DNC protesters seek a global revolution to destroy capitalism and establish a worldwide socialist federation
In the iconic 1953 film The Wild One, Marlon Brando's character is asked by a woman: "Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?"
Johnny's deadpan reply is: "Whaddya got?"
During last week's protests centered on the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Brando's Johnny would have found a buffet of choices for his rebellion.
The rallies and marches — loud ones with annoying chants, as I explained in my prior post here — ran from Sunday through Thursday. I attended each of the big ones, except for the protest outside of the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday night.
There was a fair amount of "got" at these rallies. But save for a few counter protesters, the radical North Star that the activists gazed upon was the Palestinian side in the Israel-Hamas War.
Well, almost.
The modern far-left has eschewed classical Marxism — only they have repackaged these failed theories. Instead of capitalists exploiting, with the aid of the bourgeoise, the proletariats, the leftists have simplified the message. The world can be divided into two camps, the neo-Marxists believe, the oppressors versus the oppressed.
That explains the many "Queers for Palestine" signs at last week's DNC protests and other rallies worldwide. The first DNC protest, which occurred Sunday evening, was sponsored by a group calling itself Bodies Outside Unjust Laws. Abortion, transgenderism, and abortion — along with of course, Palestine — were the main topics of the speakers at the rally, which ended with a march down Michigan Avenue.
Gay rights are non-existent in Gaza and in the West Bank, and abortion is permitted in the Palestinian-run territories only to save the life of the mother.
Last month, in a speech in front of a joint session of Congress, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made this observation about these protest paradoxes:
"Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming, 'Gays for Gaza,'" he said. "They might as well hold up signs saying, 'Chickens for KFC.'"
Bibi is a smart man, but he missed something. I'll return to this point in a bit.
Two years ago, I attended several rallies in Chicago that were organized to show support Ukraine after the Russian invasion. Unlike the DNC protests, there were no drums banging or chants. Among the signs I saw were "Latvians for Ukraine" and "Lithuanians support Ukraine. "Now, let's say, the worst fears of the residents of the Baltic States comes true — and Vladimir Putin invades. Of course, if there was a rally to protest a Russian invasion of the Baltics, Ukrainian-Americans in great numbers would show up and express their solid support. They would not even have to be asked. They would be there.
What Netanyahu should have, in my opinion, added to his insightful "Chickens for KFC" quip, would be something along the lines of: "When will Palestinian activists show up to a gay rights rally to profess their solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community?"
The answer to this question is, needless to say, never.
Which means that intersectionality, in other words — our cause is your cause if we are both oppressed, is complete nonsense — kind of like these protests, which, as I stated my first DNC Chicago Contrarian article, very likely changed no opinions. A key goal of the protests was to have a Palestinian-American speak at the convention — that didn't happen.
Many of the speakers at these rallies, some of whom were Jewish, called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, as they repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide. Not one speaker called for an outright end to the war — after all, Hamas, Hezbollah, and their ilk view ceasefires simply as a catch-your-breath pause before the next attack.
And not one speaker mentioned the Israeli hostages. At the moment there are about 100 of them being held by Hamas. Taking hostages and purposefully targeting civilians in attacks are widely considered to be war crimes. There also have been accusation of rapes committed by Hamas militants against Israelis — sexual assaults are also considered war crimes.
Occasionally, the spasms at these rallies would veer into utter absurdity. One speaker, a Korean American, called for the removal of American troops from South Korea. He then gave a rundown of recent Korean history, telling the crowd something along the lines of "In 1945, the United States invaded Korea."
Would that radical have preferred that Joseph Stalin "invade" the Korean peninsula after the end of World War II?
There were loads of riffs at these protests mentioning colonizers and colonialism, spewed at these rallies.
Amid the protests, some demonstrators hoisted banners calling for removing American troops from the Philippines. Another poster simply read “Yemen,” and members of radical group Code Pink held “Code Pink” placards. In other corners of demonstrations, I witnessed one radical waving a Hezbollah flag; and another was holding an overtly pro-Hamas sign. Communists turned out too: Openly identifying as communists, they set up tables and had clipboards with them. I believe they were seeking their next Trotsky.
Returning to the fraternity of pro-Ukraine protesters, I did not hear a single speaker mention Russia's invasion of Ukraine — or Georgia —last week. Russian aggression under Putin could be classified as colonialism; however, some oppression is not as important as other oppression, it seems.
Byron Sigcho-Lopez, the alderman of the 25th Ward, led Monday's march on the Near West Side from Union Park to Park 578. On Wednesday, while raging about "genocide" committed by Israel — even though Israel, according to nearly all level-headed observers, goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties — BSL accused Israel of "murdering reporters on a regular basis."
The next day, at Union Park, while serving as an opening act for headliner Jill Stein at that day's noisy Leftapalooza, while again returning to a "genocide" rant, BSL screeched about "Republican fascists."
A Marxist and a member of the Chicago City Council's Democratic Socialist Caucus, Sigcho-Lopez is Mayor Brandon Johnson's choice to chair the powerful City Council Zoning Committee. Business leaders are understandably concerned. Centrist aldermen have so far blocked Johnson's power play.
Having someone like Sigcho-Lopez chairing the Zoning Committee is a frightening prospect. It is not a stretch to imagine BSL blocking a zoning change because the property owner is a Republican or a supporter of Israel — or someone who doesn't share Sigcho-Lopez' extreme-left politics.
The political compass of most Chicagoans — yes, I know Chicago is a deep blue city — is to the right of BSL's compass.
From time to time, I engaged with a few activists during these rallies. After some small-talk banter, I would bring up the hostages held by Hamas, to which many would respond: "You're a fascist." The more polite ones — a distinct minority of the attendees — would tell reply: “You’re just not informed on the subject.”
When Donald Trump campaign surrogate and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made a surprise appearance at a Union Park protest, he eloquently outlined Chicago's problems and spoke favorably, as a surrogate should, about the GOP stance on various issues. Before long, a "racist go home" chant — as you know, these protesters love chants — broke out.
A reasonable person cannot have a thoughtful conversation with leftist activists, but they know how to bellyache about their favored issues.
There is some discussion that the Democratic National Convention could return to Chicago in four years. The protesters will be ready, regardless of the issues.
As Johnny’s Brando remarked: "Whaddya got?"
They will find plenty of gripes in 2028 too.
But with leftists there is in fact just one issue.
Once a left-winger, conservative writer David Horowitz often references an old saying from the Students for a Democratic Society, a 1960s radical group.
"The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution."
And “Gays for Gaza” is just a step on their ladder.
