Bridgeview, IL Oct 4 – “DEATH, DEATH, DEATH TO THE NAZIS! POWER, POWER, POWER TO THE WORKERS!” This chant rang out from five members of the communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) and three base members as we protested the rally of social media fascist Jake Lang and his pathetic supporters outside an annual festival for Palestine today. Under local police protection, Lang spewed vile Nazi filth, specifically attacking the existence of the Little Palestine neighborhood in Chicago’s southwest suburbs, on disgusting signs and banners.
We were there to spread a message of multiracial working-class unity and introduce militant working-class young people to the PLP line, through our chants and by distributing CHALLENGE. The militant crowd far outnumbered the gutter racists there, who were barely audible (though what they did say shocked base members towards better comprehending their fascist menace).
Like the many antiracist fighters who showed up today, we in PLP know that fascists will not just “go away” if we ignore them. Fascist scum like Lang are going to become even more useful to the capitalist bosses around the world as their profit system goes deeper into crisis. What is necessary is not only to fight like hell against these foot soldiers at such rallies, but to build the mass revolutionary PLP to crush the capitalist system that breeds them and their billionaire masters.
Communists make plans, carry out with workers
Communication was important in every aspect of our participation. As it says in PLP’s document “Build a Base in the Working Class,” the Chinese revolutionaries of the Red Army would often hold meetings in the middle of battle. We met before the action to discuss the political purpose of our rally, the roles that certain comrades would lead. Tactical leaders would make the decision on when to move and where, though during the action comrades and base members made suggestions.
PLers were key in persuading an angry group of youth to try and push through a weak spot in the police barricade rather than “rush” the racists without a disciplined plan. The pushing match on the police barricade sent a strong message to the workers that only their collective force can and will bring a permanent end to fascism.
A young woman worker joined our initial push through the police lines. Other antiracists initially pushed with us, but we fell short of breaking through the police lines. After the initial pushing match this working-class young woman discouraged counterprotesters from individually trying to push through the police line. She used our megaphone to communicate that we needed to not only smash Jake Lang but the whole system. She went on to describe her difficulty finding employment and suggested that refusing to continue seeking employment was a way to defeat the system.
Multiple comrades used the bullhorn to share an encouraging message with the working class and raise political consciousness. We explained to the young woman that though she didn’t have work right now she was still a part of the working class, and the mass nature of our class makes us a historical force that can overthrow this rotten system and bury fascism once and for all.
Fascists strike but the masses are stronger
As the fascists retreated under a shower of rocks and bottles, kkkops threw a flash grenade to try and clear the way and intimidate antiracists. They also grabbed a young Black worker leaving the counter-protest with their arm in a cast, pinned him on the ground, and twisted his limbs while accusing him of resisting. PLers saw the violent arrest and began chanting “Let him go!” to launch a de-arrest. As the cops began choking the young man, PLP and the masses around united to physically defend the worker. The working class refused to witness a George Floyd style murder and seized the moment. The kkkops, surrounded by furious workers and youth, were forced to back off.
The direct conflict with the cops today made some of our collective reflect on past battles with the bosses’ forces, including the Party’s organizing against Nazis in Chicago’s Marquette Park in the late 1970s. The fact that the Party maintained a sustained campaign to integrate the park until we were able to march through unopposed in 1979, highlighted the dialectical relationship between the Party and our working-class base. Today many anarchists showed up with costumes completely obscuring their identity and wearing tactical gear or carrying shields that would protect them in the event of police attacks. Yet because of our chants and our unified disciplined presence, the masses rallied behind our banner spontaneously to form a larger force. This illustrates a veteran comrade’s saying, “We may be small but we ain’t all.” The working class is ready to fight, and what we do counts.
Sharpen the struggle for communism
In line with our commitment to planning, we debriefed after the action. Self-critically we could have brought a flyer specific to the event. Also, there were rival racists who showed up to protest Lang, calling him a Jew. We confronted some of them, but we could have struggled more sharply to demonstrate we are resolved to smash all gutter racists. We should learn more about the local capitalist base of support for Lang and gutter racism in general so we can pull out the roots of fascism. No doubt some local racists brought Lang’s attention to the existence of Little Palestine.
Overall, comrades and base members were stimulated and agitated to a higher level of commitment to class struggle and the struggle against fascism. We will continue to grow together and to strengthen the working class. The Party’s battle-tested line allows us to attract large masses when the class struggle reaches a heightened state. Let’s keep combining theory and practice and winning the working class to the fight against fascism and inter-imperialist war. Turn the guns around and turn inter-imperialist war into an international communist revolution!
