Tag Archives: organizing

02.20.13
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Words are the Weapon of the Oppressed


As an organizer and revolutionary, one of the key lessons I have learned is on the importance of language, words, and terms. Language and the words we use are often a reflection of the society we are part of. We create words to represent ideas, institutions, and concepts that we interact with in the material world. Knowing that, as organizers and people who want to change the world we must pay attention to not only the words that others use to describe society and world around them but also the words that we use. The use of the right terms and language can do more to change the mind than any other action you can take. To drive this point home I have created a list of (mostly political) ideas/concepts and what they mean for our understanding of our world. Take a look at the list and think about how we use some of these terms. After you’re done, think about other terms that have hidden meanings that we need to take account of. Continue reading →

01.03.13
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Africa For Norway: Radi-Aid Speaks About a Need for a Change in Our Discourse


“The point is that images of helpless Africans are just as inaccurate as the idea of helpless freezing Norwegians. A lot of Africans cannot relate to the patronizing videos and development initiatives.” by Suzanne Lemon for NPR

For information on the Radi-Aid campaign and Africa for Norway please go here.

04.21.12
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Should We Just Give Up?


More than anything this post is a question to our readers. Not too long ago a few friends of mines have decided become more active in politics and the activist scene, something that as an organizer I am immensely happy about. What I am not happy about is that they along with a few of my conscious friends who aren’t active have all express the feeling of hopelessness in trying to change the world, society, our school, shoo the guy next to them. They feel sometimes like people are so wrapped up in capitalism, individualism, coonery, whatever else you want to call it to care about doing anything positive in the world. Looking at how close we are to destroying ourselves as a society many of them express sometimes just saying @#$% it and trying to get theirs.

I have to say although I hate hearing people be hopeless about change, I often feel the same way and I’m sure many of you do too. It’s hard waking up every day knowing that while you worry about fracking or racial profiling most people are worried about the scores from last night’s game. While you want to create a society where people don’t have to cannibalize each other for scraps other people make it their jobs to create job and political situations where people will do just that. Then when you look at the forces at the disposal of the enemy, his media, his military, his ideologies that are being drilled into people you think “why even try”. With all that doom and gloom said all of us still wake up and handle business. We flyer, we read, we talk with people, we do petitions, and some of us even punch cops during our waking hours. Why do you continue to fight? How do you get past those rough patches where you want to just give up?

11.15.11
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What Lies Ahead for the Communist Party of Canada?


“Why vote Communist?”

A question I am frequently asked as a Communist Party candidate in Ontario’s provincial election. A vote for the Communist Party is a vote like no other.

When you vote Liberal, PC, Green or NDP, you vote for capitalism. You vote to accept that the system we have now, whether it is working presently or not, is good for the people.

When you vote Communist, you vote for capable worker-politicians. You vote for dedicated activists whose work among the people, for the people, gives us a unique quality. We know how government policies affect the people, how they play out on the ground, and how the people can be organized into the engine that turns the wheel of history.

We are not a party who takes its advice and cues from big business, small business, or foreign business. We learn from, and develop policies for, the working and oppressed people in this land.

Our aim is a socialist Canada, brought about by a large coalition of peoples’ and democratic forces under the leadership of the Communist Party. As the most dedicated activists, we aim to be the most strong-willed and capable leaders. We aim to keep the people firmly grounded in our position in the struggle, directly facing the exploiters and oppressors. We wish to marginalize and weed out those leaders of the people that preach retreat and concession when advance and determination is the order of the day. Continue reading →

11.05.11
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Why Can’t We Have A Union!?


I work at a McDonald’s, part time to pay the tuitions bills and keep some money in the pocket. As a socialist McDonalds’s is a kind of hell to me in that it’s one of the best examples of capitalist efficiency. With that said you, my readers, could probably imagine that I would also think about unionizing my workplace. Obviously the barrier is the huge multinational corporation and its many tools of repression.

Now when I bring ul the idea of a union, many of my fellow workmates like the idea but are scared of the bosses and what they might do to them (aka firing them). My mother who is a manager at another store scoffed at the idea, I think partly because she is a “boss”in her mindset but also because she too sees the idea as something impossible to do. I think its sad that people have so little faith in their own power as people. They fail to realize, like the fathers and mothers of the labor movement learned, that power in numbers is much greater than power in money or wealth.

With that said, I wonder how much of a sea change it would be if we did get ourselves a union? Jimmy John’s workers got themselves one this year fight against probably the same forces we will so maybe it is possible. It should be easy enough to convince my fellow workers that they have only to gain by organizing, although you always have those people scared of revolution. Well anyways just my musings coming out of a 7am-12pm shift. Might just get started Monday lol.

Let me know in the comments of any tips for organizing you have and even some unions who would probably be good to organize with.