Our people have made the mistake of confusing the methods with the objectives. As long as we agree on objectives, we should never fall out with each other just because we believe in different methods, or tactics, or strategy. We have to keep in mind at all times that we are not fighting for separation. We are fighting for recognition as free humans in this society.
-- Malcolm X
"You remind me of my jeep,
I wanna wax you, baby!
"You remind me of my bank account,
I wanna spend you, baby!"
That's from "You Remind Me of Something" by R. Kelly. The song is smooth, with a funky bottom, and a sexy lead vocalist. Why does it grit my teeth every time I hear it?
It's not because I'm, as one of my sons puts it, an "old man" who just can't interpret the young "whipper snappers"!
Mumia Abu-Jamal is the author of five books. His radio commentaries are accessible via www.fsrn.org (Free Speech Radio) and www. democracynow.org. He currently awaits a court ruling as to whether a hearing can be held on whether to admit into evidence significant testimony that has not been allowed into the official record of his case. For updates: www.mumia.org.
The task of Socialism and Democracy is to participate, in a spirit of solidarity, in the development of a radical, theoretically informed popular opposition. We envisage a movement that stands viscerally- and can act strategically-against the rule of capital and its associated practices of marketization, domination, and repression. These practices, however, have numerous handles to grab onto, often including the complicity of at least some of capital's victims.