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Old 05-01-2012, 05:09 AM   #17
CuckooTuli
 
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Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 708
I can see both sides of this one. What both Versus and Saya's evidence seems to highlight is that the left are far from immune to the bullshit fallacies born of privilege commonly seen from the right. This is lamentably true, in my experience: having sat in on SWP meetings where everyone has actually sat there and agreed that combating racism is a more immediate priority than fighting sexism - some of the women included - I have jack-shit patience for people who are all, "Yah, that's a problem, but honestly, it's not at the top of the list right now - mayhaps we'll look into that shit when we live in an otherwise perfect world". The second you start allocating importance like that, your side becomes a little weaker, because when you're standing against the establishment it is all connected.

To be fair, though, I'm not really hearing that in Despanan's view - what he seems to be saying is that these problems are in fact very important ones, which he and others are doing their utmost to neutralise wherever they see them; while asking us to keep in mind that they are not the sum of Occupy, the normal standard of behaviour of the avergae Occupier, and should not allow the out-of-hand dismissal of Occupy's aims and achievements to date. (Although the "rapes and sexual assaults are being exaggerated" comment was ill-advised; I take the point that they're useful to those who seek to illegitimize Occupy, but still - perpetuating **** culture in the attempt to address feminist concerns is SO not helpful, and downright alienating. I'd rather hear what's been done to make Occupy safe for women than be told that it's simply been blown out of proportion by The Media. Unaccompanied by specific examples of PROVEN lies about **** as it was, frankly that just sounds offensive.)

I guess problems with racism and sexism in Occupy are inevitable to a point, as long as these things continue to be problems of society at large. As to whether enough is being done to combat these problem within Occupy, I couldn't say; my only information comes from bloggers and news sources. And my own protest experience tells me that opinions formed on such second-hand accounts are rarely worth much. It IS true that mainstream media tends to play up the disruptive and sensationalist elements of protests to a disproportionate degree.

It's good that you guys are having this discussion, though. The only way to pull Occupy's socks up is for everyone in it to be having this dicussion.

General thoughts on these issues: the only solution I can see is for everyone involved leftist movement to pull their heads out of their arses, and realise that not only are they all on the same side, but that their struggles are completely inextricable from one another. No one issue is subordinate to any other, and if it is, then the movement will tear itself apart. Racism is not more important than feminism is not more important than economic inequality is not more important than gay rights is not more important than disabled rights, and anyone who tries to privilege one of these narratives over and above the others is missing the point.
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"Friends are allowed to make mistakes. The enemy is not allowed to make mistakes because his whole existence is a mistake, and we suffer from it. But the women's liberation front and gay liberation front are our friends, they are our potential allies, and we need as many allies as possible.” - Huey Newton
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