Views on Bolivia's Evo Morales

[chegitz guevara]

In what way is that true, other than for the mere fact that he isn't white? That could just easily have been a rationale for voting for Obama.

If the Palestinians were in a position to elect a Palestinian Prime Minister of Israel, would you pooh-pooh it so easily? I'm not sure you understand how in both countries, Bolivia and America, the elections of Evo and Obama have driven the white supremacists bat shit insane. To strike a blow at white supremacy, whether in the Americas or in Palestine is a big deal, still.

Of course, they aren't going to end white supremacy. They can't. I don't know about in Bolivia, but in America, Black people overwhelmingly acted as if they were liberated. I hope, one day, you will see that look on the faces of the Palestinian people.

Which is not to say all your criticisms are invalid. I think many of them are correct. But even small victories are victories. Enjoy them. We have so few.

[willdw79]

If the Palestinians were in a position to elect a Palestinian Prime Minister of Israel, would you pooh-pooh it so easily? I'm not sure you understand how in both countries, Bolivia and America, the elections of Evo and Obama have driven the white supremacists bat shit insane. To strike a blow at white supremacy, whether in the Americas or in Palestine is a big deal, still.

Of course, they aren't going to end white supremacy. They can't. I don't know about in Bolivia, but in America, Black people overwhelmingly acted as if they were liberated. I hope, one day, you will see that look on the faces of the Palestinian people.

Which is not to say all your criticisms are invalid. I think many of them are correct. But even small victories are victories. Enjoy them. We have so few.

I don't give a fuck about "Change We Can Believe In" or any other nonsense. But I do like the way people felt about Obama getting elected which was "FUCK WHITE SUPREMACY!" That shit was hilarious to me. Look at the tea-baggers go.''

chegitz Guevara is right-on target as usual.

[Yehuda Stern]

If the Palestinians were in a position to elect a Palestinian Prime Minister of Israel, would you pooh-pooh it so easily?

I'm not pooh-poohing anything; I'm saying that whatever joy it brings oppressed people to see one of their own rise to such a position, this can only really be done by disarming their struggles and making them less dangerous to the oppressor.

As enjoyable as it is to upset the racists - and I enjoyed the way the racist Ashkenazi politicians in Israel responded to Amir Peretz, a Moroccan Jew, winning the chairman election in Labor in 2005 - it is not our job. Our job is to build a vanguard party based on the advanced consciousness of the working class. And anyone active in the left in the US will tell you that Obama's election was and is an absolute disaster to militant black struggles. I have no doubt that the election of a Palestinian to a similar position in Israel - something which I'm sure we can all agree is almost completely impossible - it would be no different.

We in the ISL have a very simple principle - we do not lie to the masses. If we think something is a defeat, we don't dress it up as a victory, even a partial one.

[Ol' Dirty]

I like him better than Chavez. He seems more authentic to me... and a little less brooding (wc?)

[willdw79]

I'm not pooh-poohing anything; I'm saying that whatever joy it brings oppressed people to see one of their own rise to such a position, this can only really be done by disarming their struggles and making them less dangerous to the oppressor.

As enjoyable as it is to upset the racists - and I enjoyed the way the racist Ashkenazi politicians in Israel responded to Amir Peretz, a Moroccan Jew, winning the chairman election in Labor in 2005 - it is not our job. Our job is to build a vanguard party based on the advanced consciousness of the working class. And anyone active in the left in the US will tell you that Obama's election was and is an absolute disaster to militant black struggles. I have no doubt that the election of a Palestinian to a similar position in Israel - something which I'm sure we can all agree is almost completely impossible - it would be no different.

We in the ISL have a very simple principle - we do not lie to the masses. If we think something is a defeat, we don't dress it up as a victory, even a partial one.

I agree that as far as class struggle, electing Obama means nothing. But many of us are tied to these issues in a very personal way and seeing racial supremacists unhappy just lifts our spirits. But I agree that it doesn't get us anywhere closer to revolution.