The Socialist Convention

The Socialist Convention Comes To Town

Given the fact that I write in So Cal, I have to wonder if there's any good reason why I shouldn't go to the Socialist Convention happening this weekend in L.A. I know what you're thinking, organizing with other Marxist? How stupid can you be.

I once talked to someone from ISO and they were talking about how the soviet union was bad and criminal and you know what, I stopped them right there and did not buy his pamphlet or signed up to his mailing list. No sir, not for this socialist!

It's probably the least I could do to help push the cause for the evil socialism. Especially since this convention is put together by the PSL, a fairly decent socialist group with good ideas but is entirely ineffective at just about everything. It's what you come to expect from a socialist organization in today's America.

Now, here's the real kicker. It's typically $80 to get in, but you can pay $40 if you say you're destitute and they won't check. But it seems like you won't get turned away for lack of funds so your cheap capitalist pansies can pay. So when I say you wont be turned away for lack of funds I'm saying you can go in for free because of the level of your poorness. Because I know you're a broke ass mother fucker.

I guess it just comes down to the ability of getting a press pass cause I'm with you on that one. $80 dollars, what the fuck?! There's not even going to be any cool panels or a masquerad. I'm thinking of cosplaying as a zombie Trotsky, but I'm sure that costume is being done to death.
Maybe I should play to my strength and go as Che Guevara. Given the whole idea that I rarely bath, groom myself or even have any capitalistic form of money. Will they at least have booth babes? You know, who seize the means of their reproduction!

The real question is, is it worth even an accepted donation of nothing? For that we have to look to see if anyone speaking in this gathering is even worth listening to. Check out the schedule here:

Building a new workers' movement
Organized labor and the challenges ahead
Organized labor is under attack by Wall Street, corporate giants and capitalist politicians. This panel will feature labor leaders and workers who resist and organize to stop these anti-worker policies. Topics include the dynamics of the labor movement today, organizing the unorganized and the prospects for a class-wide fight back.

Fighting racism and the expanding police state
What role do the police play in society? Why do they target and kill Black and Latino people more than anyone else? This panel includes lawyers and activists from across the country involved in the movement against racist police violence, terror and repression. Strategies will be discussed and victories will be shared, with the goal of building a more effective struggle against the expanding police state.

Revolutionary writers’ clinic
Hone your skills as a revolutionary writer and learn new ones in the Revolutionary writers’ clinic. One of the PSL’s top editors will lead this session about how to write articles, frame slogans and draft flyers to forward the class struggle.

So to answer your question. No. No one of interest is saying anything remotely interesting there.There's not even a propaganda class so that you can improve your on-message-per-word ratio on your internet postings.

It boils down to it looking fairly bad. There's a lot better and more productive ways to get involved with organizing than spending a lot of cash on some weak ass gathering held by the PSL and all you'll get from going is hearing them talk about Venezuela and running protest candidates in elections for hours.

You could, in theory, sit at home and clip your toenails all weekend and make a greater impact and accomplishment for the world than you would by going to a socialist convention in the U.S. today.

Then there's always the problem that you're more than likely going to get blacklisted for taking part in such an enemy of the state organized gathering. This is not worth the risk in the event that Arabs stop being a good boogeyman for white America and socialist regain that lovely mantle.

It wasn't even 50 years ago that people would be rounded up for being affiliated and even slightly associated with socialist organizations. Many claim they should have never stopped. Hell, it may have not even been that long since the last time someone's been black listed.

There you go, reason enough not to go to a socialist convention. But keep wearing your official 2010 PSL Socialist Con official Che shirt.