Explosion of the Yellow Vest

Greetings comrades friends, brothers, sisters.

As the new year dawns, it is important to view developments happening in the west with new, cool eyes. Socialists often see each critical event as a crisis in capitalism. True, but how often must it be said before the cry sounds like the little boy crying “Wolf”?

As we examine events in France, specifically the explosion of the Yellow Vests, mostly working-class, rural communities who dare to compare their present political leaders with French Revolution-era Kings who were sent to the guillotine, well, something is happening.

When Britain faces what is essentially a self imposed expulsion from the EU, the European Union, and its concomitant loss of billions in world trade and almost countless jobs lost, something is happening.

When the U.S. has rises and falls on the stock market that harkens back to the 1930s when the Great Depression was raging, something is happening.

And when we factor in the west’s recent penchant for toying with fascist movements, well, something is indeed happening, and it ain’t pretty. Is this a crisis of capitalism?

Yes, for it is global as opposed to national, and the incipient rise of fascist movements follows inexorably from the neo-iberalism that brought us unprecedented mass incarceration, the result of state and police repression against black, Latino, and poor white communities. That repression opened the door to the rightist movements.

We see waxing on the periphery. Why? Because movements are always in flux. They never stand still. The same could be said for the movements of workers, the poor, and national minorities. If we don’t take advantage of this, this hour of chaos, we will all come to regret it.

Thank you. On the MOVE. From imprisoned nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.