Revolutionary feminist from Finland works with MIM
Dear MIM:
I am (or would characterize myself as) revolutionary feminist living in Finland. I stumbled into your website about a month ago, and was pretty impressed by what I saw. Before I even knew you existed in the first place, I had held a much similar view on many questions for years - especially on the labor aristocracy issue. (What you say about Amerikkkan workers sadly holds true on Finnish workers too, in general at least. And I speak from experience. But this is clear for anyone who bothers to conduct two minutes of research.) Maoism, and especially MIM-type line have not really got the audience they would deserve here in my country. Finnish "left" is composed 65 % of ex- Gorbachevite-turned-do- gooder-liberals, 30 % of Trotskyite cults and the rest is pretty much die-hard Brezhnevite dinosaurs suffering from historical amnesia. The last time Maoism got its "fifteen minutes of fame" here was back in the 60's, and even at that time it was pretty much marginal phenomenon. Considering this, I was most happy to see that you are launching a Finnish- language section at your site, and would be glad to help with translations if possible. I'm not Maoist myself (at this point at least -I was one for a long time, and a quite enthusiastic one I might add!) and have some worked out disagreements with the theory, but overall I think you are doing good work by taking on issues that no other "left" group has dared to take.
Who are the real terrorists?
[S]peaking of terrorism, the U.S. is the biggest sponsor. The Iran- contra scandal of the mid-1980s is a prime example. They may say that the United Nations has been trying to 'define terrorism' since 1972. The reason they cannot find that definition is because it would prove all the terrorism this country has done since its birth. In the Iran-Contra affair, the U.S. sold missiles to Iran for the release of American hostages (so they say). But the real reason was to kill three birds with one stone. They knew the Iran-Iraq war would cripple each other, the one to prevail they would deal with later. At the same time, some of that money paid for those missiles was given to the Contras who were backed by the U.S. to overthrow the Marxist-oriented [social-democratic] Sandinista government of Nicaragua. So who are the real terrorists?
--an Indiana prisoner, 26 November, 2001
Amerikan Patriotism Is National Chauvinism
I was debating the Sep. 11th terrorist attacks with a comrade and I noticed that terrorist attacks, which I'd assumed to be considered focoistic, invoke patriotic sentiment in a lot of people. Although I disagree with such tactics and I offer my regards to the victims, I also understand that the U.$. provokes such actions in order to extend their military hand over the world. A lot of comrades allow their patriotic feelings to bias their opinion and they tend to side with the real enemy -- U.$.A. In my opinion this goes to show how effective this system of indoctrination has been, very effective unfortunately. However as I am evidence, when people use objective thinking, especially in considering this system, they will see the parasitic nature of this system. The overextension of the U.$. military is imminent.
--a prisoner
MIM adds: Indoctrination is not the only thing keeping Amerikans chauvinistic. The super-profits the imperialists share with them gives them a high standard of living and keeps them loyal. Amerikans are generally aware of the crimes of the U.$. government; they choose to ignore (or support) them. The question of how to approach oppressor- nation "workers" is not simply one of tactics. First and foremost we must understand their class interests -- those of a labor aristocracy -- are opposed to those of the international proletariat.
The oppressed reach for the book...
My fellow Comrades: A clenched fist salute to all your educators of tha struggle... I've put into manifestation my revolutionary spirit and the responsibilities therein as a leader by beginning a study group based on the many forms of U.$. oppression inflicted upon Latin America and Latinos as a whole. Primarily our studies are related to the information provided by our MIM Notes. This week we read and discussed two articles in No. 241 about Vieques. Among the topics most discussed were the lesson received in "U.$. electoral practice around the world: when unable to control the outcome of a vote, control the terms of voting or try to buy off the voters." [. . .] At the time our group is small, however multiplication is evident as so many people express an interest in educating themselves about u.$. oppression and productive resistance thereto. I encourage all those of revolutionary spirit and mind to manifest your thoughts and goals and in doing so awaken and prepare all those within tha struggle! I want to thank MIM for your enlightenment and support. --A Florida prisoner