July 28, 2010

Weather Underground:

They suggested to kill capitalist system and install world socialism

First words were “dictatorship of a new democracy.” It was a compromise between the poor and the working class and out of the new democracy would create socialism.

The steps:

1. A United front against imperialism and for a new democracy, and
2. Developing out of the new democratic stage, socialism.

The Weather Underground was hoping for a simple one step move to revolution but it was too radical for it to be successful. They figured it would be better to move slower and softer into revolution.

Imperialism and oppression is what the Weather Underground call capitalism.

“When imperialism is defeated in the U.S., it will be replaced by socialism - nothing else.”

- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Weather Underground knew that socialism would be a hard idea to sell to the American people. Why would you want to change America? It’s the most prosperous place in the world. Well, the Weather Underground came up with a solution to convincing Americans of socialism.

“First by creating a pervasive politicization, and second by relating everything to the most militant and advanced struggles going on so that they influence and set the pace for a lot more people.”

- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

What does this mean?

1. Make everything political. Everything! All has to go through a central government.
2. Create or relate to a crisis

Radicals of the Weather Underground felt that they were smarter and understood things better than the masses because they felt the masses were stupid and petty.

“Much of this category gets some relative privileges (I.E. benefits) from imperialism, which constitute some material basis for being racist or pro-imperialist…”
- Weather Underground, June 18, 1996

The quote means people are stupid or they’re bigots. They are talking about us. They don’t think we are enlightened and can see the correct path. So, they avoid us because we are “ignorant.”

Wealth:

Our wealth really isn’t our wealth. Weather Underground believed wealth belonged to the world.

“The Relative affluence existing in the United States is directly dependent upon labor and natural resources of the Vietnamese, the Angolans, the Bolivians and the rest of the peoples of the third world. All of the United Airlines astrojets, all of the holiday inns, all of the hertz’s automobiles, your television set, car and wardrobe already belong, to a large degree to people of the rest of the world.”

Pigs:

In the 60’s hippies used to call the police “Pigs.” The “Pigs” believed the people had the right to their own property. Can you believe it? *coughsarcasmcough*

“Even when there is no organized political struggle, the pigs come down on people in everyday life in enforcing capitalist property relations… They guard stores and factories credit to rent against the poor.”

- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Problem - “Pigs” will enforce property rights,

1. Redefine Crime
2. Take it
3. Money - control/ use

“It is the oppressed peoples of the world who have created the wealth of this empire and it is to them that it belongs; the goal of the revolutionary struggle must be the control and use of this wealth in the interests of the oppressed peoples of the world.”
- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Enemy:
“Management personnel, corporate lawyers, higher civil servants, and other government agents, army officers, etc… [because their job categories require and promote a close identification with the ruling class] these strata are enemies of the revolution.”

- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Citizens of the World:

“Any conception of ‘socialist revolution’ simply in terms of the working people of the United State, failing to recognize the full scope of interests of the most oppressed peoples of the world is a conception of a fight for a particular privileged interest, and is a very dangerous ideology.”
- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Battle Plan:

The writers of You Don’t Need A Weather Man to Know Which Way the Wind Blows knew that the average American wouldn’t give up their own well being to embrace the socialist version of global equality. So, the came up with a plan:

“On the whole, people don’t join revolutions just because revolutionaries tell them to… we must transform people’s everyday problems, and the issues and struggles growing out of them, into revolutionary consciousness, active and conscious opposition to racism and imperialism.”
- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

“Workers of the world Unite” - Communist slogan

• Transform the everyday life

- How do you accomplish a massive step toward globalism?
They tell us that we can’t do it and that we need them. They think the odds are stacked against us.

“The masses will fight for socialism when they understand that reform fights, fights for improvement of material conditions, cannot be won under imperialism.”
- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Youth:

Youth are targeted to make them feel hopeless and make them believe the system is stacked against them.

“Youth unemployment is three times average unemployment… new people in labor market can’t find jobs, job stability, and of course when they do find jobs, young people get the worst ones and have the lease seniority.”
- Weather Underground, June 18, 1969

Weather Underground Manifesto