From: "Robert Malecki" <malecki-AT-robertsfors.mail.telia.com>
Subject: SV: M-TH: Lesbians and gays
Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 09:11:28 +0100



Rebecca writes!


>Hi Folks,
>
>Below again is a slightly doctored version by me of an extract from the
>manifesto of Workers Power. I am using it to develop my understanding of
>this issue. Suggestions and criticisms are welcome
>
>Greetings,

>Lesbians and gay men suffer discrimination in all spheres, including legal
>sanctions.  Whilst this oppression affects lesbians and gay men of all
>classes, it is again working class lesbians and gaymen who are most acutely
>affected.  Oppression affects employment opportunities.  Men and women who
>are openly homosexual are less likely to get work, will be isolated and
>abused at work, and are more likely to lose their jobs, their homes and
>their children.  Unlike oppressed members of the ruling class, working
class
>lesbians and gay men have no alternative but to seek work.  Consequently
>they are frequently forced to deny their sexuality, suffering the
>psychological damage that such denial and suppression produces.
>The working class must fight for an end to all legal discrimination against
>lesbians and gay men.  This is a basic democratic right.  The state should
>have no rights to interfere in people's sexuality where consenting
>individuals are concerned.  Abolition of the age of consent is necessary to
>deprive the police and the courts of another weapon to harass and abuse
>young lesbians and gay men. [I am not too sure about its abolition whatever
>about the age limit being reduced. Anybody any comments on this.]

!4 years old!

>Discrimination in every sphere-including employment, housing and custody of
>children-must be fought. legal rights should be campaigned for and defended
>by the working class.  The state must be made to provide information about
>sexuality in schools without proscribing homosexuality as generally happens
>today.  Religious anti-gay bigotry must be swept out of the classroom.
>Millions of lesbians and gay men form part of the working class.  The great
>majority do not acknowledge their sexuality through fear of victimisation
or
>persecution.  Those who have done so have suffered as a consequence.  The
>organisations of the working class must be won to supporting the right of
>all homosexuals to be open about their sexuality, to resist police or
>fascist harassment, to defend the right to work and to earn a living wage.

Non of these demands define the necessity of overthrowing capitalism and in
fact at least here in Sweden. Many of the above laws already apply.
Including the right to get married, have children (adopted or artificial
insemination) ..

And in and earlier letter today you say that these people never say in their
documents that they want to liquidate the party. True! centrists never claim
that openly...but the do write documents like the previous one and the below
which in fact mean liquidating the party connected to a complete
misunderstanding of the "United Front"..

>An atmosphere of mutual respect for people with different sexual
>orientations must replace the atmosphere of sexist and heterosexist bigotry
>that currently pervades the world workers' movement.

What kind of formulation is the above? I would say it is a classical
sectoralist view of the workers movement because they draw the following
organizational conclusions above and beyond the party which is not mentioned
at all and actually wind up turning class politics on their head..!

>Working class lesbians and gay men must have the right to caucus within the
>organisations of the working class in order to fight against homophobia and
>for full political and social equality.  In order to take the struggle
>beyond specific sectional or local issues, such caucuses need to be linked
>up with specific united fronts and campaigns which could form part of a
>proletarian movement for lesbian and gay liberation.  Revolutionaries will
>fight for political leadership in such united front organisations to win
>lesbians and gay men to the programme of lesbian and gay liberation and
>revolutionary socialism.

This is the centrists dilema of seeing the world as it is and then trying to
create some sort of organization form in the form of "fighting united
fronts" At best the formula is that these people want the right of
caucausing the workers movement. The bottom line being that it is not the
party and the proletarian vanguard which are the tribune of all the
oppressed but these fronts, in this case the "gay-lesbian liberation fronts,
where communists will fight to win these people to the program of
revolution. I believe that it will be the exact opposite. That is the party
and vanguard of the class will increasingly draw these perifiial movements
to it as it gathers influence and steam within the class.. Because
communists realize that it is only the party and the workers vanguard which
can provide both the program and social clout which can really liberate
sexuality and not the other way around. This document is really fucking
empirist and the centrist appetite to chase and adapt there documents to the
present petty bougeois popular front radicalism  is very clear and implicit
here..Despite all the left rhetoric Rebecca document misses the point. It
will be the party and the vanguard of the proletariat which will be the
motor and not the other way around. By claiming the "right" for gays and
lesbians to caucaus the workers movement is not wrong on principle. However,
it does point out that these people and yourself rely on something else to
change the world like these "fighting united fronts" which in this case go
usually no futher then reforming the views on sexuality under capitalism.

>The systematic oppression of lesbians and gay men will not be ended whilst
>the bourgeois family is promoted and defended as the model for social life.

Oh I don't know about that. Quite a few of the gays and lesbians at least
here in Sweden see the bourgeois family and wedding in church as their model
of sexual liberation.. So by just drawing a gender line by becoming the most
radical defenders of "fighting united fronts" on the above minumalist
program at best will lead to a society much like here in Sweden today. But
the fundamentals of capitalist rule have not changed. So what we have is
some progresssive laws implemented by the reformists and bourgeoisie which
say what you do sexually in your private life is fine, get married if you
want to, have children if you want too, sex education at and early age if
you want to --but class society with the haves and have nots still exist
despite your own particular form of sexuality..

Once again you send a document that any left of center Pabloist of the good
old days could have written in order to tail these kinds of movements while
at the same time trying to pay lip service to the Proletariat.. And you do
it by actually putting these single issueism fronts on a pedestal and as and
instrument which will lead the workers forward. I doubt it very much.
Because these movements have always had a popular front character and
completely ignore class society..

This fundamentally petty bourgeois environment will be split into its class
components like all of the other "movements" that find themselves on the
periphery of the central contradictions of class society..

In fact when I come to think of it I find this document so funny, about 20
years late and a Pabloist version of a transitional program being worked out
for all and sundry. Soon we will be seeing part 17 where the farmers and
peasants will be able to lobby the workers movement against the greens and
their anti-fertilizer campaigns or vice versa depending on the dominant
tendency in this organization..

In the final analysis these documents are in fact deviding very topdown the
world into the sectors that these militants think there may be a possibility
of getting rich quick by putting a forth documents laced with a little left
rhetoric and using these petty bourgeois environments to "put pressure" on
the workers movement! One big fucking pressure cooker!

At best the latest documents are and expression of chasing various movements
that exist by pro-claiming them "fighting" united fronts. This they hardly
are. In fact these fronts are especially popular frontist and specifically
anti-working class..And you want to allow these people to ally themselves
with the working class in "Caucasus" to at best reform society as it is
rather then its revolutionary overthrow. You want to permanantize  movements
that will increasingly play a minor role as imperialist rivalry and
contradictions grow as we head for a new round of imperialist war and
possible revolutions.. These movements that grew out of the petty bourgeois
student environments during a very special phase of history are doomed..
In fact I suggest that Rebecca go see "Cabare´" because that certainly will
give you more information about how capitalism and its logical extention
fascism do have a program in order to take care of all these pherifial
movements that develop between the calms of imperialist wars and
revolutions..Still today there are in reality only two classes which must
confront each other and decide the future. Trotskyists elect to side with
the proletariat as the ONLY class and ONLY front which actually can make the
difference for our common future..

So I suggest that all of our lesbian, gay friends join a party or a trade
union and struggle not only for their "sexual" freedoms but a program which
can mobilize the only social force in society which actually has the social
clout to garantee not only their sexual freedom but the dictatorship of the
proletariat as we march forth to create first a socialist and in the future
a communist world..

I also have a tip for the "Workers Power" people. I suggest that you change
your header. Leave the "Workers Power" and add "Gay Power", "Lesbian power",
"Feminist power".....etc. You name it and we got a program and a "fighting
United Front" just for your little group..

Hugh! I think that we are beginning to see the clone generation of Pabloites
in full bloom.. A revival of left-wing Pabloite groups all over the
political map..It is going to be quite interesting watching their
trajectory..Because you made the point that the workers movement generates
new and fresh layers of proletarian fighters. Well in this case we are
getting the baby boomers of the post war Pabloites especially from there
left center period and a new adaption to all kinds of "movements"..

It will be extremely interesting to see if the Stalinists and Social
democrats will be able to come up with a regenerated version of their
politics as the crisis deepens? And this is probably far more important then
the workers power group who these days are re-writing the TP and finding all
kinds of "fighting United Fronts" that are so profound..

Warm Regards
Bob Malecki
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Warm regards
Bob Malecki












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