Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 00:46:59 -0400
Subject: M-G: COCKROACH! #66 (Fake "left" unity mongering!)


COCKROACH! #66 (Fake "left" unity mongering!)

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--------------------------------------------------------
1.  Is Bougainville spam?

2. Response to open letter, or "non-apples"

3. Fake "left" unity mongering!

-------------------------------------------------------
 Is Bougainville spam?

Deja News wrote;

>[This is a courtesy copy of an article posted to Usenet via Deja News]
>
>
>
><bobbitting>
>
>
>WHY on earth is this spammed to soc.culture.african.american?  For that
>matter, why is it spammed all across Usenet?  What ever possessed you to
>do this?  It isn't even remotely related to the topics of most of the
>places you spammed it to.
>
>Really, it is obvious some people really don't deserve a right to access
>Usenet. And you are one of them.  You exhibit absolutely no sense of
>responsibility.
>
>
>Kaiju <the noive>
>

Well!

It appears as if I have raised the hairs on the neck of someone out their in
cyberspace who subs to "soc.culture.african American".

I would naturally like to argue the points raised in his/hers angry letter.
In the first place "Bougainville" is in fact quite important to all African
Americans. The reason being that the war going on there is a miniature of the
Vietnam war. And in fact like myself who at present lives in exile because
of the Vietnam war there are many black Americans who consider themselves
"African American" who were certainly effected by the war in Vietnam just as
the people on Bougainville are effected.

And as far as my "spaming". Unfortunately I do not agree that my posting
over a rather long period of time the newspaper "Cockroach" or the
"Bougainville updates"
to ten or 11 newsgroups out of over 20,000 newsgroups can hardly be called
spaming.

In fact the reason I do post to the above newsgroup is because I have a
great respect and hope that black Americans because of their historical
position will be part of the revolutionary vanguard which will bring about
change! And one of those changes is a deadly struggle against colonialism
where ever it raises its ugly face. I am quite sure that black Americans are
well aware of what colonialism and slavery has meant to them.

Now naturally our complainer could be one of those blacks or whites who have
reached the pie in the sky pipedream (that doesn=92t exist) and is responsible
for the fact that millions upon millions of people are being told in America
as elsewhere to basically starve to death so that the fatcats can continue
to turn a buck.

Thus making him perhaps some sort of McCarthyite Witchhunter! However I will
try not to judge the complainer without futher clarification of just what
the fuck is bugging you man?

Naturally if the readers of soc.culture African American thing that
Malecki's "Cockroach" and the "Bougainville Uppdates" are so horrifying to
read or delete with their morning coffee, then naturally I will cease and
desist from sending this material to the list.

However being that I (like in Bougainville) am one of the little keys in the
necessity of getting out information from this war zone which has a naval
blockade around the island. I am also very active in trying to organize the
defense of Jamal here in Europe from my place of exile and in fact have a
home page set up for the upcoming Philadelphia conference on cop violence.
And as these things are far more important to me and the many people
involved I suggest to our whiner about spam to check out my homepage and see
if this is really spam..

You will quickly find out that Bougainville, just as the possible execution
of Jamal among other things is hardly spam but very fucking *REAL*..

Do you still want to continue with your complaint? Fine then I guess we will
have to fight it out. Because the "spam" you are talking about is real
people dying in and ugly war of attempted colonialist occupation. And the
threats and moves to execute Jamal by the state of one of the most
impressive black leaders to come along in a long time is *REAL*..

The preverbal ball as we say is now in your hands pal..

Warm Regards
Bob Malecki

P.S. Your letter and this reply go into a future issue of Cockroach! And
naturally I will send it to the newsgroup in question with the header:

"Is Bougainville Spam?"

Hopefully Deja will forward this to our complainer. Hopefully it is a clear
declaration as to where I stand on this particular issue..
--------------------------------------------------------
Response to open letter, or "non-apples"

Hi Ann Charlotte,

Thanks for the long letter! Sounds almost like you are a representative of
some department in the government!

As you have given me the benefit of the doubt on my rather hard position
about the situation in Sweden I think it only honest that I give some of my
credentials on why I feel that I can and did and will continue to write like
this about Sweden on the race question and the calling for the IOC not to
put the summer  games in Stockholm. OK..

I came to Sweden also as a political refugee and activists during the
Vietnam war. Not a deserter by the way and have lived here since. Naturally
as a white male and American I have had a rather had a privileged position
in Swedish society, partially because of coming from the "great" land in the
west that so many Swedes were to immigrate to during the earlier part of
this century. And naturally back then most of the Swedish political parties
were soft on or supported many third world movements.
So I guess the 25 or so years I have lived in Sweden gives me some
qualifications in order to express my views.

That is the short version. OK?

You first ask me a question and then go on to give your own interpretation of
what is going on in Sweden.

You write;
>. However, I am curious as to what actually prompted you to take
>such a stand against Sweden and Swedes, condemning an entire country as
>being like "Alabama in the sixties". First of all, I think you are greatly
>insulting the African Americans of the United States by comparing Jim Crow
>laws, Klu Klux Klan, and George Wallace, to the situation some people of
>foreign ancestry have in Sweden.(By the way, you refer to people as
>"non-swedes", do you refer to oranges as "non-apples" too?). As far as I
>know we do not in Sweden practice systematic, institutionalized, blatant
>racism that keeps certain groups of people from being accepted and
>acknowledged as citizens in their own country.

Well now, I do not think I have been insulting at all just trying to give
what I believe to be a rather clear picture of the present situation here in
Sweden. Are you denying that the KKK mentality and the burning of crosses in
front of people's houses has not taken place? Are you claiming that the
courts time and again have treated the numerous number of cases involving
violence, firebombing of houses, cold blooded murder of people fairly. Then
obviously one of us is lying. I claim for example this is true in Sweden today!

By the way America where I lived for almost 28 years also claims to be
"equal and justice" for all (your argument on Sweden) but is it? Really?
Equal? Just? and all the rest in America? in Sweden?  Sounds almost like and
Alice in Wonderland fairy tale which if you repeat it a number of times
makes it true. Oh well just a thought about "image" and all that stuff..

I also have a most recent example of "Jim Crow" justice in the Swedish
courts. A Latin American representative in the parliament who along with the
national TV filmed a whole sequence of him not being allowed into a
nightclub for members only and two minutes later the white reporter walks in
without any problems at all. All on film and documented! The court and the
cops could not even get the person who was on film into the court room! The
wrong person was brought in and the case was dismissed ..

I can give you many more examples of Jim Crow justice. In fact it is a well
known fact that people with dark skins in Sweden receive longer prison
sentences then white Swedes.

And  racism not being institutionalized. How dare you insult my
intelligence. I can almost give you the exact day when racism became
institutionalized in Sweden. Or perhaps better where the political
establishment (especially the Social democracy) declared "open season" on
foreign nationals with the wrong skin color.

It was when the right wing populist party "New Democracy" was on the rise
and was taking votes from all parties on their racists and anti foreigner
political agenda.
What did the Social Democracy do? They sent out Leif Bloomberg former metal
chairman in the metal trade union and Social democratic party central
committee and parliament representative. And he made his infamous speech
about "Just because most Swedes call people nigger doesn't make them racist"
connected to a political strategy which hand in glove incorporated the
program of "New Democracy" on this question. That line was basically throw
as many out as possible, including going back in the files for over ten and
fifteen years and throwing out for example a African youth who was 20 years
old and came here when he was 12! years old alone! claiming that he lied
about his parents! By the way the only party that did not capitulate
politically to the "New Democracy" was the "FolkPartiet" and honestly one
should take there hats off and bow to them on this particular question.

How many horror stories do you want. How about the terror a couple of years
ago when somebody was walking around into stores and shooting people in the
head with a pistol. Their crime having black or brown skins. How many did he
shoot before they got a suspect?

Now to the orange and apples stuff. Well if there is any difference between
orange and apples it is the first, only and continual lesson drummed into
the head of every foreign national. The infamous "What did You say?" always
has meant that this particular person is not a Swede and thus should be
treated accordingly. In fact this has always been the case. But having a
black skin makes it ten times as worse and a hundred times worse. Because
even if you speak a perfect Stockholm dialect or what ever you skin color
gives you away and you should be treated accordingly.

Now naturally there are quite a lot of people who certainly are not racists.
And you go on in your long letter trying to give some sort of picture of
"economic refugees" refugees who have come from various wars and revolutions
etc. and quite a number of fairly normal claims by the government in regards
to their policy on this question. By the way this is the official picture
that Sweden would like to give of how they see this question.

However recent events in the past ten years connected to the economic
crisis, unemployment and horrible political opportunism by the established
political parties including a general shift to the right by all parties has
led to a very horrifying situation in reality. The truth is not what the
latest committee as claimed as being policy. The truth is that blood is
flowing every day on the streets of Sweden. People with foreign back ground
don't get jobs, Am I lying to say that unemployment of foreign "non-Swede"
people is ten times as high as the "real" Swede?

The truth is the Sincari family. The truth is and African friend of mine who
lost her job because she was black and a Swede needed that job! The truth is
that black people can not go into a restaurant. The truth is that there is a
compact underlying tension between Swedes and non-Swedes being flamed on by
the complete inability  of the state, the courts and the cops to take these
questions seriously.

I do not know which world you come from but this is the situation in Sweden
today.
And it will get worse perhaps before it gets better. In fact I can talk to
any non-Swede about these things and my letter and most if not almost all
would understand exactly what I am talking about! I intend to do everything
I can to fight the general trend not only in Sweden but Europe of becoming a
"festung". Because that is what is really going on today. Naturally my
letter is part of that. I do not think that I am doing anything wrong by
writing what I believe was a rather mild letter expressing how I think
things are going here. And of course trying to move things in the other
direction.

Naturally I no longer feel that Sweden sees the question of solving the
problem. despite putting Mona Sahlen on a committee against racism. Or all
the various twists and turns which quite clearly say We do not any longer
want non-Swedes in this country. (The reformed law on foreigners) the main
thrust is in down sizing the non Swede element of the population. Thus
plainly getting rid of as many people as possible.  

However I am prepared at any time to work with the trade union movement to
solve some of these questions. As a member of the largest trade union in
Sweden (Kommunal) I certainly think that the trade union movement has the
social power to *really* change things for the better. And I have certainly
time and again try to raise this question only to be met with a polite and
cold hand. Unfortunately it appears that the trade union leadership does not
see this question as a first priority.

So naturally if you have any real suggestions about how "we" can really
begin to work to change things in a better direction well I am certainly
open for all possibilities.

But until then I'm am afraid that the blood on the streets just keeps
getting deeper and deeper. The children of non-Swedes eat less, have less
money and perhaps no future in this country. People with different colored
skins can=92t go in a restaurant. The cops the courts the politicians sit on
their asses dreaming up new "reforms" to help on the way. Mean while the
prisons are being filled more and more with non-Swedes with another colored
skin and longer and harder sentences..etc etc etc.

Sorry if I sound so negative. Sweden once upon a time was a very lovely
place for foreigner nationals. You know back in the good old days when
Swedish industry was crying for more workers..Well now we have something
entirely different. And your pint job of how things are or should be sounds
to me like a bureaucratic snowjob..

Warm regards
Bob Malecki
-------------------------------------------------------
Hi Ann Charlotte,

The first part of your letter about your background makes it clearer for me now.
comment a little later on here this stuff.

The next part of your letter about "cross-burning" and a few crazies I tend
to agree
with in a sense. That these you claim are isolated incidents appear to be
becoming a
regular part of the scenery here in Sweden is unfortunately a trend. In fact
last night
on the news they were talking about putting cops in the schools to prevent
violence
between the various groupings...
>
>I appreciate your many thoughts and I think many of them are thought
>provoking. However, I think you are doing a great disservice to a country in
>transition by taking "the glass is half empty" approach to the complex
>issues we are faced with. You left America to avoid the Vietnam war. Sweden
>accepted you and has been a home to you for 25 years. Your African friend,
>what was she leaving behind? Sweden welcomed her to. Let's recognize the
>good things as well as the bad and focus on what can be improved. People are
>only going to be very defensive when reading, or listening, to what you are
>saying, and your message will be lost.

Here we have a big difference! In fact you sound very honest and in fact
your reaction
is almost the classical reaction of a liberal intellectual raised in a Lutheran
environment of the "lagom" trend... And everything will be just fine  and
all that. I
think that for many people in Sweden this typical Swedish pipedream
unfortunately
no longer exists. You are talking about and atmosphere that existed during
the roaring
sixties and seventies and today in the nineties has turned to silence, quiet
moaning
about too many foreigners in the country, to some of the other aspects I
mention in
my first two letters.

I disagree in the sense that you think my letter is directed to Swedes who
would be
"turned off". Well I agree with you, I do not think any Swede wants to see
the picture
I am painting and that is one of the horrible problems. The Swedish
mentality of the
good in everyone is becoming and embittered and angry population looking for
scapegoats because for the first time since the thirties we have mass
unemployment
and people don=92t have any faith that thinks will get better. Only worse! And
in fact the
attitude on the race question is only one aspect of this. Alcoholism,
violence against
women, violence against children are another aspect of this trend.

Unfortunately it is the concrete material world around money, job security
and the
rest which determines reality. And unfortunately the reality is turning
towards the
classical kicking down on the ladder. Whether it be foreign national, women or
children. That is how thinks work whem believe in political solutions and
lack of
political leadership can not find the solutions. In fact the fascists are
waiting in the
wings. In France they have taken four major cities in the elections. In
Germany, and
other places they are on the rise. In Sweden it took the form of the right
popularlist
"New Democracy" who only did not succeed because the traditional parties
incorporated their politics into there own ...

Now just a short note on the personal stuff. My daughter just finished
Berkley. I have
another daughter who's has a boyfriend who is black. I prefer "Black" to African
American because I think the term African American is a utopian pipedream which
feeds into black nationalism. My heroes are people like Mumia Jamal, some of the
leaders of the panthers at other great fighters for black liberation..

And naturally coming from your own quite protected environment I can understand
how you reason. well when the mob moves their usually is no reason other then
political demagogues who use these question in order to come to power..

Only a powerful mobilization of working class organizations, like the trade
unions
have the social power to combat this kind of stuff. In fact my letter will
not change
things at all. But I might be able to put mud in the wheels of those who
want to turn a
buck on the OS and try to ignore the real and deadly serious situation that is
developing in Sweden as elsewhere.

Unlike you I do not believe in everything will turn out all right if we just
use some
logical liberal reasoning. In fact the contradictions arising out of the end
of the post
second world war boom are once again taking the character of the classical
pogroms
that history has been build on. This time it is not the Jews YET! But the
massive moves of foreign nationals to European countries during the economic
boom
(many from Africa) and now we are heading for a new period of war and perhaps
revolutions.

Sorry if this upsets you little personal world Ann Charlotte. Ume=E5 or
Robertsfors is
not the world and in fact the little university town you are living in. What
is going on
is driven by the end of some very important historical factors just as
slavery ended
because of some specific historical factors. And your wishful thinking
unfortunately
will not change all that. However you might be lucky and just your family
will be able
to get through this period. In fact your line is wishful thinking saying to me

"Oh Christ I hope Bob is wrong!"

Well for your sake I hope so too. Unfortunately I do not intend to stand around
watching the boat go bye saying "Everything will be all right". It is like
saying to me
stand in front of a rushing locomotive and see if you become a pancake or mashed
potatoes..Sorry I just can=92t do that..

Bye for now,
I have to go to work. Not really it is and ALU project. Helping the 7 mila
t=E4vlings
committee set up the race on Sunday..

Warm regards
Bob Malecki
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fake "left" unity mongering!

The Lcmcri group Poder Orebro writes;

>STOP EX-DICTATOR BANZER FROM BECOMING NEW BOLIVIAN
PRESIDENT
>
>Hugo Banzer, the worst dictator that Bolivia had in at least the last half
century,
won the first round of the elections (1 June). He is now trying to be
elected by the
parliament as the new president. All unions, left organisations, anti-fascist
committees and activist should try to stop him.
>The international left is showing many sympathies with the outcome of the
French
elections. However, in the same day but in other extreme of the world, the
far right
won the elections. We could stop Banzer. We call the international left to
organize
protests against Banzer and that the unions should adopt resolutions and
send letters
in support of the Bolivian workers against the election of the former dictator.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
--------------

Is this surpose to be a joke? If not.....

I must say that I do not particularly like this article that the PO has
produced. It is the
classical neo-Stalinist and reformist kind of maneuver which is usually
called "Unite
the left to fight the right". It is the classical propaganda which points
people towards
popular front politics and anti-imperialist united fronts. In fact a
classical example of
fake left "unity" mongering that will not help the Bolivian Proletariat one bit!

Because PO is trying to paint up Banzer has the horrible dictator that he
certainly was
and is certainly no excuse for "Trotskyists" to argue in this manner of
working for
some vague "International left" to protest the election of Banzer shows more
of a
tendency to opportunism then the vital necessity of building a revolutionary
International based on Bolshevik/Leninist politics not to sing "We shall
overcome"
but in fighting for workers power...

In fact what we have here is the idea of a "family of revolutionaries" who
can join
hands as they did in Europe in the "French" elections which according to PO
was a
victory and condemn the right wing victory in Bolivia. In fact the elections
in France
were hardly a victory but a confirmation of the fact that it is still the
reformists and
Stalinists who continue to support all kinds of popular front combinations and
illusions (not in the least that the greens as some sort of progressive
force) ..Not to
mention the thrust of the elections towards isolationism and protectionism
that the
EMU stuff is all about!

In Bolivia and in France it is hardly a united left to fight the right that
is needed
because in France that is exactly what we have already and in Bolivia the PO are
begging for a popular front with these kinds of arguments of uniting the
"left" to
condemn Banzer. In fact the PO article points out that it is not only Banzer
who has a
rotten political history and that even some of the major trade union leaders are
prepared to sell out to Banzer.

It would be much better to build a united front in the Bolivian trade unions
to oust the
present leaders who are prepared to deal with anybody who sits in the
presidential
palace connected to fighting for a Trotskyist Party in Bolivia and
Internationally that
can really change things! Not this "Unite the left to fight the right"
garbage which just
about any Stalinist or reformist organization could agree with and in fact would
include just about everybody except Banzer himself. Down with this fake left
kind of
propaganda. Down with popular fronts and anti-imperialist fronts..both in
France and
Bolivia!

And I must say that this article shines of so much opportunism that you are
beginning
to sound like the fake Trotskyist "Unity" list. And you are heading in that
direction
and not in the direction of revolutionary regroupment of "Trotskyist" forces
to build a
real Communist International.

In fact I find it quite disgusting that it is the so called "Trotskyists"
who are trying
time and again to pump life into the broad fake left kind of rotten block
solutions to
the problems facing poor and working class people. In fact what is needed is
a real
Bolshevik Leninist alternative in order to fill the vacuum that now exists
after the
demise of Stalinism. The PO article seems to me to be nothing other then a
transmission belt for Menshevik and neo-Stalinist political solutions to the
question
of party building and tactics. I think that we have had quite enough decades
of this
kind of opportunism which has led to defeat after defeat after defeat. In
fact there is
no difference in the PO article and political thrust of most of the present
day Pabloite
organizations Internationally.

The ultimate weakness of PO is quite clear. When the pressure is on they are
prepared
to liquidate the party and program for fake unity that will not take the
Bolivian
working or the working class internationally one step forward but in fact
backward
into all kinds of "unite the left to fight the right" political opportunism.

Down with fake left "unity" which only will explode at the first sign of
serious class
struggle.

For a Trotskyist Party in Bolivia as elsewhere!

For the reforging of a Communist International!

Warm Regards
Bob Malecki
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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