[Marxism] Ruth Schein

[Z <zearle@xxxxxxxxx>]

This was dedicated to Ruth Schein at her memorial service.  This was a
poem recited dedicated to Ruth and our fallen comrades...


To Ruth and our Fallen Comrades!

Bury me a revolutionary
Cover me in dirt and earth and say no parable
My god is the people and I will die in their arms
Sprinkle my ashes in the urban and on the farm
I fought till my last breath and chose to smell my last scent
Spent my life teaching and leadingânever cared for dollars and cents
Worked with many groupsâthe masses were my roots
Senile as an old wolfâI bit until I had no tooth
Chant the system downâspend your life fighting wrong
We weep the tears of joyâbecause we heard the song
Dust to dust and eternal sleepâsoul is but a toy
Body sinks to deepâmy name on the lips of those who read
My words echo in the minds of the students I teach
Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Gramsciâthe authors were clever
Trying to stand up to troubleâatheist cause I don't believe in forever
Loved all the racesâprotested in the streets of many places
Being a revolutionary is never easyâargued often
Bury me without a coffinâso the worms can eat me please
Bury me in Africaâcause she's the only motherâI could ever need
I'm not afraid of death because I loved life so much
Each breath I takeâeach moment I wake
Do not cry but carry on our song,
The movement carries on forever
In your mind as memory and never in heaven



Dear All:

On October 17, our dear friend and comrade Ruth Schein took her life.
Most of you receiving this letter probably received the "good-bye"
letter Ruth sent out that day to 63 friends and family members
explaining her motives for this momentous decision.

I was one such recipient of that letter. I was shocked and greatly
saddened at the news. She was at once a mentor, a devoted comrade and
a friend to me -- as she was to so many of us in the movement. But I
could not help but admire her courage and her stubbornness as I read
her loving letter, particularly the following passages:

"I have always believed in choice, and I now choose to hasten my
death (which cannot be far off, considering that I am almost 87). I
do not choose to continue to live in this diminished condition. ...

"It is with great sorrow that I leave you, my dear family and friends.
...

"How I wish that I could believe in an afterlife. What a comfort it
would be to think that I could look down, from some perch in the sky,
at all the people I love. But I cannot be intellectually dishonest.
What lives on is one's contribution to society. And I trust that the
teaching I have done, the love of our magnificent English language
that I have instilled in my students, the work I have done to bring
to birth a new and better world -- I trust that all this will be what
lives on after me.

"So good-bye, dear family and friends. May you all live as many years
as you want. And may they all be healthy, happy and fulfilling years."

Ruth's daughter, Laura Bernstein, has arranged a memorial meeting on
Saturday, November 20th at 1 p.m. at the Chapel of the Avenues, 1266
- 9th Avenue (between Lincoln and Irving) in San Francisco. All
friends and comrades who knew Ruth and appreciated her magnificent
contribution to all our lives are invited to attend.

All messages of condolence should be sent to Laura Bernstein, P.O.
Box 625, Graton, CA 95444.. These will be posted at the memorial
meeting.

If you need any further information, please feel free to call me at
my home number in San Francisco: 415-285-2792.

In solidarity and loving memory of our friend and comrade Ruth Schein,

Alan Benjamin

PS Please forward this notice to others who knew Ruth.

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