Dear fellow lefties. Before that last few weeks had anyone ever accused you of racism?

[HardTimes99]

33. Story from a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away. Back in 1977, I was a first-year

student at the U. of Missouri. My philosophy 101 TA was a Communist and, while he did not openly proselytize the class, he did not hide his ideology from us. At one point, he announced that the CP chapter on campus would be protesting the speech of a South African political dignitary because of South Africa's apartheid policies. Now, I was just a teenager fresh from Missouri's Bible Belt and I barely even knew what South Africa was, much less apartheid. But I like to think I knew right from wrong and so I went to the protest as an interested spectator.

When I arrived at the Student Union, I saw a small group of 8-9 protesters carrying signs that opposed South African apartheid marching in a small circle using a handheld microphone. I clapped and cheered them on but did not join the circle myself, probably because I was only starting to get exposure to progressive thought. (What is interesting and ironic in retrospect is that no one from MU's Black Student Union showed up at this protest at least in an official capacity. As I recall, however, the protesters were mixed race and mixed gender.)

From this episode, I have always understood a core organizing principle of anyone on the left is to be and to stand against racism. You can't be a racist and be on the left. The two cancel one another out and you'd go up in a puff of smoke were you to try to be both at the same time. I have also come to expect that Commies and Socialists (of whom I count myself one) will be at the forefront of social change, at least 20 years ahead of what we call 'liberal thought'.