2020 Is Over, But the Urgency of Our Revolutionary Organizing Only Grows
By: Bryn Taylor
Bryn Taylor is a PhD student, Union Member, and member of the American Party of Labor.
It’s been a rough year in America. Coronavirus arrived in the United States in January, which quickly manifested into country-wide lockdowns in March, massive layoffs, and the deaths of more than 282,000 Americans as of late. On May 25, a Black man named George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Minnesota when a white officer refused to remove his knee from Floyd’s neck during an arrest. This event inspired millions of people to march in the streets in protest for months, fueled by the desire for justice and a deep-seated anger towards the state. Rage for the state-sanctioned violence that allowed millions to become ill to keep the beast of capital fat and now for the state-sanctioned violence killing our Black comrades. Now more than ever, white Americans are interested in educating themselves in anti-racism and systemic oppression, but I am worried this won’t be enough to keep our non-privileged community members safe.
On September 18, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, allowing Trump to nominate his third Supreme Court Justice. As a queer, communist woman, this is terrifying. In my opinion, this newly Conservative-dominated Supreme Court has the potential to be the largest counterrevolutionary force and instill the most long-term harm over the next several decades. I fear for our rights to an abortion, to marry whom we love, and to simply exist as a communist in America. I do not trust Joe Biden or the Democratic Party to protect us.
I also fear Americans will become complacent in a Biden presidency. Easily the best part about 2020 was the electricity of being surrounded by thousands of comrades, joining together to tear down a system that had taken so much from us. While I find Trump to be one of the most repulsive leaders in American history, I worry without the spur of obvious racism and gestures toward authoritarianism, people will find reasons to stay home. I believe Biden’s presidency will be almost as harmful to working people as Trump’s, but with a more elegant façade that the average American will not read as threatening.
Nevertheless, there are certain things I am looking forward to in 2021. First and foremost, I cannot wait for the COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed. Secondly, I am greatly anticipating the trials of Derek Chauvin and the three other police officers implicated in George Floyd’s murder, which will begin March 8, 2021. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, and the others with aiding and abetting second degree murder. I can only hope George will receive more justice than Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and the countless other victims of police violence.
Finally, I look forward to all the ways in which party members and non-member communists across the world will expose the liberal bourgeoisie for what they are: enemies of the worker. With changes in leadership, we have new challenges but the same problems. I constantly find solace in the words of Marx, who tells us revolution is inevitable, and in our comrades, who work every day to ensure this. Together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.