Hate Speak: Pitting Worker Against Worker, So We Won’t Fight Together

 

21Share During the height of the Wisconsin protests against Gov. Walker’s attacks on workers’ rights, chants of “the people, united, will never be defeated” pulsated through the Wisconsin state House. The shaking walls could be heard not just inside the Capitol, but for quite a distance outside. And thanks to the power of the Internet, they could be heard around the world. When we see attacks like autoworkers being blamed for the auto crisis, teachers blamed for the teaching crisis and public workers being blamed for financial difficulties (albeit, often manufactured ones that could be resolved by simply making the rich pay their fair share in taxes)—you can bet that the  same corporate forces that have tried to divide and conquer workers for generations are behind them. How can we overcome divisions in the labor movement—and the broader collective movement—to show solidarity? This Friday, AFL-CIO Media Relations Director Alison Omens moderated a session with Josh Dorner, communications director for Progressive Media at the Center for American Progress, Susan Madrak of  Suburban Guerilla and many other  blogs, Joan  McCarter (aka mcjoan) from Daily Kos, Marcy Wheeler (aka emptywheel) of Firedoglake and John Aravosis of AMERICAblog. (Watch the video here.) They gave us their take on how all of us can work to counter ongoing attacks against working people. It starts with building real solidarity that cuts across class lines and artificial divisions that pit one group of workers against another. And it also requires rejecting both right-wing attacks and, for some of us, confronting our own internal feelings of class identity. Take the New York City snow plow drivers who were accused of deliberately sabotaging snow removal efforts  to smear public workers in the mainstream media, only to be vindicated later. Labor and progressive bloggers—and all of us—need to work to beat back this kind of right-wing smear attack. “Nobody talks about getting up in the middle of the night, plowing snow—and what reality is like,” noted Joan McCarter. “Instead, [snow plow drivers] are reduced to caricatures. There is a certain amount of demonization.” Stopping the demonization of workers starts with recognizing that anyone who has a job—no matter what that job is—deserves a good job, benefits, and respect from other people. And it requires ongoing attention, solidarity and coverage—from bloggers, and from all of us. Watch the full session here: