18th National Day of Protest Against Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation

Thinking Strategically: October 22 in a World of Upheaval

October 7, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

October 22 is the 18th annual National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression and the Criminalization of a Generation. At this moment, it’s more important than ever that O22 be marked powerfully by people acting across the U.S. As Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party says, “This has to be a day when all across the country people are taking to the streets in outrage, holding cultural events, teach-ins, and in other ways spotlighting the horrific reality of police brutality and murder, the widespread repression and the criminalization of whole generations of youth. This has got to be something that people respond to. (“In the Bitter Aftermath of the Trayvon Martin Verdict: The Outrages of AmeriKKKa... and the Need for Revolution,” online at revcom.us.)

In last week’s Revolution newspaper, we suggested: “A key point of method: It’s always important to begin efforts like this by asking the right questions.” One of the first questions you have to ask is: what is the situation in the world in which this O22 is taking place?

One level to this: O22 is aiming to draw forward mass and defiant resistance to wanton police brutality and murder. Young lives are cut short again and again and again. Jonathan Ferrell in North Carolina was looking for help after a car crash. Police shot him dead. 38-year-old Marlon Brown was run over by police chasing him through a dark lot. (To see the police’s painful disregard for Brown’s life, where they run into him head-on, search “Marlon Brown CNN” on YouTube.)

O22 is taking on repression—mass incarceration, spying, and attacks on political protest. In U.S. prisons, 80,000 people are being tortured in solitary confinement. The government is running vast networks of spying on everyone, inside and outside the U.S. And let’s not forget the brutality of the system’s response to the Occupy protests in the fall and winter of 2011 with mass arrests, riot police and beatings.

O22 is about ending the criminalization of a generation. Generations of Black and Latino youth are viewed by society as suspects and animals. There are gang injunctions in LA where more than a couple of youth cannot legally congregate on a street corner. And the murder of Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of his killer, George Zimmerman, sent the message, once again and even more blatantly, that you can kill a Black youth in America for no other reason than you think he’s up to no good, and you’ll receive no punishment.

Starting from the Underlying Contradictions of This System

There is much, much more that could be said, but even just this brief discussion of the lived impact of what we are called on to protest on October 22 should make us all determined to be on a mission to stop this. And to be on a mission to stop these crimes as part of putting an end to this whole system through revolution once and for all.

We need to appreciate how deeply police brutality impacts people’s lives. We need to listen to and learn from the anger out there—people’s insights and their determination to change things.

But as important as this is, it’s not the most essential thing. It’s even more important to understand what the sentiments of the people are in response to and flowing from. And we need to show other people how to understand that. Why? So we can get to the bottom of the problem and deal with it.

Think about it this way: If you have a serious medical problem, terrible pain that doesn’t go away, you’ve got to get to the root of the problem. You’re not going to deal with cancer with a band-aid, and you’re not going to fix a broken back with ice or aspirin. If we’re going to get anywhere dealing with police brutality, repression, and the criminalization of a generation, we need to get to the root of the problem to solve it. And struggle with other people to look at and work on the problem that way.

The heart of a whole world of problems lies with the very nature of this system. This is a capitalist-imperialist economy that lives on exploitation and operates through dog-eat-dog cutthroat competition. Those who rule over all this have a whole setup of oppression—armies, police, and spy networks—that enforce their system. And capitalism generates and pumps out ideas—like “look out for number one”—which are a product of and serve a system of exploitation and oppression.

The result: a world of horrors. From the sweatshops of Bangladesh, to the mines of Congo, to the global degradation of women, to the environmental crisis... and on and on.

And in many profound ways, the wealth and power of this country that is responsible for the lion’s share of that suffering—”the greatest country in the world,” as they call it—is built on the “foundational, bred-in-the-bone connection between capitalism and white supremacy,” as it’s put in the article, “On Obama’s August 28 Speech: The Battle Over the Truth About the African-American Experience and Present-Day Reality.” (This is a recent article in Revolution newspaper that should be gotten out all over and merits real study—both to learn from the substance of it, and to learn how the article wages a fight over how to arrive at what is true.)

In this article, and elsewhere at revcom.us, we get further into the development of this system—from slavery, through Jim Crow’s sharecropping, segregation, and KKK terror through to today’s “New Jim Crow” of mass incarceration and police murder.

While the forms of oppression have changed, the reality of this oppression—in the undergirding foundational core of America—is the same. And even as this system is wed to continuing this oppression in ever more brutal ways, this also presents real contradictions for this system that it doesn't have any other answer for.

Bob Avakian, the Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, spoke to this in a talk a few years ago, Unresolved Contradictions, Driving Forces for Revolution. People should get into the whole talk, but in relation to this question of the objective situation we’re working to transform in a direction more favorable to revolution, BA makes a profound point. This is from the section, “Racism and white supremacy, ruling class divisions and repolarization for revolution:”

This [the oppression of Black people as a foundational part of this system] remains a vulnerable point of this whole system. Even with very real changes in the situation of Black people, as part of the larger changes in the society (and the world) overall—including a growth of the “middle class” among Black people, an increase in college graduates and people in higher paying and prestigious professions, with a few holding powerful positions within the ruling political structures, even to the extent now of a “Black president”—the situation of Black people, and in particular that of millions and millions who are trapped in the oppressive and highly repressive conditions of the inner city ghettos, remains a very acute and profound contradiction for the American imperialist system as a whole and for its ruling class—something which has the potential to erupt totally out of the framework in which they can contain it. And something which, at the same time, is a point of very sharp contention and spur to mobilization, not only of potential revolutionary forces, but also now of reactionary and potential or actual fascist forces.

Once you understand this deeper reality, the objective nature of these contradictions, the more you recognize the volatility that exists.

O22 in a World of Upheaval

Another level to understanding the situation in which this O22 is taking place is what the U.S. is facing internationally in its attempts to be the top imperialist power in the world. Right now, the U.S. is facing a lot of contradictions internationally—a situation that is not all under their control. A full discussion of this is beyond the scope of this article. But there’s one important element here to highlight—the contradiction they face between what they say they are about and what the reality of what they’re about actually is, and how that can get exposed in part through mass resistance within the U.S. borders. The U.S. claims to be the home of freedom and democracy, and claims that when it invades sovereign countries, or drops bombs on innocent civilians, it is doing so to help the people of the world. But the reality is they are the biggest perpetrator of war crimes and crimes against humanity. (See “Dissecting Obama’s Speech at the UN: The Truth Behind “Core Interests” and “American Exceptionalism” at revcom.us.)

Despite what is said in public halls, the U.S. actually does run a torture state—around the world and within the borders of their own country. And despite what they say about “human rights,” they incarcerate oppressed peoples within their own borders at a rate greater than any other country in the world. And despite what they say about “free speech” and civil liberties, they are spying on people in their millions and millions within the U.S. and around the world.

Right now, in this sharpening world situation, mass resistance within the U.S. could reverberate around the world—and could be part of people globally calling into question the legitimacy of this system as a whole. This won’t happen spontaneously, but is part of the overall objective terrain we are working on. To be clear, this kind of mass resistance is needed not just around October 22, but on other fronts as well, including defending the right to abortion and ending patriarchy.

Infighting Among the Rulers... Over HOW to Oppress People

Another defining contradiction that we need to understand is the ways in which the ruling class, and the different sections of the ruling class, are in an incredibly sharp conflict about how to handle the serious contradictions this system faces. (See “The Shutdown, the Showdown, and the Urgent Need for Repolarization...for Revolution” in this issue.)

We know where the Republicans are coming from: Making a hero and role model out of George Zimmerman, taking the right to vote away from Black people, maniacally insisting on the right of rural white racists to accumulate arsenals of weapons, and demanding more, and worse, police brutality. All part of a fascist agenda that includes self-righteous, vicious disdain for the poor, enslavement of women by forcing them to have children against their will (by banning abortion), and waging a war on immigrants.

But what about the Democrats? Obama has been forced to acknowledge some of the reality of Black people’s lives in this society, but the Democrats are working at this from the perspective of how to demobilize their base—to get people out of the streets and to convince them to think that change can be made within this system by acting within the accepted confines of the system.

Not only is Obama not willing or able to fundamentally challenge white supremacy and racism, he is at the head of a system that has this built into its very fabric—he is part of further enforcing this and himself panders to this racism and white supremacy. Over and over, Obama has joined the chorus blaming those who have been subjugated by America for their own oppression. He has also consistently upheld the right of the police to brutalize Black and Latino people. After the cops who killed Sean Bell were found not guilty, Obama came out publicly to say that people should respect the verdict. (Sean Bell was a young Black man in New York who was shot 50 times and killed the night before his wedding day.)

Why? Because white supremacy is a cohering foundational core of America and is still being relied on as part of the social glue of this system. To really go at that would entail going at the roots of this system—something those ruling won’t do and, frankly, can’t do. So on the one hand, you have Obama pandering to this racism at the same time as the fascist wing of the bourgeoisie is whipping it up. At the same time as the slow genocide of mass incarceration grinds on, impacting millions and millions of people... with the real potential of it speeding up to a fast genocide.

If, in the whole situation discussed here, there was defiant and widespread mass resistance, it would both cause many more people to question the reality that they are otherwise ignorant of or putting up with, and would create new challenges for the whole system. And one could imagine different sections of the ruling class trying to deal with this in different ways. But again—they don’t have complete freedom. For example, the Democrats/Obama might try to rein this back in and make people think “their concerns were being heard” but they’d be trying to do this without unraveling their whole thing or giving too much ground to these concerns... while these fascist forces are whipped up and could become increasingly whipped up... this wouldn’t all develop in a straight line but you can see how, in this very intense overall situation, including as a revolutionary force was posing a real alternative and influencing society... things really could break out of the control of this oppressive system.

Refer again to what BA describes about this: “...the situation of Black people, and in particular that of millions and millions who are trapped in the oppressive and highly repressive conditions of the inner city ghettos, remains a very acute and profound contradiction for the American imperialist system as a whole and for its ruling class—something which has the potential to erupt totally out of the framework in which they can contain it. And something which, at the same time, is a point of very sharp contention and spur to mobilization, not only of potential revolutionary forces, but also now of reactionary and potential or actual fascist forces.”

Fight the Power, and Transform the People, for Revolution

Working on this highly fraught and contradictory situation, what is the role of the movement for revolution in all this? What are the ways in which this could be acted upon by the movement for revolution to transform this situation, to repolarize society in a direction more favorable to the revolution that is needed? What is the process, the strategic approach to hastening, while awaiting, a revolutionary situation? These are big and important questions that readers should be urgently grappling with in relation to the whole terrain—and be getting together with others to talk more about.^*

Specifically in relation to this day of protest on October 22, there is a pull to just go straight to thinking about “what’s being organized for O22?” in a narrower way, just looking at it in terms of this or that demonstration that should happen on the day itself. While what happens on that day is important—and people do need to be fighting the power—just going at it from that level doesn’t encompass all the necessity or freedom we face. If you come at things in that way, you won’t recognize all of what we’ve discussed up to this point—the ways in which what we’re part of calling on people to protest are major faultline contradictions of this system. Instead of starting with how people are responding to different abuses at any given point (important as it is to recognize this as part of reality), we need to start from the biggest picture.

Nor would you see the reality that while this system is committed to continuing with its great brutality and repression, the slow genocide of mass incarceration and criminalizing generations of youth—they are not all powerful and themselves are facing serious problems in keeping it all together in a rapidly changing world. All this is the raw material that needs to be repolarized for revolution. If you come at this from within any one outrage or another, you won’t get the full picture of reality.

We have to understand the largest necessity we face—making revolution. So, the answer isn’t just to “think bigger” but getting into how are we repolarizing societally... how are we hastening, while awaiting...

This is going to require a much broader strategic approach... with the struggle to change people’s thinking and how they think—throughout society—as the decisive element of that. People act—or don’t act—based on what they understand. Think about it: Is the main contradiction we face in building mass defiant resistance to police brutality and the slow genocide of mass incarceration as a part of the overall movement for revolution, that people aren’t organized? That they just don’t know the date and time of the demonstration? No—as important as it is to make known the date and time of the demonstration (providing people a vehicle to act as well as making known there are people who are serious about fighting this), the main thing holding people back is what they understand about the situation.

Where is all this outrageous mass incarceration and police brutality and murder coming from? Is it our own fault and our own bad choices? Are all these Black and Latino youth really just criminals after all? Did the people who are being tortured in U.S. prisons do something to deserve it? Can the system causing all this be ended? What difference does protesting make? Should we act on our outrage against this or just give it up to god? Is this just human nature or something evil about the nature of white people? The wrong answers to these question present obstacles in people themselves understanding the reality—and acting to change it. And these wrong answers have been fought for and hammered at on a societal level by a whole range of class forces aiming to shape society in their interests.

There is a big battle going on right now about HOW people should understand this because these are objective faultline contradictions of this system that will keep resurfacing and getting fought out on different levels and in different ways. And through this multilayered and dynamic process, we can transform—in a very big way—how this is getting fought out and toward what end.

We need to go at this on different levels—simple and more complex, fighting to change the thinking of whole blocs of people at the same time and in the process of leading people to fight the power and uniting broadly with all those who want to see this happen. And we need to do that as a whole ensemble of revolutionary work.

Right now, people should be out in a big way—with showings of BA Speaks: REVOLUTION—Nothing Less! Bob Avakian Live—on corners, on campuses, in stores and parks, and getting people connected with revcom.us and Revolution. We should make very broad use of the Three Strikes poster—getting into the full meaning of it with people. Deep excavation of where this police brutality, repression, and the criminalization of a generation is coming from, and how it is part of a whole world of hellish pain, and how to bring that to an end. How we are working to make a revolution to get rid of the system causing this and how fighting the power right now is part of that. We need to help people see what the different elements of this day have to do with each other. Why victims of this system—those who have lost loved ones or whose family members are incarcerated—should speak out not just about their own situation, but about the whole situation that is causing this. And why people who are not “under the gun” on a daily basis need to take this up. And we need to be engaging in all kinds of polemics and struggle about where this is coming from, and what is needed to stop it—to help sharpen how people are fighting, and toward what end.

You can see the potential for a powerful, defiant fight to bring people forward around all that is concentrated in O22. And this has to reverberate throughout all of society... with people fighting the power and increasingly coming to see the illegitimacy of a whole system that is causing this... people digging into and debating out what is the problem and what is the solution. All this is happening within a cauldron of contradictions and interpenetrating in ways we can’t foresee with all the other sharp contradictions breaking open in society. (Again, see “The Shutdown, the Showdown, and the Urgent Need To Repolarize... For Revolution” in this issue.) Doing this kind of work will compel other forces in society, with different positions in relation to the powers-that-be, and different outlooks on the problem and solution, to feel compelled to act on that situation in ways we can’t predict but can contribute to the larger complicated and dynamic mix.

And all this can contribute to a movement for REAL change, for revolution, if—through all this—the conscious revolutionary forces are fighting to impact and shape things in big ways, and working to change the whole political atmosphere. And in the process, transforming how blocs of people are thinking through struggle and debate, and building up the organized forces for that revolution.

How to do this? You’ll find a lot of material at revcom.us and in this issue on building a movement for revolution. But it starts with BA Everywhere: the mass campaign to raise big funds to project Bob Avakian’s vision and works into every corner of society. That is the leading edge on a mission to change the whole political atmosphere. And, along with that, connecting people with revcom.us and Revolution. The dynamic mix of people taking the political offensive around other major faultlines of this system, the enslavement and degradation of women, or the climate emergency created by the system of capitalism... all the while challenging and transforming people’s thinking in a revolutionary direction ... this is all part of fight the power, and transform the people, for revolution.

All this is what we have to be working on... aiming to radically change things in a direction more favorable for a revolution which can put an end to this nightmare of a system once and for all.

* Here we refer readers specifically to the Statement from the Revolutionary Communist Party, “On the Strategy for Revolution” as well as the beginning of Part 2 of BA’s talk, Making Revolution and Emancipating Humanity, which is reprinted in this issue: “Hastening while awaiting—not bowing down to necessity.” These works, taken together, concentrate a breakthrough in understanding how we can get from the situation we’re in now to a situation where revolution is possible, and how we need to be hastening, while awaiting, that revolutionary situation. [back]

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