I think it’s a good statement, short and to the point. The replies are absolute poison though, hasbara bots really honing in on them. Feds will try and make something stick but it doesn’t sound like he was even a member.
I have no criticism of this statement. This is a tactical statement and needs to be understood as such. However, i hope that the PSL leadership understands that they can only delay the inevitable. Gaining more time to prepare is valuable, of course, but sooner or later, any serious communist organization will be criminalized and forced underground as the country’s conditions approach a revolutionary situation. They will not be able to employ their current strategy forever. They should be prepared for that eventuality both mentally and organizationally. Every communist should. Especially since we cannot predict when and how fast the situation will accelerate.
This kind of thing is why we don’t do adventurism. The shooter decided, without talking to anyone, that it was time to start shooting. Now PSL has an unexpected PR battle, and possible investigation, dropped on them without warning. Where is the strategy in that? How does this help PSL or the rest of us win the class war?
It’s not even really about being on our best behavior or good PR, it’s about practicality. Feds will come for the orgs eventually. But this kind of shit does not combat it in any way.
This would make more sense if he was even a member of PSL; he is not. He, like many of us, attended a PSL march a few years ago and was photographed doing so.
Yes, but the problem is that the US state is not looking for fairness. They will use any possible excuse or precedent to persecute orgs that act against the state’s interests.
That said, any org that fights state interests, needs to be ready to respond whenever those excuses and precedents are brought up. It’s part of the game.
That’s a fair point. It very well could be our Reichstag moment. Time will tell.
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I’m not arguing for this specific act, but there’s always going to be some point where PSL becomes explicitly illegal and has to operate as an underground organization, right?
That time doesn’t feel very far away to me, given the current milieu. Sure this act might speed things up, but the car was headed over the cliff regardless.
*edit: agreed that it’s probably better for PSL to manage that transition on their own terms
Feds, trying to build a Rodriguez connection, has mainstream 'murikkka searching “what is the PSL.”
Good statement and whilst I condone the actions of Rodriguez, claims linking his actions to anyone but himself are spurious and dangerous to pursue, even if we know that the state will pursue them anyway.
Makes sense, PSL shouldnt risk their org over a based act of adventurism, especially since they dont really have the support and infraestructure to go underground
He had a brief association with one branch of the PSL that ended in 2017.
Not surprised. The sort of person who would do this kind of individualist adventurism doesn’t last long in the PSL.
I’m already written too much in this thread, but I just made the mistake of reading CPUSA’s statement and it (as usual) makes PSL look like Ansar Allah by comparison. To hear CPUSA tell it, apartheid was apparently defeated in South Africa exclusively through legal nonviolent protest and violence has no place in the “fight” for Palestinian liberation. This probably is the best statement PSL could realistically make in this deeply evil settler colony.
Smart response since this isn’t a free speech issue but a state security issue that could create severe legal blowback for them
If anyone actually reads this and thinks “ah they should’ve praised the guy and said they supported him”, please don’t
I initially thought otherwise but, nah, you know what, I already disagree with myself. This was a fine statement and didn’t really veer into any Zionist apologia. They’re still going to be targeted though, probably unavoidable.
Anyway, I hope they make it but it won’t be because this statement saved them.
Hope comrades here in the PSL stay safe.
One of the DSA chapters I was in had some things going down before I joined. I didn’t know what it was but learned a bit through my time there. In short, they were infiltrated and some members got put on some list. And that’s just DSA, way before the more visible Palestine movement.
I know of some people during the occupy movement who had their calls tapped and put on list.
Orgs/people in them will be targeted and hit regardless no matter how tame, minor, powerful etc. I think covering your ass is fine, especially because this person wasn’t an active member and it’s just libel, but being so scared of feds that you end up burying your head in the sand is turbo lib shit. We all knew feds were a thing before organizing, we should have been had opsec and failsafe plans for things like this. If everytime someone on our side, even if not in an org, does something like this and gets condemned for being tired of waiting. Then what movement are we building? I vaguely remember Aaron Bushnell getting condemned for his choice in resistance.
I think this event will change things, I’ve seem mostly positive takes personally, and maybe organizing can change for the better to be at least more secure when[it’s not if because if we’re serious then they’re coming] the fed fight comes.
Like I said, it’s good they covered their ass and the statement is relatively tame but this is something we all should’ve been thinking about decades ago.
Yeah I don’t think there’s a reason for an aboveground political org to put a target on its back to explicitly support this guy but you’re 100% correct. Anecdotally I’ve also heard of infiltration, in both anarchist direct action groups and more tame socialist groups. And with DSA in particular I constantly see people behaving like wreckers, though it’s hard to distinguish kids getting into petty drama and taking it too far from fed wreckers sometimes.
Opsec concerns… it’s going to be hard. Every other door has a goddamn ring camera on it. Almost everyone carries a smartphone everywhere. Traffic lights all have cameras. And you can’t erase the past, if you’re already on a list from being related to DSA or food not bombs or doing local mutual aid, are you just inviting further scrutiny on your org by being involved? I guess the idea is to blend in. But it’s hard to not end up on the radar of local cops if you’re doing anything remotely cool, and already being on their radar seems like a mighty fine way to get popped when doing any more serious actions. We need mass mobilization I guess, it can’t just be the same old activists doing everything.
I will say though, it’s at a point where its probably more important to do something than to not get caught (though both is ofc the goal)
Opsec is very hard these days. But it’s harder for them to find bodies to infiltrate people than it is for them to just login to a website and pull any info they need. Going offline or even off of public social media is one of the easiest ways but this should be org discussions
yeah I just don’t see going offline as a total solution at all (I assume you don’t either)
I mean yes it’s a good thing to do but you still exist in the built environment with all the things I mentioned and more all surveilling you, and you don’t even get to reap the benefits of modern communications. I think you need community buy in on some level to deal with some of these. mass shaming and defacing of cameras would go a long way. We are at a point where not having a phone or taking even mild precautions makes people think you’re a drug dealer. That level of penetration of society means cops can just look for anyone they can’t track rather than find a needle in a haystack. or at least I fear we’re there.
I vaguely remember Aaron Bushnell getting condemned for his choice in resistance.
people thought it wouldn’t be effective.
Liz: don’t do it
Brace: but if you do…
Liz: we disavow
I get why this is their statement and I agree that it’s the best they can say in this situation, but I wish the Western left was big enough and militant enough that they could add one more sentence like “those zionists nevertheless deserved it” to the end of it.
Honestly with the responses I almost wonder if “He was not a member but we support his actions” would’ve been a better statement
Like, obviously I understand why they didn’t do that, but everyone’s acting like they did anyway, so why bother downplaying? At some point just say “Killing Zionists is good, end of sentence”
Edit: Sorry to be very clear I’m not saying they should have done this. This is just a comment about how even when they say the polite and proper thing people call them terrorists anyway
eh, no need to self-torch an org, especially over reply guys
They could have omitted the do not support part entirely from the statement
They didn’t say why they didn’t support it. If it was “we do not condemn ANY violence EVER” I’d agree with you. But the PSL does not support adventurism and they didn’t explicitly condemn it either.
PSL has nothing to gain by associating with this act, so why risk it at the moment?
Meh, whatever. For based akzione there is unity of fields (which was nearly shattered over minor actions), and americans are largely passive, so it’s not like even direct call to
from psl would increase anything material, they are not bla with infrastructure to do that sort of stuff (and bla was not that effective due to chosen methods being extremely obvious, but same is true here so besides the point)Is Bla Red Army Faction?
black liberation army , of assata shakur fame wiki link
Ehh, their lawyers probably said to put it in for good luck.
This is probably the right move. “Do not support” falls short of “condemn,” and now is absolutely not the time for them getting caught in the weeds explaining the nuances of how adventurism contradicts democratic centralism and posing hypotheticals like “this would be good if we decided to start doing assassinations in a committee.”
PSL leadership is probably afraid they’re going to be terminated the way Ferguson organizers were
Yeah like I said, I know why and I do think it’s the right decision but fuck seeing the responses makes me go “Why bother”
that would be a massive security liability, the state is already black bagging people just for op-eds.
And let’s be honest, with enough traction, they qill be branded a terrorist org by the us administration either way
Absolutely not. The risk of that outweighs the benefit.
the benefit.
Which, tbh, is none. Anyone saying they’d join this organization if they defended this guy or something is lying and if not is probably very immature anyways.
saying something like that would prevent many people from openly supporting the PSL out of fear of retribution, both from the past and in the future
“do not support it” can also be they just dont support adventurism, which is in line for them.
Ngl though I badly want someone to drop a “the chickens are coming home to roost”
I’m sure this is somewhat the sentiment of most PSL members and leadership. They aren’t mourning two random Zionists. But publicly they have to keep distance from it and obviously this type of adventurism is not in line with their tactics
