Returning Libertarianism to its Proper Place
The Current Fight for Socialism within the U.S. Libertarian Party
Colin Jenkins
Income inequality has long been a problem throughout American history,
even prior to our declaration of national sovereignty at the end of the
Revolutionary War in 1783. It should not be ignored that this nation was
built on the backs of slaves and other involuntary laborers such as
indentured servants, who had no real choice but to labor for so-called
"lords of the land" for the "opportunity" to survive in colonial America.
But by what right does man claim dominion over another, either through
direct coercion or deprivation of vital resources? Private property rights in America were claimed through the initiation of
force in the form of genocide against the mostly peaceful indigenous
peoples of this land. This harsh reality cannot be ignored, regardless of
the fact that it is was the past. The enslavement and forced assimilation
of indigenous peoples, both in the Americas and Africa, built this country
from the ground up. Private property rights were claimed through systemic
violence, and passed down from generation to generation. That is
how we got to where we are today. The so-called "Founders" of this country,
according to our history textbooks, were a union of wealthy, white male
landowners, who for the most part inherited their own wealth from
generations past. At the founding of our country, many fortunes were made
through the systemic exploitation of involuntary labor, maintained through
the use of force and the threat of death.
Teaching and Resistance in Los Angeles
An Interview
Devon Bowers
I mentioned that when I started going to meetings in LA in summer 2013, one
of the grassroots organizations whose meetings I frequented was Schools LA
Students Deserve. We called them SLASD then. They were high school
students, parents, teachers, staff, and a community of dedicated,
unyielding, persistent public education advocates. We met at and near
Dorsey and Robert. F Kennedy, in classrooms, auditoriums, cafeterias, and
community spaces. I met one of Dorsey's English teachers because she hosted
a series of free public classes about how capitalism, industry, and global
warming had historically affected and was currently affecting people and
their neighborhoods in and around, of and in fact, Los Angeles. She hosted
an interesting group of us students, workers, student-workers, teachers,
people, at her house off the Expo line in Inglewood. I thought, this is
what I want. I want to live in this place that feels like the word
neighborhood and brings it new meaning. For five years I've worked towards that goal. Now it is the end of January
and the beginning of 2019. I'll get lost in too many words if I give
historical background beyond my personal experience of it, but I can
recommend Bill Ring's "Guerilla Guide to LAUSD" for that history. I felt inspiration, happiness, and hope from Students Deserve's role in the
strike. They work to bring a vast, diverse, segregated, and by all means
intentionally divided district together..
Boricuas Seek Support for Protecting Indigenous Sites
Threats to Bateyes in Jayuya highlight need for community vigilance
Liliana Taboas Cruz
On the morning of Friday 18th of January 2019, a call on social media was
made by visiting Boricua archaeologist Dr. Isabel Rivera-Collazo asking for
urgent help in protecting an archaeological site in Jayuya. The site, known
as Bateyes Sonadero and Muntaner, is located in the Barrio Jauca in Jayuya.
According to records at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP), is
known to contain a batey (Caribbean ceremonial plaza and ball court,
outlined with stones which include monoliths), remnants of a village,
ceramics, and lithic material. Archeologist who reported the land movements
on site, Adalberto Alvarado, told local press "Ese yacimiento era de uno de
los yacimientos que tenia menos impacto en el pueblo" (This archaeological
site was one of the less impacted sites in the area.). Alvarado had been
inspecting the known batey sites following hurricane Maria. The owner of
the property used heavy machinery to clear land for agricultural purposes.
In Puerto Rico, land removal requires permits to protect archaeological
sites. The owner did not have proper permits to comply with the 112 law.
Though the ongoing threat had been reported earlier in the week through
formal channels, it wasn't until that Friday morning that the owner forced
the archaeologists off the property and started the land removal despite
warnings of the illegality of his actions. It was at this point that the
social media call was made by Dr. Isabel Rivera-Collazo, who pleaded with
the Institute of Culture and the general public to intercede. The call was answered by many native Puerto Rican and indigenous activists.
Personal visits were made by a local Boricua archaeology students to the
ICP office in Old San Juan, who informed that archaeologist Dr. Carlos
Perez, head of the archaeology office at the ICP, would visit the Jayuya
site..
"A Free Palestine from the River to the Sea"
The Nine Dirty Words You Can't Say (on TV or Anywhere Else)
Bryant William Sculos
A rigorous and righteous critique of Zionism is not identical to a hatred
or even criticism of Jews or Jewishness. There is plenty of evidence and
argumentation from Jews themselves that unquestioning support for Israel
itself does a disservice to the Jewish tradition and Jews worldwide, as
well as those in Israel. This argument was made most recently by Cornel
West in his defense of Marc Lamont Hill. The words in question are "a free Palestine from the river to the sea" - the
latter four ostensibly being the genocidal dog whistle, a phrasing used by
the Palestine Liberation Organization and Hamas (both organizations have
been previously criticized by Hill for their use of violence in various
contexts). If Hill's detractors had displayed any knowledge of anything
about his politics, activism, or even the previous 99.9% of the U.N.
speech, their outrage would be less disingenuous. If his detractors could
show why his final statement, interpreted as a call for mass violence, was
in any way consistent with any part of the rest of the speech or Hill's
political or intellectual perspectives, they could be taken seriously, at
least on a superficial level. This simply is not the case. Furthermore, I contend, it was not the last four words that people had a
problem with; it was the first three: a free Palestine. A free Palestine
for a free Palestinian people. Free and equal Palestinian people. This is
the true source of the grievances, which led to Hill being fired from
CNN - and since, Hill has been targeted by Temple University for possible censure and/or firing, despite the fact that Hill has an
endowed chair and the ostensible protection of tenure (to say nothing for
comprehensive free speech rights, which since Temple is a public
university, are fully guaranteed by the oft-referenced and little-read U.S.
Constitution).
