Hey, y'all. Othello is currently taking a break so I thought I'd jumpstart the new thread since nobody else was getting to it.
How are we all doing this week? Sound down below! That means: vent, chat, gush, etc. Whatever you want to say or talk about.
As always: no crackers allowed!
Bonus discussion question:
Who are your favorite BIPOC or ethnic minority activists, organizers, labor union reps., leaders, etc. out there?
Emphasis on activists and organizers.
Can be such figures as Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks, MLK, Jr., etc.
I want y'all to think about this one (but, like, it's not a prerequisite for joining this thread or making comments within it).
Take care and have fun!
Visiting my grandmother tomorrow. Only a light workload this friday so it should be chill.
For the bonus question. Im not American but it seems Malcolm X seems often overlooked. Especially in less radical places. Am I wrong for stanning him ? He seems cool but im not that well versed in American history.
It is never wrong to stan Malcolm X. Read his autobiography it's incredible and also provides some good insights into his own self criticisms he had reached by the time he was unfortunately murdered
When I was in middle school I read his autobiography and the teacher ratted me out to my parents for being a radical, learned early the whole 'forbidden book' idea. He's always 100% right on chuds v libs I think people have a tendency to forget.
Here in the US, there was framing in schools where MLk was a pure liberal pacifist and Malcom X(if ever talked about) was a radical who called for violence. Like a good vs. bad thing. As communist, we know both of those framings are wrong but the general psyche is not really challenged (to be fair not many opportunities to challenge it beyond talking about Malcom X).
At least in the Black communities I've been involved with, Malcom X was never taboo and always cool.
Give her a big hug and a kiss if you're close, I regularly miss my grandmother.
First of my favorites include:
MLK, Jr.
I feel that his movement was the more successful (but I do not mean to compare).
I used to love the Black Panthers more, but I feel that MLK, Jr. is misunderstood a lot more, and lately have been reading more about him.
I think that he can show how to broaden a working-class movement and he managed to get anti-communist labor on his side (even as he courted communist or former communist figures). He's a lot more leftist than a lot of people give him credit for, though was arguably a lot more low-key about it. Ultimately, he was killed for uniting various forces together and creating a brewing "unity of action" (an old Marxist-Leninist term that I wish more people would study). I don't believe what scandal journalists say about him and I'm reluctant to give them any credence, though I heard a lot about it growing up. Jack O'dell also deserves some praise; he was considered the fifth worst communist in the United States by JFK (or maybe that was Herbert Aptheker lol); a lot of things were said about him for being an advisor to the various campaigns by MLK, Jr.
Oh yeah, regarding the Black Panthers, my two favorites are:
Huey Newton
and
Freddie Gray
(that last one is just a basic opinion and kinda trite at this point, but I know that Huey Newton gets flack for his later years, which I don't agree with)
I think a movement combining the radicalism of the Black Panthers and the more broader and unified movement of MLK, Jr. and the various people that worked with him would be a good development and we need that more than ever, a movement that can win "concessions" while still sticking to its guns and creating dual power structures.
Eh, his later years, some of his decisions, and the Kleaver split
Would u want to elaborate? I know some fuzzy details but it would be nice to know more if u happen to
When I first learned about Huey Newton, it was honestly from interviews and the POV of the Kleaver siblings.
They started a split in the BBP at one point and, eventually, the brother went to Africa while the sister went to some university afterward, but they kinda castigated Huey Newton in interviews (and of course, survived him by at least a decade so, of course, they could spin the narrative to their effect when all was said and done). Actually, so did Newton's friend Barry (? I forgot the first name) Seale after Huey Newton died.
It's honestly kinda sad. Newton is also seen as "capitulating" in his later years or having a "right-wing" turn compared to the initial years of the BPP.
Oh yeah, and "Revolutionary Intercommunalism," or whatever it's called, gets put up to a lot of scrutiny, even today (that's a concept that Huey Newton himself coined and came up with).
Bobby Seale?
Tbh Huey was more so advocating against alienating the masses by being overly militaristic and I think he was correct in that regard. Eldridge Cleaver was trying to lead a coup in exile and also advocating a adventurist deviation which I think time has proven incorrect.
Thank u I'll look that up
Some of these figures are "trite" and "basic opinions" but, eh, while I prefer a lot of obscure and underrated figures, I have to give these folks their due.
Those cumskinned devils really upset about vtubers making fun of white people.
I used to make jokes about how someone would be mad at vtubing company because they made japanese propaganda, but having looked into the thing a bit, that's actually a thing they do and it's actually fucked up.
Lmao, I was gonna come in here to mention this but you beat me to it. Obviously people have whipped themselves up into a frenzy and are lashing out at anyone and anything at this point, but it's still funny to imagine some nerds genuinely being upset by some milquetoast cracker jokes
Uki of Nijisanji has been on record being insurmountably based.
About the only good news from that corp
Ngl, though, his 'white people' jokes aren't that funny, in itself. (he just uses the term, just like how straight people call dumb things 'gay')
Like, jeez, don't just mention white people for all I know...
Then again, he's not really a full-on goofy v-tuber archetype that I prefer, in my opinion
sora, please generate a scene where blackrocks new york office is assaulted by ansarallah special forces in mirv paraglider payloads deployed from a df41 missile
Remember: you don't have to answer the bonus discussion question!
Just to make that clear.
Not gonna mention names since this one is a bit more personal, but I met a former Black Panther at my old job and he was pretty cool. He had been part of a prisoner rehabilitation program that one of my coworkers had happened to be a part of. He also often asked me to help him out with a book he had been writing for a long time and it was critical of a politicians handling of a sexual harassment case. At the time was enjoying a high approval rating and was later embroiled in a sexual harassment case. Kind of makes me wonder if there were more people that knew about what that politician was doing or if was just coincidence. Kind of wish I had gotten more of a chance to ask him about his days with the Black Panthers though.
What did he say about Huey Newton?
A lot of Panthers attacked him later on, but to be honest, I always viewed them as "the ones that left" rather than "the ones that stayed."
This is one of the things I wish I could have asked him. He never really talked much about his days in the Black Panther Party, partially because retail setting didn't really allow for much deep discussion.
Oh good point.
So you met them in a retail setting lol
That definitely wouldn't allow for much room.
Oh God, I didn't sleep at all last night and now, nearing bed-time, I'm so fucking tired and my mood has basically dropped.
I'm going to try and get sleep early tonight...
“stop being racist against white people”
“no”
