this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
189 points (99.5% liked)

politics

22548 readers
134 users here now

Protests, dual power, and even electoralism.

Labour and union posts go to The Labour Community.

Take any slop posts to the slop trough

Main is good for shitposting.

Do not post direct links to reactionary sites.

Off topic posts will be removed.

Follow the Hexbear Code of Conduct and remember we're all comrades here.

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 

πŸ‡΅πŸ‡ΈHundreds of PSL members traveled from all across the country for the National March for Palestine in Washington DC, and while this powerful demonstration has concluded, the fight to stop Trump and Netanyahu’s new stage in the genocide is just beginning!

We're returning to our cities more energized than ever to fight for an arms embargo, an end to the repression against the students, and a free Palestine from the river to the sea!

https://t.me/PSLNational/835?single

top 37 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 50 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

During the speeches I saw Norm Finkelstein in the crowd

[–] [email protected] 26 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Damn, I missed the chance to meet Hasan AND Norman Finkelstein?

sicko-wistful

At least I met Madea Benjamin yesterday

[–] [email protected] 43 points 3 days ago

uncle-ho-2 I wish you luck on your spring offensive

[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

same bestie :')

[–] [email protected] 37 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (4 children)

I wonder how long it will take for the Trump admin to outlaw PSL and send all it's members to an El Salvadorian concentration camp

[–] [email protected] 39 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Okay now you gotta step away from that lathe

[–] [email protected] 30 points 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yeah sorry I'm just doomer rn because I saw that insurrection act thing deeper-sadness

Anyway it was great to see this post, gives me some hope fidel-salute-big

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago (1 children)

hey comrade, i know you already apologized, but i still want to point to this post as an example of why i take such issue with casual DoomJerking:

a good chunk of the people on this website you know and (hopefully) care about are in the PSL, even if you don't know it. These are the people you're talking so flippantly about being sent to do brutal slave labor for trying to create a better world - and on strong average, it's way harder to talk about these things in such a detached and offhand manner if you're actually in the crosshairs and taking the punches and risks of state violence like that. now, i don't want to make any presumptions about what kind of irl organizing you are or aren't a part of, but DoomJerking does imply a degree of comfortable, detached distance from the matter that really rubs me the wrong way. this is me and about half of the people i love you're talking about when you make posts like this - it's not an abstraction, these are flesh and blood human beings who have inspired each other & created bonds of love with each other that are hard to overstate. please just try to be mindful of this, even when you are feeling deeply depressed and disillusioned with current conditions (which is completely understandable).Β 

again, i know you did apologize and post a more optimistic sentiment afterward and this is a bigger trend than just you. i just thought it was a good opportunity to hammer out some issues with this kind of thing (which goes way beyond you or this single post of yours so don't feel too bad) in more detail. Β 

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

hey comrade, i know you already apologized, but i still want to point to this post as an example of why i take such issue with casual DoomJerking:

Yeah I'm sorry kitty-birthday-sad

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

no i know, it's okay i hope i wasn't too hard on you Care-Comrade it's just a general trend in the online left that's bugged me for a while, and i thought it was a good opportunity & might be helpful to you, me, and anyone reading this thread to maybe explore/clarify exactly why i find it problematic in more detail. kinda as a collective learning/growth thing, idk

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 days ago

Yes put all the communists and socialists in one place! that ought to do it!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

Reading about operation gladio def makes me paranoid about what America would look like if a communist party ever became a threat. The cope I have is that:

  1. The current far right don't know what an actual socialist is. They think liberals are socialists.
  2. The defunding of state institutions means less funds for undercover operations. Though I suppose they could be delegated to the police, which would be less organized and subtle

I think I would be more afraid of a purging of communists under Biden than Trump

[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Though I suppose they could be delegated to the police, which would be less organized and subtle

Normal cops are not capable of usefully infiltrating PSL. Our vetting is thorough, expectations for commitment are high, and our democratic centralism is impossible for a single shithead to derail - you'll just get booted if you always gum up the works. And the amount of time you'd need to be in to get any useful secret intel beyond "wow these communists sure have a lot of planning meetings and public events" is literally years. We have worked very hard to build a hard organization and actively study the tactics of COINTELPRO and other state disruptive strategies.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Normal cops are not capable of usefully infiltrating PSL. Our vetting is thorough, expectations for commitment are high, and our democratic centralism is impossible for a single shithead to derail - you'll just get booted if you always gum up the works. And the amount of time you'd need to be in to get any useful secret intel beyond "wow these communists sure have a lot of planning meetings and public events" is literally years. We have worked very hard to build a hard organization and actively study the tactics of COINTELPRO and other state disruptive strategies.

This is really hopeful to hear bloomer

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

Yea I meant that cops would be way less effective than the FBI

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Became a threat again.

Because the black panthers were enough of a threat to jail and murder a bunch. Similarly they put CPA leaders in prison during the red scare. And before that killing and arresting various IWW leaders.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 days ago

I like that they're holding protest signs with actual demands and party logos compared to the liberal protest signs which all have unique memes and one liners like a novelty tshirt.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

This is cool but I mean it feels like we're past the point of marching and protesting when things are the way they are, no? Don't take this as an endorsement to do some dumb adventurism either. Yesterday I had to delete one of my comments because it was spicy and any fed could use it against me.

[–] [email protected] 62 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Well PSL does much, much more than just protest. These are old-school demonstrations to show numbers, flex organizational muscle, create political unity, and bring new people into the movement. But most of our day-to-day work is not doing rallies.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Ah that sounds better then, the doomer side of me anymore feels like protesting is a waste of time when fascism is right here.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Protesting is the last step before building barricades

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Big national mobilizations like this a really useful for cadre building, too. To pull this off, the party needs:

  1. Media apparatus to effectively communicate it

  2. The logistical capacity to move thousands of people from across the country to a single location

  3. The production capacity to print the high quantity of materials, including a lot of specialty items like the list of names of martyrs

  4. The communication infrastructure to coordinate thousands of people on the day of

  5. The technical know-how to setup, operate, and tear down stages and AV for speakers and other infrastructure

  6. The ability to mobilize other orgs in coalition on our political line

  7. The discipline and safety skills to quickly and efficiently march thousands of people across one of the highest security cities on earth

  8. An internal political education apparatus to make all party members effective political communicators to the non-party attendees

  9. The photography and media production to demonstrate it effectively afterwards

  10. The managerial apparatus to coordinate all of the above into a single day of action

This is a massive operation with literally hundreds of party members all carrying out specific, designated roles, including a lot of specialty technical skills. We've done a bunchv of these over the past two years, and every one we've gotten more efficient and built essential skills in a huge number of cadre. That creates a more disciplined and unified political organization better fit for the task of making revolution.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Honestly, what kind of a march would it be without PSL leading it?

It just wouldn't be the same without the abundance of signature signs with the vespid color scheme.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 3 days ago (2 children)

The march's organizers are predominantly lib ("Hands off NATO!" but no word about Palestine) but it is still a good opportunity to capitalize, as seen here.

[–] [email protected] 73 points 3 days ago (3 children)

This is actually a separate march at the same time.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 3 days ago

Yeah and those backstabbing libs knew exactly what they were doing organizing it the same day

[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 days ago

Damn. I got got

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Oh ya, then I haven't heard a thing about this one. I've seen all the focus on the other march.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago

The revolution will not be televised

[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 days ago

Different march

[–] [email protected] 12 points 2 days ago

Woohoo, keep fighting the good fight

From the river to the sea, Palestine must be freed!

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 days ago

LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOO

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I really want to join, I just don't really know how. I should probably start going to more of the marches and actually talking with people instead of just showing up and chanting.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 days ago

pslweb.org/join

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Oh damn is that Eugene Puryear? Solid dude from what I've heard.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 days ago

A party founder!