I went to a program yesterday where the statements that received the greatest positive reaction from the crowd were completely contradictory(at least in my mind--obviously not, in the collective mind of the audience): Statement 1: Imperialism was hurt in Vietnam, it was hurt in Iraq and it will be buried in Africa. Statement 2: I voted for him(Obama) cause he is Black. On their face, these statements may not seem related, but my mind has been whirling trying to reconcile them into one coherent worldview. The fact is they can't be reconciled and the reaction to these statements are actually symptomatic of a sort of political schizophrenia. Of being African and still putting some hope or giving some credence to the idea of an American identity. My favorite statement of the night was in response to a question posed(facetiously, i hope) about whether we could look forward to a kinder, gentler foreign policy(read imperialism) from an Obama presidency, it was profound in its simplicity: the president of America is still the president of America.
We must see the Obama presidency as just the latest stunt imperialism has pulled out of its bag of tricks. We can see the game aint changed, only the players. Indeed, what separated Obama from the pack of Democrats initially, was his foreign policy. Specifically, his stance on the war in Iraq, but who does he choose as his Sec. of State,(the face of foreign policy) but Hillary Clinton who sought to position herself as the most hawkish Democratic candidate(read trustworthy guardian of imperialism). By the way anyone remember those commercials about who do you want to pick up the phone at 3am?. His chief of staff is Rahm Emanuel- a super wealthy Zionist war hawk. Along with Hillary Clinton, Obama's vice president Joe Biden authored the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act which imposed economic sanctions on the people of Zimbabwe. The president of America is still the president of America.
We see imperialism just got a makeover--putting a African face on imperialism aint change we can believe in, matter fact it aint change at all. It is actually Imperialist rule in blackface. This is what Nkrumah called neo-colonialism.Of course, the Obama gambit is meant to distract us from the conflicts inherent to capitalism, but in fact it is doomed to fail and fall victim to its own contradictions. Africans and people all over the world have their expectations raised while imperialism is still the order of the day and so the conflicts have not been resolved.
Let's put things in a little historical context. When imperialism could no longer rule through naked colonialism, it turned to an indirect form of rule. It propped up puppet rulers who were willing to do their bidding. Look at Papa Doc in Haiti, Mobutu in the Congo. Look at Mandela's presidency, people rejoiced around the world at the end of the apartheid regime and assumed progress would be made. In fact, under the guise of democracy the same exploitative system of capitalism continued to function and the same people who were rich before apartheid are richer and the Azanian/South African masses are still suffering at the hand of imperialism.
So this is nothing new, same old same old. It actually clarifies the contradictions, which is why Nkrumah called neo-colonialism the last stage of imperialism. It got nowhere to go, but down. Once the conflicts around race are removed("give a black man a chance") and people realize imperialism is still the old dirty bastard it always was, the People will be forced to deal with class conflict as the last great obstacle between them and a truly democratic society free from oppression.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
The death of an empire
Dam, I hate to sound like Chicken Little but the American imperialism is falling! American imperialism is falling! Here are my top ten signs that you can slow down the Revolution, but it can't be stopped.
10. Castro retired
This might sound like a bad thing, but for him to consistently spit in the face of American imperialism from only 90 miles away and not die a "premature death" and the Cuban people haven't suffered a coup means imperialism is definitely dying.
9. NYPD pig kills himself out of "guilt" of killing someone
what? i'm serious I can't make this story up. A pig kills himself out of "guilt", sounds oxymoronic, but I say it's a sign of the times.
8. Mugabe is still in power
Imperialism started calling for regime change as soon as it realized he actually wanted to give the People the land. They propped up a puppet opposition, they called for U.N. sanctions. They put pressure on other members of the AU to denounce him. It was starting to look like the same script was being played out again, but after all that he's still there.
7. Voting in America is at less than 50% of the electorate
Some of you might say this is a good thing for imperialism and it's definitely in their interest to keep the masses ignorant and apathetic. At the same time though, one of the tools of imperialism is keeping the People invested in the system and propagating the lie that it is their interest. Right now, more than half the people aren't that invested in this empire. That's a sign of an empire on the decline.
6. The Patriot Act
As empires start to decline, they become more reactionary in futile attempts at staving off the inevitable rise of the People. They lose all pretense of freedom and democracy and become more and more fascist. I present you exhibit A.
5. The weakening of the dollar
The modern day empire is not just about military might, but more importantly is economic might. The dollar has been used as the currency on the world market and put America in a pretty powerful position, but that's all changing. American debt is rising, the price of everything in America is rising and the People are getting restless.
4. America is losing wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
America's mission of imposing its culture and democracy on the world just aint as easy as it used to be. The People are fighting back and America is being exposed for what it is.
3. America has sanctioned torture
When torture by the US is sanctioned in places like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, the veneer of American moral authority is ripped off for all to see and the hypocrisy is laid bare, this can only mean one thing. Imperialism is on its last legs and is making one last dying grasp at the reigns of power.
2. Both "major" candidate endorse a bailout for the capitalist class.
The majority of the people have to worry about things like rising gas prices, unemployment, healthcare, social security, home foreclosures and both "major" candidates choose to bailout the people that most would lay the blame on for this economic crisis. Never has the real interest of democratic/republican parties been on such naked display. As they close rank, it can only mean one thing: we are witnessing the death knells of the American empire.
1. American might have a "black" President
This is the number one sign that the end is near. That alone should be enough to convince you that imperialism is getting pretty desperate. What if he does win? Does that make imperialism all good now?
10. Castro retired
This might sound like a bad thing, but for him to consistently spit in the face of American imperialism from only 90 miles away and not die a "premature death" and the Cuban people haven't suffered a coup means imperialism is definitely dying.
9. NYPD pig kills himself out of "guilt" of killing someone
what? i'm serious I can't make this story up. A pig kills himself out of "guilt", sounds oxymoronic, but I say it's a sign of the times.
8. Mugabe is still in power
Imperialism started calling for regime change as soon as it realized he actually wanted to give the People the land. They propped up a puppet opposition, they called for U.N. sanctions. They put pressure on other members of the AU to denounce him. It was starting to look like the same script was being played out again, but after all that he's still there.
7. Voting in America is at less than 50% of the electorate
Some of you might say this is a good thing for imperialism and it's definitely in their interest to keep the masses ignorant and apathetic. At the same time though, one of the tools of imperialism is keeping the People invested in the system and propagating the lie that it is their interest. Right now, more than half the people aren't that invested in this empire. That's a sign of an empire on the decline.
6. The Patriot Act
As empires start to decline, they become more reactionary in futile attempts at staving off the inevitable rise of the People. They lose all pretense of freedom and democracy and become more and more fascist. I present you exhibit A.
5. The weakening of the dollar
The modern day empire is not just about military might, but more importantly is economic might. The dollar has been used as the currency on the world market and put America in a pretty powerful position, but that's all changing. American debt is rising, the price of everything in America is rising and the People are getting restless.
4. America is losing wars in Iraq & Afghanistan
America's mission of imposing its culture and democracy on the world just aint as easy as it used to be. The People are fighting back and America is being exposed for what it is.
3. America has sanctioned torture
When torture by the US is sanctioned in places like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, the veneer of American moral authority is ripped off for all to see and the hypocrisy is laid bare, this can only mean one thing. Imperialism is on its last legs and is making one last dying grasp at the reigns of power.
2. Both "major" candidate endorse a bailout for the capitalist class.
The majority of the people have to worry about things like rising gas prices, unemployment, healthcare, social security, home foreclosures and both "major" candidates choose to bailout the people that most would lay the blame on for this economic crisis. Never has the real interest of democratic/republican parties been on such naked display. As they close rank, it can only mean one thing: we are witnessing the death knells of the American empire.
1. American might have a "black" President
This is the number one sign that the end is near. That alone should be enough to convince you that imperialism is getting pretty desperate. What if he does win? Does that make imperialism all good now?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Blowoff
So I just got blown off by Tayo because she's been "looking forward to this vp debate for weeks". Maybe HD is right, maybe I do just be talking to the wrong people. Maybe I need a new circle of friends. Wow, i'm stunned everyday by the level of political consciousness we at. Maybe I shouldn't be though. Capitalism is a helluva drug. Most of us been sippin this kool-aid since birth and even some so called Revolutionaries is like "i'm scared of Mccain". Dam, this is deep. It's still bigger than Hip-hop. It's still bigger than Mccain or Obama. It's still bigger than just being a good person. We need good Revolutionaries. Yea that means reading. That mean studying political systems and learning the ideologies at play. That mean being organized!! You part of an organization, i might disagree with you, but at least you making an honest attempt and I could respect that. Do that and we'll figure out what works. But if you aint, and you just kool with your little spot on the plantation, at least be honest about it. Don't front like you about something and you really aint about nothing. You can't tell me nothing if you aint never did nothing cuz you don't know nothin. You aint in no position to criticize me until you've put in some work for your people. People, there's a science to everything. There's a science to growing plants and there's a science to growing consciousness. We'll be scientific about every single thing except for the most important thing: our Liberation. I'm telling you this is deep. I'm real aggy right now, but that's kool, that just make me know we got a lot more work to do.
Hasta La Victoria!!
Hasta La Victoria!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Notes for the Revolution
So Mike said "you all talk, if you aint bustin nothin, you aint about no Revolution". I looked at him for a second and sadly realized he thought he was dropping some deep truth. A Revolution is a process it is not an event. One reason the Revolution will not be televised is that it aint that entertaining, its just not as dramatic as some would like it to be. It don't happen overnight and a real Revolutionary must be committed to it 24/7 for life.
The Revolution needs 3 things: a political Party, a path towards its desired goals and cadre faithful to the path.
Every Revolution has a common ideology--uncompromising principles, a conception of the desirable woman/man and society, and philosophical, religious, economic, political, social, and moral theories and rules of behavior. Ideology is total. All thoughts and behaviors fall either within or outside the acceptable range of a given ideology.
The job of a Revolutionary Party is to ideologically train the People and gain conscious adherents to a Revolutionary ideology. Ideological training not only changes the way one thinks. If one truly adheres to an ideology, this is reflected in their action. Ideological training and Revolutionary Practice lead to a Revolutionary consciousness.
The Revolution needs 3 things: a political Party, a path towards its desired goals and cadre faithful to the path.
Every Revolution has a common ideology--uncompromising principles, a conception of the desirable woman/man and society, and philosophical, religious, economic, political, social, and moral theories and rules of behavior. Ideology is total. All thoughts and behaviors fall either within or outside the acceptable range of a given ideology.
The job of a Revolutionary Party is to ideologically train the People and gain conscious adherents to a Revolutionary ideology. Ideological training not only changes the way one thinks. If one truly adheres to an ideology, this is reflected in their action. Ideological training and Revolutionary Practice lead to a Revolutionary consciousness.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
NBPP vs. NYPD
Editor's note: We interrupt the adventures of Koolredd to bring you the misadventures of the NYPD. This update is brought to you by Dominique. When she told me what went down, I tried to find some more info on the internet. Of course, there was a media blackout, now if one of these pigs had got shot...The worst part is we sleeping so much, we harlem shaking to our own oppression.
(Your not gonna hear about this on the news, but you know that aint nothing new… what the proverb say…"Until lions have historians, hunters will always be heroes.")
I was marching with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) prior to The New Black Panther Party's (NBPP) participation this past Sunday at the African Parade in Harlem. Everything was going beautifully; it was well-organized, and alive with festivities rich in Pan African culture.
All the sudden, a brutal attack on several NBPP members was carried out by the NYPD.
Now, let me make this clear about the NYPD's purpose at the parade: Participants in the parade were in the middle of the street and the police are required to stay on the sidelines to keep audience out of the street, not run in the middle of the street and start beating people who are part of the parade.
Apparently, they had a different agenda as we were nearing the end of our march. An NYPD officer was literally stomping on a NBPP member's head while other members were trying to save him but ended up catching the similar fate while the NYPD simultaneously began knocking cameras down, forming a circular blockade around the beatings, doubling the latter block up again to prevent clear composed shots of the incident for witnesses to this atrocity.
Juxtaposed to this scene, a group of kids started dancing, shouting "Black Power", obviously not fully understanding that these human beings are unjustifiably receiving capital punishment for representing the continuing effort for Black empowerment at this parade. It dawned on me at that moment, that this brutal treatment is not abnormal for them (and I'm sure for many others) rather a joke to be danced around. It wasn't fully their fault; I can go on all day about the factors that lead to this mentality and I'm sure you can too but watching them carry on made me feel helpless, angry and determined to keep pushing at the same time...we are in a lot of trouble and incidents like this definitely calls for a mass movement to uproot. There were 20,000 people at the parade, marching peacefully, not effectively prepared to protect ourselves legally and physically from the NYPD's lashing out. With their guns ready, Billy clubs and combat boots, the NYPD threw
some of the NBPP members in the police van. 20,000! I cannot stress enough the need to organize as a continuing process!
After the police took off with the publically victimized NBPP members, the remaining NBPP members along with the MXGM headed straight for the nearest precinct to see about the members' welfare (and in case you're wondering, the parade continued, while the police were all over the place looking for more "work" and yes, they brought out the dogs too; it was chaotic but apparently not "abnormal" for others, as more chaos ensued).
The NBPP lined in front of the precinct as we waited on the side. Yes, 20,000 people were there but only a handful of us and the remaining NBPP were concerned about this issue enough to walk away from the festivities and silently post in front of the 32nd precinct.
Alarmingly, we encountered two passersby who wanted to put their two cents(less) in saying," Ya'll wilding out yo, what? This ain't no Malcolm X movie, ya'll lining up like this is the movie or somethin', ain't no cameras out here son, ya'll wilding out."
So if you are in NY this Sunday and can free yourself briefly from your morning responsibilities, please come and "wild out" in concern for these young political prisoners at 100 Centre st, Part F, Manhatten/ 9 a.m. These are hard times not just for us as a people but for this country as a whole. This country is reaping what it has sown; we must persistently build, edify, (re)define and strengthen our support for one another en route for liberation on all fronts.
Peace
(Your not gonna hear about this on the news, but you know that aint nothing new… what the proverb say…"Until lions have historians, hunters will always be heroes.")
I was marching with the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) prior to The New Black Panther Party's (NBPP) participation this past Sunday at the African Parade in Harlem. Everything was going beautifully; it was well-organized, and alive with festivities rich in Pan African culture.
All the sudden, a brutal attack on several NBPP members was carried out by the NYPD.
Now, let me make this clear about the NYPD's purpose at the parade: Participants in the parade were in the middle of the street and the police are required to stay on the sidelines to keep audience out of the street, not run in the middle of the street and start beating people who are part of the parade.
Apparently, they had a different agenda as we were nearing the end of our march. An NYPD officer was literally stomping on a NBPP member's head while other members were trying to save him but ended up catching the similar fate while the NYPD simultaneously began knocking cameras down, forming a circular blockade around the beatings, doubling the latter block up again to prevent clear composed shots of the incident for witnesses to this atrocity.
Juxtaposed to this scene, a group of kids started dancing, shouting "Black Power", obviously not fully understanding that these human beings are unjustifiably receiving capital punishment for representing the continuing effort for Black empowerment at this parade. It dawned on me at that moment, that this brutal treatment is not abnormal for them (and I'm sure for many others) rather a joke to be danced around. It wasn't fully their fault; I can go on all day about the factors that lead to this mentality and I'm sure you can too but watching them carry on made me feel helpless, angry and determined to keep pushing at the same time...we are in a lot of trouble and incidents like this definitely calls for a mass movement to uproot. There were 20,000 people at the parade, marching peacefully, not effectively prepared to protect ourselves legally and physically from the NYPD's lashing out. With their guns ready, Billy clubs and combat boots, the NYPD threw
some of the NBPP members in the police van. 20,000! I cannot stress enough the need to organize as a continuing process!
After the police took off with the publically victimized NBPP members, the remaining NBPP members along with the MXGM headed straight for the nearest precinct to see about the members' welfare (and in case you're wondering, the parade continued, while the police were all over the place looking for more "work" and yes, they brought out the dogs too; it was chaotic but apparently not "abnormal" for others, as more chaos ensued).
The NBPP lined in front of the precinct as we waited on the side. Yes, 20,000 people were there but only a handful of us and the remaining NBPP were concerned about this issue enough to walk away from the festivities and silently post in front of the 32nd precinct.
Alarmingly, we encountered two passersby who wanted to put their two cents(less) in saying," Ya'll wilding out yo, what? This ain't no Malcolm X movie, ya'll lining up like this is the movie or somethin', ain't no cameras out here son, ya'll wilding out."
So if you are in NY this Sunday and can free yourself briefly from your morning responsibilities, please come and "wild out" in concern for these young political prisoners at 100 Centre st, Part F, Manhatten/ 9 a.m. These are hard times not just for us as a people but for this country as a whole. This country is reaping what it has sown; we must persistently build, edify, (re)define and strengthen our support for one another en route for liberation on all fronts.
Peace
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Reformer II
"The black revolution is much more than the struggle for the rights of Negroes. It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws - racism, poverty, militarism and materialism. It is exposing evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of society. It reveals systemic rather than superficial flaws and suggests that radical reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced... White America must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical change in the structure of our society. [...] For years I labored under the idea of reforming the existing institutions of the society, a little change here, a little change there... now I feel quite differently. I think you've got to have a reconstruction of the entire society, a revolution of values"
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
So the last time I attempted to comment on the difference between reform versus Revolution, some of you said "I still don't get it" and some of you said "i'm still reading your first post". It made me realize two things, I hadn't fully explained myself and two some of you mofo's can't read, three, I love you illiterate mofo's for attempting to read my posts(i promise to add pics or videos or maybe candy to this joint for my illiterate folks out there), four, a lot of what i said sounded a lot like King in one of his last essays "A testament of hope". That's right kiddies--King became a Revolutionary and a socialist later on in life when he realized all that reformism stuff was like banging your head on a brick wall.
So here's the difference. Reform is perfecting the system while Revolution is creating a whole new system. Revolution replaces the values and thereby the institutions of a given society. Reform does not question the values or underlying assumptions of a given society so it may produce change, but does not seek a radical alteration of society. It's the difference between a Party and a movement. It's the difference between reacting spontaneously to circumstances and being conscious of the reasons behind everything you do. It's the difference between instinct and reason.
It's this consciousness I tried to point to last time. Without a Revolutionary consciousness there is no Revolution. A lot of times we fall short and only reach a resistance consciousness--we know what we fighting against, but not necessarily what we're fighting for. I respect the civil rights movement, the decolonization movement, the anti-apartheid movement but don't call it a Revolution. A Revolution overturns system, it does not seek to become a part of. This doesn't happen spontaneously or overnight. And yes, there will be a violent phase, but the real work is transforming a resistance consciousness to a Revolutionary consciousness. It's not glamorous, it's not gonna get you a spot on the 7' o clock news. But, the day-in day-out battle of ideas is where the Revolution is won. That's the only way we get to the underlying root causes rather than just attacking symptoms.
--Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
So the last time I attempted to comment on the difference between reform versus Revolution, some of you said "I still don't get it" and some of you said "i'm still reading your first post". It made me realize two things, I hadn't fully explained myself and two some of you mofo's can't read, three, I love you illiterate mofo's for attempting to read my posts(i promise to add pics or videos or maybe candy to this joint for my illiterate folks out there), four, a lot of what i said sounded a lot like King in one of his last essays "A testament of hope". That's right kiddies--King became a Revolutionary and a socialist later on in life when he realized all that reformism stuff was like banging your head on a brick wall.
So here's the difference. Reform is perfecting the system while Revolution is creating a whole new system. Revolution replaces the values and thereby the institutions of a given society. Reform does not question the values or underlying assumptions of a given society so it may produce change, but does not seek a radical alteration of society. It's the difference between a Party and a movement. It's the difference between reacting spontaneously to circumstances and being conscious of the reasons behind everything you do. It's the difference between instinct and reason.
It's this consciousness I tried to point to last time. Without a Revolutionary consciousness there is no Revolution. A lot of times we fall short and only reach a resistance consciousness--we know what we fighting against, but not necessarily what we're fighting for. I respect the civil rights movement, the decolonization movement, the anti-apartheid movement but don't call it a Revolution. A Revolution overturns system, it does not seek to become a part of. This doesn't happen spontaneously or overnight. And yes, there will be a violent phase, but the real work is transforming a resistance consciousness to a Revolutionary consciousness. It's not glamorous, it's not gonna get you a spot on the 7' o clock news. But, the day-in day-out battle of ideas is where the Revolution is won. That's the only way we get to the underlying root causes rather than just attacking symptoms.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Imperialism on the rise...
So Mugabe has ceded some power
to the MDC. I feel sick. He has been forced to bend to the will of the imperialists. It's the same script getting played over and over again. Revolutionary or at least progressive leader stands up to imperialism and of course imperialism does everything within its power to bring him down and restore their global order. Either a coup or prop up some puppet opposition. My admiration for Cuba in their steadfast resistance-- just 90 miles from the belly of the beast--grows by the minute. I feel sick, but I know we haven't lost. I know it was a victory when these swine tried to impose their UN security measures and China and Russia vetoed it. I know it was victory Mugabe actually was allowed to win the elections and they haven't assassinated him. I feel sick, but the struggle continues.
Hasta La Victoria!!
to the MDC. I feel sick. He has been forced to bend to the will of the imperialists. It's the same script getting played over and over again. Revolutionary or at least progressive leader stands up to imperialism and of course imperialism does everything within its power to bring him down and restore their global order. Either a coup or prop up some puppet opposition. My admiration for Cuba in their steadfast resistance-- just 90 miles from the belly of the beast--grows by the minute. I feel sick, but I know we haven't lost. I know it was a victory when these swine tried to impose their UN security measures and China and Russia vetoed it. I know it was victory Mugabe actually was allowed to win the elections and they haven't assassinated him. I feel sick, but the struggle continues.
Hasta La Victoria!!
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