Diamond in the Rough

Occasionally when I'm on blogger, I decide to look at other blogs. This is usually a mistake.

Most of the stuff I find is just strange, juvenile or useless. I don't care about your cats, or how cute they look in any of the 500 pictures you have of them. I don't really care that you were at a wedding last week, mostly because I don't know you. And above all, I REALLY don't care which famous people are screwing each other lately.

My primary preoccupation is with politics. I am interested in the analysis of social conditions, economic trends and political actions. And on this subject, I am also thoroughly disappointed.

On a good day, the best that I'm going to find on another political blog is some mediocre bashing of George W Bush. While I am in no way, shape or form a friend of the fascist war chief Bush, I am so unimpressed by Bush-bashing. It's so fashionable to slam the Bush administration these days, not to mention easy and superficial. All of the opinions I hear about the war in Iraq are Liberal-Reformist at best, not to mention cloned and un-original. Now there is the odd person who takes a revolutionary stand against Bush, but mostly you have these Liberal ideologues, whose only problem with the war in Iraq is that Americans are getting killed, and it's coming out of their tax dollars. Pathetic.

Personally, I was criticizing George W Bush the WEEK AFTER 911 , long before the War in Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Liberals like Michael Moore made a documentary. While Criticism of the Bush administrations policies are relevant to the current situation, I find this to be a reformist point of view. You can not criticize the Bush administration/republican party if you are not also willing to criticize the Democratic party and the entire Imperialist state of the United States of America. Are the people so naive to believe that the Imperialist wars in Iraq/Afghanistan would not have happened under the Democratic Party of Gore/Kerry?
The problem is the Imperialistic State of America and the American bourgeoisie itself, not just one or two factions of the American capitalist class.

All of the other "Progressive" politics on these internet blogs include trying to make liberal or social democratic candidates look like they are different than conservative candidates (Ha!), Ultra-environmentalist/animal rights diversions from the actual problems faced by humanity and the crisis of our system, Amnesty international style "Humanitarianism" that basically focuses on mudslinging unpopular governments, and other social-democratic/liberal diversions that ignore the real problems, present no solutions, and tow the line of Imperialism.

"Animal rights"? How about we focus on giving HUMANS even the most basic rights which they are currently lacking, you petty bourgeois, hippy suburbanites!

Of course, all of this Social Democratic reformism at least has a basis of logic and science.
The other brand of political blogs are the conservative blogs, lacking in research, lacking in facts, pumped up with ignorance and blind patriotism. let's make one thing clear: Telling someone that they "Hate America!" in response to a logical argument is not rhetoric. If you have ever used the phrase " (Blank) hates America!" or "(Blank) Hates Freedom!", then you are a braying jack ass and need to go back to elementary school, preferably in a country other than the US.
Honestly, I can not even understand how conservatism attracts converts! How does anyone buy into conservatism? Say whatever you will about Marxism-Leninism, but in addition to being Scientific and logical, the theory is Humanist, based entirely on serving the people and mutual prosperity. Conservatism on the other hand, in addition to providing almost NO logical basis for it's theory, has absolutely NO humanist elements to it. This insane "Law of the Jungle", "Survival of the fittest" economic theory, bolstered by an intregal theory of Ultra-nationalist Imperialism, xenophobia to all other nations, cultural chauvinism, and muted undertones of patriarchy, elitism and white supremacy, somehow flourishes not just among the bourgeoisie, but among some of the working class. Even worse, the entire theoretical basis of modern Conservatism is not dog-eat-dog economics, but rather Christian Fundamentalism! I always have to keep myself from laughing when a Christian-Conservative is telling me how Communism will never work. Hey, I may believe in the inevitability of a classless society, but you believe in a virgin birth, a resurrection, a man living inside a whale, every species of animal escaping a deluge aboard a single wooden ship and a man walking on water. Somehow, I think I have the theoretical high ground.

So, where am I going with this anyway? What is the issue?

As near as I can figure, the blogosphere is an excellent illustration of not only the the total marginalization of the people under liberal democracy, but of the hegemony of ideology in a capitalist society. All ideologies under capitalism, wether they be Conservative, Liberal, Social Democratic, etc, all present the same view of the world, of human society, and basically put forward the same economic system, despite how deceptively different each ideology claims to be.

At one time, I thought the same way as everyone else. I exhibited blind patriotism, national chauvinism,complete ignorance and apathy of the world political, social and economic situation, and an overall confidence in the system of the state itself. But then a funny thing happened.
I graduated to grade 10. I started reading books of my own initiative, books that were not on the school curriculum, nor where they available in the school library. I started analyzing history from different perspectives. I started to keep up with current events. Ideologically, I became
anti-Imperialist, then anti-conservative, then anti capitalist, until finally I became Marxist.
I educated myself. In essence (forgive the pop-culture reference), I took the red pill.

Of course everyone has an opinion. Of course everyone has a right to an opinion. All I am suggesting is, do a little research. It may surprise you how uninformed you are.

Commie Toon, August 23. 2006

Bling Bling, Nigga!

For the last week or so, I was camping with some of my Comrades in Quebec.
I always enjoy this event, because with so many communists and progressive youth in one area, there is a lot of exciting discussion on every topic under the rainbow.

Anyways, one day the topic turned to Rap and hip hop culture. One of my Comrades argued that
the rapper Ice Cube was a progressive media influence because of the lyrics of some of his music. I personally strongly disagreed with this, as the majority of Ice Cubes music is not about
the plight of African Americans, just the typical "thug life" bullshit.

Anyways, from here things really took off, as I took that stand that not only Ice Cube, but Gangsta rap in general was not a progressive influence in the media, as far as the image of the black community was concerned. Let me tell you, I took a lot of criticism for this viewpoint from more than one comrade, on all sides. When I argued that Gangsta rap was misogynistic and sexist, the reply was "That's ( black) culture. Who are we to say it's misogynist". I got a similar response when I said that Gangsta rap only demeans the image of the black man as a savage. When I really tried to drive this point home, one of my comrades told me I couldn't really comment on the situation, as I am not black ( Neither was the Comrade in question, who also voiced his opinions on the subject. Hypocrite.).

I still stand by every word, and feel that my opinion is justified. Gangsta rap is not a progressive media influence at all, totally demeaning and undermining the struggle of the black community for equality.

Now let me make a distinction between rap and GANGSTA rap. Rap music originated in the black community, a grassroots form of expression that did not necessarily have any negative qualities inherent to it. There are many rappers/rap groups who are not a negative influence,
such as public enemy, Dead Prez, to name a few ( referred to as "Bourgie Rap" by a Comrade. Ironically, Gangsta rappers, who are propped up by wealthy capitalists are not "Bourgie rap" according to his criteria.).Gangsta rap is a bastardization of rap music and black culture, used by the corporate bourgeoisie to make profits and slander the entire black community simultaneously.

It has always been the tool of the bourgeoisie to divide and conquer, turning the various elements of the proletariat against one another. The best way to do this is by stirring up racism and ethnic ultra-nationalism within a population. Henceforth, the image of the black man as a savage has existed for a very long time, in many different forms. Gangsta rap is the latest form.

This is a different time. In the old days, you could have the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan on
a stage, preaching their poison against the black community. Now, times have changed. Now, a white person spreading hate propaganda would be easily identified as a racist. These days, you can't sell anti-African propaganda through a white spokes person. You need a black spokesperson
to slander their own race for this propaganda to be effective.

Also, legitimate black music, especially rap, was very threatening to the bourgeoisie. It couldn't be stomped out, so the Capitalist class realized that in order to destroy rap music, they would have to appropriate it.

And from these two initiatives Gangsta rap was born.

I am so sickened by my comrades who say that "Who are you to judge? It is black culture."
Oh really? So gender discrimination and objectification of women are "black culture"? Drive-by shootings, gang violence and murder are "black culture"? Rampant drug use and violent crimes are "black culture"? This viewpoint cloaks itself in progressive terminology, but is so overwhelmingly racist it's painful. This dramatically illustrates that even the most progressive elements of our society have bought in to this racist bullshit being shoved down the throats of the masses.

In actuality, this is basic biological determinism, otherwise known as Social Darwinism, the science of fascism. These racist notions are being spoon-fed to the masses in the form of music
and television. My own comrades, people who I thought knew better, reveal that they also have this deep rooted belief that black people and violence, crime and sexism go together, like spaghetti and meatballs. This is a very disturbing revelation.

Don't get me wrong. I love rap. I also love gangsta rap. But my personal preferences are irrelevant. Gangsta rap is still regressive and detrimental to the image of the black community.

When you turn on the news, you see the massacre of the month in Uganda, Sudan, Sierre Leone,etc. Than you switch channels to MTV, and you have some rapper waving guns and smacking hos and smoking dope. These are both the exact same image of the black race, being promoted by the media.
The white community (Even my fellow communists) are learning to fear, or at least accept, the inherent violence and barbarism attributed to "black culture". The black community are forced to contend with their only representatives in the media, made to emulate these gangstas and Hos, pressured into accepting this"culture" as their own.

In the meantime, the corporate bourgeoisie sleeps sound, knowing that their white subjects live in fear of the black man, their black subjects are being pressured into total rejection of all things cultural, and all the while they are making money off of the records. The perfect crime, executed to perfection.

Our founder,our leader...

Reprint from TML Daily, daily newspaper of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist Leninist)

67th Anniversary of the Birth of Comrade Hardial Bains17th Anniversary of the Chertsey Meeting
Join the Work of CPC(M-L) as the Crucial Ingredient to Turn Historic Success into Historic Victory!
On the occasion of the 67th anniversary of the birth of Comrade Hardial Bains, the founder and leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), and the 17th anniversary of the historic Party meeting in Chertsey, Quebec, the Party sends revolutionary greetings to its members and supporters and the revolutionary forces across Canada and around the world.
This year, at a time untold crimes and atrocities are being unleashed on the peoples by U.S. imperialism and world reaction, the Party's organizations at every level are highlighting Comrade Bains' leadership which imbued us with his deep conviction in the victory of the new over the old. In speaking to this conviction, Comrade Bains stressed the objective role of the working class as that class brought forward by the capitalist society to give rise to the new and the role of the communist party in unleashing the human factor/social consciousness to realize the victory of the new.
At the Chertsey meeting in 1989, Comrade Bains spoke about the crucial role the Communist Party plays in this regard. Emphasizing the emergence of the new personality in Canada, brought into being and nurtured by the Party, he gave what has become a clarion call to the Party. Comrade Bains said, "A new communist has come into being on this soil of Canada, nurtured by our Marxist-Leninist party. With such a new personality, do you think that they can smash us, destroy us? I say to you... we will become millions, you watch us -- because we represent what the working class wants." The nurturing of this new personality was not left to chance but was planned and organized by the Party.
Comrade Bains made these remarks during the period of transition from flow of revolution to retreat. It might be thought that in the period after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the bi-polar division of the world, when revolution had gone from a period of flow into retreat, that this conviction in the victory of the new might be shaken. Far from it, Comrade Bains maintained that by taking its stand for the new and advancing that struggle, the Party was unshakeable. Speaking in 1994, five years after Chertsey, he said, "The retreat of revolution has provided the bourgeoisie and world imperialism with a lot of confidence and euphoria that a new equilibrium has come into being, that in this new equilibrium they will set the law and everything will be fine. However this new equilibrium has not come into being." He predicted that this euphoria of imperialism would create new disasters and so it has. He said that in spite of all the protests and opposition by the working class and peoples of the world, the imperialists will carry on along an unpopular path as if nothing had happened, as if conditions are still favourable to them and that the peoples are reconciled to their fate.
Comrade Bains elaborated that these circumstances placed capitalism in the position of contempt and as a target of attack by the peoples all over the world. He emphasized, "This means that there are signs under the present circumstances that the working class is undergoing re-awakening. This means that the period of retreat of revolution will soon be transformed into one of flow of revolution. What it is telling the communist parties is that they must carry on with their plans for the future, with their plans to create the subjective conditions for revolution." He continued, "The working class is already beginning to think about another unthinkable, that this capitalism can be overthrown. In 1994, already assaults on capital have begun."
Comrade Bains spoke to the importance of the work of the Party in this situation, where he emphasized that things are going to change with a new social upheaval in the making. "Five years ago when counter-revolution was beginning such a momentum with the retreat of revolution, CPC(M-L) did not waver and carried on with the implementation of the plan it had worked out in 1970 to create the subjective conditions for revolution. At the same time, it showed the resilience that it can cope with these conditions and worked out a platform of democratic renewal within these present circumstances, appealing to the broadest sections of the people that even under these circumstances there is a path for progress. CPC(M-L) during this period proved that it is not and never was a propaganda sect which only believes in some principles or advocated some dogma and utopia but was not a political force. Far from it, it proved that it is a political force which has emerged to have a trial of strength with the bourgeoisie."
Today in 2006, we have seen the assaults on capitalism multiply and grow. There is broad anger and rejection of U.S. imperialism and its wars of aggression and rejection of Canada's participation in these wars and the world-wide anti-social offensive. There is ever-growing rejection of the anti-social offensive and the efforts by the ruling class to eliminate the necessity of society to take up its social responsibility and provide for the needs of its members. The dark path of fascism and war is being rejected by the peoples world wide, while the demand for another world has come to the fore. The Party is meeting this trial of strength by consolidating its forces and developing the work to build the mass communist party. It is responding to the growing interest and demand for communism, as the working class and people seek solutions to the problems of the day. The Party is working out its tactics and social forms, such as the Marxist-Leninist Party Clubs, to ensure that communism is not a matter of phrases, but that it emerges from the very lives and conditions of the people.
The conviction in the victory of the new continues to imbue the work of the Party. On this anniversary of Comrade Bains' birth we renew his call to join the work of CPC(M-L) as the crucial ingredient for bringing about the victory of the new. Comrade Bains said, "The work is at a takeoff point for the greatest revolutionary developments that humankind has ever witnessed. CPC(M-L) is the most decisive conscious force for this revolutionary transformation in Canada, a detachment of the International Marxist-Leninist Communist Movement, contributing towards the same internationally. Let all workers, women, youth and students, and all enlightened forces join CPC(M-L). The act of joining CPC(M-L) will itself be a great leap forward for the creation of a new and affirmed humanity, in which every act of human beings becomes another act for that affirmation, the measure of what is truly human.
"Let no one hesitate, as the period for the victory of the new over the old is here. Let everyone engage in the creation of the conditions for the best expression of their own humanity, so that they can realize their aspirations to scale the heights which humanity has never reached before in order to affirm itself. Let the dawn of human progress break! Let the sun of all humanized humanity rise! Let it shine for all!"

Commie Toon, August.9,2006

Commie Toon, August 1, 2006