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Baseball season is almost here, and at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock, Michigan, the West Michigan Whitecaps and their ballpark owners Fifth Third Bank are rolling out a new item at the concession stand this year. The "Fifth Third Burger" boasts 1.66 pounds of beef (that's 5/3 pounds, folks) and it's topped with 5 slices of cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, chili and Fritos. It takes a whole pound of dough to make the eight-inch sesame seed bun. All together, the Fifth Third Burger is around 4,800 calories, which is something like two days worth of the recommended caloric intake for a 20 year-old with an average build.
So, is this the best time to tout our own decadence given our current situation? Before you make the drive to Comstock for your own Fifth Third Burger, here are a few things to contemplate:
The global financial system is still on the brink of collapse as the world economy continues to contract. Our financial institutions are in a state of ruin. Fifth Third Bancorp (a.k.a Fifth Third Bank, if you're keeping tabs on this stuff) lost over $10 billion in the past 12 months.
In early March 2009, American unemployment hit a 25-year high. According to a recent article from cnnmoney.com, more than 3.3 million jobs were lost in the past six months.
Addiction and depression rates are continuing to rise as economic conditions worsen.
Adults and children continue to suffer from treatable illnesses while our healthcare system remains in a seemingly perpetual state of disrepair.
Well, despite all of the information above, if you're bold enough – and hungry enough – to step up to the plate and gorge yourself in the spirit of excess and gluttony, the Fifth Third Burger is your destiny. For those who are able to polish off this slop bucket on a platter all by yourself, a free t-shirt is the much-coveted prize that awaits you.
And given the current course of our economy, that t-shirt will come in quite handy when all you have left are the proverbial "clothes on your back."
Marxists Internet Archive and Erythrós Press and Media are pleased to announce the publication of Hegel's Logic (MIA Publications, featuring a Foreword by Andy Blunden). The book is now available for purchase through Erythrós Press and Media ($25 plus shipping). Proceeds benefit Marxists Internet Archive.
The 1830 Logic, which Hegel used in his lectures, is a reliable and structured presentation of Hegel's mature views. The text is provided with a new Foreword by Andy Blunden which approaches Hegel from a Marxist perspective and will help the novice appreciate Hegel's importance. This introduction goes a long way to unlocking the mysteries of Hegel's writing for the uninitiated.
To mark International Women’s Day 2009, I am happy to present some biographical sketches and works of some of my favorite female authors and activists. Also included is a work on gender equality from pre-revolutionary China.
Iris Chang
Iris Chang (1968 - 2004) was a Chinese-American author who is best known for her 1997 book The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, which provides the most thorough English-language account of the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the occupation of Nanking, China in the late 1930’s. The success of her book bolstered awareness regarding the war crimes committed by the Japanese and in the years following the publication of The Rape of Nanking, Chang led a public campaign urging the Japanese government to both apologize for war-time atrocities and to compensate survivors of the Nanking massacre.
Iris Chang died suddenly in 2004.
Han
Suyin
Han Suyin (1917 - ) is a physician and author. She was born in China and much of her writing involves the history and struggles of the Chinese People. She has written a number of works on the history of modern China, including the 1972 book The Morning Deluge: Mao Tse-tung and the Chinese Revolution, 1893-1954. She has also penned a multi-volume autobiographical series and a number of novels, including her most celebrated work, A Many Splendoured Thing (1952).
Dr. Han is recognized worldwide as an authority Chinese history and culture. In 1996, she was named “Friendship Envoy" by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. She currently resides in Switzerland.
In 2008, she was charged with a number of crimes against the Islamic regime of Iran in connection with the Students’ Day protests. Later the same year, she was voted an honorary Vice President of the National Union of Students.
Begum Rokeya (1880 - 1932) was an author an activist for women’s rights in undivided Bangladesh.
One evening I was lounging in an easy chair in my bedroom and thinking lazily of the condition of Indian womanhood. I am not sure whether I dozed off or not. But, as far as I remember, I was wide awake. I saw the moonlit sky sparkling with thousands of diamond-like stars, very distinctly.
All on a sudden a lady stood before me; how she came in, I do not know. I took her for my friend, Sister Sara.
"Good morning," said Sister Sara. I smiled inwardly as I knew it was not morning, but starry night. However, I replied to her, saying, "How do you do?"
"I am all right, thank you. Will you please come out and have a look at our garden?"
I looked again at the moon through the open window, and thought there was no harm in going out at that time. The men-servants outside were fast asleep just then, and I could have a pleasant walk with Sister Sara.
I used to have my walks with Sister Sara, when we were at Darjeeling. Many a time did we walk hand in hand and talk light-heartedly in the botanical gardens there. I fancied, Sister Sara had probably come to take me to some such garden and I readily accepted her offer and went out with her.
When walking I found to my surprise that it was a fine morning. The town was fully awake and the streets alive with bustling crowds. I was feeling very shy, thinking I was walking in the street in broad daylight, but there was not a single man visible.
Some of the passers-by made jokes at me. Though I could not understand their language, yet I felt sure they were joking. I asked my friend, "What do they say?"
"The women say that you look very mannish."
"Mannish?" said I, "What do they mean by that?"
"They mean that you are shy and timid like men."
"Shy and timid like men?" It was really a joke. I became very nervous, when I found that my companion was not Sister Sara, but a stranger. Oh, what a fool had I been to mistake this lady for my dear old friend, Sister Sara.
She felt my fingers tremble in her hand, as we were walking hand in hand.
"What is the matter, dear?" she said affectionately. "I feel somewhat awkward," I said in a rather apologizing tone, "as being a purdahnishin woman I am not accustomed to walking abut unveiled."
"You need not be afraid of coming across a man here. This is Ladyland, free from sin and harm. Virtue herself reigns here." (read the full text)
* * *
Voltairine
DeCleyre
A selection from “The Gods and the People” by Voltairine de Cleyre (1891) transcription from Anarchist Archive
Voltairine de Cleyre (1866-1912) was an American anarchist who was well known as an author and orator. She wrote and spoke extensively on the matter of gender equality.
The rights?-Ah ! the right to toil, That another, idle, may reap ; The right to make fruitful the soil, And a meagre pittance to keep.
The right of a woman to own Her body spotlessly pure, And starve in the street--alone! The right of the wronged--to endure !
The right of the slave--to its yoke, The right of the hungry--to pray, The right, of the toiler--to vote For the master who buys his day !
You have sold the sun and the air, You have dealt in the price of blood, You have taken the lion's share While the lion is fierce for food!
You have laid the load of the strong On the helpless, the young, the weak! You have trod out the purple of wrong;-- Beware where its wrath shall wreak!
"Let the voice of the People be heard! O-- " You strangled it with your rope, Denied the last dying word While your Trap and your Gallows spoke!
But a thousand voices rise Where the words of the martyr fell ; The seed springs fast to the Skies Watered deep from that bloody well!
Mao Zedong wrote extensively on the rights of women, but his work on this particular subject is often overshadowed by his philosophical and military writings. This early work by Mao brought much needed attention to the practice of arranged marriage in semi-feudal, semi-colonial China.
A person's suicide is entirely determined by circumstances. Was Miss Chao's original idea to seek death? On the contrary, it was to seek life. If Miss Chao ended up by seeking death instead, it is because circumstances drove her to this. The circumstances in which Miss Chao found herself were the following; (1) Chinese society; (2) the Chao family of Nanyang Street in Changsha; (3) the Wu family of Kantzuyuan Street in Changsha, the family of the husband she did not want. These three factors constituted three iron nets, composing a kind of triangular cage. Once caught in these three nets, it was in vain that she sought life in every way possible. There was no way for her to go on living; the contrary of life is death, and Miss Chao thus felt compelled to die....If, among these three factors, there had been one that was not an iron net, or if one of these nets had opened, Miss Chao would certainly not have died. (1) If Miss Chao's parents had not had recourse to compulsion but had yielded before Miss Chao's free will, Miss Chao would certainly not have died; (2) if Miss Chao's parents had not resorted to compulsion but had permitted Miss Chao to explain her point of view to the family of her future husband, and to explain the reasons for her refusal, and if in the end the family of her future husband had accepted her point of view, and respected her individual freedom, Miss Chao would certainly not have died; (3) even if her parents and the family of her future husband had refused to accept her free will, if in society there had been a powerful group of public opinion to support her, if there were an entirely new world where the fact of running away from one's parents' home and finding refuge elsewhere were considered honourable and not dishonourable, in this case, too, Miss Chao would certainly not have died. If Miss Chao is dead today, it is because she was solidly enclosed by the three iron nets (society, her own family, the family of her future husband); she sought life in vain and finally was led to seek death...
Yesterday's incident was important. It happened because of the shameful system of arranged marriages, because of the darkness of the social system, the negation of the individual will, and the absence of the freedom to choose one's own mate. It is to be hoped that interested persons will comment on all aspects of this affair, and that they will defend the honour of a girl who died a martyr's death for the cause of the freedom to choose her own love...
The family of the parents and the family of the future husband are both bound up with society; they are both parts of society. We must understand that the family of the parents and the family of the future husband have committed a crime, but the source of this crime lies in society. It is true that the two families themselves carried out this crime; but a great part of the culpability was transmitted to them by society. Moreover, if society were good, even if the families had wanted to carry out this crime, they would not have had the opportunity to do so...
Since there are factors in our society that have brought about the death of Miss Chao, this society is an extremely dangerous thing. It was capable of causing the death of Miss Chao; it could also cause the death of Miss Ch'ieh, Miss Sun, or Miss Li. It is capable of killing men as well as women. All of us, the potential victims, must be on our guard before this dangerous thing that could inflict a fatal blow on us. We should protest loudly, warn the other human beings who are not yet dead, and condemn the countless evils of our society... This article is for Thomai, K., Z. and for my friend Clara Statello. These are the women I admire.
First, I must offer a point of clarification...As much as I’d like to write a thorough summary of one of the best lectures I have ever had the privilege to attend, I’m sure that I would not be able to present the subject matter with the depth and detail it most certainly deserves. Instead, the following article mainly discusses the personal significance of the evening, as it was a night filled with memorable moments that will profoundly influence me and my family for many years to come.
On February 23, 2009, I attended a lecture by Angela Y. Davis at my alma mater, Wright State University. The last event I attended at WSU was a lecture by Cornel West back in January 2006 and it was a tremendous experience. As wonderful as that event was, I must say that the opportunity to see Angela Davis speak was more than just a little exciting for me. I was literally jumping up and down when I first learned about the lecture several months ago and I anticipated the date with a great deal of enthusiasm.
At this point, I must note unequivocally that Angela Davis is a hero to me. For decades, she has remained at the forefront of struggles for oppressed and exploited people around the world. Her public victories and her personal sacrifices are well documented and her body of work is a significant contribution to the study and improvement of important issues including those of class consciousness as well as race and gender equality.
Some years ago, I purchased a vintage poster of Angela Davis from an estate liquidation sale on eBay. It was already framed and under glass and as I recall, the price for the poster — including shipping on the big, bulky item (from Texas, I think) — was relatively steep. But I was lucky to acquire it and I still remember the day that I put it up on the wall in our home library room. It’s pretty big and Angela’s portrait dominates the poster, accompanied by the bold title: “Victims of the World’s Greatest Conspiracy!” There are some other images and text around her picture, including portraits of Huey P. Newton and George Jackson as well as some verses from Claude McKay’s poem “If We Must Die.” I think the poster was printed by a San Francisco Bay area book store while Angela was in jail awaiting trial on a series of bogus charges (She was eventually acquitted of all charges in 1972). The poster is original (as opposed to a reproduction) and some nail holes, small tears and a few notes in pencil are visible to the attentive observer. To be honest, I really find the “wear and tear” to add quite a bit of historical and sentimental value to the poster.
I realize it might seem a little odd to embark on a tangent about a simple poster what is supposed to be an account of a speaking engagement, but there is something very important about this poster in the context of my experience in seeing Angela speak at WSU: This piece has been hanging on the wall in our library room ever since our older daughter K. was a toddler. Both K. and our younger daughter Z. have looked upon Angela’s portrait for years. They know her face and they know her name. Sure, it’s true that they are too young to really understand that much about Angela and what she stands for, but they know that she is important. And I don’t mean that they just know she is important to me. They know she is an important woman and some day, they will know her story. This is what made so significant that baby Z. accompanied me to the lecture at WSU. It was truly a remarkable opportunity for me as a father to share this experience with one of my daughters.
Thomai had hoped to attend the lecture with me, but she was scheduled to teach a Greek school class that night. Since K. is one of her star pupils, she was not able to attend the event either. Later that night (after Z. and I got home from the lecture), Thomai told me that K. had expressed some disappointment that she was not able to go to the lecture with us. I was, of course, glad that she did not skip Greek school, but it was also good to know that she would have attended the lecture with some enthusiasm had things worked out. T. offered to take Z. to school with her a number of times, but I was very happy at the prospect of having her accompany me to the event, so we packed a backpack full of coloring books, paper, stuffed animals and Goldfish crackers and we headed up the road to WSU.
We arrived at WSU pretty early for the event, getting there at around 6:00 PM even though it wasn’t scheduled to begin until 7:30 PM. Z. wasn’t really sure about where we were for a while because she kept referring to the WSU campus as “the mall.” She had taken a short nap on the way to WSU, so she was a little disoriented when we got out of the car. I eventually told her that we were at the same place that we go to for the annual comic book show and that seemed to register. I also told her we were there to hear Angela Davis speak and that seemed to bring about some faint realization that we were going to see someone important. I met up with a friends from work while we were waiting to for the lecture hall to open its doors. While we stood there talking, we heard that Angela was already in the building and that she was a guest lecturer for a class across the hall. Shortly after we learned this, I looked up to see Angela standing in the hallway just a couple of yards from us. It was a breathtaking moment to be in her presence for the first time. She had just stepped out of the classroom to chat with some people and I heard someone say that she would be running late for the lecture portion of the evening because she had to go back to her hotel to prepare for the evening. I was a little worried for Z.’s sake, because although she is a patient child, her attention span has some understandable limitations. After a short time, Angela left the area and we filed into the lecture. We snagged some third-row seats, which was pretty good considering that the first two rows were reserved for WSU students and faculty.
The speech started a little later than scheduled, but we took advantage of the opportunity to get to know some people sitting around us. Z. read some books with my friend from work while I chatted with another friend who sat in back of us. I also talked with a lady who is on the Board of Directors for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati and a gentleman who is a professor of African-American studies at WSU.
Angela entered the room quietly, but everyone who noticed her perked up as we knew things were about to get moving. After some brief comments by staff from the Women’s Center and an introduction from WSU President David R. Hopkins, Angela took the stage and began her lecture.
The main portain of Angela’s lecture was around 45 minutes or so. She started by discussing the history of International Women’s Day, making note of the fact that the original purpose of the occasion was to honor the militant strikes of women garment workers in New York. It was especially noteworthy that Angela stressed the point that socialists were among the early champions of the women's movement, as this is a fact that many mainstream academics and authors might typically avoid for political reasons. She then discussed the history of Black History Month, sharing some of the lesser known facts and anniversaries associated with the civil rights movement in America. Tying the two aforementioned topics together, Angela spoke in some detail regarding the collective role of women of color in the struggle for civil rights, placing particular emphasis on the “anonymous” women of the movement throughout its most pivotal points. She recommended the book The Montgomery Boycott and the Women Who Started It by Jo Ann Robinson as further reading on the subject.
Some of the more intriguing comments of the evening came during Angela’s discussion on the election of Barack Obama. Angela touched upon the importance of race as both a “third rail” and a decisive factor in the ultimate outcome of the election. She expressed cautious optimism for the enormous potential of Obama as both a political leader and as a catalyst for geopolitical change, associating Obama’s vision with the spirit of 60’s radicalism. But she also was very candid in the need for continued scrutiny and dissent, noting that Obama is now the leader of the greatest imperial power on Earth. She declared in no uncertain terms that Barack Obama is not a “messiah” and that we should expect to disagree with his ideas and decisions throughout his time in office. These concepts were very well received by the audience, who focused intently upon Angela’s every word.
Z. was an incredible sport about everything as the night went on. There was a tense moment early on in which she quietly confessed to being “a little bored” and she got a little tearful when she started missing Thomai and K. But after a minute or so flipping through the pictures on our digital camera, she was in good shape again. She played quietly with some figurines and her favorite Madball, “Dust Brain.” At one point, she started digging through her backpack and flipping through her coloring books. I asked what she was looking for and she said she wanted paper to draw, so I got several blank sheets and a ball-point pen out for her. She doodled a bit on a few pages and I went back to listening to the lecture. After a few minutes, I looked down at the page she was working on and I noticed she had drawn what appeared to be a woman standing near a large rectangle. I looked up at the stage and saw Angela standing behind a podium and I looked back down at Z.’s picture. I tapped at the drawing and said, “Is that Angela Davis on the stage?” and she said, “Yes.” I watched a bit as she added in the stage, the lighting rig above it, and the plant that was next to the podium. She drew intently for a while and then she got some crayons and started coloring in the scenery. When she was finished, she showed me the picture and I said, “Do you want to give that to Angela?” She said that she did and then — because she was obviously pretty tired by that point — added, “Maybe we can just mail it to her.” I laughed and told her that was something to consider, but that we might try and give it to her personally before the end of the evening.
Later in the lecture, Angela talked about the problems of American prisons and the movement to abolish the current prison system. Her work in this particular area actually predates her involvement with the Soledad Brothers, although the Soledad case ultimately proved to be a pivotal moment in her development as an activist. Her recent work on the abolition of prisons includes the 1997 lecture entitled The Prison Industrial Complex and Angela noted during the WSU presentation that she is also at work on a forthcoming volume regarding the American penal system.
After concluding her lecture, Angela opened a question and answer session, discussing a broad range of issues regarding Marxism and socialism, feminism, and gender issues. One particularly interesting segment involved a University of Louisville student who asked Angela to speak a bit on the late Anne Braden. Angela obliged, sharing some stories about Braden’s fight against segregation Louisville during the 1950’s. Angela also talked a bit about her relationship with Braden and she encouraged the audience to read more about Braden and her husband, Carl Braden. Angela engaged the crowd as a consummate public speaker, yet spoke in very plain terms and enjoyed the opportunity to interact directly with admirers and students of varied backgrounds and interests.
Around 9:40 PM, Thomai called to see how Z. and I were doing. Both Thomai and I were a little concerned about keeping Z. out so late but I also struggled with the idea of leaving without getting a chance to meet Angela at the book signing following the lecture. I decided that Z. and I should go ahead and get a spot in the book signing line ahead of time, so Z. and I packed up and moved back out to the hall. The line was not too long, but I was worried that things might drag if Angela decided to take a long break after wrapping things up in the lecture hall. Fortunately, just a few minutes after we secured our spot in line, Angela came out and went right to work signing books and posing for pictures.
Z. still had the picture she drew and she still had a lot of energy at this point, although I was not sure if she was more excited about giving Angela the picture or about the fact that I agreed to get her some chicken nuggets for the ride home. I talked with a few folks in line while we waited and a young lady in back of us agreed to take our picture with Angela once we made it to the front of the line.
After a brief wait, it was finally our chance to meet Angela. I was almost too nervous to talk as I approached her. We shook hands and I introduced Z. to her. I told her that Z. had drawn a picture for her and that Z. wanted to give it to her. I also noted that Z. had done this on her own because I didn’t want to seem like some kind of strange, overzealous parent. Z. opened the picture (she had folded it into quarters) and Angela stooped down, placing her hands on her knees to get a closer look. I told Angela, “It’s a picture of you speaking on stage.” and she softly replied, “It sure is.” She talked briefly with Z., noting the details of the picture, including the plant next to the podium and a piece of a projection camera that Z. described as “that digital thing.” Angela accepted the gift from Z. and put it down on the table as I presented a book that I asked her to sign. The book was a 1984 International Publishers volume of work by Clara Zetkin that includes a foreword by Angela. Although I have several of books by Angela, this volume has been a favorite of mine for many years. She kind of chuckled when she saw the book, asking, “How long have you had this?” We talked for just a few seconds about some common interests and acquaintances, but my nervousness persisted and I didn’t get the chance to articulate some of the things I wanted share. I wanted to tell her some funny things, like how I read aloud to the girls from Marcuse’s One Dimensional Man when they are slow to finish their dinner. I wanted to tell her how I recommend her book Women, Race and Class to people whenever I get the chance. I had hoped to share a bit about my own activism and work in a variety of forums and media. But I knew time was fleeting and I couldn’t really gather the wherewithal to come across as anything less than a star-struck admirer.
I then asked if Z. and I could have a picture taken with her and she kindly agreed. Z. walked in front of Angela to pose for the picture and Angela looked down at her and said, “Do you want to come up here?” Then Angela Davis — legendary 60’s radical, former Black Panther, two-time candidate for Vice President on the CPUSA ticket and a worldwide icon of militant struggle — put her hands under Z.’s arms and hoisted her up to the table for the picture.
It was a simple gesture, really...But everyone around us seemed to be moved by it. The experience cast and indelible imprint on my mind as to the compassion and attention to detail which drives true revolutionaries in their efforts improve conditions for everyone regardless of the various minor differences that often divide us. The moment reminded me of one of my favorite quotes by Che Guevara in which he proclaims:
...the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality.
Once the photograph was snapped, we said our goodbyes and the night came to an end. Although Z. is too young to grasp the significance of what she heard and experienced, we now have a wonderful picture to commemorate our evening with Angela Davis. Someday, when Z. is old enough to learn about Angela’s life and work, I’m sure she will appreciate the time we shared with Angela. It is my sincere hope that moments like this will encourage our children — the new generation and the future of social development and change — to make their mark on history as they work to make the world a better place.
So, is this the best time to tout our own decadence given our current situation? Before you make the drive to Comstock for your own Fifth Third Burger, here are a few things to contemplate:
On February 23, 2009, I attended a lecture by 
I realize it might seem a little odd to embark on a tangent about a simple poster what is supposed to be an account of a speaking engagement, but there is something very important about this poster in the context of my experience in seeing Angela speak at WSU: This piece has been hanging on the wall in our library room ever since our older daughter K. was a toddler. Both K. and our younger daughter Z. have looked upon Angela’s portrait for years. They know her face and they know her name. Sure, it’s true that they are too young to really understand that much about Angela and what she stands for, but they know that she is 
After a brief wait, it was finally our chance to meet Angela. I was almost too nervous to talk as I approached her. We shook hands and I introduced Z. to her. I told her that Z. had drawn a picture for her and that Z. wanted to give it to her. I also noted that Z. had done this on her own because I didn’t want to seem like some kind of strange, overzealous parent. Z. opened the picture (she had folded it into quarters) and Angela stooped down, placing her hands on her knees to get a closer look. I told Angela, “It’s a picture of you speaking on stage.” and she softly replied, “It sure is.” She talked briefly with Z., noting the details of the picture, including the plant next to the podium and a piece of a projection camera that Z. described as “that 
