Why we need allies

[Junkenstein]

People also need allies because then you don't feel alone.

And because a coalition that involves people not directly affected by whatever it is adds credibility to the idea that it's a "human rights" thing, not a "special interest" thing.

There are a lot of reasons, and among them is that "rugged individualism" only works in favor of the people who already have the most power. The rest of us need each other's help.

Yep.  Which is precisely why the money wants to break unions.  It is okay for management to be organized (which it is by definition), therefore it must follow that it is okay for labor to be organized. 

But try saying that out loud.  The majority of people (which, by definition, mostly includes those who would benefit from unions) will immediately start with the buts and the howevers.  They will spew the Fox News line that unions are corrupt, that unions ruined American business (which is why America had no economy from 1940-1979, of course), etc.

When you think of it, what are unions?  Allies.  You shit on one member or one shop, and EVERYONE walks off the fucking job.  Pretty soon the bosses start using the bathroom when they have to shit.

That rotting dead cunt Thatcher single handedly destroyed the trade union movement in this country. The miners lost a war, beaten down by a legion of gestapo stormtroopers whose job it was (allegedly) to protect us from criminals. "Police" they called them. We call them "filth" Dangerous scum who cannot and should not ever be trusted. Our workers were fucked from that day onward. The revolution ended. The bad guys won. There's days I could walk into parliament with a machine gun and waste everything that moves. The only thing on my conscience would be the fact that I ran out of bullets

Can I interest you in Radical Islam?

Please ignore the wire.

[P3nT4gR4m]

People also need allies because then you don't feel alone.

And because a coalition that involves people not directly affected by whatever it is adds credibility to the idea that it's a "human rights" thing, not a "special interest" thing.

There are a lot of reasons, and among them is that "rugged individualism" only works in favor of the people who already have the most power. The rest of us need each other's help.

Yep.  Which is precisely why the money wants to break unions.  It is okay for management to be organized (which it is by definition), therefore it must follow that it is okay for labor to be organized. 

But try saying that out loud.  The majority of people (which, by definition, mostly includes those who would benefit from unions) will immediately start with the buts and the howevers.  They will spew the Fox News line that unions are corrupt, that unions ruined American business (which is why America had no economy from 1940-1979, of course), etc.

When you think of it, what are unions?  Allies.  You shit on one member or one shop, and EVERYONE walks off the fucking job.  Pretty soon the bosses start using the bathroom when they have to shit.

That rotting dead cunt Thatcher single handedly destroyed the trade union movement in this country. The miners lost a war, beaten down by a legion of gestapo stormtroopers whose job it was (allegedly) to protect us from criminals. "Police" they called them. We call them "filth" Dangerous scum who cannot and should not ever be trusted. Our workers were fucked from that day onward. The revolution ended. The bad guys won. There's days I could walk into parliament with a machine gun and waste everything that moves. The only thing on my conscience would be the fact that I ran out of bullets

Can I interest you in Radical Islam?

Please ignore the wire.

Heh, way to smart for that shit. I get angry sometimes but I'm never dumb enough to actully get involved in the affairs of talking monkeys. No point. You just end up covered in banana-flavoured shit.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

The interesting thing about the "we don't want allies" mindset is that it seems to suppose that the oppressed will get unoppressed all by themselves, without enlisting the sympathy or support of members of the oppressor class.

I'm not sure how that's supposed to work, exactly.

[Cainad (dec.)]

The interesting thing about the "we don't want allies" mindset is that it seems to suppose that the oppressed will get unoppressed all by themselves, without enlisting the sympathy or support of members of the oppressor class.

I'm not sure how that's supposed to work, exactly.

By being really mad at the oppressors and repeatedly declaring what a bunch of poopyheads they are.

I mean, obviously.

[Doktor Howl]

The interesting thing about the "we don't want allies" mindset is that it seems to suppose that the oppressed will get unoppressed all by themselves, without enlisting the sympathy or support of members of the oppressor class.

I'm not sure how that's supposed to work, exactly.

It's not about winning free from oppression.  It's about being the most dedicated orangutan on your block.

[Cain]

Yup.  Who's the biggest enemy?  The people almost exactly like you, except for minor doctrinal differences and a power base to support them.  If they get their way, you might not get to lead the Glorious Revolution.  And how will people know how awesome you are if that happened?

[Left]

http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/10/31/357708/flashback-americas-last-general-strike-oakland-1946/

@ Pent:  Sympathy and general strikes are illegal in the United States.
Which is utter bullshit.
It's the biggest tool in the union toolbox, IMO, the sympathy strike.

...I was a Wobbly for a little while until I realized the current state of the IWW in the US is beyond wretched.
But I'm on board with the concept of one big union, or at least strategic alliances between unions.