A Discussion of Electoral Politics pt3

Here is the last email exhanged between Gary and I:

Peace,

First, I also lease my labor and no-one could ever own it but me. Thank you for the crucial correction. In the shop, when people ask me, "where's your boss?" I've been known to respond "I don't have a boss on this planet, let alone in this building" - I think thats a correction in the spirit of yours.

I guess my thoughts on your response are this. I agree with your analysis that he creates a narrative of unity in a framework that does not challenge capitalism, and significanly downplays a solidarity based on an understanding of how racism creates different levels of oppression within the working class. I think this may be his genuine analysis though it also allows for him to attract capital investment. I think in part though the Democrats got much more investment in part because their policy allows for capital to grow, but also because Capital assumed they were going to be the winners of the election and wanted to build that relationship, because I think there are substanative ways where Republican policy is much more capital friendly and working people -fuck em a over.

When my Hotel brings in a nice smiling African American woman like Julie Coker, as a new General Manager, she is purely an attempt to co-op, as she answer to exactly the same capital aggression as her the predaccessor who was an ass-hole, I don't know that Obama fits completely into her place in the metaphor - which is the question of to what extent is he a reprsentative of the ruling class.

But I think the other thing is...in my hotel. The Front Desk petitioned to unionize unanimously. The Hyatt's response was to give them a $2/hr raise ( a huge fuckin' raise!). That was purposely designed to co-opt them, but I think it will be a matter of leadership whether or not that group of workers will go from just getting the raise to also getting health care, retirement funding, protection against disicipline, and the ability to negotiate over working conditions that comes with being a full fledged Union member. My point is, I think, I don't want to fall into the "I rather George Bush because he tells me he is fucking me over" mantra, I want to develop leadership within a social movement that can challenge people to know that they deserve more than the crumbs of the Democratic party, and all the while be using the electoral system to act much more sophisitatedly in our own interest.

paz