Western Massachusetts

RAIL spreads revolutionary struggle at Earth Day Forum

RAIL gathered many signatures on its petitions to stop control units and to return the prisoners transferred to Texas. We also sent a number of postcards to the Dutch Prime Minister demanding that Jose Maria Sison and his family be granted political asylum in the Netherlands. RAIL explained to people why we choose to campaign around the issues of prisons and the Philippines. The prison campaign was of the most interest to the people at the rally. Many agreed with our position that prisons are an important battleground because the state uses the justice system as a key weapon in its war against oppressed nations.

Many people we met were interested in, but unable to join RAIL's contingent to the Jericho March Against Political Imprisonment and wanted a report. One womyn pointed out the irony that the same day the Jericho March was ignored in the mainstream media, Clinton was in the papers touring Robben Island with former political prisoner (and now President) Nelson Mandela. This media manipulation furthered Amerika's lie that political prisoners exist only in other parts of the world. Many people pledged to work with RAIL on future campaigns against the Amerikkkan prison system.

The event was held in a public park and it attracted many random people. After being asked if she "would like to help end torture in Mass. prisons", one womyn identified herself as an employee of the local county jail. First, she denied that torture happens, then said control units weren't torture, but were a legitimate way to repress prisoners who disobey. In MASSRAIL, RAIL had previously published a letter from a warden to a prisoner that says the prisoner is being sent to the DDU (Department Disciplinary Unit) solely for his associations. The only way out of the DDU is to renounce your associations. When presented with a firm statement that the DDUs were used as such, and that international standards ban control units, her only response was "I'm just doing my job." RAIL explained -- but at this point she was no longer listening -- that the defense "It is just my job" was rejected at the Nuremburg Trials. Another person later added that the United Nations Charter explicitly forbids such an excuse and requires people to reject unjust laws and instructions.

RAIL thanks MASSPIRG for the opportunity to table at this event. Not all of the groups or speakers present were progressive -- like the "Free Tibet" organization, and of the Population Committee of the Sierra Club. But RAIL took the opportunity to talk with the masses about political line.

State Senator Stan Rosenburg, gave a long speech about the importance of "Think Globally, Act Locally." Rosenburg argued that we need to think small, and lots of thinking and acting small will eventually add up to something sizable. At this, there was some grumbling within the crowd, including from a reformist older womyn associated with an organization opposed to the spread of multinational corporations. According to this womyn, Rosenburg was once more radical, but was corrupted by his position. RAIL doesn't know if that is true or not, but his reputation is far more liberal than his actual positions in the Senate.

Sometimes at events like this, that are more musical/social then political, RAIL has a difficult time convincing people of the relevance of revolutionary activism. However, these three reactionary nuggets -- and the political lines they represented -- were brought up in discussion with many of the most advanced people we spoke with. Often in fact, it was the masses who brought up these comparisons.

RAIL used the Stan Rosenburg speech in its discussions about Governor Weld's sick 1995 publicity stunt to expand prisons. Weld manufactured an overcrowding problem, and then shipped 299 prisoners to Texas when the legislature didn't respond quickly enough to Weld's pleas for more prisons. Weld got $585 million, thanks in part to Stan Rosenburg, but the prisoners are still in Texas.

RAIL also used the MIM slogan "Think Globally, Act Globally" to explain that imperialism is a global phenomenon and must be fought globally. The solution put forth by Rosenburg and similar reformists is to fight only the symptoms, which ensures that the root causes of injustice and environmental degradation continue forever.

The Population Control crowd take a similar approach. RAIL had a long discussion with one activist doing work to expand the Endangered Species Act. RAIL explained that the capitalist system is concerned only with profits, not with long term issues of bio-diversity or environmental sustainability. However, it's entirely possible that imperialist super-profits could be used to shore up the local environment through expanded export of polluting industries. This is of course a short sighted solution as the environment is a global system. RAIL warned this activist of the dangers of faking left but supporting First World chauvinism using the name of global justice to advance the interests only of the First World.

One key point in this discussion was the efforts of people like the Sierra Club to promote population control around the world. In fact, the Sierra Club is currently preparing for an internal vote about whether they should oppose immigration. During this discussion, the RAIL comrade asked the additional people who joined the conversation: "And just which planet does the Sierra Club think immigrants come from?" Later, RAIL extended its perennial -- and always declined -- offer to publicly debate the local Sierra Club Population Committee on whether the question for the environment was one of population size or of access and control of resources.

RAIL argues that it's obscene to discussion population size, or promote coercive population control practices in the Third World while leaving the disproportionate consumption of resources in the First World untouched. (The Sierra Club does polemicize against First World consumption, but their action revolves around limiting the number of Third World peoples.) Simply put, one white kid in the 'burbs does more harm to the planet than a whole village in Africa.

There was some discussion about Tibet and the Free Tibet movement. One Free Tibet activist RAIL spoke to was unaware as to the Dalai Lama's role as the spiritual head of a slave society. She did create several distracting questions about "the meaning of slavery", but more significantly did not impress us with her willingness to research the cause she supports. RAIL argued that if the people of Tibet want to be free of China, they should; but under no circumstances should the Dalai Lama and his system of slavery be restored. A number of activists who are aware that Tibet under the Dalai Lama was slave society expressed to RAIL disgust that the pro-Dalai Lama movement passes itself off as progressive. As RAIL suggested to one Dalai Lama supporter, just because the Dalai Lama is a religious figure he shouldn't be exempted from criticism. After all, the Catholic Church and various Popes benefited directly from the trade in African slaves, and there the Church role was more subtle than in Tibet.

The Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist League is a mass organization led by MIM to organize progressives to attack the principal problem - imperialism. RAIL struggles to build support for liberation of the oppressed - specifically to throw off the chains of imperialist domination. Tabling, handing out anti-imperialist propaganda and struggling with people attending progressive or liberal events helps to build this support. This is one of the many small tasks that anti-imperialist individuals can do to start up cells of progressive activism in their areas. Write to MIM and RAIL at the address on the previous page to learn more about the agenda of the MIM-led United Front against imperialism and the tactics RAIL uses to strengthen this movement.

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