Re: Defending Martyrs,Reclaiming Memory & History (was Re: Leonard Peltier + Working within thesystem)

[Carrol Cox <cbcox@xxxxxxxxx>]

Yoshie Furuhashi wrote:

>
> It is not the case that the Left prefers an association with violence
> to non-violence.  The Left -- or _any other political force_ for that
> matter -- makes a cause out of *martyrs* . . .

A tentative suggestion. I've always sort of acted from the slogan,
We will accept casualties but we will not be martyrs. We would
rather win Mumia's freedom than celebrate him as a martyr.

This is, I fear, against the grain of the language as used, but I
thought I would toss it in. I tend to associate "martyr" with
Christian Martyrs, with many of whom I have little sympathy.
We want to destroy capitalism and build socialism, not merely
bear witness to that desire.

But in any case the need to recapture and preserve our history
is core, as Yoshie says. Solidarity must extend in time as well
as in space or it loses its grip on us.

Carrol