneous demonstrations cannot ever be seen as the solution or result. They must be seen in the context of moving from mobilization to organization. This means there shouldn't be any celebrating about what happened yesterday and we definitely shouldn't look at it as some sort of step forward. Instead, we should hopefully view yesterday in the context of thinking about the next steps. That means creating serious organizational approaches to address the conditions that produced a fool like Trump in the first place. And, how we can continue to engage millions of people, even with committed European activists breaking down the ideological stagnation that produces Trump clones in European communities. So, we are still for the most part interpreting our reality as one of reacting to white supremacy, patriarchy, and their father - capitalism, but this is simply one of the lower rungs in the struggle ladder. Chicago is yet another reminder wake up call to the truth beneath the confusion. As our people in Azania, South Africa say - "Amandela, Awetu (the power is ours!)
The question of power, and the message sent yesterday around that question in Chicago, is the central point that we don't want people to miss. The dominant narrative about Trump - and all the other candidates within either party for that matter - and anything else associated with the capitalist system, is that these are the forces that determine everything. In other words, people with great intentions on the left have been talking about how critical it is to recognize what Trump's rise in popularity means to the future of human civilization. This is being talked about as if Trump and all the other proponents and mouthpieces of the capitalist system are the only stakeholders and decision makers that matter. The same type of analysis is utilized when assessing capitalism's relationship to the non-capitalist world. Of course, the U.S. is going to dictate the opening of relationships with Cuba right? Of course the Cubans will capitulate on everything they have spent the last half century fighting and dying for just to get access to Iphones, right? Of course the North Koreans are insane because capitalism said they are. They cannot possibly be permitted to have nuclear capabilities because only the capitalist world, or anyone they have a workable relationship and understanding with - like China, will ever be permitted to have access to those resources.
Of course, this is the analysis of imperialism. Its designed to convince you that all real power rests in the hands of your enemies. This way, you will believe that the only option you ever have is to appeal to those enemies because taking power from them - power that actually belongs to you in the first place - is never an option. The real strength in the protest yesterday is that it conveyed the simple message that the real power belongs to the masses of people. That it is those masses that make history. That despite all the worries about Trump, yesterday was a reminder to all that the masses of people are not going to just sit back and be brutalized. People are going to tolerate oppression and fascism up to a point. That the history of the African cultural resistance against imperialist oppression that Sekou Ture so eloquently talked about is alive and well. The disruption of the rally yesterday is probably as much about justice seeking people attempting to challenge the myth of capitalist hegemony as anything else. We can disrupt the machinery of this system. We can confront capitalist power bases.
So, understand that the people spoke in Chicago yesterday, but that should be viewed as only the opening salvo. Spontaneous demonstrations cannot ever be seen as the solution or result. They must be seen in the context of moving from mobilization to organization. This means there shouldn't be any celebrating about what happened yesterday and we definitely shouldn't look at it as some sort of step forward. Instead, we should hopefully view yesterday in the context of thinking about the next steps. That means creating serious organizational approaches to address the conditions that produced a fool like Trump in the first place. And, how we can continue to engage millions of people, even with committed European activists breaking down the ideological stagnation that produces Trump clones in European communities. So, we are still for the most part interpreting our reality as one of reacting to white supremacy, patriarchy, and their father - capitalism, but this is simply one of the lower rungs in the struggle ladder. Chicago is yet another reminder wake up call to the truth beneath the confusion. As our people in Azania, South Africa say - "Amandela, Awetu (the power is ours!)
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