Fighting homophobia is not sectarianism! from the Maoist Internationalist Movement Here MIM posts its reply to Refuse and Resist (R&R) on homophobia--a reply that Hank (the moderator of PNEWS) found unsuitable for PNEWS because of his rules against political struggle between participants. It comes at the bottom of the thread. PNEWS readers have seen it all except that bottom essay. The order of the posts is as follows: 1) The letter addressed from MIM to Leslie of Refuse & Resist that wound up on PNEWS by mistake as edited by Hank. 2) The letter asking for the above letter not to be posted to PNEWS, posted within a minute of the first, with Hank's reply attached. 3) Leslie's first reply defending Refuse & Resist. 4) The national secretary of Refuse & Resist's reply (Michelle Gross). 5) Refuse & Resist's third reply on PNEWS (Michelle Gross again). 6) MIM's request for clarification by PNEWS of the context of remarks. 7) Refuse & Resist's fourth reply called "Sectarianism." 8) MIM's reply where it finally has it out with these apologists for homophobia. 9) PNEWS guidelines created by Hank regarding homophobia which make you sort of wonder if document 8 should have been banned from PNEWS and whether R&R really upholds the "indisputable" axioms opposing homophobia. The only honest response from Refuse & Resist was the first one from Leslie where she admitted she did not share the RCP's view on homosexuality and that she did work with them. After that, R&R attempted to blame MIM for its problems. However, MIM never said R&R was not diverse etc. We simply asked why does Leslie work with the RCP if she is concerned with issues of sexual oppression. We meant to suggest that working with us would complement her work better than her work with the RCP. As you read the thread you will see precious little that answers the question, and a lot of irrelevant chest- thumping for R&R. We find it especially weak that R&R goes on all this time on-line about abortion rights (cause celebre of young heterosexuals), but can't come clean on homophobia. Penthouse Magazine is also pro-choice, because it doesn't want anything that would interfere with male heterosexual pleasures. By itself, the pro-choice stand is pretty empty if taken as a proxy for women's liberation. It only has meaning when coupled with the battle against forced sterilization, AIDS, homophobia and all inequalities of gender.We see the abortion movement as a power struggle for women, not a matter of individual rights like Penthouse does. Not buying into the oppressor's individualism by which it divides-and-conquers the oppressed is an important reason why it's important to have an overall approach to gender issues. The pro-choice movement is generally though not always in every activist's case, focussed on individual rights, especially as funded by the likes of Penthouse. It's a good thing R&R says all the "attacks" come from the same place. That is a reason that the struggle is a collective one. As we can see, Refuse&Resist's ever-present slogan "Abortion on demand and without apology!" is a good slogan, but only as a part of a larger movement guided by a multi-issue organization like MIM. The RCP does not provide that kind of guidance either, because naturally, with its program, its newspaper spends a lot of time tailing after Penthouse-type liberals. It's not surprising that it would be tailing after the pro-choice movement, because a "flaming heterosexual" party like the RCP has little choice but such a lowest common denominator. Sure the RCP can use impressive rhetoric too when it comes to abortion, but the point is what subjects get raised at all by the RCP and why its gender line is so backward overall. (Oh, and readers should not be fooled by the RCP's approach opposing some anti-homophobic discrimination in the current context while supporting its elimination and exclusion from its party; they are only saying everything the state does now is bad, but when the RCP gets to lead the state, homosexuality or at least its ideology will disappear.) There will always be unconscious homophobia in the ranks of any movement, including those for gay and lesbian rights. The RCP goes beyond that problem though, because it has an explicitly homophobic program. The RCP line and apparently the R&R line based on R&R responses we see here--is to tolerate homophobes in their ranks. To them it is "not a dividing line question"--by which they mean it is OK to be homophobic as long as you work with them. ******************DOCUMENT 1********************* >From pnews-request@world.std.com Mon Nov 21 22:28:24 1994 Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 22:16:49 -0500 (EST) From: PNEWS To: odin@conan.ids.net Subject: Re: elections and revolution Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO [*********PNEWS CONFERENCES************] From: Maoist Internationalist Movement To: PNEWS [Excessive quotes have been deleted....HR] > From: Leslie > > I sure hope others face the fact that voting and the electoral sysytem > in general have NEVER been the conduits of change in this country. > Creating new parties won't help, either. Their issues either get coopted > by the Republicrats or they don't have a prayer anyway, since the electoral > system id set up to ensure the Republicrat rule. Hi, I'm from MIM. What you say i above is absolutely correct. We would add that the reason is that the white nation on the whole is bought-off, including its working class. Hence, organizations that appeal to the same social base can only end up dividing the social base and losing elections. Majority rule within U.S. borders doesn't work, because the majority is oppressors. [...] > While many may not agree with revolution, mass resistance is at least what's > needed. > ABORTION ON DEMAND AND WITHOUT APOLOGY! > > DEFEND ABORTION RIGHTS BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY! We wouldn't talk about "rights," because as you show above, the issue is power struggle. Even "rights" against a government plays into individualist hands. We don't want private property rights extended against the government. We want collective power on reproduction issues. Anyway, why do you work with the RCP at Refuse & Resist and spend so much time on sexuality issues when the RCP program says that homosexuality will be reformed away, as if heterosexuality were not a "sickness" of capitalism? What are your differences with us? ********************************DOCUMENT2*************** >From odin@gate.net Mon Nov 21 22:19:15 1994 Received: from tequesta.gate.net by nyxfer.blythe.org with SMTP (Sendmail 5.59) id AA08081; Mon, 21 Nov 94 22:18:59 EST Return-Path: Received: from hopi.gate.net (odin@hopi.gate.net [198.80.2.39]) by tequesta.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id WAA72007 for ; Mon, 21 Nov 1994 22:20:04 -0500 Received: (from odin@localhost) by hopi.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) id WAA64877; Mon, 21 Nov 1994 22:17:56 -0500 Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 22:17:55 -0500 (EST) From: PNEWS To: Maoist Internationalist Movement Subject: Re: elections and revolution In-Reply-To: <9411160252.AA05960@nyxfer.blythe.org> Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO Sorry, I read this after I posted the last message.... I am rushing through these in order to catch up.. On Tue, 15 Nov 1994, Maoist Internationalist Movement wrote: > Sorry, can you send us back our last message? > It wasn't meant for you. It was just for the > one individual. > > --mim3 > ************************DOCUMENT 3********************** [****PNEWS CONFERENCES****] From: Leslie To: pnews@world.std.com Subject: MIM's questions about Refuse & Resist In response to an earlier posting of mine agreeing with Grover Furr's analysis that the electoral system is a fraud meant to disempower people, MIM asked about the fact that Refuse & Resist works with the RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party). MIM asked why we "spend so much time on sexuality issues when the RCP program says that homosexuality will be reformed anyway...?" Refuse and Resist is an organization made up of a diverse group of people, including members of the RCP, anarchists, revolutionary feminists, NOW folks, ans many others who don't have a specific ideology, but are fed up eith the system's attacks on the people. Our point of unity is that we see attacks coming down on women, people of color, immigrants, gays and lesbianns, or any other group targeted by the reactionary state as originating from the same place-hence our slogan, it's all one attack. Refuse and Resist, then, focuses on fighting AGAINST attacks- we have no unifying statement as to the solution of these problems. This would certainly be impossible, given the range of opinions on this within the group. This in no way impedea our ability to work together effectivly-when the system threatens anyone, LOTS of groups can work together to beat back attacks. A good example abortion rights; when anti-abortion fascists come to town, many groups get together to shut them down, including Refuse & Resist, NOW, NARAL, the ACLU and others.Certainly, thiese groups have serious disagreements as to the solution to stopping anti-abortion terror. This being the case, the RCP's specific program is not part of Refuse and Resist's agenda- just as the solution to various "problems" given by anarchists or NOW folks is also not a unifying point for us. We DO work with the RCP, just as we work with many other groups.Therefore, the RCP's "solution" to homosexuality is not relevant to R&R. I can't say much about the RCP's position on homosexuality, since I'm not a member of that group. I do however, disagree with their assumptions on the issue, as well as many others. Anyone who wants to debate the RCP stance on anything needs to talk to someone from the RCP. Refuse & Resist spends A LOT of time working on "sexuaility" issues because they are under seriuos attack!! Abortion HAS to be a major focus of any group hoping to smash the fascist stormtroopers and their backers. As far as our differences with MIM, I can't really answer since I don't know that much about them. In any case, I would hope that MIM would join R&R in fighting ANY reactionary attacks, whether they agree or disagree with the ideology of specific group members. Certainly as Maoists, MIM would also have disagreements with other in R&R. Let's not let this stop us from fighting a common enemy- the reactionary system. Leslie Griffith Reproductive Freedom Counteroffensive Refuse & Resist ****************************DOCUMENT4********* Date: Thu, 24 Nov 1994 07:22:17 -0500 (EST) From: PNEWS To: odin@conan.ids.net Subject: Re: elections and revolution Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO ###### # # ####### # # ##### # # ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # ###### ##### # # # ##### # # # ##### # # # # # # # # # # # ## # # # # # # # # # ####### ## ## ##### [****PNEWS CONFERENCES****] [Moderator's Note: I had a feeling we were about to embark into rough seas when I let that post from MIM stand, while many others from them and others were rejected for the same reason. Now, it is too late not to allow an answer. BUT, please, let's not get off into sectarian battles that will never end. I think this should be the last word on MIM vs RCP or R&R. Let's work together and find commonality....and NOT emphasize the differences between tendencies on the Left.. Peace, Justice, Humanity, are the concerns of all of us... and I have it on good authority, because we have been through this before, that a lot of folks here don't want to hear sectarian bickering on PNEWS.] From: J. Meisner / M.G. To: odin@gate.net Dear MIM: You wrote to Leslie Griffith: >Anyway, why do you work with the RCP at Refuse & Resist and spend >so much time on sexuality issues when the RCP program says >that homosexuality will be reformed away, as if heterosexuality >were not a "sickness" of capitalism? > >What are your differences with us? I feel compelled to reply to your erroneous, sectarian attack on Refuse & Resist! First of all, R&R! has a very strong history of standing against the attacks on queers by the state and the state's brownshirts--the xian right and others. We have sponsored a number of militant queer rights actions, both national and local in scope. We also have a strong position paper on queer rights, which we just updated this past weekend at our National Council meeting. If you will provide me with your snailmail address, I would be happy to send you a copy of this latest edition as soon as it is back from the printer. Secondly, R&R! is a broad spectrum organization which unites around taking on all aspects of the "New World Order" far right agenda. As such, people come to our organization from many political perspectives. We have within our fold members of NOW, registered Democrats [no registered Republicans, as far as I know], members of DSA, anarchists, queer rights activists, MOVE supporters, nonaffiliated revolutionaries [such as myself], members of the RCP, and nonrevolutionary progressives of all stripes. R&R! does not itself in party politics or endorse any parties or candidates because this is not within our points of unity. I will be happy to send you a copy of our founding statement which has been signed by many thousands of people. These people are as diverse as the late Abbie Hoffman [a founding member], Martin Sheen, Dennis Brutus, Leonard Weinglass, Mumia Abu- Jamal, Ti-Grace Atkinson, Dr. Benjamin Spock, etc. With many individuals and organizations represented within R&R!, I find it absolutely amazing that you would trot out the old line that R&R! is a front group for the RCP. We have experienced that kind of red-baiting before. We expect it from rightwingers and agents of the state. We shouldn't have to tolerate it from people who are supposed to be on the same side. Michelle Gross National Secretary Refuse & Resist! [MIM comment on above document: No we would not give you the honor of red-baiting you. We are white-baiting you.] *****************************DOCUMENT5************** >From odin@shadow.net Fri Nov 25 22:55:39 1994 Received: from shadow.net ([198.79.48.2]) by nyxfer.blythe.org with SMTP (Sendmail 5.59) id AA06944; Fri, 25 Nov 94 22:55:32 EST Return-Path: Received: from tequesta.gate.net (root@tequesta.gate.net [198.80.2.38]) by shadow.net (8.6.8.1/jc-1.0) with ESMTP id WAA07667 for ; Fri, 25 Nov 1994 22:35:36 -0500 Received: from seminole.gate.net (odin@seminole.gate.net [198.80.2.33]) by tequesta.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id WAA36205; Fri, 25 Nov 1994 22:33:16 - 0500 Received: (from odin@localhost) by seminole.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) id WAA60930; Fri, 25 Nov 1994 22:33:29 -0500 Date: Fri, 25 Nov 1994 22:33:29 -0500 (EST) From: PNEWS To: odin@conan.ids.net Subject: Re: elections and revolution In-Reply-To: <69719.meis0010@gold.tc.umn.edu> Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO On Sat, 26 Nov 1994, J. Meisner / M.G. wrote: > Dear Hank: > > This is a private communication to you which is probably unsuitable for > generalized posting. If you find any merit in it, however, you are free > to use it as you see fit. Since I am free to use it, along with my answer, I am posting it herewith.. If additional discussion is warranted or desired I will post it? > > You wrote in relation to my reply to MIM: > > >[Moderator's Note: I had a feeling we were > >about to embark into rough seas when I let that post from MIM stand, > >while many others from them and others were rejected for the same reason. > >Now, it is too late not to allow an answer. BUT, please, let's not get off > >into sectarian battles that will never end. I think this should be the > >last word on MIM vs RCP or R&R. Let's work together and find > >commonality....and NOT emphasize the differences between tendencies on the > >Left.. Peace, Justice, Humanity, are the concerns of all of us... and I > >have it on good authority, because we have been through this before, that > >a lot of folks here don't want to hear sectarian bickering on PNEWS.] > > > > Hank, I am a little concerned that you perceive me as acting in a sectarian > way in my response to MIM. I don't think this is true. It is one thing to > defend yourself from attack. It is another [sectarian] thing to > counterattack, which I did not do. I could have written something like > "well, why does MIM support such-n-such?" etc. but I didn't. I chose not > to take that approach because it just spurs infighting, which saps our > strength and only benefits our common enemies. At a time in which we are > feeling the hot breath of fascism down our necks, we don't have time for > this kind of crap!! > > Much of what prompted me to join PNEWS was reading your statement of > purpose, in which you expressely addressed the issues of sectarian > infighting and flaming. Up to now, this service has not let me down. I > must tell you that I was certainly more than a little surprised to see this > blatant [and false] attack on R&R! allowed to go through PNEWS. It did, > however, give me the opportunity to refute a myth that has been spread > around about us by people who should know better. > > Hopefully, this really will be the last word on this issue. > > Michelle Gross > National Secretary > Refuse & Resist! > I don't see anything in what you say here that I can disagree with... and also in your explanation of the good work of R&R, which is why I allowed it to be posted.. I wanted to caution others [including MIM and you and others] at the same time to not allow any of this to degenerate into a sectarian dispute, not to become embroiled in anything other than what it was... It was not you who I perceived to be heading down the road of sectarian argumentation nor as I recall did MIM actually cross the line, [though if you think they did cross that line and this was a "blatant" attack, then it was my error in judgment in allowing it to be posted, and in which case it should not have been] however, we do come dangerously close to a steep precipice with organizational comparisons and I also did not want it to go any further than that.. Hopefully, this will be the last word because as you astutely stated, we, "are feeling the hot breath of fascism breathing down our necks, and we don't have time for that crap." Hank Roth Moderator **********************DOCUMENT6************************* >From odin@shadow.net Mon Nov 28 11:01:42 1994 Received: from shadow.net (anshar.shadow.net) by nyxfer.blythe.org with SMTP (Sendmail 5.59) id AA05739; Mon, 28 Nov 94 11:01:31 EST Return-Path: Received: from tequesta.gate.net (root@tequesta.gate.net [198.80.2.38]) by shadow.net (8.6.8.1/jc-1.0) with ESMTP id KAA17886 for ; Mon, 28 Nov 1994 10:36:22 -0500 Received: from seminole.gate.net (odin@seminole.gate.net [198.80.2.33]) by tequesta.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) with ESMTP id KAA37197; Mon, 28 Nov 1994 10:34:01 - 0500 Received: (from odin@localhost) by seminole.gate.net (8.6.9/8.6.9) id KAA60843; Mon, 28 Nov 1994 10:34:16 -0500 Date: Mon, 28 Nov 1994 10:34:15 -0500 (EST) From: PNEWS To: odin@conan.ids.net Subject: Re: elections and revolution Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Status: RO [*********PNEWS CONFERENCES************] From: Maoist Internationalist Movement To: PNEWS Wherein I, Hank Roth, wrote the following: > > Sorry, I read this after I posted the last message.... I am rushing > through these in order to catch up.. > > > On Tue, 15 Nov 1994, Maoist Internationalist Movement wrote: > > > Sorry, can you send us back our last message? > > It wasn't meant for you. It was just for the > > one individual. > > > > --mim3 > > > Hank, did you post this message to the pnews or just to me? Now Refuse & Resist is saying we attacked them and so on when the post was to one person. Of course we stand by the content of our post, but it was for one person in Refuse & Resist. If you did not inform pnews of our little mistake in replying to the wrong person (technical e-mail matter), please post this message. As a matter of policy, we don't casually attack the RCP-line in public and always explain that it would take more than 5 minutes to understand these issues. The exception of course is occasional articles in our official media and one-on-one conversations with people who should know better--including apologists for homophobia. --mim3 _______________________________________ Moderator's Note: I apologize for all the problems [temporarily, I hope] caused by posting that letter... Unless a letter of correspondance is marked "confidential" my assumption is that it is for the list... and it wasn't until after I read the second note from MIM did I realize that it was not intended to be a public letter... Hank Roth Moderator/Facilitator PNEWS **************************DOCUMENT 7*********************** >From odin@shadow.net Thu Dec 1 12:42:55 1994 Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 12:10:04 -0500 (EST) From: ODIN To: odin@conan.ids.net Subject: SECTARIANISM [*****PNEWS CONFERENCES****] [Moderator's Note: Right or wrong I do feel compelled to post the following since it was intended for the list as a followup to what has already been said here. I do hope we can end this disputation amicably for I can't allow snippety attacks against organizations on the left to continue on PNEWS from anyone. And I'm not blaming anyone else, BUT the momentum for this discussion was started and allowed to go on initially by me, and if there has been a mistake, the fault is really mine-----and these squabbles are not easily squashed once started. It has happened here before and that is why we have guidelines, which were amended numerous times to prevent this very thing from happening again. So, please, EVERYONE, let us seek the common good and in the spirit of solidarity as per the standards set herein by guidelines for that purpose, let's work towards building a united front instead of allowing ourselves to become embroiled in sectarian battles. That is what the majority of those here want from this list. And it is my sense that both R&R and MIM want the same. HR From: Leslie To: odin@SHADOW.NET Subject: SECTARIANISM Once again, I find I must spend time that could be devoted to REAL activism to answer an attack on Refuse & Resist by MIM (Maoist Internationalist Movement). Hank, don't apoligize for posting MIM's letter that started this whole thing. If they wanted to send it to only me, they could have. My email address is at the top of all of my postings. You should not be responsible for babysitting people'sw email. Anyway, I suppose it's all the better that we know about the unprincipled attacks on ANY group by others. It just shows how far the left needs to go in organizing a UNITED front- something Refuse & Resist attempts to do by being an "umbrella" organization for ANYONE interested in fighting attacks brought down by the state against women, people of color, immigrants, gays and lesbians, folks on welfare and the targets of state- sponsored cencorship. I will repeat: Refuse & Resist is a BROAD coalition of people, including anarchists, unaffiliated revolutionaries, revolutionary feminists, people just plain fed up with the reacionary government, memebers of DSA, democrats, and members of the RCP (Revolutionary Communist Party). If Refuse & Resist funtioned as a group who were "apologists for homophobia" (MIM's words), then seven Refuse & Resist members would not have driven to Atlanta for the 1988 DNC convention to denounce not only this event, but also be arrested at a Cracker Barrel protest. Atlanta R&R also participaed in the Free John Kappers campaign. John Kappers was placed under house arrest officially because he had non-treatable tuberculosis due to his having HIV. He was also a very active ACT-UP member and wrote some serious critiques of the Dekalb County Health Department. He recently died due to HIV-related illnesses. R&R also gave a Courageous Resister award to the the ACT-UP members who disrupted Tom Brokaw's newscast during the Gulf War shouting, "Fight AIDS, not Arabs!". This is but a SHORT list of what R&R has done to support queer rights. It's two- twelve in the morning. Anyone who wants a longer list can write to: Refuse & Resist P.O. Box 15003 Atlanta GA 30333 In addition, anyone in the Atlanta area who wants to go to Biloxi, Mississippi the weekend of Dec. 9-10 for a march protesting the Jones County's treatment of the case of two gay men who were murdered execution style can call: (404) 239-8054 to arrange a ride. Briefly, after the men were murdered, the local pigs did a sweep of the black community to find a culprit. They found one- a sixteen year old black teenager. In their ongoing attempt to divide the black and queer comunities, the "defense" for the sixteen year old (who originally said he was innocent), has pursuaded the defendant to say that the two men men made sexual advances toward him. As a result, the county now wants to conduct post-humous AIDS tests on the murdered men to see if they were HIV positive. If they were, then the state plans to say the murders were "justifiable homicide". Pretty clever- divide the movement, cater to the hysterical right wing "pedophilia" crap, and blame people with AIDS. IT'S AN OUTRAGE!Contact the Gay and Lesbian Friendly Center in Biloxi for details. Thet are organizing the protest. It's a shame that MIM"s sectarian and opportunist remarks even occur, considering the REAL work that needs to be done to fight a common enemy. They can have all the spats they want to with the RCP- but why waste everyone else's time? I repeat: The RCP does NOT equal R&R. Anyone who wants to debate them on the subject of homosexuality needs to talk to someone from the RCP. While MIM seems concerned with sectarian spats, I think we should ALL unite to beat back a common enemy- THE REACTIONARY STATE. See you in Biloxi... Leslie Griffith Reproductive Freedom Counteroffensive Refuse & Resist ***************************DOCUMENT8******************** MIM response to R&R tirade: Fighting homophobia is not sectarianism! Any examination of the follow-up in the conflict between MIM and Refuse&Resist would.show who is sectarian just by the space R&R dedicates to rebuttals of imaginary issues. We already said it was a technical mistake we made posting the question to Hank. The proof is the letter asking for our post back from Hank sent instantaneously after the initial mistaken post intended for one person in Refuse & Resist. (Yes R&R precisely because your e-mail address WAS at the top of the post we responded to, we thought it was going to you! Sheesh.) Two combined mistakes of 30 seconds or less by me and Hank and the R&R goes berserk. We think it is self-evident from that who is hard to work with. We suppose no one in R&R ever has such momentary lapses. With such stringent expectations R&R will find it hard to find anyone to work with, but we suspect these expectations only apply to MIM, since R&R works with the RCP. We never denied R&R was for diverse people of differing opinions. We only asked why they would dedicate so much energy to issues connected to gender and work with the RCP. Even our initial post mistakenly sent to PNEWS was careful to point out our agreements with the R&R post on abortion. We agree that there has to be a united front against attacks from the state. However, PNEWS is not the state and within any united front the communists maintain rights of independent agitation as is built into the phrase as it was defined by the communists in the first place. Now if you are not working in a united front, and R&R is really just a coalition, then that is different and we don't agree. That's another matter. It seems that R&R insists on having this out, but we only raised one contradiction within R&R's stated purpose. Their rebuttals emphasize R&R is for unity against attacks. Well some people would say calling for homosexuality or the "ideology of homosexuality"(as it says in the RCP's most gay/lesbian-friendly manifesto to date) to be eliminated IS AN ATTACK. So we asked why does R&R work with RCP on this? That's a question for R&R members. Unfortunately it's been made into a huge question for PNEWS now too. Hurray for the R&R action at CrackerBarrel. Being an apologist means tolerating something that should not be. Someone who demonstrates at a restaurant may go home and laugh along with racist, sexist or homophobic jokes and maybe say later that they themselves didn't agree with the jokes. Some people in R&R are correct on gay/lesbian issues. Some people in the RCP are as well. The point of RCP policy is to tolerate homophobes and progressive heterosexuals in their ranks, just not gays and lesbians. The RCP line tolerates homophobia. This is not surprising since the current leader of the organization is still the same leader of the group back into the 1970s that believed homosexuality is a sickness caused by capitalism. Longer articles to that effect have appeared much more recently in the RCP media. Facts: 1. The RCP program calls for the elimination of the ideology of homosexuality. The original draft said homosexuality would disappear. 2. According to an RCP spokesperson in Detroit, practicing gays and lesbians are not allowed in the party! Talk about sectarian! 3. According to an RCP member at an Ann Arbor, Michigan art festival, he had nothing against gays, but he just didn't want them teaching his young children at school so they would grow up learning the wrong things. Despite this, MIM has already publicly defended the RCP from extreme attacks by people in the National Lawyers Guild and lesbian activist groups. Some in the National Lawyers Guild went so far as to proclaim they would not defend RCP defendants when cops busted them. Precisely because that sort of thing will happen, there needs to be struggle to build real unity. So much better it would be for the RCP to make a clean break, so the whole conflict with the National Lawyers Guild folks vis-a-vis the state would never get a chance to get off the ground. Ultimately that is much more serious than what is going on here on the PNEWS. If this struggle on PNEWS contributes to cleansing the ranks of divisive homophobia, that will be an important contribution. For more information, write us. --mim3 for the Maoist Internationalist Movement ***************************DOCUMENT9******************** "In addition thereto, PNEWS CONFERENCES are based on certain definitive indisputable propositions: that all men and womyn are entitled to basic rights, to-wit: good and affordable health care, food, shelter, liveable wages, equal rights and opportunities and a guiding principle is our opposition to racism, anti-Semitism, gay bashing, chauvinism, sexism, etc. Thus, we also discuss a myriad of issues pursuant to those propositions in an effort to provide better understanding for their root causes and the agendas around them. PNEWS CONFERENCES examine those issues that cause despair and alienation."