[Marxism] re: New Orleans: "It's the system." - are we missing an opportunity?

["M. Junaid Alam" <alam1@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If we ever start giving out "Marxmailer of the month" awards around here
or something, I think Joaquin should get the first prize for his
commentary and analysis.

But despite the clear and unmistakable validity of a Marxist,
anti-capitalist critique in a situation like this, I think we greatly
suffer from our total lack of an objective presence on the streets.

Imagine our impact if, for instance, we could organize cadres of 10,000
socialists to NO. What a tremendous show of solidarity, what a great
magnifier of our message that would be! Imagine if we had control of
even a sliver of the airwaves, the press, the unions, the organized
communities, around the country. We could initiate a mass campaign
linking the war in Iraq with the war in New Orleans.

It would, really, not require much more than 10,000 people. Yet it is a
deplorable - no, extremely pathetic - fact that in a country of
300,000,000 people, socialists exist in perhaps a few grouplets of
1,000s, and that's all. How can our analysis resonate, apply, and ring
so true, and yet, we have absolutely nothing in terms of numbers?

This certainly gives thought for pause. Are we missing something here?
Maybe this hurricane, despite its aftermath confirming the value of
socialism, is not really going to be as great a catalyst for changing
consciousness as we assume. After all, most of the victims are
expendable - that is, they are Black. The whites got out of Dodge in
their SUVs. Too many socialists have tried to gloss over and wish out of
existence the power of White nationalism in this country with
pretentious paeans to "workers' solidarity." This has led nowhere.

Whatever the reason, the bottom line is that we have no presence on the
ground to amplify and spread our message. Therefore, what will prevent
the rest of America from simply shrugging this all off in a couple
weeks, returning to Missing White Girl of the month or what have you,
once again leaving rationality by the wayside?

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