You Don't Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows


"Weatherman stands second only to the Black Panthers in its ability to conjure up the spectre of Revolution within America. Just as the Panthers are taken to be the unseen hand behind most acts of violent rebellion inside the black colony, so Weatherman is held responsible for most acts of violent sabotage inside the mother country."


You Don't Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows
Submitted by Karin Asbley, Bill Ayers, Bernardine Dohrn, John Jacobs, Jeff Jones, Gerry Long, Home Machtinger, Jim Mellen, Terry Robbins, Mark Rudd and Steve Tappis.
From New Left Notes, June 18, 1969

I. International Revolution

The contradiction between the revolutionary peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America and the imperialists headed by the United States is the principal contradiction in the contemporary world. The development of this contradiction is promoting the struggle of the people of the whole world against US imperialism and its lackeys.
—Lin Piao, Long Live the Victory of People's War!

People ask, what is the nature of the revolution that we talk about? Who will it be made by, and for, and what are its goals and strategy?
The overriding consideration in answering these questions is that the main struggle going on in the world today is between US imperialism and the national liberation struggles against it. This is essential in defining political matters in the whole world: because it is by far the most powerful, every other empire and petty dictator is in the long run dependent on US imperialism, which has unified, allied with, and defended all of the reactionary forces of the whole world. Thus, in considering every other force or phenomenon, from Soviet imperialism or Israeli imperialism to "workers struggle" in France or Czechoslovakia, we determine who are our friends and who are our enemies according to whether they help US imperialism or fight to defeat it.

So the very first question people in this country must ask in considering the question of revolution is where they stand in relation to the United States as an oppressor nation, and where they stand in relation to the masses of people throughout the world whom US imperialism is oppressing.
The primary task of revolutionary struggle is to solve this principal contradiction on the side of the people of the world. 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.

It is in this context that we must examine the revolutionary struggles in the United States. We are within the heartland of a worldwide monster, a country so rich from its worldwide plunder that even the crumbs doled out to the enslaved masses within its borders provide for material existence very much above the conditions of the masses of people of the world. The US empire, as a worldwide system, channels wealth, based upon the labor and resources of the rest of the world, into the United States. The relative affluence existing in the United States is directly dependent upon the 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 Hertz's automobiles, your television set, car and wardrobe already belong, to a large degree to the people of the rest of the world.

Therefore, any conception of "socialist revolution" simply in terms of the working people of the United States, 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. While the control and use of the wealth of the Empire for the people of the whole world is also in the interests of the vast majority of the people in this country, if the goal is not clear from the start we will further the preservation of class society, oppression, war, genocide, and the complete emiseration of everyone, including the people of the US.

The goal is the destruction of US imperialism and the achievement of a classless world: world communism. Winning state power in the US will occur as a result of the military forces of the US overextending themselves around the world and being defeated piecemeal; struggle within the US will be a vital part of this process, but when the revolution triumphs in the US it will have been made by the people of the whole world. For socialism to be defined in national terms within so extreme and historical an oppressor nation as this is only imperialist national chauvinism on the part of the "movement."

II. What Is The Black Colony?

Not every colony of people oppressed by imperialism lies outside the boundaries of the US. Black people within North America, brought here 400 years ago as slaves and whose labor, as slaves, built this country, are an internal colony within the confines of the oppressor nation. What this means is that black people are oppressed as a whole people, in the institutions and social relations of the country, apart from simply the consideration of their class position, income, skill, etc., as individuals? What does this colony look like? What is the basis for its common oppression and why is it important?

One historically important position has been that the black colony only consists of the black belt nation in the South, whose fight for national liberation is based on a common land, culture, history and economic life. The corollary of this position is that black people in the rest of the country are a national minority but not actually part of the colony themselves; so the struggle for national liberation is for the black belt, and not all blacks; black people in the north, not actually part of the colony, are part of the working class of the white oppressor nation. In this formulation northern black workers have a "dual role"—one an interest in supporting the struggle in the South, and opposing racism, as members of the national minority; and as northern "white nation" workers whose class interest is in integrated socialism in the north. The consistent version of this line actually calls for integrated organizing of black and white workers in the north along what it calls "class" lines.

This position is wrong; in reality, the black colony does not exist simply as the "black belt nation," but exists in the country as a whole. The common oppression of black people and the common culture growing out of that history are not based historically or currently on their relation to the territory of the black belt, even though that has been a place of population concentration and has some very different characteristics than the north, particularly around the land question.

Rather, the common features of oppression, history and culture which unify black people as a colony (although originating historically in a common territory apart from the colonizers, i.e., Africa, not the South) have been based historically on their common position as slaves, which since the nominal abolition of slavery has taken the form of caste oppression, and oppression of black people as a people everywhere that they exist. A new black nation, different from the nations of Africa from which it came, has been forged by the common historical experience of importation and slavery and caste oppression; to claim that to be a nation it must of necessity now be based on a common national territory apart from the colonizing nation is a mechanical application of criteria which were and are applicable to different situations.

What is specifically meant by the term caste is that all black people, on the basis of their common slave history, common culture and skin color are systematically denied access to particular job categories (or positions within job categories), social position, etc., regardless of individual skills, talents, money or education. Within the working class, they are the most oppressed section; in the petit bourgeoisie, they are even more strictly confined to the lowest levels. Token exceptions aside, the specific content of this caste oppression is to maintain black people in the most exploitative and oppressive jobs and conditions. Therefore, since the lowest class is the working class, the black caste is almost entirely a caste of the working class, or [holds] positions as oppressed as the lower working-class positions (poor black petit bourgeoisie and farmers); it is a colonial labor caste,, a colony whose common national character itself is defined by their common class position.

Thus, northern blacks do not have a "dual interest"—as blacks on the one hand and "US-nation workers" on the other. They have a single class interest, along with all other black people in the US, as members of the Black Proletarian Colony.


see also:

"...and I got to thinking, well, my life has been severely impacted by my volunteering to fight in this war, this, I guess, unjust war. What reasoning would he have to meet with me, because he's never given me that honor? And unlike Cindy, I'm not going to wait for him to meet with me. I'm not going to follow his motor – I'm not going to follow him back to Washington. If he wants to meet with me, he can find me, and likewise, his reasoning for not meeting me will find me also, because I have a TV...."-- Tomas Young -- "The Day Casey Died: Cindy Sheehan, Journalist and Wounded Soldier Remember the Battle of Sadr City"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/43299.php

or

 http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/31/146227

and

"The recent suicide bombings by young Palestinians inside Israel remind me of something written about Huey Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. Newton coined the term, "revolutionary suicide," referring to the need for Black people oppressed by racism and poverty to risk their lives for the people, for positive change, by standing up to the police([search]) and repressive government....I think of another example of what could be called "revolutionary suicide," of the conscious use of a tactic knowing it could well lead to death but believing it was the right tactic for the right time and that the risk was justified.-- Ted Glick--"Revolutionary Suicide"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/42744.php

or

 http://bc.indymedia.org/newswire/display_any/3537

See also:

 http://www.afsc.org/pwork/0205/020510.htm

 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/drumbeat-weekend_edition/

 http://www.afsc.org/pwork/0205/020510.htm
and

"in these times immersed in the absurdity of systemic acts of cruelty and
double standards in this messy area , some call the west , which is now
embedded in the midst of a treacherous performance piece -- it is only
logical that in an illogical world run by bullys, abusers, simpletons
and usurpers -- that frustrated valid bruthas will invoke acts of will
to power and make you feel the pain they feel."--Lawrence Y Braithwaite (aka Lord Patch) -- "notes from new palestine: revolutionary suicidal tendencies (the war brought home)"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/42944.php


and

It is time America understood Hezbollah for what it really is, not what the Israelis and their Zionist friends say it is. ...Hezbollah is a social, political, educational, medical and military organization based primarily among the Shi'a of Lebanon. In addition, Hezbollah also includes many Sunni and even Christians who ally themselves with Hezbollah..As the Christian President of Lebanon, Emile Lahoud said of Hezbollah,... "Hezbollah is an integral part of the Lebanese government, it is also part of our military, it part of our social order." This was echoed by the late, beloved, Prime Minister, Rafik Harriri.-- Sam Hamod, PhD --"Understanding Hezbollah Of Lebanon"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/03/39053.php

or

 http://www.rense.com/general63/hez.htm

and

"Malcolm X was not murdered because he called white people devils (others had done that) or because he had a public falling out with Elijah Muhammad, (although the US government through its COINTELPRO used that situation to promote his "neutralization") Malcolm X was murdered because he had the courage boldness and audacity to attempt to bring the United States of AmeriKKKa before the United Nations’ World Court for its crimes of genocide, human rights violations and its racist imperialist foreign policies." -- Junious Ricardo Stanton--"Malcolm X vs. US Imperialism"

and

"These poor Indians are incapable of producing cinema films to show the reality of what happened. But the Americans can produce many films to present the American soldiers as poor people who are defending civilization, and they place red feathers on the heads of the Red Indians picturing them as ignorant and immoral barbarians, and that they are attacking the peaceful Americans who in fact came and raped their lands and built forts on them." -- Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

...

"The racial discrimination towards the blacks is still persisting in every aspect. Moreover, there is a racial discrimination towards the Red Indians who are the original inhabitants of the country. ...I tell you frankly that if it wasn't for the determined willingness, ... and fight of the Palestinian people, the Americans and their civilization would have decided to solve that problem of...Palestinians just like they did with the Indians. This is the picture that lies in the mind of the American." --Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

 http://www.islamicdigest.net/v61/content/view/388/1/

or

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/04/25243.php


and

"Keep in mind, that if the idea of invading Iraq was not to conquer it, then why has the United States been trying to dismantle Iraq, partition it, write a constitution for it, ignite a sectarian war, and force it to adapt to the needs of its global colonialist imperium under the direction of US imperialists and Zionists?"-- Kim Petersen and B. J. Sabri -- "American violence in Iraq: Necrophilia or savagery? "

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/43288.php

or

 http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/081605Petersen-1/081605petersen-1.html

and

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/42905.php

 http://www.montrealmuslimnews.net/khaled.pdf
and

The Supreme Leader said in his guidelines ...that the government is expected to administer justice, fight discrimination and help the poor class tackle hardships. "Justice means that you should distribute public facilities on equal terms for every individual. You should not follow example of capitalist countries where part of people live in comfort and luxury and the majority lead a miserable life in poverty and deprivation," the Supreme Leader said in his guidelines to the new cabinet.--"Iran: Nation should benefit from public wealth -government should give fair distribution"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/43307.php

or

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/12/35752.php

"The government, under the pretext of security and progress, liberated us from our land, resources, culture, dignity and future. They violated every treaty they ever made with us. I use the word "liberated" loosely and sarcastically, in the same vein that I view their use of the words "collateral damage" when they kill innocent men, women, and children."--LEONARD PELTIER

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/12/35936_comment.php#35982

and

Presumably, the intent was to impute “Canadian-ness” to the protestors, implying that the police were behaving in a “non-Canadian” manner. The irony, of course, is that many on the front lines battling against the police have little sympathy for the Canadian state (or its police forces), as it is this state which has consistently sought to marginalise and criminalise their dissent....Black people who have either recently arrived to Canada or those who can trace their ancestry back many generations within Canada can readily attest to the systemic and institutional racism that characterises Canadian society.--Samir Shaheen-Hussain -- "O Canada? Separating myth from reality"


 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2004/12/35704.php

or

 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=6865

and

"...the history of how manufactured reality, PR...have been used to deceive and manipulate the masses into doing the bidding of the ruling elites. ... Our African scholars/warriors were immediately demonized, branded as pseudo-intellectuals and reverse racists?! This is nothing new ...We are in an all out war for the minds, souls and bodies of not only African people everywhere but for the whole planet! Each one of us is a potential warrior....We can best protect ourselves by ...developing our own liberation oriented media, by teaching our community the power of media and images,..."-- Junious Ricardo Stanton--"Reclaiming Our"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/08/42873.php


and


After yawning my way through an early morning rant about the failure of Black leadership, the hostile take over of Hip Hop by the mega corporations and the conspiracy to put dummy juice in the Kool Aid in the 'hood before going back to grab another hour of sleep before I have to officially get up and face the world. But a funny thing happened on my way between BET and CNN. There was a news flash that sometime during the night Hurricane Kanye had hit America...."-- Min. Paul Scott -- "Hurricane Kanye Hits America: The Funky Freestyle Heard Around the World"


 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/43358.php

and


Last year, on September 5, 2004, Dyron Brewer died in the CYA's Chad youth prison. We are marking this horrific event and honoring Dyron's life with a mass memorial and march on the year anniversary of his death.

 http://www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=272

"George Bush doesn't care about black people," West said from New York during the show aired live on Friday ... He said America was set up "to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible"...We already realised a lot of the people that could help are at war right now, fighting another way, and they've given them permission to go down and shoot us,...I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food." -- kanye west -- "Rapper (Kanye West) accuses Bush of racism"

 http://victoria.indymedia.org/news/2005/09/43346.php


and



"We have been willing to hide behind martyrs
for political, financial and even artistic gain,
B.U.T. we are going to have to live with the overstanding
that we have to be willing to be become martyrs (Shahadat),
and to realize that martyrs are special
not because they are perfect,
nor that they are higher powers
that most are not among the Infallables
that our Shahadat are flawed bruhs and sis
(breathing clay) like us all on this earth
who despite all that was against them
stood up and perished for a principle
their peoples/culture."--"Revolution is Bloody"

 http://www.world-crisis.com/analysis_comments/766_0_15_0_C