u/Reasonable-Lab-1146

“This respect for and centering of the lumpenproles is not unique to Maoism (a term first coined in 1951 by Benjamin I. Schwartz). Many of the anarchist and libertarian socialist persuasion center the lumpenproletariat in their analysis of class struggle. Theorists such as Peter Kropotkin emphasized the revolutionary value and importance of the lumpenproletariat. Mao and these other theorists point out–correctly–that to be a skilled laborer in a trade union lends one a position of privilege, and that to exclude the lumpenproletariat from class struggle is elitist, prejudiced, and counterproductive. With them and with Mao I agree wholeheartedly on this point.”

Hi, women of reddit! The dating world is an unforgiving one isn't it? Well, hopefully this will make one special person's time a little bit easier... I'm 33 and I live in Virginia. I've been told I'm kind, supportive, sweet, funny, quirky, and (endearingly) weird. I am generally able to see the best in people even if can't see it themselves. I'm a loyal friend and/or partner, and I make a conscious effort to not judge people in harsh or unfair ways (unless you're like a white supremacist or something, then I'm definitely judging you).

I wish it didn't matter to some women, but I'll be upfront and share that I'm autistic, and sometimes I can be a little hard to read or have a hard time reading people. As such, clear, honest communication is essential to me.

A little about me:

I'm a live-in care giver for my grandfather, who has alzheimers.

I am a socialist and am a politically active person, so please at least respect that it's important to me. Better yet, mention your favorite socialist tendency in the body of your message to get priority.

I was a comedian for about 4 years, stand-up and improv, so I am good in conversation and at keeping things moving when somebody needs to lighten the mood. You won't have to carry all the conversations, and that's a promise.

I'm a pretty good cook, and can make pretty much whatever as long as I have the recipe on-hand

What I'm looking for:

I want a reason to stop looking, somebody who accepts me for who I am, because I don't know how to be anything else. Hoping we can find out together if that's you <3

Another Substacker and I put this together after he posted a lengthy response on a recent article of mine, Demystifying Trotskyism. I push back effectively against many of the claims here, but acknowledge the effect that internal disarray and destruction combined with external pressures can feed into the worst impulses of an already stratified system.

The larger picture the reader gets, however is a rare one in leftist circles. Two people of different tendencies, one a Marxist and the other an Anarchist, having a civil disagreement and finding areas where we can cede the others points when valid. This is the real value of the exchange, and why I wanted to publish it-and why I think it could be instructive for folks here.

Is there literally ANY validity to the claim that refering to stalinists and authoritarian communists as tankies is "anti-socialist?"

This was their explanation, and it seems to be a thing that these bootlickers get really worked up about. Admittedly I'm familiar with the term because of it's use by democratic socialists and anarchists and other non-autocratic socialists, but I am unsure of the origins of the word and the baggage it may have. My gut tells me that if you're not offended by autocracy, but a playfully denigrating term for a specific subset of communism is not antisocialist and they're fragile, baby-brained children, but I'm open to being wrong.

tl;dr - the true working class is multiracial and the left needs to make a consistent, sincere effort to earn the trust of the black community and other marginalized people by putting our money and bodies where our mouths are. Cross-racial solidarity is the only way, and it has to become a priority in the discourse like universal healthcare or wealth redistribution (which, by the way, MUST include reparations). Once that trust is earned, good faith conversations will be much easier and we might actually win the day, topple capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy, and have a world we can be proud of.

If you genuinely are pro-worker you'll advocate for the rights of people of color as well as white people, and emphasize the systemic injustices that create more oppressive pressures onto marginalized groups. Since anything else isn't truly "pro-worker," yes cross-racial solidarity IS a prerequisite for genuine support for the multiracial working class.

Any westerner raised in a white supremacist society is going to be conditioned into some of those traits and beliefs, and it takes consistent concerted effort to reject and remove those parts from who you are and how you move through the world.

I can only speak directly for myself, and I will admit I don't get everything right 100% of the time, but I do try, daily, to identify and reframe conditioned thoughts, behaviors, assumptions, or even things that I used to overlook or pay no mind to. I know others are putting in the work too.