Saturday, March 24, 2012

On the Murder of Trayvon Martin

On the Murder of Trayvon Martin

Statement by the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

On February 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin went out to buy some snacks at the nearby 7-Eleven. George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain in a small gated community in Sanford, Florida, was driving around in his SUV. Zimmerman called 911, saying Martin looked "real suspicious"—i.e., he was a young Black male, walking around in a hoodie. After the 911 dispatcher told Zimmerman not to pursue the youth, Zimmerman followed Trayvon Martin, got out of his car and then confronted Martin. Zimmerman was carrying a 9-millimeter handgun. Trayvon Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea. There was yelling, then a gunshot. Trayvon Martin lay face down in the grass with a fatal bullet wound to the chest. Zimmerman was taken into custody, questioned and released. To this day, he has not been arrested and charged with any crime.


It is very good and very important that people, not only in Sanford, Florida, but all over the country, are outraged by the murder of Trayvon Martin and are making their outrage known in many different and creative forms of protest. It is also important that, in connection with the murder of Trayvon Martin, the memory of Emmett Till—wantonly murdered by white supremacists decades ago—is being raised to express the fact that people have seen this go on for far too long and will not stand by to see it happen yet again.


At the same time, the fact that yet another Emmett Till moment can arise—that yet another outrage of this kind can take place—today, more than 50 years after the original Emmett Till lynching, and that this murder of Trayvon Martin is not an isolated incident but only the latest of an endless chain of such acts that are perpetrated, condoned and covered up by the powers-that-be, shows very powerfully that, this time around, we must not settle for anything less than stopping this, once and for all—we must build a movement to really and finally put an end to these and countless other outrages that spew forth from this system, by sweeping away this system through revolution. This is deadly serious and we must take this up very seriously.

Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
March 23, 2012

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 10:45 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Fierce, Joyous, Inspiring...A Movement to End Pornography and Patriarchy is Launched!


On Saturday, March 10th a new energy, a new defiance, and a new commitment to fight for the full liberation of women, were felt on the streets of New York City.   Beginning at noon in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, proceeding on a tour of many sites which concentrate the oppression of women, and concluding in front of a strip club and porn store near Times Square; people of all ages, many nationalities, and all genders condemned the enslavement and degradation of women.
In Times Square
As people gathered in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral, beneath its towering spires and enormous brass doors designed to make humans feel small and humble, their faces were filled with both exuberance, but also hesitation. It is not typical to confront churches. In fact, it’s not typical these days to directly confront woman-haters of any kind. It is all too typical for people to complain in hushed voices or to send money and sign petitions to politicians in the hopes that maybe someone else will do something. So, it is understandable that this felt new to many people.


As people picked up signs and decked themselves out in stickers, I was reminded of something told to me by a self-defense instructor years ago. She made a point of taking the time to insist that all her female students learn to yell forcefully. She did this because women are so deeply socialized to be polite, demure, docile, quiet and agreeable that they have to learn to trust their anger when they are under attack.

"I Demand my Reproductive Rights!!
 I'm a Human Being!!"
I shared this story with the crowd and added, “Today, women around the world are under attack and we ought to be angry about that. We ought to be loud about that. We ought not to be the ones telling our stories in whispers and through tears while woman haters scream 'slut' at the tops of their lungs. Today, we are going to get in touch with our anger. We are going to yell at the tops of our lungs. If it feels funny at first, that's okay, keep at it. After a while it will stop feeling funny and will start to feel really fucking good. And then, it will be contagious. That is the point of today. We are taking it upon ourselves to defeat the war on women. We are changing ourselves in the process. And we are launching a new movement that wakes up and draws in others wave after wave until we win.”  Read more...

Read more »

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 7:24 PM | 1 comments

Monday, March 12, 2012

Think about China coming from a feudal society less than 25 years before...you had these big changes in the relations between men and women

Revolutionary Communism and the Liberation of Women -- WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!    
#10


Editor's note: Here Bob Avakian recalls his visit to socialist China in 1971, before the death of Mao Tsetung and the restoration of capitalism in that country.

There were all these really exciting and uplifting things. We felt the whole spirit of "serve the people" that was popularized throughout the society, and we saw living examples of revolutionary transformations. We'd come upon situations where the men and women would be engaging in friendly competition to do things like sweeping up in the house. Again, you think about China coming from a feudal society less than twenty-five years before that, and here you had these big changes in the relations between men and women. Even though this was a small example, in a sense—and even though, of course, many backward ideas and practices still persisted and were still contending with these more advanced things—this friendly competition captured both the "serve the people" spirit and the pervasiveness of the changes that were going on between men and women. ...
Bob Avakian 
Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
BAsics 2:18

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 1:22 PM | 2 comments

Sunday, March 11, 2012

First Quick Report on Yesterday's Protest to End Pornography & Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women!


Yesterday we took to the streets – beginning at St. Patrick's Cathedral and ending in front of a porn store and strip club in Times Square – against the war on women.

Along the way, we stopped at the offices of the foundation which sponsored the anti-abortion billboard which was featured in SoHo last year which claimed that, “The most dangerous place for a black child is in the womb,” at Fox News, at the US Military recruiting station, and to speak out against the way that women's bodies are displayed and objectified on billboards (and everywhere else) in Times Square.

This was a very lively and powerful launch to a new movement. It was a beginning. I will post more about it in the coming days.

At its height, the crowd swelled to about 75 and there were joined in for different legs of the march and protest.

Along the way, we encouraged people who had never spoken before against the war on women to step up and do so. We made clear that we are done with a situation where women all too often tell their stories of rape and sexual assault, of battery and sexual harassment, of obstacles and shame encountered while seeking abortion or even birth control. Meanwhile, woman-haters and religious fascists scream at the tops of their lungs that women are “sluts,” and use the power of the state to strip away our rights. Throughout the march, people did find their voices.

Particularly by the time we reached our last stop, many people stepped forward to speak. A young man told of the first time he saw pornography. He was ten years old. He came into the living room and a bunch of his male relatives were watching. They were all pretty young and began acting out the poses and behavior of the porn. He concluded, “Pornography takes a little boy's natural curiosity and turns it into something perverted,” and into something that is about degrading and getting over on women. A young woman who had toured the porn store with me and others last week stood up and spoke angrily about what was for sale inside. She held high some of the DVD's which were for sale inside, one featuring a woman performing oral sex and other sex acts on a pitbull, one in which the woman's breasts were bound and tortured, and one in which featured the words “All Women are Goo Swallowers.” She spoke of how these videos train men to think this is what women want, “But I am a woman and I don't find pleasure in this! I don't want to be treated like this!” She called on people to get involved in the movement to end pornography and patriarchy and to come to the next meeting.

A young Black woman stepped up and spoke of how she had grown up surrounded by pornography, including that the guys she had relationships with would watch it and try to get her to watch it. She said that when you think this is what you are supposed to do you go along and you even try to find pleasure in it yourself. But now she has the confidence and clarity to say that she finds it demeaning and humiliating and that she sees it as completely bound up with the abuse that is heaped on women in every sphere of their lives. She spoke of how her father brutalized her mother for years, of street harassment, and of the experience of a female relative who works in a profession where most of the men go out to strip clubs at night and bring that same attitude of disrespect into the workplace against her.

A young white woman spoke up about how even doing something as innocent as playing online card-games has made her the target of vicious anti-woman hatred. She explained that everyone must choose an “avatar,” or an online screen picture that represents you on the computer as you long and and play games. But, if she chooses an avatar with long hair (that looks female) she said as soon as she starts winning about 25% of the time men will start calling her “cunt,” “slut,” “whore,” and threatening her. She said that when she changed her avatar to a cat, the harassment stopped. Think what it means that the cat got more respect than the woman!

A young woman stepped to the front with a handmade sign which read, “I am not an incubator!” She spoke for a minute against pornography and built up momentum until she was screaming at the top of her lungs, along with her sign, “I am not an incubator!” The crowd cheered and offered support to every speaker.

There is much more to report. And I promise to write more.

But, this was a very powerful beginning. It needs to grow. More people need to get out in the streets with us.

The reactions of men along the way were further confirmation that a new era of struggle against the enslavement and degradation of women is necessary. Will write more on this tomorrow.

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 5:01 PM | 0 comments

Saturday, March 10, 2012

The fury of women can and must be fully unleashed as a mighty force for proletarian revolution

Revolutionary Communism and the Liberation of Women -- WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!    
#9

You cannot break all the chains, except one. You cannot say you want to be free of exploitation and oppression, except you want to keep the oppression of women by men. You can't say you want to liberate humanity yet keep one half of the people enslaved to the other half. The oppression of women is completely bound up with the division of society into masters and slaves, exploiters and exploited, and the ending of all such conditions is impossible without the complete liberation of women. All this is why women have a tremendous role to play not only in making revolution but in making sure there is all-the-way revolution. The fury of women can and must be fully unleashed as a mighty force for proletarian revolution.
Bob Avakian 
Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
BAsics 3:22

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 1:24 AM | 0 comments

Friday, March 09, 2012

Why I Will Be Marching Against Religious Patriarchs and Woman-Hating Pornographers This Saturday – And Why You Should Join Me


It is no longer deniable by anyone paying attention, that we are living through an all out war on women's lives, women's rights, and women's futures. This is not a minor matter; women are half of humanity. Defeating this war is everybody's responsibility.

This is why this Saturday at noon I will be out in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City with a rowdy band of others screaming at the top of my lungs. This is the home of Timothy Dolan who spearheaded the recent attacks on birth control, which come on top of decades of attacks on abortion. Nearly 90% of counties now lack an abortion provider.

From there, we will march to the porn stores in Times Square and once again scream at the tops of our lungs. We will protest these stores because pornography has become more violent, more humiliating, and more cruel towards women – even as it has become more mainstream.

In reality, there is no meaningful difference between the Bible's view of women and pornography's view of women. Both reduce women to “things” to be controlled by men. The church reduces women to breeders. Porn reduces women to sex objects to be brutalized and degraded. We are neither. Women are human beings. On Saturday, we are shaking off any remnants of our own passivity and launching a new movement that will not stop until the full humanity of all women is recognized throughout society and throughout the world.

By taking to the streets in protest, we are not appealing to those in power, neither to the politicians who are either outright attacking women's lives nor with those who are “just” seeking “common ground” with and conciliating to those attacks. We are calling out the millions of people who are horrified by this relentlessness but who are sitting paralyzed on the sidelines. We are also calling out to those who have become so acclimated to the unceasing violence and disrespect of women that they aren't even angry.

Our message: IF WE WANT THINGS TO CHANGE – WE MUST ACT! We must rely on ourselves. We must do more than click an online petition or send money to some politician, we must get out in the streets, we must make our voices heard, we must confront the woman-haters and we must create through this protest a taste of the future we want.

For too long, those who attack women have felt free to do so at the tops of their lungs and with the backing of the state. Rush Limbaugh can call a thirty year old woman who uses birth control a “slut” and monopolize headlines for days. Timothy Dolan can revolt against birth control and get a personal phone call trying to appease him from President Obama. Porn producers can speak openly, as Bill Margold does here, about their desire to portray violence against women, “I'd like to really show what I believe the men want to see: violence against women... The most violent we can get is the cum shot in the face. Men get off behind that because they get even with the women they can't have."

Meanwhile, women tell us the stories of their rapes, the obstacles and shame they've encountered seeking abortions, the humiliation they've experienced from boyfriends who take their cues from pornography in whispers and through tears.

Why should a woman feel she has to whisper to us about birth control and then add, “I hope no one hearing this gets offended”? Why should a woman be embarrassed to tell us how humiliated she has been because, “Every guy I have ever dated has begged me to let him ejaculate in my face”? Why should a woman break down in tears not because she feels guilty about having had an abortion but because she had gone her whole life without anyone ever saying to her that it is okay to feel good about her abortion?

It is time for women to stop choking on their anger and pain, to stop turning it inward. And it's time for the men who want no part of this to stop going along.

We know that the body count of battered women – three to four women killed every day – never makes the front page. We know it's easier not to consider the crushed spirits and ravaged bodies of the trafficked women who are locked inside the "massage parlors" we walk past. We know it's degrading to consider how many of the men we interact with get off on depictions of women being "throat-fucked" til they gag. We know its a lot of energy to respond every time a religious fascist insists women "keep their legs closed" and be forced to bear children against their will. We know it is painful to confront that most people—including most progressive people —have learned to accept and to live with this escalating hatred of women.

But we also know that this is not the only way the world can be. We know there is a reservoir of people, women and men, young and old, who hate this relentless assault on women's lives, rights and futures. We know that there are millions more who can be won to see that all this is intolerable. We know that not all men hate women. We know that women are not innately weak and passive and destined to lay down for this shit. We know – and we have already seen in our work building up for this protest – that, when people come together to confront the woman-haters and speak up defiantly in an uncompromising voice, tears and whispers can transform into righteous anger and defiant political action.

By standing up together, by confronting the institutions that concentrate the war against women, we can shake off our own passivity. We can plant a pole that challenges and changes what other people feel they just have to accept. We can create a situation where the anger that is simmering, often stuffed very deep down in women everywhere, can be brought to the surface and unleashed to fuel powerful thinking and action. We can give inspiration and backing to people of all genders who everywhere who want to be part of bringing a better future into being. We can forge a vehicle, a new movement, that changes the terms throughout society and gives people a meaningful way to act.

On Saturday, our protest is not symbolic. It is a beginning. It is a declaration. From now, until we win the full liberation of women, this war on women will be resisted with conscience, anger, imagination, massive mobilization, and relentless determination to turn the tide.

End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women!
Abortion On Demand and Without Apology!
Fight for the Emancipation of Women All Over the World!

http://stoppatriarchy.tumblr.com/march10

Saturday, March 10th 
12:00 NOON
ST. PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL:

Fifth Ave. btw 50-51st. Streets

 

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 11:40 AM | 0 comments

The name “bikini” given to the bathing suit comes from comparing “the effects of a scantily clad woman to the effects of an atomic bomb.”

Revolutionary Communism and the Liberation of Women -- WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!    
#8

Recently I was reading an essay called "Disarming Images" about an exhibit of art for nuclear disarmament which was held in the early 1980s. And I noticed that the author of this essay points out that according to the dictionary, Webster's Third International Dictionary, the name "bikini" given to the bathing suit comes from comparing "the effects of a scantily clad woman to the effects of an atomic bomb." When you think about this, and you think about the horrendous death, destruction, mutilation and suffering alive before dying that was caused by the atomic bombs that the U.S. dropped on Japan, and what would result from the much more powerful nuclear weapons these monsters have today—when you think about all that, and you think about the reasons for naming the bikini after all that, and what kind of view of women this promotes—do you need any other proof about how sick this system is, and how sick is the dominant culture it produces and promotes?
Bob Avakian 
Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
BAsics 1:17

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 12:19 AM | 0 comments

Thursday, March 08, 2012

A March Against Women’s Oppression

this is a piece on Inside New York's blog

http://insidenewyork.com/2012/03/07/a-march-against-womens-oppression/


A March 10 march aims to stop oppression against women fueled by porn, says Sunsara Taylor

The flyers that Sunsara Taylor handed out at the Athena Film Festival display a photo of a girl holding a sign that said “porn fuels rape” and call for people to join in a “protest and march against sites of women’s oppression.”  The fine print describes a march that will take place on March 10; the route includes St. Patrick’s Cathedral, strip clubs, U.S. Military Recruiting Centers, and “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” whose mission is to dissuade women from having abortions.  Upon first glance, the flyer was overwhelming to me; proclaiming that pornography and patriarchy were intrinsically bound seemed similar to saying that opposing stem cell research went hand in hand with opposing gay marriage. “What about the non-misogynistic porn that women are trying to reclaim as empowering?” I wondered.  What about the scientific studies that found that states with increased access to the Internet—and therefore porn–actually experienced a decrease in sexual violence?  I was by no means convinced that “ending” porn, as the flyer called for, would liberate women– but I was intrigued.


My friend and I met up with Taylor and her colleagues at Times Square on Friday night in order to tour the “adult stores” that they are protesting.  We were planning on covering many locations but were so disgusted by the first one we walked into that we nixed the rest of the itinerary.  The shelves were packed with DVDs arranged into categories: “Lesbians,” “Asians,” “Teens,” etc.  There was nothing subliminal or apologetic about the blatant racism and violence depicted on the covers of these videos; DVDs featuring girls, drugged by chloroform, being gang raped lined the walls.  Some of them boasted women being knocked out “over and over and over again!”  It was clear that reclaiming these particular movies in the name of empowerment would do nothing for women in terms of sexual liberation.

After we left the store, we sat down to discuss what we had seen.  Taylor emphasized that her goal is not to lead a crusade against sex; she supports erotica—a distinction she makes from porn.  The difference can be found in the etymology of the words: porn is derived from the Greek word “porne” which translates to “prostitute.”  Erotica, on the other hand, comes from the Greek “erotikos” and means “caused by passionate love.”  As Taylor explained, porn is only one of the numerous ways that our patriarchal society objectifies women.  Other components include conservatives working to take away abortion and birth control rights, as well as the sexual violence that women in the military face.  Taylor is working towards a revolution that she hopes will change our culture’s mindset in regards to gender and sexuality as a whole.  She welcomes everyone interested to join her on March 10 as she begins what she hopes will become a revolution.  To learn more about Taylor and her work, visit her blog follow her on Twitter or check out the Stop Patriarchy website.

-Luna Adler

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 2:39 PM | 0 comments

"pornography and the pro-life movement are two sides of the same patriarchal coin..."

Another comment from another young woman...

"As these times worsen the fascists are intensely waging a war against women’s autonomy and humanity to keep us exploited, degraded and treated like commodities. Events like these which highlight how pornography and the pro-life movement are two sides of the same patriarchal coin looking to shove women into roles not fit for full human beings. Enough is enough! End Pornography! End Patriarchy!"


If you want things to change -- YOU MUST ACT!

Into the streets NOON Saturday March 10th
St. Patrick's Cathedral (5th Ave btwn 50 & 51st)

DONATE to make this protest happen: http://igg.me/p/71864?a=338895 

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 1:37 PM | 0 comments

"I cut off my hair because I felt it chained me..."

I just received this email from a young woman...
 
"I cut off my hair because I felt it chained me to this country's patriarchal notion of what it is to be a woman.  Yesterday a man came into my work and told me that I should never grow out my hair because a woman with short hair is 'sexy.'  A month ago a man came into my work and repeatedly demanded my phone number under the guise of needing a hair model for a photo shoot.   For years I have had the phrase 'America: home of the free!' shoved down my throat.  If having to smile while men sexually harass me is "freedom" then I think I could do without it.  The campaign to End Pornography and Patriarchy gives me hope that one day my hair will not be an excuse for men to make me feel as thought I am only an object to give them sexual pleasure.  Down with patriarchy.  Up with liberation for all of human kind!"
 
If you want things to change -- YOU MUST ACT!
 
Into the streets NOON Saturday March 10th
St. Patrick's Cathedral (5th Ave btwn 50 & 51st)
 
DONATE to make this protest happen: http://igg.me/p/71864?a=338895 
 

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 11:34 AM | 0 comments

Enough of this “bitches and ho's”... Enough of this “get low” bullshit.

Revolutionary Communism and the Liberation of Women -- WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!    
#7



Let’s imagine if we had a whole different art and culture. Come on, enough of this “bitches and ho’s” and SWAT teams kicking down doors. Enough of this “get low” bullshit. And how come it’s always the women that have to get low? We already have a situation where the masses of women and the masses of people are pushed down and held down low enough already. It’s time for us to get up and get on up.

Imagine if we had a society where there was culture—yes it was lively and full of creativity and energy and yes rhythm and excitement, but at the same time, instead of degrading people, lifted us up. Imagine if it gave us a vision and a reality of what it means to make a whole different society and a whole different kind of world. Imagine if it laid out the problems for people in making this kind of world and challenged them to take up these problems. Imagine if art and culture too—movies, songs, television, everything—challenged people to think critically, to look at things differently, to see things in a different light, but all pointing toward how can we make a better world.

Imagine if the people who created art and culture were not just a handful of people but all of the masses of people, with all their creative energy unleashed, and the time were made for them to do that, and for them to join with people who are more full-time workers and creators in the realm of art and culture to bring forward something new that would challenge people, that would make them think in different
ways, that would make them be able to see things critically and from a different angle, and would help them to be uplifted and help them to see their unity with each other and with people throughout the world in putting an end to all the horrors that we’re taught are just the natural order of things. Imagine all that.

Bob Avakian 
Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
BAsics 2:8

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 12:53 AM | 0 comments

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Urgent Appeal -- Your Donation Needed By Midnight Tomorrow!



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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 2:44 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

The Separation of Religion from the State and the Overthrow of the Anti-Woman Islamic Regime in Iran is the First Step toward Women’s Emancipation!

Statement from 8 March Women's Organization (Iran-Afghanistan)

 http://revcom.us/a/262/statement-from-8-march-organization-en.html

Revolution received the following statement which was written by the 8 March Women's Organization (Iran-Afghanistan:)

March 8 is on its way. Heartbeats intensify, and our sights are set on the struggle of our sisters all around the world, to join together, hand in hand, for a world free of gender oppression.

For yet another year, we followed, day by day and moment by moment, the struggle of women all around the world. We became furious with the attacks on women in Tahrir Square, those brave women who refused to be kept out of the struggle in Egypt. With women protesting in Wall Street, we women challenged the defenders of "Democracy and the World Capitalist Order". In Libya we women cried out that we don’t need Sharia laws. We women in Greece poured into the streets and shook the "United and Free" European order, and we women in the US are fighting for abortion rights and against pornography and patriarchy.

The beautiful voice of "Amol Al-Maslosi" from the occupied streets of Tunisia, conveyed the message of “I am the voice of rebels. I am free, and my world is too...” and this is the cry of women in the Arab countries. In these times women, in huge numbers, powerful and fearless, have poured onto the streets and captured the headlines of world media and overturned the image of Muslim women. We are determined to turn our struggles into a worldwide hurricane for putting an end to the inferior position of women.


We, the women in Iran, experienced a reversal with the coming to power of the anti-women regime of the Islamic Republic, thirty-three years ago. We genuinely fear that history may repeat itself in the Arab countries.

Read more »

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 7:53 AM | 0 comments

"I Had Never Thought About It That Way Before" Talking about Pornography and Patriarchy at a High School


Revolution received the following letter from a high school student:

During my lunch break at school, I announced to my fellow high school peers—many of them had bought IWD shirts last year from me—that International Women's Day was approaching once again and I began to describe what was being done in response to that. I had briefly mentioned the critical issue in defending abortion and all reproductive rights. My friends all seemed to agree wholeheartedly on the importance to have such access. However, what sparked the most interest and what really got the discussion going was the idea of having a demonstration at strip clubs in the city where we live. Some of my friends were surprised or curious at what that meant. I made it clear that we were not going against the women in these institutions but the institutions themselves. One of my friends couldn't grapple with such an idea. Such a thing had never been introduced to us before! It was then that I realized how normal, how accepting, how prevalent this issue is but rarely questioned. She argued about the individual's right to choose and if women were willing to do it, then it's okay. In response, I gave a small anecdote of a woman I knew who either had to choose between being on the streets or stripping for the money. In the Revolution newspaper #261, Bob Avakian's quote really states it true: people don't choose what their choices are. After I said that, I noticed that a big majority were listening. Some of them didn't know what to think. Others agreed and were ready to hear more. Some were hesitant.

I began further describing the extreme pornification of the world we live in and A LOT of people had something to say about that. The conversation drifted toward the issue of the sexualization of women to sell commodities. My hesitant friend from earlier definitely agreed on that. She slammed American Apparel and described it as "full porn." My other friend jumped in and started talking about the "sex sells" philosophy that followed that kind of advertising. We had talked so much we hadn't even noticed the bell had rung for class. My friend expressed her thanks for such a discussion and told me, "I had never thought about it that way before. We definitely need to talk about the porn more!" The overall experience was quite a lesson. If anything, this conversation shows how normalized the sexual subordination of women is and how urgent it is to bring this movement to the front of this society. "End Pornography and Patriarchy!!"

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 7:43 AM | 0 comments

Monday, March 05, 2012

Watch & Spread this Talk -- STOP THE WAR ON WOMEN!!!!

Here is the footage of the talk I gave yesterday at Revolution Books in New York City (thank you to RB to getting this online so quickly!) called:


From the Expanding Porn Industry to the Aggressive Religious Patriarchs -- End the Enslavement and Degradation of Women!

Watch it... Spread it... Get out in the streets on Saturday!!!


Sunsara Taylor, 3/4/2012 from Revolution Books on Vimeo.

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 7:42 PM | 0 comments

Conservative, my ass, these people are Nazis

Revolutionary Communism and the Liberation of Women -- WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!    
#6


"As I have said a number of times: These reactionaries should not even be allowed to use 'conservative' to describe themselves. We should say, 'Conservative, my ass, these people are Nazis.'"
Bob Avakian 
Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
BAsics 1:26

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 12:52 PM | 0 comments

Stop the Vindictive Political Prosecution of Gregory Koger!

http://revcom.us/a/262/stop-political-prosecution-of-gregory-koger-en.html

On February 23, 2012, the Illinois Appellate Court denied the appeal of the unjust conviction and vindictive sentencing of Gregory Koger for videotaping with an iPhone a public event at the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago (EHSC). The court mandated that he serve out the rest of the time on the outrageous 300-day sentence. Now there needs to be a powerful outcry against this latest outrage that threatens to railroad Gregory to jail again. The cops, the prosecutors and the EHSC must not be allowed to get away with this vindictive persecution! Send statements of outrage and support for Gregory, as well as funds for the appeal. See below.
Read more »

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 11:11 AM | 0 comments

Sunday, March 04, 2012

"Look at all these beautiful children who are female in the world..."

Revolutionary Communism and the Liberation of Women -- WE NEED TOTAL REVOLUTION!    
#5

"Look at all these beautiful children who are female in the world. And in addition to all the other outrages which I have referred to, in terms of children throughout the slums and shantytowns of the Third World, in addition to all the horrors that will be heaped on them—the actual living in garbage and human waste in the hundreds of millions as their fate, laid out before them, yes, even before they are born—there is, on top of this, for those children who are born female, the horror of everything that this will bring simply because they are female in a world of male domination. And this is true not only in the Third World. In "modern" countries like the U.S. as well, the statistics barely capture it: the millions who will be raped; the millions more who will be routinely demeaned, deceived, degraded, and all too often brutalized by those who are supposed to be their most intimate lovers; the way in which so many women will be shamed, hounded and harassed if they seek to exercise reproductive rights through abortion, or even birth control; the many who will be forced into prostitution and pornography; and all those who—if they do not have that particular fate, and even if they achieve some success in this "new world" where supposedly there are no barriers for women—will be surrounded on every side, and insulted at every moment, by a society and a culture which degrades women, on the streets, in the schools and workplaces, in the home, on a daily basis and in countless ways."
Bob Avakian 
Chairman of the
Revolutionary Communist Party, USA
BAsics 1:10

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 12:57 AM | 0 comments

Saturday, March 03, 2012

Do You Want to Live in This World? Lets Fucking Change It!!!

Someone just sent me this pic of a billboard in Midtown Manhattan.  Do you want to live in this fucking world?  How is this acceptable?  Escorts are somehow the standards of what is really good to consume, but "hookers" are cheap and less desirable.  The spectrum then being that women are to be paid for and consumed and this is the premise of the analogy being made to whether the vodka being advertized is "high quality" and "well priced."


Please, someone, ask me again: "What are you so angry about?"

Wake up people -- this shit is getting worse.  If you aren't standing up against this, getting out in the streets against it, refusing to continue your daily routine and refusing to let others continue to act like all this just "not that big a deal" then you are accepting this.  Join me in the streets on March 10th for International Women's Day!!

http://stoppatriarchy.tumblr.com/march10

12:00 Noon  Protest and March against sites of women’s oppression!
Begin at St. Patrick's Cathedral (5th Avenue between 50 and 51st streets in Manhattan)

Contribute money here to make this protest powerful!



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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 1:49 PM | 0 comments

Friday, March 02, 2012

Report On Taking Out Our Amazing "War on Women" Display and Building for the Intenrational Women's Day Protest March 10th


Over and over again a group of us who have been working to mobilize people to stand up for International Women's Day, have marveled at how little people know about the war on women. We've been very struck by how deeply people react and share their visceral feelings of upset, distress and righteous anger over the conditions facing women broadly and themselves personally. Mostly, these are people who seemed surprised themselves how strongly they reacted, but once they heard the whole war on women called out in its entirety, once they heard such sober truth telling and certitude, this drew out their own convictions. At the same time, largely because we recognize how deeply this connects with people who weren't already “looking for” this effort to End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women which we are launching, we've struggled with how to get people who aren't already thinking about the attacks on women be open enough to engage what we are saying and doing.

So, during a meeting a couple weeks ago we spent some time and we put ourselves to this. Through many hair-brain permutations and brainstorms along the way, what we came up with was the following. We got enormous paper (about 12 feet by 6 feet) and laid it out on the ground. On it we drew a couple of chalk outlines of women's bodies, the kind that the police do after someone has been murdered. Over the bodies of these women we placed big boot prints with various words which concentrate the hatred and enslavement of women: patriarchy, pornography, sex slavery, burkha, “beauty” standards, church, etc. Then, around that whole display we placed a collection of stunning facts about the level of hatred and violence against women. Different people volunteered to pull together different parts of the display and we assembled the whole thing on the spot the first time we took it out.
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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 5:54 PM | 0 comments

Thursday, March 01, 2012

Sunsara Taylor on Abortion, Sonogram Laws, Pyrrhic Victories, Right to Know & Revolution



Sunsara Taylor takes on the logic of the mainstream "Pro-Choice movement" which keeps "winning victories" while losing the overall war on women's right to abortion and birth control.  She exposes the lie behind the so-called "Right to Know" legislation that mandates women who want an abortion be forced to view an ultrasound of the fetus.  She asks, "What about the 'Right to Know' that a fetus is not a baby?" and other extremely pertinent questions.  In sum, this system has no "right to talk about the 'right to know'... further, they have no 'right to rule!'"  Taylor talks about the need for revolution to liberate women as well as humanity as a whole and the need today to fight the power and transform the people for revolution.  In particularly, join her in the streets on March 10th, 2012 for International Women's Day to say: End Pornography & Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women!  Abortion on Demand and Without Apology! Fight for the Emancipation of Women All Over the World!

http://revcom.us/a/158/Declaration-en.html

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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 11:57 AM | 0 comments

Out of Denial and Into the Streets – International Women's Day 2012

Women the world-over are facing a growing assault on their lives, their rights, and even their recognition as full human beings.


In the U.S., Catholic Bishops have turned women's basic right to birth control into a national controversy. At least twenty percent of U.S. female soldiers are sexually assaulted by fellow soldiers. Every moment we are bombarded by images of women's bodies, half naked and half starved. And strip clubs, which serve up the subordination of women to men in the living flesh, have become so mainstream that annually men spend an estimated $16 billion dollars on them (as compared to the $4 billion they spend on baseball).


In the Congo, tens of thousands of women have been so brutally raped they can no longer hold their bladders or bowels. From Moldova to Thailand and beyond, millions of girls and women are sold as sex slaves. Throughout the world, fueled by the massive dislocations caused by imperialist development as well as imperialist wars, Islamic fundamentalism is rising with its “honor” killings, forced veiling, and hatred of women. And from China to Honduras to Silicon Valley, the near-slave labor – and sometimes outright slave-labor – of women and girls has disproportionately fueled the growth in cheap manufacturing.


These are not “just a bunch of different bad things happening to women."  These are but a few of the many fronts in an all-out war on women. While the forms this takes may appear different – or even unrelated – a common rope is tightening around nearly every dimension of the public, social, political, and intimate lives of women.
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posted by Sunsara Taylor at 12:31 AM | 0 comments

 
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