Will Shetterly's Blog, page 67

Antisemitism, the Socialism of Fools, Part 1: Malcolm X, Derrick Bell, and Louis Farrakhan

Malcolm X accepted the antisemitism of Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam when he was with them. Forward, a Yiddish newspaper, wrote in 1963: When Malcolm X was asked whether the Black Muslims are anti-Semitic, he replied: “Many Jews have guilt feelings when people talk about ‘exploitation.’ This is because they know that they control 90 percent of the businesses in black communities, from the

The Intertwining of Islamism, Identitarianism, and Neoliberalism, and the Four Waves of Socialism

After writing Naming the four waves of fighting racism and sexism, I'm thinking a little more about the '80s and early '90s when it seemed capitalism had defeated socialism. Three developments took off then: Islamism's first major triumph came when Reagan helped the mujahideen overthrow the socialist government of Afghanistan that had granted equal rights to women and promoted universal

Naming the four waves of fighting racism and sexism

It's easy to discuss the first three waves of feminism because the movement has had a single name since Charles Fourier coined the word in 1837. Feminists argue about whether there's a fourth wave of feminism—as you'll see below, I believe there is. Opposing racism hasn't had one name. The first wave in the US was generally discussed as abolition or equal rights; the second, as civil rights,

Four Stages in the Struggle for Liberty and Justice (Art)

The Statue of Alt-Liberty - Take 1

The Statue of Alt-Liberty - Take 2

Puttin' People on the Moon—an alt-country take on Whitey on the Moon

Just got email pointing out Drive By Trucker's "Puttin' People on the Moon" is a white version of "Whitey on the Moon". Lyrics Mary Alice had a baby and he looked just like I did We got married on a Monday and I been working ever since Every week down at the Ford Plant but now they say they're shutting down God damned Reagan in the White House and no one there gives a damn Double Digit

How to tell someone's parroting what they read about King's Birmingham Jail letter

Some people—call them race reductionists or identitarians as you please—misuse Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail in three ways. None are supported by the text, but all are repeated countlessly in their community. 1 Some claim King was criticizing white moderates. That misses this part of the letter: ...Negroes in the middle class who, because of a degree of academic and

Whitey on the Moon (Things identitarians miss)

"Whitey on the Moon" is a great song that's often mentioned when talking about race in the '60s. But the verses could have been sung by a poor white cracker. The use of "Whitey" makes people assume the song is about race, but it's not about a middle-class black person's life. "Whitey" is just a personification of the rich as seen by a poor black in the city—if a white sang the same song,

Liberty on the Loose

Liberty on the Loose by Will Shetterly She sets down her torch and book Shrugs off her robe Doffs her crown Then looks Not for long, At its seven spikes. Seven seas, seven continents Where she is supposed to rule. She sets the crown on her book and her robes And, naked, jumps down from her pedestal. She lands lightly, harming no one, Yet people look up in awe Some with wonder Some with fear