Letters from Our Readers

Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor

21 Nov 2018

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BAR’s readers challenge and expand upon the positions taken by our writers on Democratic gains in the House, intersectionality and police “reform.”

This week brought strong comments on the two-party system, neoliberalism and ideology, and methods of tackling police brutality. Readers engaged with “Midterm Results: The War Party Rules,” “Intersectionality: A Marxist Critique,” and “Police Reform Doesn’t Work, Says Sociologist,”

“Midterm Results: The War Party Rules” by Danny Haiphong argues that the Democrats’ gains in the midterms have not changed the bipartisan consensus on war.

Wallace Nixon writes:

“If both parties take money from the same people why do we think voting for one is a lesser evil? Neither party has pledged allegiance to Black America. Both Malcolm X and Ralph Nader have explained to us what the two parties really do. We can trust their analysis because it was and still is accurate. In addition, we can look back at the experience of Fannie Lou Hamer in 1964 when she fulfilled the qualifications to represent the party delegation at the national convention but was told to stand down and not rock the boat. We can also look at how the Democratic Party shoved Cynthia McKinney out the back door using dirty tricks. The Republicans never defeated her!”

In “Intersectionality: A Marxist Critique” Barbara Foley argues intersectionality is less valuable as an explanatory framework than as an ideological reflection of the times.

Marc Salomon writes:

“Great piece. The only omission is that the neoliberal project has successfully shifted the lens from the systemic/structural towards the personal/individual. The dominance of intersectionality and identity politics are a reflection of that. The other failing of intersectionality and identity politics is the absence of praxis because that might involve considering the systemic/structural. The focus remains on the perpetual naming of the problem and the raging against all who deny that.”

In radio segment “Police Reform Doesn’t Work, Says Sociologist” academic Alex Vitale argues that the best solution to police brutality is to have civilian agencies, not cops, deal with street level social problems such as drugs and mental health.

Bob Johnson writes:

“Just apply the broken windows theory to the cops and they would clean up their act virtually overnight. When every cop knows a cop who went to prison for breaking and entering (search without a warrant) or for kidnapping (false arrest) this would no longer be the rule instead of the exception.”

We thank our readers for adding to our analysis of unequal power in America and the structures behind it. Material like this adds insight to our efforts to expose the unjust forces at the heart of the empire.

Jahan Choudhryis Comments Editor for Black Agenda Report. He is an organizer with the Saturday Free School based in Philadelphia, PA.

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