AUT: re Passe Montagne doc

[vacirca@xxxxxxxxx (robert brown)]

        Hi aut-op-sy folks,
        I'm new to your list. joined in feb.98 . am long-time
anti-imperialist activist, independent marxist and
leninist,anti-stalinist,sympathetic to many but not all aspects of
autonomia operaia's politics in 60's italy, just spent last 6 years  trying
to mobilize men to fight against male violence in Baltimore. Found the
pro-feminist men's   grouping not serious about resisting male violence,
but also found left men for the most part not interested either. Our men's
collective in Baltimore just dissolved (a friendly separation). Guess you
could consider me one of those "leninists in crisis" someone talked about.
        Been working on a long term research/writing project on gramsci and
italian fascism. In general i think the collapse of patriarchal state
socialism is a good thing as it both  is destabilizing imperialism and
clearing the ground for new kinds of movements against capitalism and
patriarchy. i'm leary of the internet as an organizing tool of the left but
i'm trying to keep an open mind. The dangers are: reinforcing classist
contradictions and feeding self-alienating , mutually objectifying male
left intellectualizing (whew, a mouthful), lack of accountability, and
making state surveillance and penetration of the movement easier. The
advantages of the internet are , of course obvious.
        i want to encourage myself and other left activists to look for new
ideas and ways of doing revolutionary politics ; to look for and learn from
the new forms of struggle that  are trying to be born. Which brings me to
the Zapatistas and the Passe Montagne document  discussion.  To be honest i
dont like the whole tone and attitude of  Passe Montagne and some of the
posts suporting it.  The authors treat the EZLN as if  they were the enemy.
Their criticisms seem intended to demolish and destroy  not encourage a
comradely criticsm and self criticism of the Zapatistas and Zapatista
solidarity work. It seems to me that we should be asking what is new and
healthy about the Zapatistas  and the political space they and the
indigenous people's uprising have  created in mexico and on the
international left.  For instance i find it refreshing that the EZLN is not
fighting for state power. i also find it strange that leftists  from  the
autonomist and anarchist wing of the left would hold that against them.
       i was not convinced by  the document's tactical critique of the
EZLN. Its always tricky and somewhat arrogant to second guess the tactical
choices of  another peoples armed movement, particularly when you don't
have  a movement, much less an armed one of your own to help them overcome
their tactical "errors".  i also question their factual assertion that the
EZLN has stopped doing armed struggle and doesnt  defend indigenous people
in Chiapas when they are attacked. I would like to see someone on this list
to factually respond to that charge, which is a very serious one.
        i  would also  like to know more about the authors' political
practice in France. i agree with monty neil's point that the document is
long on ideology and short on facts.
        i have a lot more to say but i will save it for another time. love
and revolution. bob brown




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