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KurtFF8
26th May 2010, 17:23
A new blog was recently launched (which essentially came out of a FB group that kind of got big quite quick) http://southernleftists.wordpress.com/ From the About section:
Leftists in the U.S. South is a new multi-tendency network that has been established to help Leftists in the southern United States network, share information, organize and more. We are interested in fostering communication and collaboration among the broad Left. This is perhaps controversial, but many of us involved in the network would like to see everyone from the left of the Democratic Party to left communists talking. This is not because we believe naively that if we just get people discussing more, everyone will magically come together and we will have a mass revolutionary movement in this country; nor do we think that questions of line and other ideological differences are irrelevant and should be set aside altogether. However, it is clear that actually existing sectarian strategies have failed to produce a mass movement in this country, and we are not going to get anywhere if people from tendency A are going about their business talking only to their own clique, pretending that people from tendency B dont exist, or, worse, are dedicating much of their energy to writing polemics against tendency B writings which nobody except their own group will ever read. The worst case scenerio is when sectarianism is preventing us from actually organizing among the working class and oppressed peoples. The crisis of the capitalist world system is deepening; this includes ecological, economic, political and many other dimensions. Now more than ever, the Left needs to develop creative strategies. We want to help make that happen. We also believe that the movement in the South will be decisive in the coming years, as the South represents so much of the United States, and is also a weak link in the U.S. politico-economic system. The region has its own economic conditions, class and ethnic make-up, cultural traditions and more which must be analyzed in their concreteness and complexity. It is therefore essential that the Left comprehend the realitites facing the South and organize there. The establishment of this network is an attempt to facilitate those processes. So far, the network consists of this site, our official discussion forums and a Facebook group. As the network develops, more online tools may be utilized. Stay posted. Sympathetic non-southerners around the world are also welcome. Disclaimer: Of course the views and opinions expressed on this blog are those of the authors of the articles or comments. The inclusion of any link or piece of writing should not be taken as an endorsement by Leftists in the U.S. South, unless explicitly stated. Articles posted here from other sources are for educational purposes only, and a link is always provided back to the source. The views expressed by individual posters are their own, and not necessarily those of the entire network. We are a venue for diverse perspectives from the Left. Everything posted on this blog is for your critical consideration.

x371322
31st May 2010, 18:43
Sweet. I hope good things come from this.

ReDSC
7th June 2010, 05:54
Cool. Don't see too many leftist things here in the South East. Especially not the small towns like the one I live in where everybody is A: A Fundamentalist "God hates Fags, I didn't come from no monkey, long live George Bush" type person. Or B: Hispanic workers being exploited by the people mentioned above, as they own 95% of the businesses.

Q
7th June 2010, 06:38
Cool. Don't see too many leftist things here in the South East. Especially not the small towns like the one I live in where everybody is A: A Fundamentalist "God hates Fags, I didn't come from no monkey, long live George Bush" type person. Or B: Hispanic workers being exploited by the people mentioned above, as they own 95% of the businesses.

Perhaps it's just me, but person type B sounds like good grounds for communist organising.

AK
7th June 2010, 12:29
Perhaps it's just me, but person type B sounds like good grounds for communist organising.
You just know that some disgruntled whites will make racist attacks against communist Hispanics :(

The Ben G
8th June 2010, 01:10
Finally.

HEAD ICE
8th June 2010, 15:18
I'm helping organize a small workshop on militarism in the small town here in Georgia where I live. To the best of my knowledge it is the first gathering of its sort to the left of Jesse Helms. However my friend is wanting to remove some of the explicit leftism that I wanted, and now we have a few libertarians coming. I still fully anticipate to support workers revolution and will make the distinct connection between capital and imperialism (as if it wasn't obvious). We have about 20 people coming, most of whom I've never met. It is invigorating to organize like this, my first time doing it in my home town and outside the urban center.

¿Que?
8th June 2010, 20:50
To the OP, I signed up for their forums Sunday night but still haven't got activated. I even sent the admin an email but no response. Are the forums pretty much defunct or what? :confused:

x371322
9th June 2010, 03:12
To the OP, I signed up for their forums Sunday night but still haven't got activated. I even sent the admin an email but no response. Are the forums pretty much defunct or what? :confused:

Same here. I registered several days ago, and still haven't heard back. I even got an email asking why I hadn't posted yet? I was like wtf? So I replied, explaining that my account hadn't been activated. Haven't heard back since. Must not be too active or something.

KurtFF8
9th June 2010, 15:51
Yeah the forums seem to be a little dead. I actually never even signed up for them so I'm not involved with that part of the site. I can pass along the info though.

TheSamsquatch
11th June 2010, 07:06
I also live in the southeast, and it's a total wasteland of ignorance and blind acceptance. Just as you probably thought to begin with!

ReDSC
11th June 2010, 07:11
You just know that some disgruntled whites will make racist attacks against communist Hispanics :(

I wasn't making a racist attack, if that's how you're interpreting it. I am stating that it's sad how they work for less than minimum wage, and are constantly hassled (e.g. Arizona laws). Trust me, I'm from a small town in South Carolina, and i'm probably of 7 people here that support amnesty and immigration. What I meant by what I posted above is that most immigrants here know nothing about Communism, which is a terrible thing. I think this blog is a great education opportunity. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I suppose my wording could have used improvement.

AK
11th June 2010, 12:07
I wasn't making a racist attack, if that's how you're interpreting it. I am stating that it's sad how they work for less than minimum wage, and are constantly hassled (e.g. Arizona laws). Trust me, I'm from a small town in South Carolina, and i'm probably of 7 people here that support amnesty and immigration. What I meant by what I posted above is that most immigrants here know nothing about Communism, which is a terrible thing. I think this blog is a great education opportunity. Sorry for the misunderstanding, I suppose my wording could have used improvement.
No, I think you misinterpreted me. I wasn't blaming anyone for anything, I was just saying that alot of racists are going to use the fact that some hispanics might be communists as an excuse to be extra cruel to them.

ReDSC
11th June 2010, 15:38
Oops, my bad then. :P I agree with you on that comrade.