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No Justice and No Peace: A Critique of Current Social Change Politics (5 of 8)
Through these sorts of considerations of what it means to dismantle the systems of oppression, we've come to be very wary of “no compromise” or “no reform ideology”. If you have privilege its very easy to say "only revolution, no reform"– you can always fall back on the cushion of privilege regardless of how little changes. An individual or group may take a very principled stand against the government refusing to work through those channels, but whether or not a bill funding HIV services passes will have a very real effect on many people in our communities. It would also impact the ability to “organize a revolution” because of how it would effect both those already politically active, as well as others who could become involved.
Part of the problem with a simplistic “reform or revolution” way of thinking is that it can't address real life situations. Recently we found ourselves having to deal with a situation of domestic violence. A drunken man was abusing his girlfriend, and a group of us attempted to take action to stop him. We were unable, and two of our friends were hurt in the process. This resulted in the police arriving. For us this was a very conflicted moment as the scene that unfolded reminded us of the cyclical violence that the prison-industrial complex inflicts. While in police custody on the site, this immigrant man was harassed by the cops– this same man who earlier had assaulted his girlfriend and our friends. No revolution or no reform was going to happen at that moment to solve this problem. Later we discussed the importance of having laws that hold police accountable and preserve the rights of incarcerated immigrants- while at the same time working to dismantle the whole criminal justice system.
Another example is the case of the Queer Fist Kiss-In during the 2004 RNC protests. Queer Fist decided to take a non-confrontational approach towards the police presence at their demo by just trying to avoid them.
They didn't want to give the police cause to break up the demo, which would assumedly result in arrests. Some non-Queer Fist (presumably straight) anarchist and activist types joined the action but refused to work within the guidelines established by Queer Fist. They created a confrontation with the police, resulting in the arrests of many people who were specifically trying to avoid arrest. By taking the more “revolutionary” position, and refusing to cooperate with “reformist” strategies to avoid arrest, these activists endangered others whom they imagined that they were in solidarity with.
