I’ll Take Lennon Over Trotsky Any Day…

I’m writing this article to clear-up thoughts some people had that I’ve been on a McCarthyist bend these past couple of days. I’ve no problem with Socialism- in fact, I’m proud to live in a (somewhat) socialist country. There are even a number of industries I’d like to see nationalized! (Bell, Telus & Rogers watch out!) I do, however, have serious issues with Trotskyism– as should all occupiers…

You see, an important difference between the theories of Marxists & Trotskyists is that the latter believe that violence is an essential part of any revolution. So, I’ve not been writing about the International Socialists as part of a ‘red scare’. I do this as a warning to Occupiers that there is a potential conflict here…

It somehow seems really important for people to be able to put a label on something. And, as I said in my article yesterday, the Occupy movement is not something that can be labelled- we are a collective of people from all ages, races, genders and political backgrounds.

We do, however, have two commonalities. First, that we feel so strongly that there needs to be change that we decided to live in tents in the winter. And, second, we all came together with the agreement that our’s is a non-violent movement.

Unfortunately, at Occupy Toronto, and a number of other Occupations, people who have taken leadership roles think differently. And, the International Socialists are at the core of this here.

So, this isn’t a red scare- more a warning that there are those among us who openly disagree with our core principles of non-violence. And, we need to make our message loud & clear to the 5% that we won’t put up with that happening under the Occupy name…

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