[sixties-l] Value of street demos

From: Marty Jezer (mjez@sover.net)
Date: Sat Aug 05 2000 - 14:40:28 CUT

  • Next message: radman: "[sixties-l] Fwd: CIA HOLDS BACK KENNEDY ASSASSINATION MATERIALS"

    William is right in part. Street demonstrations were -- and are -- not the
    road to power.
    But they were and are a means of building a movement. Where the left has
    always failed is translating protest energy into a means of vying for power
    or of shaping public policy. Slogans aren't enough. And the best of
    political theater is useless if there is no larger strategy to advance
    specific programs or compete for power. In the sixties, there was little
    faith in the electoral process. There still isn't and unless we have true
    campaign finance reform -- i mean full public funding as in the clean money
    reform -- the electoral process, as a means of gaining political power, is
    pretty hollow. (But useful and necessary for minor reforms and as a means
    of stopping bad stuff happening).

    Marty Jezer

    At 08:56 PM 8/4/2000 -0700, you wrote:
    >The rapid decline of the Sixties left was due to its assumption that the
    >capitalist
    >state would yield to what were essentially street parades and a few broken
    >windows and
    >turned-over cars. When that state resorted to the guns of the National Guard
    >at Kent
    >State and Jackson State it became clear that street theater was not the road
    >to power.

    -- 
    Marty Jezer  *  22 Prospect St. *  Brattleboro, VT 05301 * p/f  802 257-5644 
    

    Author: Stuttering: A Life Bound Up in Words (Basic Books) Abbie Hoffman: American Rebel (Rutgers University Press) The Dark Ages: Life in the USA, 1945-1960 (South End Press) Rachel Carson [American Women of Achievement Series] (Chelsea House) Check out my web page: http://www.sover.net/~mjez To subscribe to my Friday commentary, simply request to be put on my mailing list. It's free!



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sat Aug 05 2000 - 17:34:57 CUT