Because I feel like I'm in one.

I believed in the necessity of a vanguard party for a long time, but...material conditions. If there were a well-defined leader—even of something like the protests in PDX—they would have already been imprisoned on trumped up charges or Fred Hampton'd. Likely the former at this time. Historical evidence suggests this is the case, as do present conditions. Based on how brutally we're seeing the police treat anonymous members of the antifascist resistance, it's getting really hard to imagine how it could be possible to have anything remotely resembling a leader, or even a party with a membership list and regular meetings.

I understand the implications the lack of a central organizing structure has on our ability to effectively resist the state, but because of how everything has played out so far it seems like this might...actually be working in our favor. At least, considering what's unfolded up to the present moment I have a hard time picturing it going better if we had defined leadership that the state was able to target right out of the gate.

There's also the fact that (at least I'm ready to concede this at this point) that the US in its entirety isn't going to undergo a socialist revolution backed by the masses, and that the most likely scenario heading in that direction is a balkanization with the emergence of something better as one of its fragments (most likely west coast/PNW). Such a something better would be more likely to (successfully) take the from of an autonomous region similar to Chiapas or Rojava, versus a traditional socialist state amidst a sea of late/post-war capitalism.

Finally, another thought regarding material conditions...who are the people out there at this very moment resisting the state? It's anarchists. No one, myself included, is effectively organizing any type of meaningful ML resistance to meet this moment, but there are folks out in the street fighting cops every single night. They are the ones doing the work, and all we can say about it is "hmm, sure looks like we are approaching revolutionary conditions". But...it's other folks doing the work, and we're sitting around hoping to cash in on it later.

I'm getting ready to jump ship.

      • qublic69 [none/use name]
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        4 years ago

        communism is inevitable! (edit: because climate change will not be stopped. that's the joke.)

    • Nagarjuna [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      I'd back certain kinds of weird shit at this point. Like, let's all try LSD, start urban permaculture farms and begin learning to talk to dolphins. It can't take us anywhere worse than we already are.

    • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
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      4 years ago

      We stan pol pot

      Death to all nerds

      Edit: to all you four eyes downbearing me I'll have you know you're lucky I threw away my glasses years ago cuz I used to be quite the crack shot 💪

            • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
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              4 years ago

              Can't tell if this is directed at me or chomsky but I'm willing to compromise and say we are both asshats

                • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
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                  4 years ago

                  Heckye brother. :heart-sickle:

                  Chomsky ain't the worst but I do believe asshat is a good descriptor of him. At least he ain't a neolib

                    • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
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                      4 years ago

                      He's friggin weird dude.

                      USSR bad, not communism. Khmer Rouge good, communism.

                      Like, aight dude, at least you are supporting the cause but how the heck you get it so wrong???

        • itsPina [he/him, she/her]M
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          4 years ago

          While I was on sids the other week I was trying to empathize with the four eyeses killed in Khmer Rouge and I just kept imaging the kid who bullied me in second grade but with a Glock that fucker kept calling me four eyes and said my name wrong on purpose :(

      • HKBFG [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        When you're so leftist you commit genocide