Identity Politics

Divide and conquer is the best way to keep the great masses of people from rising up and overthrowing the tiny minority who rule them. Keep us fighting among ourselves, tell us that differences of sex, race, sexual orientation, etc. are more important than the difference of who owns and controls the means of production, and the 1% can laugh all the way to the bank (that they own).


The left in America was smashed by the Palmer Raids, imprisonment and deportations during and after WW1, but rose again during the Depression.

Smashed by the American Inquisition, 1945-1960, when leftists were purged from unions, the media, education and government, it rose again in the 60s.

Smashed by COINTELPRO, murders and imprisonments, what was left of the left turned to identity politics.

If we fight among ourselves, lining up in our various oppressed groups, arguing over who is the most oppressed and angrily denouncing any potential allies from other groups as unable to understand our pain, since they have more privilege, the ruling class doesn't have to bother dividing and conquering.

But then came the Occupy Movement. We Are The 99% was succinct way of putting the class issue back on the forefront. The response of the ruling class should be instructive.

The talking heads on corporate media shrilly denounced the protesters, and their impudent emphasis on Wall Street, instead of Washington, DC. They ordered the protesters to go get their parade permits, and march around an empty White House on a Saturday, the way they have been taught to do. But the Occupy Movement ignored the marching orders. It spread to almost every big city and many small towns across America. It was smashed.

The Black Lives Matter movement arose in protest of the wanton police murders of Black citizens all over the country. The response of the police was to increase the numbers killed. Why? Shouldn't police departments all over the country have warned their officers to back off, at least for a while? Instead, they seem to have declared open season. This fans the flames of outrage.

So now we are well into the quadrennial election "cycle", and two of the corporate candidates openly discuss class.

Bernie Sanders has been attacked for his discussion of wealth inequality in the USA by being called "racist". Yesterday, August 8th, he was actually stopped from speaking at a rally by self-proclaimed BLM activists.

Donald Trump, in the first Republican debate, pointed out that he,as a rich man, has bought and sold politicians, who do what their donors tell them to do. He was openly discussing the fact that the capitalist class owns our government.

So what happened? Trump was immediately attacked....for being sexist. It was announced that he was disinvited to the next showing of candidates.

It doesn't get any clearer than this. You can argue about identity politics all you want, but you must not discuss That Which Shall Not Be Named....the fact that our country is owned and controlled by a small group of people, who are busily stripping it for parts.