This is not a diary about Van Jones, though it was inspired by several excellent ones, and by reading a host of ugly comments from some fellow "Democrats", who thankfully are a minority here (I hope).
Couldn't fit the whole title in...it should read ...musings on McCarthyism here at Daily Kos.
The Democratic Party as it stands today is a pretty big tent. The Republican Party has become a cramped foxhole full of naysayers, bigots, reactionaries, and open racists. For those of us on the left who pragmatically accept the current reality of the two party system here in the US, it is obvious that we can't be Republicans, so by default (almost) we become Democrats. I stress the word "pragmatic", because there are other options.
But those options (see complete list), Green Party, Socialist Workers Party....are limited, and from my point of view at this stage in America's struggle, a waste of effort. Just my pov.
Reading some of the more hysterical and off-putting remarks made by fellow Kossaks in the last two days (not just trolls) I am reminded of the echoing voices of the past. Those who dragged my father's friends up in front of committees to ask them "are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?"
I remember J.Edgar Hoover's COINTELPRO squads and his attacks on the Civil Rights Movement, which was from his perspective "riddled with communists".
I think of my own community, pre Civil rights, when the Democratic Party was, in the perspective of my grandfather, a group of "damned Dixiecrats and Klan members". Hence, he was a Republican. His son, my dad, chaffed in the Republican party, and as youth are wont to do, he sought out a leadership that would actively champion those efforts to change a system that allowed for a substantial portion of its people to live under threat of lynching, separate and apart under Jim Crow.
He looked to Paul Robeson, to associates like Rip Torn and Geraldine Page and Joe Ferrer, Leon Bibb, Pete Seeger and Theodore Bikel...actors, writers, singers...progressives, many of whom were communist party members or what was then dubbed "fellow travelers" for leadership and support and common cause.
It was in this atmosphere I was born. As I grew older, I too was disillusioned by the practices of my country and sought from an early age to change them. Impatient, as a youth, I chafed at what I saw from my wise old age of 16 at the slow pace of struggle in this country to right wrongs, and in my eyes, my parents friends spent too much time debating obscure points of ideology, and not enough time in the streets, pushing for "change". I joined a host of movements..SANE, CNVA, SCLC, SDS, CORE..which led to SNCC, and then the Young Lords Party and the Black Panther Party. I had political education teachers, among them Charlene Mitchell a respected black communist party member who ran for President of the US in 1968. I honored Malcolm X and Dr. King but chose the path of neither. I don't like getting my head whopped without fighting back, and as a feminist couldn't take the restrictions put on women in the NOI.
Back to my point, cause I am digressing. I've read the remarks of many here, who spout about Stalin and Mao, and the awful things perpetrated under the name of "Communism" with a capital C. Correct. So don't go there if you bother to comment here. From the pov of a young black woman frustrated by the chains that bound black folks and poor folks and people of color here in America, it was about the principles, not the practices of some far way folks that carried a message. Just like the words of the Declaration of Independence and the stuff in the Constitution looks dammed good on paper, but wasn't being carried out in practice in my neck of the woods. My primary focus was on racism, here at home.
So yup. I considered myself to be a revolutionary nationalist Marxist revolutionary. A community organizer. A feminist. An anti-war activist. A member of Fred Hampton's Rainbow coalition. I worked in solidarity with groups like AIM and the Brown Berets. I refused to join the Democratic Party, 'cause from my perspective, there was little difference between either of the two choices. The only Democratic Party I had believed in was Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer's Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
I like many young people reeled in shock over the assassinations of Martin, Malcolm, JFK and Bobby. The deaths of others, closer to me, like Fred Hampton and George Jackson (Soledad Brother) took a toll. the unrelenting foot of J Edgar and his COINTELPRO and Red Squads took out more and more of my brothers and sisters, either killed or imprisoned. We stopped the war in Vietnam, but at what cost...those who made it home to my hood wound up homeless or crazy or both. I fought back, went to jail, and watched my friends and lovers die or wind up in prison. Time went on, and the focus shifted. I immersed myself in community media (Pacifica radio), still suffering from PTRD (post-traumatic revolutionary disorder) trying yet another way to organize in my community. I still wouldn't vote for Democrats, though I developed a fondness for Jimmy Carter, 'cause my former Panther sister was teaching Amy in the DC Public Schools. I passed on Bill Clinton. Have never forgiven him for "welfare to work". If you lived where I lived and saw the impact of that policy, you might have too. Time passed, and then my community was hit by an epidemic called AIDS, and I focused my attention on that, to almost the exclusion of all else. I went back to school to get a medical anthropology degree so I could be more effective in that struggle. I began to see that I'd have to deal with the cumbersome mechanics of our government whether I wanted to or not, because without funds for research and intervention, we were going to die. I met some "progressive" Democrats along the way. Some had come from the same roots in struggle as I had. I registered to vote in local elections, thinking that perhaps if we could get some good people into office that they could begin to affect change within the bureaucracy, or at least pry loose some needed funds.
Meanwhile, back in the Democratic Party there was talk of a "Big Tent". Room for many. Activists, environmentalists, those against US Wars, civil rights folks, feminists and people of color. Warily, I began to pay more attention. Looked for Dixiecrats under rocks, didn't find too many, but did find other folks who had the same concerns I did. Under the yoke of 8 years of Bush I became more pragmatic. Some of my friends flocked to the Green Party. I distrusted Ralph Nader. That's a subject for a whole 'nother diary. I registered as a Democrat to vote against Bush. The election was stolen. I got pissed, and stayed a Democrat.
I have not changed my unrelenting commitment to fight against racism. sexism, and oppression. I remain committed to the struggle of my folks in prison, those dying from AIDS, those being slowly killed by environmental hazards and poverty, the slings and arrow of hate, be it racist or homophobic.
I voted for Barack Obama. I rang doorbells, made phone calls, organized students, and gave what little money I could. For me, the idea that a black man could get elected to POTUS in my lifetime was near short of a miracle. Never mind he was a "Democrat". Never mind he was not a revolutionary, nor a socialist, nor a communist. Community organizer was good enough for me. Still is. I joined Daily Kos. Forgot that "big tent" included some folks that haven't walked down the same road as I have. But the site says it's about electing better Democrats, and I'm down with that. What I didn't realize was that some folks here seem to want "Democrat" to mean renouncing any past associations, activism, or ideologies.
Fuck that. Either embrace us all, or go join the Party of No. Sorry that Van Jones has had to apologize for having stated at one point in his journey he was a "communist" (small c). I understand the brother. He's got to do what he's got to do. What I don't understand is the feeding frenzy here. I'm old enough to remember the witch hunts...and the few who stood up against the hunters. Listen to yourselves my big tent comrades. It's either gonna be a Big Tent, or a wingnut hate fest.
My sig here says it better than I can.
If you're in a coalition and you're comfortable, you know it's not a broad enough coalition" Bernice Johnson Reagon
Are you now or have you ever been(fill in the blank)?
Yup. Proud of it. But I'm a Democrat today. If you can't deal with that, go find another tent. This one is full.