I just wanted to ask this question as I have heard this talking point mentioned several times here on Lemmygrad, but with little follow up or explanation. I myself am very curious and am actively pursuing joining a local chapter of a party, but I am in a very precarious place in my life, and I would like to inform myself as much as I can before making my final decision.
So what exactly would potential consequences of joining a communist party look like? Do you have any personal experiences with issues or discrimination that arose from your membership to a communist party?
Could these effects be mitigated by joining under an alias? Are the effects permanent? Will being a member prevent a person from traveling internationally and receiving a passport? Will being a member hurt chances of admissions to universities or jobs even if it is not disclosed? Will being a member be discoverable during security clearance checks and prevent the taking of a government job?
I’m sorry for the amount of questions, I’m just very curious, but simultaneously worried about the permanent repercussions that might arise from me seeking to join a party, especially in the heart of the Imperial Core. Thank you for your help and guidance.
99% of the parties available are either controlled opposition or are minorists with little perspective capability for large development. In 2018 we saw a surge of membership to these parties under the banner of “why not? We’ve got to do something!” and “we can reform these orgs from within!” The results are observable; a lot of faux leftist nonsense in left spaces by members of these parties advocating voting and trade unionism, it reminds me of anarcho syndicalists. The US left is still disorganized and now the members who joined are now also confused by the indoctrination they received within these parties. There is only 1 party I know of that doesn’t follow theses trends and they’ve all but dropped off the face of the earth in the past 2 years; PCUSA. And within this stream there are a million tiny and unserious parties that have popped up as well, further degrading the situation: “You’re not the liberation front of America, we are! No no, we’re the American liberation front, you misunderstand.” 😵💫 I think it would not be inappropriate to declare that US mainstream nonsense has continued to successfully knee-cap ML organization in the US, something we haven’t overcame since it’s inception in the 60s of which the joke from my last sentence refers to. This is still going on today. Personally I believe it’s so pervasive due to the immaturity and adventurist character of so many Americans, although the character of the American worker is deeply and quickly changing as we are evidence of. If anything I think the best course of action would be to make yet anther new org, but to make it rooted in pragmatism. So not the American liberation front, but maybe the Chicago leftist org or something much more realistic. Then when those succeed, upgrade the name to something more appropriate to what has been built instead of what one wants to build. Of course, this is secondary to actually being a competent org which is why all of the smaller parties aren’t even worth remembering the names of because the names are often the best quality they ever had sadly. Everyone remembers the Panthers despite their immature and cartoonish name. We remember what they did, not what their shtick was. Otherwise, try to study and observe these parties for one actually worth joining. Who is doing the work? Who is causing results? Are they radical? Are they disciplined? Are they rooted in theory?
UPDATE (1/31/23): Apparently PCUSA is still active. They have been busy pissing off the bourgeois state, getting their site seized, their sub shutdown, accusations not unlike those levied against Maupin, Halali, and Redneck Revolt, against them, and distributing medicine in Cuba according to Cuba in their sub. So they’re still around, but unfortunately still too small.