Just saw the new Bad Mouse vid about voting. He had this kind of aside about not voting PSL (along with another one against MLs which just seemed needlessly sectarian).
I was really surprised, so I tried looking further, and he linked some aggregate in the comments which leads to a podcast and a huge google doc with a bunch of links to different criticisms and summaries of problems from late 2020 or so. Covering up sexual abuse scandals and apparently even La Riva going on a transphobic rant in some meeting. And generally a very intransigent leadership culture.
Anyways, I was just wondering what the Hexbear take is here. Deep pandemic madness? Just a problem with the Philadelphia branch? I was considering trying to join when I'm back in the states, but maybe it would be too much of a headache.
https://descentrealizer.medium.com/abuse-counterrevolution-in-the-party-for-socialism-liberation-psl-cult-a-compilation-e5e7d54b7c78
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14wF1Ti5GT2w5GZmwqvhvk6uH4zUss_a-B2GZ9NZEx74/edit?usp=sharing
In my interactions across several different cities my impression is that PSL is full of comrades but it has some bad organizational habits. Those habits lead to distrust of them by other groups with which they should otherwise be natural allies. The criticisms you listed are well-known. I'll validate some of them, though keep in mind I'm not advocating against PSL, I just think the org has taken the wrong approach to these issues and is making itself look bad in attempts to save face (or other reasons).
PSL has a habit of rallying the wagons rather than properly handling issues. That's the common thread between La Riva flipping out over being called cis (lol), poorly handling sexual assault allegations, and the "we don't like what you've been posting on Twitter" stories, all of which are real. I'm not even being creative here, PSL folks said that they have to be vigilant against CIA and NGO types and tied this to their actions like... sharing the real name of the person alleging sexual assault. For the record, the accuser was being threatening towards others and should've been expelled before the PSL unforced errors.
They're also notoriously kinda mediocre at running protests. This is a very qualified criticism because they're also often the only group cool enough to organize them and create coalitions (ex via their front groups) so I'd say this is just something to keep in mind if you're organizing with them - they probably need help when it comes to planning the logistics, training people, keeping it safe, etc because that seems to be either not a priority or outside their capacity. Or maybe I'm just spoiled by working with groups that are 100% on top of that. This might be a reason to join PSL if you have experience doing these things as you'll be able to make the org tangibly better.
Finally, they're also well-known for being terrible at recruiting and onboarding, which is the main reason I've never personally joined. Not because I personally had trouble, I'm just tired of being in orgs that care more about a national statement or whatever than core groundwork (my local PSL people are currently obsessed with their presidential campaign). You'll express interest in joining and never hear back. Or you'll hear back four weeks later and play phone tag until someone forgets about you. This seems to vary regionally but it's still a deal breaker for me and I'm not surprised that other local orgs are growing faster.
To me, the open question is whether those bad habits can be overcome internally or whether another very similar org will displace them eventually when those bad habits create a split.
If you're not in any org right now, though, joining PSL is not a bad idea.
Finally, I think thru really, really need to come up with some kind of strategy to deal with the bad (for lack of a better word) PR because in a ton of orgs/coalitions I've worked with, people raise the issues you posted, OP, and it often leads to PSL being excluded from the coalition. In response, it's not easy to stick your neck out with "here's why doxxing someone making sexual assault accusations was bad but not so bad we shouldn't work with them", lol.
she's 60 years old. She's gonna have some mildly transphobic views.
being old doesn't mean you are like, forced to be a transphobe.
Just gonna wade in here and say that that doc has 5 or so links to https://fashbusters.wordpress.com which solely attacks communists and has the three fucking arrows in its logo.
Show
Also the page takes the Uighur genocide seriously.
Show
Given this and other links to low comment Facebook and Twitter posts, I'm gonna go ahead and say this is just a gish gallop. I honestly have no idea about the PSL, but this attack doesn't seem principled.
@CaliforniaSpectre@hexbear.net Where did you get that Google Doc? It doesn't seem to be posted by Bad Mouse.
I vaguely remember some PSL people coming out and saying this was all bullshit but IDK
The PSL sucks. The important thing to remember is that you could literally have been in the RSDLP in 1902 and it would have felt even more cringe and useless.
The PSL leadership is deeply flawed, their chapters have the national internal organisation of a particularly incompetent slime mold, their local activists can't organise a Chook Raffle, let alone a large protest.
But until something happens and an org reaches critical mass, leftists just have to decide what shit sandwich they have to eat. Do you want to go PSL and it's general hot mess? DSA's (insert Marxists here) and its uncanny resemblance to the history-farce version of the Russian left-SRs? Or the FRSO and the fact it's nearest org is 600km away? Or you can bite the bullet and seek another tendency if you enjoy suffering.
For a lot of us older people, that meant a lot of putting up with the words "State Capitalism" all the damn time in whatever trot org was largest, so count yourself lucky.
I'll reserve a spot here since I haven't watched the vid nor do I really have time at this moment to do so or review the links, but off the top of my head I'm more disappointed in the fellas ultra-Left turn for the worse and his willingness to use unprincipled and unserious sources of evidence such as "fash"busters
I gave the video a quick look. I don't think Bad Mouse posted them, I think it came from libs in the comments. Although I do agree with you that the ultra-left turn is sad and disappointing. The guy brought me to the leftist I am today.
I think it came from libs in the comments.
Oh even worse. But such is the fate of "ultra-Left" phrasemongers. Their phrases are Leftist, but in practice it turns out that they are aiding the enemies of the working class. You go in on the Left and come out on the Right. -Stalin
Weird cuz last I heard of them they were a Maoist. Seems they change their political ideology every year or two.
