Why Dialects Take Time:2 ( a follow up on the follow up of "The Libyan Question")

This is a follow up of this post that was originally a follow up to this post on another blog I write for.


Dialects (especially material dialects) take time because it is important to know the material situation before taking a side or defending one side over another. Nothing discredits a group or person more than someone who comes out in-favor of one side over another in a conflict then has to back-peddle because they jumped to a conclusion that was later proven the wrong choice. It is also important to acknowledge when you are wrong in an analogy.


In Libya it was easy to see why the rebels who had no air force would want a no-fly zone. But it became perfectly clear what was happening with in one hour of the French and US enforcement of a no-fly zone. A no-fly zone is where nations will shoot down air crafts over a area that is designated where no air craft is allowed to be in the air.


With in little to no time the imperialist (French, US etc) started bombing air fields (as long as the air craft is grounded there is no violation) and air defense guns that belonged to the Libyan state. This could be justified by some imperialist apologist as all part of enforcing and ensuring the continuance of the no fly zone.


But then we started to see the real goal of this imperialist backed attack under the disguise of a no-fly zone. The imperialist started attacking ground troops and tank divisions of the Libyan military to keep them from smashing the rebels in the town of Benghazi. After parroting over and over that NATO is "protecting civilians" the people in imperialist nations threw their complete support behind western attacks on the Libyan government.


Although the origins of the rebels are unknown and it seems as though they vary in ideology and background the fact of the matter is; that they asked for imperialist intervention and are grateful to their imperialist friends for handing them a victory over government forces. Let's be honest, the Libyan government won't be able to defeat the imperialist powers coupled with the rebellion with out use of their air force. No matter what we communist wish to happen it is almost inevitable that the Qaddafi regime is going to fall.


We should expect and embrace this change seeing as Qaddafi has ordered executions of un-armed people which is completely unacceptable just as much as the rebels parading around black immigrant workers is. It is hard to chose a side when both sides are being assholes to the masses and minority races. So this is the side I take;


I hope that the government throws out Qaddafi seeing as he is crazy and ordered un-armed people shot. But I hope they can then negotiate a peace deal with the rebels that keeps any imperialist benefits from this conflict to nothing. It is not realistic at this point to say "I hope the army defeats the imperialist and long live Qaddafi!" All that is realistic is to hope for the current government to keep power with out Qaddafi and to hope that the government goes back to being anti-imperialist like it used to be before Qaddafi started kissing up to the UK and Italian imperialist.


If this was a world where I could control the outcome of every conflict then all I would hope for was the self determination of the masses of Libya and I would wish to see this play out with out imperialist control of the outcome.


Written by: Dustin Slagle

The Chance and Need to Boycott the Election Process

This blog post and general idea was pulled/inspired from a blog posted by a supporter of the RCP-PCR here.


First I think it is important to point out that only about half to fifty five percent of the nations registered voters vote in the presidential elections. While only 37% of people that are legally able to vote participate in the midterm elections (1).


Considering that almost 45% of this nation does not vote in the biggest election in this nation I think that is a good sign that the average American is fed up with the US government. Further more I would place a bet that if we got all third parties to boycott the elections that the turn out would be lower that 50% for the presidential election.


The fact that 63% of the US population (that is of age to vote) does not vote in the mid term elections tells us a few things;


1) That the election process is unappealing to the masses in the US. If the people really thought elections were a real way to create change then they would participate more in local elections because that is where your votes have the most effect.


2) That people who wish to play entryism are wrong when they claim their correctness by quoting Lenin saying; "we don't separate ourselves from the mass working class organs". The fact that over 60% of the people in the US do not vote proves them wrong that the election system is a gateway to the masses. Not to mention that by participating with a current, or wanting to create a new imperial-capitalist party to take over an established one, you are still participating in imperialist bourgeois democracy and have no right to claim you represent revolutionary politics.


3) That a boycott could actually motivate more people for your cause than getting the "other" vote could. With a boycott we could measure the amount of support the government really enjoys from the masses. If we boycotted the presidential election and the percentage of people who vote dropped bellow 50% we could declare the election a victory. If we called a boycott and only 45% or less voted than we could make a legitimate claim that the US government does not enjoy popular support.


If someone really wants to know why there is little to no revolutionary consciousness in the US we must first look to the majority of the "socialist" groups in the US. How are the people in the US suppose to develop a revolutionary mid set when all the groups who claim to be revolutionary support nothing but reformist tactics and attack any groups calling for real revolution ultra-leftist? How is calling for revolution ultra-leftist? How is calling for revolution while denouncing revolution and participating in the imperialist elections anything but reformist and social-democrat-esk?


I fear that most groups in the US are fake paper tigers. They use the call "revolution" for opportunist reasons only. But in reality they support this imperialist-capitalist system by organizing and participating within it. These groups help the capitalist system by legitimizing it by trying to reform from within rather than destroying it from without or even by just not participating in the elections. By participating the legitimize the bourgeois democratic process. This obviously sends the wrong message to the most important group coming into the socialist circles, and that is the young people. The number of young people who say things like "we are real revolutionary socialist" followed directly by "wanna buy our paper or a book or some stickers or pins, how about a donation, vote for this person" makes me so sick to my stomach. Specially when you see these people wearing Che shirts and hear them quoting Lenin, Che, Marx yet then tell me how ultra-left I am for advocating for a uprising lead by the working class. Maybe the left is taking a turn to the right?


I think it is a no brainer that any revolutionary working class group should not be participating in elections while imperialist-capitalist is the only possible out come. We need to be providing an alternative ideology to this fake bourgeois democracy. Not giving the fake illusion that the elections give us any real chance at creating change. Boycotting an election may not be in itself revolutionary but it is the correct tactic for any group claiming we need a new system. Also for reasons already pointed out above a boycott would show the true number of supporters the US government has and would expose the real number of possible revolutionaries.



Written by: Dustin Slagle


(1) http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html (their source is the turnout for elections sided with population of people 18 and older)

Why Dialects Take Time (a follow up on "the Libyan question")

Early on in the Libyan situation I made a post about my thoughts on the Libyan question here on MLM city rebels.


Since making that post many things have developed, Qaddafi has made mad man rants , the rebels have asked for imperialist help while still ruling out a on the ground intervention. In fact if I can be honest I was starting to pull for the rebels till some sickening news came out about the rebel forces as well as Qaddafi forces targeting black African immigrants workers for prosecution. Both sides spouting that these people are "mercenaries"(1) but all it is is pure racism.


These facts coming out about both sides has done one thing for me; made me still refuse to chose a side in the dispute. I understand the rebels call for help with supplies and calling for an imperialist no fly zone imposed on Libya. If you were in their position where your army was starving and under supplied/out gunned and couldn't combat the air force then you would accept all the help you could get. Accepting help from imperialist in time of war isn't the same as being the imperialist running dog. So defending the Qaddafi regime on the basis of anti-imperialism is still at this point silly and jumping the gun seeing as both have about the same connection to imperial powers at this point.


I refuse to support the rebels who arrest and parade around black immigrants but the Qaddafi forces are guilty of the same crime. I refuse to support a leader who would have his army open fire on unarmed citizens. As far as I am concerned Qaddafi should be arrested and put to trial for his crimes against the people. I can not support a running dog of imperialist interest, and as of today I see the same amount of imperialist interest and cooperation with both sides in the conflict.


The fact of the mater is that sometimes neither side is right and sometimes we need to not take a side. Just because one side seems less imperialist than the other or more socialist than the other etc does not mean they deserve our support. When both are doing racist acts against immigrant workers, both are killing innocent people, it is ridiculous to take a side for the sake of picking a side. I for one refuse to take a side in this and stay critical of both sides and hope that the people in Libya rise up and take over their nation and keep the imperialist out and kick out the ones that are already there (Italian and UK imperialist.)


At the end of the day I support self determination in Libya and hope that the people make the right choice that best benefits the masses of their nation.



Written by: Dustin Slagle



1. http://www.saharareporters.com/article/world-and-press-watch-africans-are-lynched-libya