by Klyde Breitton
Contrary to pessimistic leftist thought that resistance would die down immediately following Trump’s election, people are still turning out for activist causes in droves. Following on the heels of the massive turnouts of women’s marches and deportation protests, in February Philly Socialists held a citywide general meeting to address the fundamental question for the left at this moment: how to move from protest to resistance? Speaking to over a hundred attendees, members of Philly Socialists emphasized the importance of organizing — of going beyond individually showing up at protests and getting engaged in an organization that can cohere mass action a unified political vision. Presentations were given on the need to break from the Democratic Party, a party fundamentally tied to the interests of the 1%, and instead work to build power on our own terms for the working class, women, people of color, and all the marginalized. From ESL classes to a community garden to fighting gentrification, attendees engaged with project breakout groups according to their own interests and showed them at that very meeting how to get involved. Philly Socialists, at this desperate time when leftist groups across the board still suffer from a paucity of organizing tactics, are organizing.
A very influential historical figure named Lenin (perhaps you may have heard of him) once said, “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.” On one end, there’s the black hole of barbarism, an accelerated zone where time and light disappear amongst mass ecological destruction, poverty, and genocide. On the other, there’s just us. We the people. We who light the torch and take it upon ourselves to craft time and history itself. As we speed ahead in this era of uncertainty, we hope you’ll join us.
The Philadelphia Partisan 