En Passant

It says much about the state of Australian society today that we have a great footballer very possibly being hounded out of his job because he is black while a sleazy untrustworthy and biased politician who has allegedly abused entitlements for decades will in all probability keep her job of throwing Labor politicians out of Parliament.

“There seems to be a pattern of cover-up and perverting the course of justice on Manus Island. It is not only the alleged attackers in the recent incident who should be brought back to Manus Island,” said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition. “We want the ex-pats identified at the time as being involved in the killing of Reza Barati to also be brought back to Manus Island so his murder can be properly investigated. For too long the Immigration department and detention centre managements have acted with impunity regarding the abuses and violence associated with the detention regime.”

Queer socialist activist, writer, and soon to be public school teacher in Boston, MA, Keegan O’Brien, responds in Jacobin to those on the left who dismiss the US Supreme Court’s historic ruling on June 26 making gay marriage the law of the land in all fifty states as at best insignificant, and at worst a step backwards. In explaining why they’re wrong he says in part:

‘When calls for radical change take the place of figuring out how to dynamically relate to people other than committed leftists, activists have created an echo chamber that only inhibits movement building. Demands to abolish marriage or smash the state may generate support from other radicals, but they remain empty slogans without the popular forces required to bring about social transformation…

‘Long-term, patient organizing may not be the revolution. But it’s the only way to get us there.’