-----Original Message-----
From: ColorLines Magazine [mailto:colorlines@arc.org]
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2001 8:30 PM
To: colorlines@topica.com
Subject: [ColorLines] Thoughts About Sept 11
Dear ColorLines Readers,
In the wake of Tuesday's tragedy, all of us are struggling to sort
through many emotions and thoughts to find a way forward. We share the
following letter, a personal correspondence between ColorLines Editor
Bob Wing and a friend, in hopes that it might contribute to the ongoing
discussion.
September 14, 2001
Dear " ",
I decided to take you up on your suggestion that I put some of the
opinions I expressed at last night's meeting on paper. I am by no means
an authority on military or foreign affairs and these are just my
personal opinions, but for what they're worth, here are some notes.
I believe the Sept. 11 attacks are ushering in a major rightwing
offensive, both global and national. It is likely to be sustained for
some time and become a historical watershed. The rightwing of the ruling
class and its ultra-right allies could not have asked for a better
opportunity to aggressively move to reshape the world in their image. In
the absence of a major countervailing force, they have serious grounds
to feel that they will be successful. Appealing to the American psyche,
which sees its relatively peaceful surroundings as a birthright (when it
is really a national privilege), the rightwing seeks to capture the
moral high ground, whipping up patriotism and "anti-terrorist" fervor.
Wielding its superior military and financial strength, Washington will
seek to rally its First World allies into a world "anti-terrorism
campaign," bring its erstwhile and vacillating allies into line, and
destroy or mortally cripple its enemies, especially in the Middle East
and South Asia.
In some ways, this is reminiscent of the late 1940s and early 1950s. But
this time there is no socialist camp, no equivalent revolutionary
national liberation movements, and little domestic left opposition. This
means the ruling class has much greater maneuverability. They can exert
powerful military force abroad when necessary; and sugar coat the
undermining of democratic rights at home under the notion of national
consensus and the defense of democracy and freedom.
Although progressives have been thrown deeply on the defensive, there
are also openings to be part of the public discussion, if we are bold as
well as very careful. We must be bold in building extremely broad
coalitions, bold in attempting to enter the biggest media and political
platforms. If we craft our messages correctly, we have many allies, and
we should aggressively pursue working with them. We should not
self-isolate. Peace, international solidarity, religious,
anti-globalization, student, and civil rights groups should be
approached. We should also use this opportunity to get labor, women's,
anti-racist, and community organizations that tend to eschew
international issues to get involved. This new situation will affect
everyone to the core. We should actively build broad coalitions, not be
content to hang on the left, hold "small but militant demonstrations"
and expect others to come to us. We should try to get to the forefront
of the fight for peace and basic democratic rights, spearhead largescale
education campaigns, and get government bodies on record for peace and
against unwarranted racist attacks on Arabs and South Asians.
But we must be extremely careful about our public messages (and our
internal rhetoric), lest we isolate ourselves and even make ourselves
vulnerable to physical attack. We need to demonstratively express deep
grieving over the death, destruction, and loss of security felt by most
Americans. Most of us genuinely feel this, but sometimes we do not
express it properly. Almost everyone in the country knows someone that
was somehow directly affected by the attacks, and all of us know in our
hearts that life will never be as safe as it once seemed. Symbolism and
emotions tend to run higher than rationality at times like this, and if
we do not understand this, it will be difficult to get a hearing on
other issues.
We need to avoid leftwing rhetoric and revolutionary posturing, be
concrete and address actual issues on the public agenda and not make
premature anticipations or apocalyptic predictions. Internally we need
to try to see as far ahead as possible and try to go deep analytically
in order to be as prepared as possible, but externally we need to speak
to facts on the ground, avoid concepts or images that are adamantly
rejected by even peace loving people, and avoid prematurely polarizing
with potential allies. All this while still drawing firm lines against
the right.
I believe, at this time, we have two main entryways into the broad
public discussion. By far the most important is by addressing the issue
of why this attack happened and how to respond. Even the mainstream
media is increasingly addressing this question, in its own ways. I
believe our main message should be that U.S. life will become
increasingly insecure and dangerous unless this country improves its
international behavior. In the era of globalization, peace at home is
linked to peace abroad. And increased insecurity would likely result in
lost civil liberties. We need to oppose a precipitous response by the
government to the September 11 attacks and urge restraint. We can no
longer allow our government to make war on others without expecting
retaliation, whether one thinks that retaliation is fair or not. Peace
and freedom are increasingly globalized, or not. We need to oppose U.S.
isolationism and aggression. Our loss of life should lead not to an eye
for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but to join others who have experienced
war in the aspiration for peace.
In taking on these issues, we should studiously avoid leftwing
shorthands like "chickens come home to roost" (which will be read as a
justification for the mass deaths of innocent people) and "no justice,
no peace" (which will be read as a justification for further attacks).
Peace, No Violence, etc. are much more directly to the point. What we
are talking about is a new kind of peace movement.
The second main entry way is through opposing attacks on Arabs and South
Asians in the U.S. Such attacks are already underway, and are even being
widely addressed by political leaders, civil rights groups, and the
mainstream media. Again, building broad coalitions and using popular
language is key. We should appeal for peace, fairness, and oppose
violent racial stereotyping. I actually think that the more farsighted
sections of the ruling class will want to stem these attacks so that
their broader offensive does not lose the moral high ground. Minimally,
they must make a nod in this direction. We should take full advantage of
this opening.
While responding immediately to these huge events, we also need to
embark on deep thinking about the implications for the future.
Apparently, war, like capital and labor, has now been globalized. We are
into war without borders. New and readily available technology means
that very small groups, even individuals, can wreak mass destruction.
The U.S. may be relatively invulnerable to direct assault, but it is
eminently vulnerable to attack by small groups. And it has aggressively
alienated millions of people, at home and abroad, some of whom will
surely take advantage of the new means at their disposal. Israel is
making the assassination of opposing political leaders a central part of
its war strategy-others are likely to respond in kind.
This is not an altogether new situation. Most of us have known this for
some time and expected some kind of significant attacks within the U.S.
But now the genie is out of the bottle-and in a most spectacular
fashion. It is no longer theoretical. What are the implications of this
new situation for our attitude and strategies towards war and peace, how
do we distinguish between the government's overbroad definition of
terrorism and actual terrorism? How will the ruling class and public
react and what platform can we stand on? What about the copy cat lunatic
fringe and ultra-right fanatics who until now has confined themselves to
comparatively small-scale shootings (except for Oklahoma City)? How do
we break the fragmentation, disorganization and isolation of the left
under these harsh conditions?
Finally, we should all be prepared for events to move fast. In
particular, when the U.S. mounts its counterattacks (which I believe is
likely to eventually include the murder of Saddam Hussein), a wave of
jingoism (and racism) is likely to sweep the country. We need to work
hard ahead of this wave, prepare to weather it without getting too
terribly isolated, and smartly fight our way through it. We're in for
hard times, and our allies abroad even more so. We will all be
struggling to find our bearings. We will make mistakes. Let's be
tolerant of each other, keep our eyes on the real enemies, and seek
clarity and unity. Let's think big and get organized. Maybe we can build
something for the long run.
I hope this is helpful to you in some way. Feel free to share it with
others if you deem it useful.
In peace and solidarity,
Bob Wing
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Oct 10 2001 - 15:49:16 PDT