Statement: Fascist violence, aided by police, is a symptom of capitalism, not an aberration

DSA LA strongly stands against the coup attempt that shook Washington DC and other state capitols yesterday, recognizing that the policing double standard which permitted it is a symptom of capitalism, not an aberration.

Solidarity with Comrades in Metro DC DSA

While we have no great fondness for the capitol building and other symbols of American imperialism, we want to uplift the feeling and analysis of our comrades in Metro DC DSA:

“Last night and this morning, thousands of white supremacists flooded our city for a rally in support of the president, emboldened by Trump’s refusal to concede the election and the silence from his enablers in Congress. Metro D.C. DSA is disturbed and horrified by today’s events and the abject failure of our local and federal leaders to respond to this attempted coup. Washington, D.C., spends hundreds of millions of dollars per year on police and has the most law enforcement per capita in the country, yet an armed, unmasked mob of right-wing insurrectionists was able to walk freely into the Capitol building while Congress was in session. The disenfranchised working class of our district, predominantly people of color, have been left to face the threat of fascist violence as well as greater exposure to COVID-19.”

In Los Angeles, we are hard-pressed not to draw direct contrasts between this treatment of MAGA extremists by police, and the historic actions of police in repressing popular movements that have campaigned for rights, dignity, and liberation; especially over the past summer, where LAPD and LASD violently repressed Angelenos who took to the streets in defense of Black lives.

Metro DC DSA’s statement continues:

“While President-elect Joe Biden took this opportunity to extoll American exceptionalism and emphasize that this is “not who we are,” the videos and photographs from the past several hours have revealed what our movement has always known: the weight of the law is only brought to bear against those who threaten the interests of the ruling class and will always serve to perpetuate and uphold white supremacy.”

Indeed, while yesterday’s events were shocking, they were by no means a deviation from the course of American history.  The rise of White Supremacy has continued with the failed leadership of the Democratic Establishment that has served the ruling class over the working class. Once Biden is inaugurated, we must prepare to hold the Dems accountable and build the movement to force them to discontinue the neoliberal and racist policies that have allowed this fascist trend to grow.

DSA LA condemns this coup attempt, the racist police that enabled it, and the cowardly, fear-mongering politicians that encouraged it. We stand for democracy and liberation and will continue to organize to reimagine public safety.

Organizing Nationally Against Fascism

We also are in agreement with the statement published by DSA’s National Political Committee, of which the following is an excerpt. We are a part of a national organization and understand that we must work at this scale in order to defeat our collective enemies.

“We are socialists. We must embrace the struggle to create a true multilingual, multiracial democracy in the United States. We must abolish the racist system of policing that aided and abetted the instigators of yesterday’s attempted coup. We must reject the white supremacist and anti-democratic politics enshrined in the Constitution and the Electoral College. We must replace capitalism with socialism: a system built for human need and run democratically by the working class.

“We know we cannot trust the corporate Democrats to do it. We must mobilize across the country to force our congresspeople to reconvene and advance the measures put forth by Representatives Cori Bush and Ilhan Omar: to remove Trump from office and expel the Republican legislators who instigated the violence.”

Now is the time to organize and build the capacity to win material gains for the working class. 

Support for Rep. Bush’s demand to censure inciting members of Congress

Along with chapters all across the country, we uplift the call of DSA member, Representative Cori Bush, to remove from power all members of Congress who violated their oath of office in encouraging these acts of sedition; including Rep Mike Garcia, of CA’s 25th Congressional District

We encourage all members to contact their representatives and urge them to sign on to Rep. Bush’s proposal.

Engaging in Los Angeles // Our need to organize against Capitalism

In considering our chapter’s response, we have begun reaching out to coalition partners to learn about any planned actions or demands that our members may be able to support, but we are also weighing any such engagement against the fact that 1 in 5 Angelenos currently tested are infected with COVID-19, the fact that a COVID-related death is occuring every 10 minutes, and the fact that our local ICU’s are all well over capacity.

From the attempted coup to racist police violence in Los Angeles and the utter failure of our leaders to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic: All of these ills are the natural fruit of Capitalism, an economic system that prioritizes private accumulation over the common good. The only way we will be able to deal with these evils is by building a democratic, working-class organization that is able to take the power necessary to end this economic system. 

We invite all members of the working class to join us as we fight for our collective liberation! Join DSA today.

Steering Committee, DSA Los Angeles