subversivejosh
20th July 2010, 03:27
Hello Comrades,
New here, as in just signed up, but I've been checking the board for a while now and recently decided to join up to discuss, debate and whatever else. I'll give a little background on my political self which will bring me to why I am here now. I wasnt active in politics until about 2000. Before that I had no real political direction. I knew I hated the status quo but didnt know what to do about it. My Parents were die hard Reaganites and I wanted little to do with my parents conservative outlook on life. On the other hand I viewed the Democrats as weak, spineless and part of the establishment so just being for the opposing party wasn't for me. When I turned 18 I registered to vote as an "independent" and had no plans to ever cast a ballot. By the end of 1999 politics had started to catch my attention more and more. I admit I fell into the conspiracy crowd a bit. I didnt get all wacky Alex Jones style but I did go to all the conspiracy sites and all that. Fast Forward to September 11th, the attacks impacted most Americans lives in some way or another. For me it was the catalyst for becoming a Marxist. I wanted to know why it happened, how it happened and so I read and read and researched and as you all know it led me back through the 20th century. While I was digging through history, I don't exactly remember how, but I got my hands on the Communist Manifesto and from then on I was hooked. I read as much of Marx and Engels as I could and then I turned to a friend in the ISO that I've known for many years, he's an exceptional Socialist and organizer. I always new he was a Socialist but never bothered to talk to him about politics. We talked and talked about all things Marxism, I learned a great deal from him but as far as the ISO was concerned I didnt really think that organization was for me. I searched every Socialist tendency on the net and couldnt really find a group I felt fit in with what I wanted until I stumbled across the IMT's Marxist.com website. Not really sure what it was but I decided to hit the join button and fill my info in. It just so happened that the US section had a small branch of 3 in my state. I met up with them on several occassions and soon joined within 3 months of our first meeting. I don't know what it was but the people I met through the WIL were genuine and honest. They seemed to really believe in what they were doing in building a Revolutionary Marxist org. I was a very active member for many years attending regular meetings, the yearly National Congress, organizing, picketing, solidarity protests, movie showings, discussion forums etc etc. After a few years I started to fade in activity when my ex-wife and I had a my daughter but I still participated when I could even if it was just to transport comrades to a protest, or hand out flyers one day a week. Eventually I fell totally out of activity. I always considered myself a Marxist but I didnt participate in any groups or activities. The IMT leadership said I always had a place there if I ever became active again and I honestly saw no other group I wanted to ever be in.
In the Beginning of 2010 I started to get myself to a place where I thought I could free up some time to start working within the organization again. I contacted a Comrade with which I remained very good friends with and told him I wanted back in. He welcomed the news and he started to catch me up on all the happenings. Things seemed to be going well for the IMT so I was excited. Then as most of you know the IMT was hit with quite a bit of controversy. I tried to remain open about what was happening but I also felt that the National and International Leadership were hiding things from the rank and file. I like to look at both sides in situations like this so as not to jump to conclusions but before I got back into full activity my friend from the group that was on the Executive Committee was expelled for what seemed like questioning the party line on what had happened in Pakistan, Iran, Spain, etc. I'm not going to go into the rest of it but I never questioned the integrity of my Comrade that was expelled. He is one of the most dedicated Marxists I know and would not lie or falsify to make himself look good in a bad situation. Needless to say, and this may sound stupid to some people, I felt betrayed and kind of sick of this whole splitting and splintering, bickering and slander. The expulsions, and accusations on the left, especially in the Trotskyist movements, are annoying to say the least. Anyway this big long post was just to basically tell the reasons for why I am here. I am a Marxist/leninist/Trotskyist without an organization that I feel comfortable with.I recently contacted the CWI to see what they had to say and maybe meet with some of them. I still have hopes that the IMT will come out of this and either have some concrete explanations as to everything that happened or at least try to move past it and address some comrades issues with the org. I truely believe there are great comrades working in that group.
I dont hate Maoists, Stalinists, Chavistas, Sandinistas, or whatever ists or istas you may be although I may disagree with you from time to time. I totally support the leftward movements in Venezuela and Latin America as a whole while being critical of problems or mistakes being made. I recently came back from a 2 week trip to Cuba that was an amazing eye opening experience and further solidified my commitment to socialism and I guess thats where I am right now. So anyway I'm glad to be part of the community and hope to have some great discussions, meet some like minded people, and all that
New here, as in just signed up, but I've been checking the board for a while now and recently decided to join up to discuss, debate and whatever else. I'll give a little background on my political self which will bring me to why I am here now. I wasnt active in politics until about 2000. Before that I had no real political direction. I knew I hated the status quo but didnt know what to do about it. My Parents were die hard Reaganites and I wanted little to do with my parents conservative outlook on life. On the other hand I viewed the Democrats as weak, spineless and part of the establishment so just being for the opposing party wasn't for me. When I turned 18 I registered to vote as an "independent" and had no plans to ever cast a ballot. By the end of 1999 politics had started to catch my attention more and more. I admit I fell into the conspiracy crowd a bit. I didnt get all wacky Alex Jones style but I did go to all the conspiracy sites and all that. Fast Forward to September 11th, the attacks impacted most Americans lives in some way or another. For me it was the catalyst for becoming a Marxist. I wanted to know why it happened, how it happened and so I read and read and researched and as you all know it led me back through the 20th century. While I was digging through history, I don't exactly remember how, but I got my hands on the Communist Manifesto and from then on I was hooked. I read as much of Marx and Engels as I could and then I turned to a friend in the ISO that I've known for many years, he's an exceptional Socialist and organizer. I always new he was a Socialist but never bothered to talk to him about politics. We talked and talked about all things Marxism, I learned a great deal from him but as far as the ISO was concerned I didnt really think that organization was for me. I searched every Socialist tendency on the net and couldnt really find a group I felt fit in with what I wanted until I stumbled across the IMT's Marxist.com website. Not really sure what it was but I decided to hit the join button and fill my info in. It just so happened that the US section had a small branch of 3 in my state. I met up with them on several occassions and soon joined within 3 months of our first meeting. I don't know what it was but the people I met through the WIL were genuine and honest. They seemed to really believe in what they were doing in building a Revolutionary Marxist org. I was a very active member for many years attending regular meetings, the yearly National Congress, organizing, picketing, solidarity protests, movie showings, discussion forums etc etc. After a few years I started to fade in activity when my ex-wife and I had a my daughter but I still participated when I could even if it was just to transport comrades to a protest, or hand out flyers one day a week. Eventually I fell totally out of activity. I always considered myself a Marxist but I didnt participate in any groups or activities. The IMT leadership said I always had a place there if I ever became active again and I honestly saw no other group I wanted to ever be in.
In the Beginning of 2010 I started to get myself to a place where I thought I could free up some time to start working within the organization again. I contacted a Comrade with which I remained very good friends with and told him I wanted back in. He welcomed the news and he started to catch me up on all the happenings. Things seemed to be going well for the IMT so I was excited. Then as most of you know the IMT was hit with quite a bit of controversy. I tried to remain open about what was happening but I also felt that the National and International Leadership were hiding things from the rank and file. I like to look at both sides in situations like this so as not to jump to conclusions but before I got back into full activity my friend from the group that was on the Executive Committee was expelled for what seemed like questioning the party line on what had happened in Pakistan, Iran, Spain, etc. I'm not going to go into the rest of it but I never questioned the integrity of my Comrade that was expelled. He is one of the most dedicated Marxists I know and would not lie or falsify to make himself look good in a bad situation. Needless to say, and this may sound stupid to some people, I felt betrayed and kind of sick of this whole splitting and splintering, bickering and slander. The expulsions, and accusations on the left, especially in the Trotskyist movements, are annoying to say the least. Anyway this big long post was just to basically tell the reasons for why I am here. I am a Marxist/leninist/Trotskyist without an organization that I feel comfortable with.I recently contacted the CWI to see what they had to say and maybe meet with some of them. I still have hopes that the IMT will come out of this and either have some concrete explanations as to everything that happened or at least try to move past it and address some comrades issues with the org. I truely believe there are great comrades working in that group.
I dont hate Maoists, Stalinists, Chavistas, Sandinistas, or whatever ists or istas you may be although I may disagree with you from time to time. I totally support the leftward movements in Venezuela and Latin America as a whole while being critical of problems or mistakes being made. I recently came back from a 2 week trip to Cuba that was an amazing eye opening experience and further solidified my commitment to socialism and I guess thats where I am right now. So anyway I'm glad to be part of the community and hope to have some great discussions, meet some like minded people, and all that