When Renee Nicole Good was murdered in cold blood by ICE, the country responded in kind with strong mobilizations, uniting various organizations as conditions in the US continue to spiral. The CWPUSA was no different in this, mobilizing forces across locations. The Louisville Local Committee demonstrated at a protest in honor of Renee Nicole Good and against ICE's continued terror campaign on the working class.
Speaking before the march were representatives from the organizations sponsoring the event: the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice, 5150, Louisville DSA, and even Democratic Party politicians such as Charles Booker who used the opportunity to promote his run for Senate. In many ways, it was a direct continuation of the “No Kings” protests. At first glance, all of these organizations had at least one thing in common: the call to “abolish ICE.” However, as the speakers continued into the early nightfall, the messaging became mixed. Most framed the issue as administrative, a message amplified by Booker’s focus on what he plans to do in the legislature. To the extent that class was discussed, it was superficial, limited largely to denouncing billionaires.. One speaker offered that “this state violence can only be met with even greater violence,” offering no elaboration and leaving the remark open to interpretation as little more than adventurism. There was an overwhelming desire to confront the chaos enveloping the country, but without a coherent strategy. Whatever strategy was presented by the event organizers reflected either the aspirations of political careerists, the representatives of bourgeois parties seeking to channel popular outrage into state apparatuses and render it harmless, or, where militancy was present, a call for an offensive lacking a political vehicle capable of finally ending the capitalist system.
As a result, the organizations present could not articulate a unified understanding of what the abolition of ICE would require. Worse still, “revolution” was treated as a dirty word—never uttered—replaced only by vague allusions to “a new world” being possible. And their solution? They all had the gall to tell people to join any organization, without any thought given to the direction the coalition would take, as if there were not already a clear aimlessness to its trajectory.
We say shame on all of them. Shame on the liberals who dare promote the reformist lie that all we need is the “right” Democrat in leadership. Shame on these phony “Marxists” who enable them, such as JP Lyninger of Democratic Socialists of America, whose greatest contribution amounts to advocating a mask ban on ICE agents while conceding that the Metro Council has no authority to expel ICE from the city—doing nothing to demonstrate the futility of maintaining this anti-worker political system. The Louisville PSL were nearly indistinguishable in their messaging, having scrubbed any semblance of class struggle from their calls to action.
From the crowd, the CWPUSA shouted loud and clear; “We need revolution.”
When the march began, the CWPUSA contingent moved forward with flags in hand. Amid the disunity of messaging that unfolded during the march, we put forward our own positions. Yes, abolish ICE—we agree. Abolish the capitalist state along with it. “We must organize for the revolutionary overthrow of the whole system.”
Our slogans, our chants, and our messaging were exclusively focused on placing front and center the fact that what unifies all of us on that pavement is the desire to end the exploitation of man-by-man and the horrors inflicted upon us by the bourgeoisie to maintain it. “ICE dies with Capital. Donald Trump dies with Capital. Revolution lives with the workers.”
ICE’s terror campaign is merely an evolution of Capital’s violent oppression of the worker—an especially ferocious one—with ICE having shot more protesters since the murder of Renee Nicole Good. This is why we cannot allow liberalism to direct the masses toward labor peace. There can be no peace between classes.
As a result, the organizations present could not articulate a unified understanding of what the abolition of ICE would require. Worse still, “revolution” was treated as a dirty word—never uttered—replaced only by vague allusions to “a new world” being possible. And their solution? They all had the gall to tell people to join any organization, without any thought given to the direction the coalition would take, as if there were not already a clear aimlessness to its trajectory.
We say shame on all of them. Shame on the liberals who dare promote the reformist lie that all we need is the “right” Democrat in leadership. Shame on these phony “Marxists” who enable them, such as JP Lyninger of Democratic Socialists of America, whose greatest contribution amounts to advocating a mask ban on ICE agents while conceding that the Metro Council has no authority to expel ICE from the city—doing nothing to demonstrate the futility of maintaining this anti-worker political system. The Louisville PSL were nearly indistinguishable in their messaging, having scrubbed any semblance of class struggle from their calls to action.
From the crowd, the CWPUSA shouted loud and clear; “We need revolution.”
When the march began, the CWPUSA contingent moved forward with flags in hand. Amid the disunity of messaging that unfolded during the march, we put forward our own positions. Yes, abolish ICE—we agree. Abolish the capitalist state along with it. “We must organize for the revolutionary overthrow of the whole system.”
Our slogans, our chants, and our messaging were exclusively focused on placing front and center the fact that what unifies all of us on that pavement is the desire to end the exploitation of man-by-man and the horrors inflicted upon us by the bourgeoisie to maintain it. “ICE dies with Capital. Donald Trump dies with Capital. Revolution lives with the workers.”
ICE’s terror campaign is merely an evolution of Capital’s violent oppression of the worker—an especially ferocious one—with ICE having shot more protesters since the murder of Renee Nicole Good. This is why we cannot allow liberalism to direct the masses toward labor peace. There can be no peace between classes.
