• @aworldtowin
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    71 year ago

    Something seems off about people promoting RATMW but then shitting on ANSWER. Especially using bs saying members used to be in the military and shit. Seriously, cool with an event hosting Tulsi Gabbard who is an active member in a psy op unit but ANSWER is bad because is has ex military?

    Also, if a coalition around being anti-war having veterans in it surprises you, I don’t think you have gone to a single anti-war protest. I know we hate the US military but people like average vets aren’t exactly happy when they see their friends blown to bits for some oil profits. If we don’t take advantage of that rightful anger, THAT is dogmatic and not pragmatic.

    • @Beat_da_Rich@lemmygrad.ml
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      fedilink
      91 year ago

      Just adding to your point, but the revolution needs disaffected people from our police and military. It was true in Lenin’s time and it’s true now. Obviously they should be treated with a lot more skepticism. However, plenty of people join these institutions as apolitical people and come out radically against them. And they leave with inside knowledge about how these institutions work. That’s valuable.

      • SovereignState
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        fedilink
        101 year ago

        Most certainly. And the revolution needs a vanguard party, not a coalition of wealthy think-tankers, senators, fascists, and a couple of “patriotic socialists”. What does their leadership look like in organizing protests? What happens to this coalition as soon as the single-issue contradiction has been resolved? If this united front, left-love-right anti-imperialist coalition comes to be, it’s doomed for violent failure.

        Speaking of Lenin, what precisely happened to the provisional government almost immediately after the monarchy was overthrown? In hindsight its dissolution allowed for the world’s first true socialist revolution, but in the meantime manifested a horrible, bloody conflict that should not have had to happen (with plenty of help from western imperialists). Because the provisional government was a coalition of fascists, social democrats and communists.

        Ron Paul and his decrepit ilk are not anti-war. In fact, a major talking point of the right as of this moment is that diverting so many funds and weapons to Ukraine is weakening us for the coming war on China and we should use that money to double down on military spending.

        I understand that a lot of comrades’ points are about this one issue being paramount, but the way Tucker Carlson is “anti-war” is in that he actually supports war, having once hosted a guy on his show who said we had to up the military budget so one day we can “sit on a throne of Chinese skulls.” Associating with these fools as supposed left anti-imperialists Dore and Max Blumenthal did has done nothing but seemingly drive them fucking batshit.

        I think the proper move here would be to organize with better groups like ANSWER or your local party. Assuming that we have to ally ourselves with rightists is buying into the idea that their platforms are more popular than they are. We do not need to ally with fascists, they do not “speak for the people” and they are not worth convincing - they’re fucking astroturfers and their main support base comes from the petit bourgeoisie and bourgeoisie, be it in votes, money, or actively platforming their ideas. Most Amerikans are against war, not just the loud fascist minority. Most Amerikans don’t vote at all, and most Amerikans are poor.