SWP SWP "played a crucial role in building the London demo" - claim
Uno | 15.10.2001 16:35
Quotes from latest SWP party notes:
"People can see the key role we are playing in the anti-war movement ... The SWP played a crucial role in building the London demo, we were like a red thread throughout the march."
"People can see the key role we are playing in the anti-war movement ... The SWP played a crucial role in building the London demo, we were like a red thread throughout the march."
The demonstration was very hard politically. People loved our placards with the Fight US/UK Imperialism slogan.
The SWP played a crucial role in building the London demo, we were like a red thread throughout the march. People were coming up to the SWP stalls thanking us for all the work we had put in to build the demo.
The task now is to
1. Build the 18 November StW demo in London
2. Build local, workplace & college StW groups
3. Go for local actions – picket ministers’ surgeries, hold street meetings etc
3000 Socialist Workers were sold on Saturday’s demo in London plus what was sold on the coaches down. 166 people joined the SWP. 373 Socialist Reviews were sold plus over 1000 Say No To Bush’s War pamphlets.
Everything Is Possible
We need to raise the expectations of what is possible both in terms of the anti-war movement & in building a revolutionary party.
The turnout on Saturday’s demonstrations & at the local meetings shows that we have entered a whole new ballgame. Comrades need to understand the scale of the opposition to the war. We can translate that into the local, workplace & college meetings.
Secondly, we need to raise expectations about how many SWs & our other publications we can sell & how many we can recruit.
Genoa and now the war show the idea that you can walk round the state, as Naomi Klein argued, is a non-starter.
The size of the SWP is key. In France the far left have made opposition to ‘terrorism’ on an equal footing to opposition to the war. That has meant the country with the biggest left in Europe & the biggest Arab community has had the smallest anti-war protests.
It was vital that the SWP argued largely successfully for unity round the simple Stop the War demand and rejected adding on denunciations of terrorism or Islamic fundamentalism.
SWP comrades have taken the lead in getting the workplace, college & school groups up & running.
That centres on building SWP groups. People are joining us with expectations we need to meet. They need to be pulled into activity immediately. That means they need to be part of functioning SWP groups based round workplaces, colleges, localities etc. They need from day one to be part of a weekly SW sale outside a workplace & on a street sale.
It also requires having well organised educationals. In each part of the country (North East, North West, Yorkshire, Midlands, SW & South Wales etc) we will be organising Day Schools for new members.
*Outside anti-war meetings we should make sure SW is sold well. Inside comrades should go round with the paper talking to people. We should encourage affiliated organisations like the Green Party & ourselves to have a stall.
*At every anti-war meeting or protest there should be a recruitment team.
*Organise caucuses before big anti-war meetings where we go through how we recruit, where we organise sales plus interventions. Discuss what arguments we need to address.
Socialist Worker Appeal
The respect Socialist Worker has was evident from Saturday’s demo. People can see the key role we are playing in the anti-war movement. They can see the posters, placards & stickers we are producing. You could see them in the marvellous pictures in The Observer & Sunday Mirror.
The only funding for SW comes from its readers & supporters. Just the material we produced in the build up to Saturday’s demo plus the placards & stickers cost several thousand pounds.
We need to encourage as many people as possible to donate to the SW Appeal.
*Every comrade should be asked to donate 2 days wages
*Every comrade should collect at work or in college
*Organise workplace collections from the outside (leaflet in advance to say when the collection is happening & select pay day).
So far £90,400 has been raised.
Brussels - 13/14 December
Anger against the neo liberals has not gone away because of the war. The demonstrations against the Brussels EU summit on 13/14 December are gaining strength. The Trade Union demo on Thursday 13 is going to be big. It’s called by the European Trade Union Federation, it’s backed by the TUC, & the French CGT say they are bringing 10,000 people! Protests on the 14 have been called by the left & look like getting NGO support. There will be anti war contingents on the demos.
Globalise Resistance is organising some coaches for London which will be travelling overnight on Wednesday 12 & returning Friday night. Contact them to book up (price being negotiated).
Get your union branch to pay for a delegation now and start collecting names & money to go.
Sign up sheet & a model resolution on the GR website (www.resist.org.uk)
The SWP played a crucial role in building the London demo, we were like a red thread throughout the march. People were coming up to the SWP stalls thanking us for all the work we had put in to build the demo.
The task now is to
1. Build the 18 November StW demo in London
2. Build local, workplace & college StW groups
3. Go for local actions – picket ministers’ surgeries, hold street meetings etc
3000 Socialist Workers were sold on Saturday’s demo in London plus what was sold on the coaches down. 166 people joined the SWP. 373 Socialist Reviews were sold plus over 1000 Say No To Bush’s War pamphlets.
Everything Is Possible
We need to raise the expectations of what is possible both in terms of the anti-war movement & in building a revolutionary party.
The turnout on Saturday’s demonstrations & at the local meetings shows that we have entered a whole new ballgame. Comrades need to understand the scale of the opposition to the war. We can translate that into the local, workplace & college meetings.
Secondly, we need to raise expectations about how many SWs & our other publications we can sell & how many we can recruit.
Genoa and now the war show the idea that you can walk round the state, as Naomi Klein argued, is a non-starter.
The size of the SWP is key. In France the far left have made opposition to ‘terrorism’ on an equal footing to opposition to the war. That has meant the country with the biggest left in Europe & the biggest Arab community has had the smallest anti-war protests.
It was vital that the SWP argued largely successfully for unity round the simple Stop the War demand and rejected adding on denunciations of terrorism or Islamic fundamentalism.
SWP comrades have taken the lead in getting the workplace, college & school groups up & running.
That centres on building SWP groups. People are joining us with expectations we need to meet. They need to be pulled into activity immediately. That means they need to be part of functioning SWP groups based round workplaces, colleges, localities etc. They need from day one to be part of a weekly SW sale outside a workplace & on a street sale.
It also requires having well organised educationals. In each part of the country (North East, North West, Yorkshire, Midlands, SW & South Wales etc) we will be organising Day Schools for new members.
*Outside anti-war meetings we should make sure SW is sold well. Inside comrades should go round with the paper talking to people. We should encourage affiliated organisations like the Green Party & ourselves to have a stall.
*At every anti-war meeting or protest there should be a recruitment team.
*Organise caucuses before big anti-war meetings where we go through how we recruit, where we organise sales plus interventions. Discuss what arguments we need to address.
Socialist Worker Appeal
The respect Socialist Worker has was evident from Saturday’s demo. People can see the key role we are playing in the anti-war movement. They can see the posters, placards & stickers we are producing. You could see them in the marvellous pictures in The Observer & Sunday Mirror.
The only funding for SW comes from its readers & supporters. Just the material we produced in the build up to Saturday’s demo plus the placards & stickers cost several thousand pounds.
We need to encourage as many people as possible to donate to the SW Appeal.
*Every comrade should be asked to donate 2 days wages
*Every comrade should collect at work or in college
*Organise workplace collections from the outside (leaflet in advance to say when the collection is happening & select pay day).
So far £90,400 has been raised.
Brussels - 13/14 December
Anger against the neo liberals has not gone away because of the war. The demonstrations against the Brussels EU summit on 13/14 December are gaining strength. The Trade Union demo on Thursday 13 is going to be big. It’s called by the European Trade Union Federation, it’s backed by the TUC, & the French CGT say they are bringing 10,000 people! Protests on the 14 have been called by the left & look like getting NGO support. There will be anti war contingents on the demos.
Globalise Resistance is organising some coaches for London which will be travelling overnight on Wednesday 12 & returning Friday night. Contact them to book up (price being negotiated).
Get your union branch to pay for a delegation now and start collecting names & money to go.
Sign up sheet & a model resolution on the GR website (www.resist.org.uk)
Uno
e-mail:
uno@union.org.za
Comments
Hide the following 35 comments
Don't scare the extremists
15.10.2001 16:55
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
well
15.10.2001 17:00
wonko the sane
Dear Uno
15.10.2001 17:16
You don't agree with what the SWP are saying that's fine- to label us facists isn't.One of the main reasons that i'm an anti-facist is that i've got a Grandfather who assisted with liberating the concentration camps.
For the record the SWP line is not to condone those who carried out the attacks of September and Bin Laden but to oppose the capitalism system that resulted in people feeling the need to carry out such actions.
Also all the anti-war demos and meetings that i've been to have been a broad coalition in which the SWP have acknowledged others differing viewpoints.
Here's to the revolution!
Claire the Librarian
Claire the LIbrarian
e-mail: clairenatashya@hotmail.com
Uno it makes sense
15.10.2001 17:56
The SWP has always been absolutely open about what we are trying to do - we want the biggest possible anti-war movement and (shock) the strongest socialist voice within it. Which is why, whether you admit it or not, we worked tirelessly to build the demo in the weeks in the run-up. We have every right to claim that we played a crucial role in building it. (Just for the record, what did you do?)
You also seem to have a rather one-dimensional reading of Party Notes. I could have sworn it says at the top:
1. Build the 18 November StW demo in London
2. Build local, workplace & college StW groups
3. Go for local actions – picket ministers’ surgeries, hold street meetings etc
Obviously you wan't be supporting any of this because it's just a cynical attempt to sell papers.
Just off to an anti-war coalition meeting in Hackney where of course I shall harangue CND and the Greens for their lack of involvement in Saturday and drown out everyone else's voice in our mad quest for world domination.
redman
Better Read
15.10.2001 17:56
1) class war (only available from Atlantic road book shop now expired) 2) private eye, 3) Green anarchist 4) South London Press ........ 383) Home and Garden weekly 384) SWP paper ... it was always terrible read.
anyone remember the "I'm Back in Brixton" campaign ??
old scrotal
comment
15.10.2001 18:53
The SWP are capitalist bastards.
And you tell me THAT isn't ironic.
How many copies did you sell again?
a london protester
My dog has no nose...
15.10.2001 19:14
My grandfather died in a concentration camp... he fell out his watch tower!
Boom! Boom!
And for my next joke:
SWP aren't a bunch of egotisitcial, gobshite, authoritarian inverted snobs only interested in making themselves look bigger than they ever will be!
Take my wife! No take her!!
etc etc etc
Mustermann
The leadership is wrong
15.10.2001 20:45
Why is the leadership fascist? No, they aren't racist, but it is unaccountable, dictatorial and gives a shit about ordinary members. We aren't even allowed to discuss the internal party structure. I have and have been shouted down. Claire - could you tell me the last time the SWP membership were allowed to choose the ruling executive? Could you also tell us all who is in the executive and how they were appointed?
As regards the Stop the War Coalition, why is it that some non-SWPers are being put off involvement whenever the SWP crams meetings with their own supporters, basically to hijack it? Don't tell me this isn't a tactic, because this is precisely what my local branch has ordered us to do.
As for attacking people 'in tabloid terms', well, the Socialist Worker would know about that. We've seen the way it has tried vilified many groups within the anti-capitalist movement.
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
Cheers Uno
15.10.2001 22:34
Interesting to read that:
"*At every anti-war meeting or protest there should be a recruitment team."
Really? I thought it was all about stopping the bombings...
"They need from day one to be part of a weekly SW sale outside a workplace & on a street sale. "
So, what if they don't want to sell papers? What if they disagree with the analysis this week? What if, god forbid, they'd rather do some direct action?
"Every comrade should be asked to donate 2 days wages"
Like many other people, this 'comrade' (for fucks sake...) has sunk some of his own money into stuff, but because I wanted to, not because I was told to. Plus this has been stuff I have some personal input in.
I know we'll get the inevitable cries of sectarianism, and to be honest I mainly ignore the SWP, but for fucks sake, these people are _not_ on my side. If they ever seized power I'd be as against them as I am the current system. Come to think of it, if they seized power I'd be fucked. Thank god their 'vote labour' strategy doesn't seem to be working. Plus the whole Globalise Resistance thing really is asking for it.
Rupert Marsh
Who are you Kidding
15.10.2001 23:21
The SWP has always been absolutely open about what we are trying to do - we want the biggest possible anti-war movement and (shock) the strongest socialist voice within it. Which is why, whether you admit it or not, we worked tirelessly to build the demo in the weeks in the run-up. We have every right to claim that we played a crucial role in building it.
We've seen the last two weeks party notes. Your interested in building the SWP not building biggest possible anti-war movement. (Their is a difference be honest)
Your tirelessly work could and should be done with the rest of us, but your so use to just pushing through what the dove from above says in party notes that you exclude large numbers from getting involved.
But that doesn't matter as long as you have made some short term gains. Sell your papers, recruite and piss the rest of us off.
Jim
SWP discuss organising SWP in memo - SHOCK
16.10.2001 09:16
You say you base you opinions on the last two weeks issues of Party Notes. But they are only "Extracts". In fact they miss out the bits that talk about building in colleges, or the Oldham festival etc.
Obviously "Uno" only wants people to see the internal discussion bit. It's more juicy for the people who would rather talk about the SWP then talk to real people about politics.
Of course SWP Party Notes talk about how the SWP should be organising, and operating. That's because they are party notes for the party.
You can get the more wider political discussion in the paper. That's because it's a newspaper intended for everyone else.
www.socialistworker.co.uk if you don't want to pay 50p.
Just thought that pointing out some of the more obvious things would help.
Martin E
Martin Empson
Homepage: www.socialistworker.co.uk
Why the notes are edited
16.10.2001 10:16
1. A SWP internal document can show everyone what the motives of the SWP are, and so it is vital for the anti-capitalist movement as a whole to know what the party leadership is up to. Many people have written to me thanking me for the information. Hopefully, it will shift the SWP into a less dogmatic and domineering stance in its engagement in other campaigns, thereby increasing unity among those resisting capitalism. At least I appear to have rattled some of those in the (unelected) party leadership.
2. You assert that I am editing the party notes just to make the party look bad. I was asked by the SWP to edit out some of the information in the party notes so as to exclude the names of party members and protect them from potential attacks by Nazis and the state. I agreed to this. So why chastise me now?
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
This is getting juicey!
16.10.2001 10:44
1) WHO IS ON THE EXECUTIVE OF THE SWP AND HOW AND BY WHOM ARE THEY SELECTED>
2) CAN ORDINARY MEMBERS RAISE RESOLUTIONS AND VOTE ON SWP POLICY?
I doubt i'll get an answer on this.
As a member of the socialist alliance i truly hope that the SWP will not try to impose it's will on what could be a great new force in left politics in this country. As i said in a previous debate, if it does this and tries to impose it's bullshit 'democratic centralist' leadership then the SA will fail.
Griersoncat
Homepage: www.socialistalliance.net
SWP members - rise up against your leaders!
16.10.2001 10:58
And everyone who isn't in the SWP - what the fuck are we doing? Let's get our shit together so there isn't just one dominant voice monopolising resistance.
Ramona
The SWP do always appear to be Middle Class
16.10.2001 11:03
Why are the SWP obssesed with student politics when so many students are from the bourgeosie including many sswp members.
Are any of the SWP actually working class
Do you pay your organisers the minimum wage or is the rumour true that you top up their dole.
Please send replies on a sae including 3 days wages as a donation to the fighting fund.
Griersoncat
Homepage: www.socialistalliance.net
Why I'm leaking SWP memos
16.10.2001 11:58
What I found was something quite different: a bullying, unelected hierarchy which demanded more and more money and time from its members, but resisted any form of criticism or internal debate. Instead of encouraging debate and giving something to the broad anti-capitalist movement, the leadership operates a politics of conquest - dominating and taking over any campaign that might allow it to 'Recruit! Sell!'.
You might say that I should leave if I don't like it, but I don't want to give up right now. It is essential to the broader movement to influence and change SWP tactics and internal organisation, which is the party's main problem - and indeed a problem for those campaigns the leadership tries to exploit. That doesn't mean changing the Marxist philosophy of the party, which I adhere to although I don't share the leadership's antipathy towards anarchists.
I still think the SWP has a role to play, if it gets its act together. The best way I can contribute to this is through the leaking of SWP memos, which expose the party's internal workings to open scrutiny. Perhaps if the party leadership took note of how people react to its own words and manoeuvers, it might budge a bit and embrace a more non-hierarchical and democratic form of organisation.
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
some answers
16.10.2001 12:01
Doesn't selling papers make us capitalists? Well, ideally we'd love to give the paper away free. But we print and distribute thousands of copies every week, and that costs; and we have no rich corporate backers. Hence 50p a copy.
Do we ignore the contributions of other groups to the anti-war movement? No; if you read SW you'll find every report on anti-war activity emphasises diversity. 'Party Notes' focuses on the SWP because it's an internal bulletin; that's what it's for!
Do we 'cram' anti-war meetings? Well, we encourage our members to attend them; is that wrong?
Do we try to recruit people to the SWP? Yes, of course we do. And to be honest, most people seem able to say yea or nay without feeling they've been grievously oppressed.
Do we have a say in policy and elect the Central Committee? Yes; all SWP policy is made and the CC elected at our national conference, at which all branches are represented and any member can put in a motion.
Are any of us working class? Well, I work for the local council and I'm a union steward; but I used to be a student. Perhaps you can enlighten me whether I'm a true prole or a middle-class enemy.
Finally, are we fascists? Read Claire's posting. Then read Mustermann's breathtakingly callous and offensive reply. Then try to work out why this particular bit of name-calling winds us up so much. 'Fascist', like 'scab', is not a word to throw around lightly.
Ben Drake
e-mail: ben.drake@york.gov.uk
Homepage: http://www.swp.org.uk
Why I haven't left
16.10.2001 12:03
What I found was something quite different: a bullying, unelected hierarchy which demanded more and more money and time from its members, but resisted any form of criticism or internal debate. Instead of encouraging debate and giving something to the broad anti-capitalist movement, the leadership operates a politics of conquest - dominating and taking over any campaign that might allow it to 'Recruit! Sell!'.
You might say that I should leave if I don't like it, but I don't want to give up right now. It is essential to the broader movement to influence and change SWP tactics and internal organisation, which is the party's main problem - and indeed a problem for those campaigns the leadership tries to exploit. That doesn't mean changing the Marxist philosophy of the party, which I adhere to although I don't share the leadership's antipathy towards anarchists.
I still think the SWP has a role to play, if it gets its act together. The best way I can contribute to this is through the leaking of SWP memos, which expose the party's internal workings to open scrutiny. Perhaps if the party leadership took note of how people react to its own words and manoeuvers, it might budge a bit and embrace a more non-hierarchical and democratic form of organisation.
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
irony
16.10.2001 12:32
Yes my joke was sick; but the sickness was to illustrate the stupidity and sickness of the original post.
My point was to lampoon the poster and not to make light of the victims of oppression.
See my point now?
Oh well, I guess I have to spell it out:
I would see SWP as as big a threat as the NSDAP if I ever though they could rally enough halfwits to their cause.
If you want to change the minds of people like myself, then I suggest you ditch your egotistical "PR savvy", in other words stop trying to hijack public events and hog the limelight.
Then people *may* feel kinf enough to overlook your other childish attributes.
:-)
Mustermann
opportunists
16.10.2001 12:45
It's certain humans nature, and probably the biggest problem facing the anti global movement. How do we restrain these power seeking egoists ? and stop them from taking over and selling us all down the river. Not that I care too much about the SWP, but before we shoot them to bits it would be a good idea to remember 'Divide and Rule brittania' .
'Unite and fight', would be a better strategy .
LB
Luther Blissett
Diatribe against the SWP No 5010
16.10.2001 12:45
Fred
e-mail: Fred@fred.com
Eh?
16.10.2001 12:47
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
Critique of SWP's anti-war tactics
16.10.2001 13:12
Mr Ben
Homepage: http://www.workersliberty.org/publications/readings/2001/swp-afg.html
Here we go again
16.10.2001 13:23
1) "As for attacking people 'in tabloid terms', well, the Socialist Worker would know about that. We've seen the way it has tried vilified many groups within the anti-capitalist movement."
Could anyone give a single example where Socialist Worker has done this? Or a single thread started here by SWP members attacking anyone else?
2) "The SWP are capitalist bastards... How many copies did you sell again?"
Not very successful capitalist bastards since as anyone who has ever produced such a paper knows you lose money on it. Is the problem that we sell anything at all, or that we sell too many? I could have sworn that I saw anarchist publications on sale on Saturday - is that only permissible if nobody buys them?
3) "They want power for themselves"
Obviously the easiest and quickest way to get power is to be in a small revolutionary organisation rather than, say, the Labour party.
4) "So, what if they don't want to sell papers? What if they disagree with the analysis this week? What if, god forbid, they'd rather do some direct action? ... Like many other people, this 'comrade' (for fucks sake...) has sunk some of his own money into stuff, but because I wanted to, not because I was told to."
Believe it or not, most of us in the SWP actually want to pay money to it. We want to sell papers because we want people to read socialist arguments. Nobody can force us to and nobody does.
There are political differences - some of which as far as some correspondents on here are concerned mean that the SWP is as much the enemy as capitalism is. We don't hold a reciprocal view of them. Would it not be more productive to actually work out what we agree on and try to establish frameworks for cooperation?
redman
damn trot twats!
16.10.2001 13:55
bleedin trot twats!
Monopolise Resistance
16.10.2001 14:14
I don't agree that arguments between groups is necessarily a 'diversion' from 'the real struggle' - it can be, but when the SWP very quickly try to lead everything and restrict stuff to what they find acceptable, it's difficult to achieve anything without challenging their politics first. They do actively fuck things up for a lot of local groups, by promoting their party at the expense of involving people in real united action (people just stop being involved), and I'm not sure a lot of SWP people understand how damaging that is.
#
Homepage: http://www.schnews.org.uk/mr.htm
SWP-the debate continues
16.10.2001 15:03
Griersoncat
Homepage: www.socialistalliance.net
problems with the discussion
16.10.2001 16:10
bizarre version of 'socialism from below' as genuine because they are almost unopposed by any genuine libertarian organisation. There are fragments of such organisations all over the UK, some good, some bad and some indifferent but there is no national co-ordination between them which could
offer an alternative to those (foolishly) impressed by the size of the SWP.
And now a couple of responses to Ben Drake
Ben - "Why don't we 'denounce' Islam, at least in its fundamentalist varieties? Because that plays into the anti-Muslim agenda being promoted in the mainstream media, and obscures the far more urgent anti-war message."
This stupidity that confuses the religion of Islam
with those who belive it to a greater or lesser
extent is all over the left internationally. Islam is a reactionary religion, lots of people from a muslim background argue this and so should the left. BUT we should defend muslims, religious or not from state and right wing repression. Tony Blair seems to have managed to confuse the left into beliving 'defence of muslims' requires 'defence of islam', it does not.
Of course Ben avoids the more fundamental question which is that the SWP stupidly see fundamentalism as anti-imperialist in a progressive sense. The Bolsheviks under Lenin stated off this particular craziness which has led the left in the middle east into suicidal 'critical support' for those who intend to put them up against the wall as soon as they get into power.
Ben" Doesn't selling papers make us capitalists? Well, ideally we'd love to give the paper away free. But we print and distribute thousands of copies every week, and that costs; and we have no rich corporate backers. Hence 50p a copy."
This is a fair point!
Ben "Do we 'cram' anti-war meetings? Well, we encourage our members to attend them; is that wrong?"
Yes when your members are under the obligation to vote
for the party line whether or not they belive it to be correct. And the party line is handed downby your national leadership which is essentially unaccountable, This means a small gang in London are determining the outcome of local meetings all over the country. It is a top down way of organising
Ben "Do we try to recruit people to the SWP? Yes, of course we do. And to be honest, most people seem able to say yea or nay without feeling they've been grievously oppressed."
Well there is nothing wrong with 'recruitment' except that new SWP members are expected to leave their capability for critical thought at the door and 'obey the party leadership'. That's the real problem with these party notes.
BEN "Do we have a say in policy and elect the Central Committee? Yes; all SWP policy is made and the CC elected at our national conference, at which all branches are represented and any member can put in a motion."
BUT you can't actually seek the support of other members for a motion until 6 weeks before the conference. As anyone with the experience of a national organisation will know this makes it almost impossiblel for anyone to pass anything if the leadership oppose it. If trade unions were run in this manner we'd go nuts about the lack of democracy.
Likewise the election of the CC is rigged through the use of a slate system which means the unknown person not only has only 6 weeks to promote themselves for election but has to find a load of other people and the whole lot of them have to run as a slate against the current leadership. Again anyway with any organisational experience will be aware this make a joke out of an election. In any case the CC does not make the key decisions the Political committee does that
Makhno
Paranoia?
16.10.2001 16:29
Um, I wasn't referring to you dood!
:-)
Mustermann
Please Just Leave Uno!
16.10.2001 17:41
Aren't you tired of sitting in meetings you don't agree with just so that you can get hold of Party Notes?
A party is made up of people who broadly agree about what needs to be done politically. You're under no obligation to agree with everything and meetings include disscusion (which you pressumably left before, after collecting your copy of P.N.) but it doesn't seem like you agree with the SWP at all.
Party Notes is a brief (hence NOTES) bulletin of what people around the country find has worked best for them -to get people involved in the Anti War movement and other political activities. It is for people who are active socialists who believe in building a socialist party (hence PARTY)If you are not an active socialist who belives in building a socialist party then you should not be in the SWP.
I sincerely doub't that you think you're doing the party a favour, but if you do think that I can assure you you're mistaken. Do you honestly think that the rest of us are so stupid that we're cowed into following instructions that we don't agree with? Everyone else who has disagrements joins in the discussion or leaves.
If you honestly think you're some kind of brave whistle-blower why don't you post your name and the branch that you're in so that we can all thank you.
You? No.
Not paranoid - but they're on to me!
17.10.2001 17:10
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
UNO ARE YOU A COP ?
18.10.2001 10:12
PEACE , SOLIDARITY (INCLUDING THE TROTS) AND REVOLUTION
GRIERSONCAT
Griersoncat
Homepage: www.socialistalliance.net
SWP authoritarianism
18.10.2001 16:38
Anyway, comrade, you don't know me and I don't know you. Don't judge my commitment to revolutionary politics, just answer the points I pose. You don't have to do it in this forum - you've got the opportunity to write to me at my e-mail address - uno@union.org.za
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
No, I'm not a cop
18.10.2001 16:57
I'm not the only one to feel this way. And I've received e-mails from both members and people from outside the party thanking me.
Uno
e-mail: uno@union.org.za
What the hell is the matter with Uno?
03.05.2004 21:20
1. If you think we are fascists, then why are you a member.
2. To call us fascists is beyond stupidity. I am not only a member of the SWP, but a member of Unite Against Fascism and the Anti-Nazi League. The SWP is a Marxist organisation, and the first to be sent to concentration camps in Nazi Germany were Marxists. To call everyone you dislike a fascist is imature and typical of people who cannot produce an intelligent, cohesive argument.
3. You cherry-pick parts of the memos to comment on. It is true, the SWP were not the sole organisers of the London march, but they were intergral.
4. The SWP is democratic. All policies and national officials are voted on at the national conference.
5. Your a twat.
Nelson