Author, Barbara MacLean
How many of you have met socialists who look like the one at the top of the article? I have and there are plenty like this. It was in the Fall of 2017 that my life-partner, Bruce Lerro, and I travelled from Oakland to Berkeley to hear Suzie Weissman, biographer of the Russian Revolutionary Victor Serge, give a talk about the Russian Revolution on its 100-year anniversary. As we made our way in towards the building we saw a man selling newspapers. As it was almost time for her talk to start, I wanted to make sure the guy selling the newspapers knew the talk was about to begin. I mentioned this to Bruce and he tried to discourage me from approaching this guy. But I went anyway. You should gather your things and come in or you will be late. I don't remember exactly what he said but it was something to the effect that he wasn't going in. I asked why. From then on I was treated to a bombardment of the history of the Russian Revolution, including Trotsky's speech of 1922. This guy looked just like the picture above. I excused myself. When I caught up with Bruce I told him what had happened, and he just said, that's why I tried to stop you. It's pretty difficult to have an actual conversation with them because they simply keep saying the same thing and using the same sources for quotes. They don't actually want with you they talk at you.
I'm not going to talk about our definition of socialism here. Please see our website under Alternatives to Capitalism. This is just my personal, daily experience of being a socialist.
Because I have been fortunate in my lifetime in many ways, I work to share my happiness and pleasure in life in a social way. I believe this would benefit many socialists. Instead of lecturing people about socialism, I simply ask people about their own lives. I smile and say hello to everyone I see.
How Did I Get This Way?
Once I stopped working full-time in a job that I loved as a career counselor at California State University, I found myself becoming more and more open. It took a while for me to adjust to having more time for myself, but not long. Since I was able to go for walks every morning in the park across the street from our house, I began to open up to many of the people I saw there. Every morning there were people doing Tai Chi and there was a regular Chinese contingent of older people who walked around a circle talking. Because of the extra time I had I also started writing some articles for our website and spending more time there.
From Oakland to Olympia
When we moved from Oakland to Olympia that blew the roof off my convivial self. Olympia is technically a city, but it is really a town. On the streets it's rare that people don't acknowledge each other and say good morning. There is no financial district and in the old days working-class people worked in the brewery. We marveled when we first got here at how courteous the drivers were. There was rarely any running of lights, being cut off or refusals to let us merge into traffic. However, the drivers are SLOW. I have screamed a number of times let's go, mutha fuckas, only not where they can hear me.
Engaging People Where They Work
Now that we live in Olympia, WA, Ive made many friends at the two grocery stores where we shop. Some of them are even my Facebook friends now. I've told some of them that I'm a socialist and they always seem surprised. I've talked with some of them about different aspects of socialism. I always call them by their name. The Haggens' deli section is currently without a manager since Rachel left. As I approach the deli to buy some harvest slaw, I ask one of the workers there, Zach, how is work?. The conversation went like this:
Zach: Good, its actually better now that we don't have a boss.
Barbara: What do you mean?
Zach: The bosses just get in the way. Especially the new ones who feel they have to prove themselves. They start moving everything around without even asking us how things already work. We already know how to do things here. We don't need them.
Barbara: have you ever heard of workers' co-ops? They don't have any bosses. They decide among themselves what to produce, how much to produce, whom to distribute it to and they even decide on their own salaries. You know about the food co-ops?
Zach: Yeah.
Barbara: You should check them out.
Zach: Yeah, but they probably wouldn't pay enough. With the union I make $36 an hour.
Barbara: Well I know you couldn't start that high. But the co-op workers don't start at minimum wage. They typically start at $20 an hour.
Zach: That's pretty good.
Since I maintained my relationship with Rachel after she left Haggens', she complained to me that no one at her new job likes her.
Rachel: I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to make friends there.
Barbara: You arent supposed to make friends, you are there to work.
Rachel : I know, but still. When I first came to Haggens' before I was a manager and I had lots of friends who worked alongside me.
Barbara: What is your job title in your new Safeway job?
Rachel: Assistant manager.
Barbara: That's the problem. Is there a union there at Safeway/
Rachel: Yes.
Barbara: Are you in it?
Rachel: No.
Barbara: So you have the union against you. The workers see you as being on the side of management.
Rachel: But I am not.
Barbara: Than you shouldn't have taken that position. How does the main manager feel about you?
Rachel: He treats me like I am nothing.
Barbara: That's because you aren't a real manager. Are there any other assistant managers?
Rachel: No, just me.
Barbara: OK you are isolated. It has nothing to do with your personality. It wouldn't matter if you were the sweetest person in the world. It's your location in the capitalist class structure that is the cause of your loneliness. This is how capitalism works.
I have interactions also with other customers in a number of ways. I often tell older women who are wearing colorful clothing how beautiful they look. I regularly ask people to help me reach something on a high shelf. If it's a man I call him Mr. Tall Person can you please reach. I've never had anyone turn me down.
When shopping at Haggens' Grocery Store I have come to know almost everyone who works there:
Some of the dialogues Ive had include my asking them how is work treating you?. After I've gotten to know them that paves the way for me to tell them that the wage they make is only about a fifth of the real wealth they produce. Four fifths go to the capitalist owners and bosses who produce nothing. I tell some of them about how different it is in worker co-ops.
Many of them have opened up to me. Here are some of the responses I've received:
One person who works there is definitely not known for being social. I have engaged with Kristi every time I shop there and now she comes out from behind the counter so we can hug. Since Kristi is an avid gardener, I asked her if she would be willing to re-pot my violet plant. She said without any hesitation she would be happy to do that and told me to bring it in for her the next week. She has made time to talk to me even though recently a woman wanted to be waited on and was aggravated.
Another worker, Lore, starts crying when she sees me at the deli. Lore always announces, She's here! and when I leave, Barbara's leaving!
Rachael, the former deli manager, would hug and confide in me how difficult it is for her to work there. I tell her it's that a middle manager is treated suspiciously by managers since she works so closely with the workers and that she is treated suspiciously by workers simply because she's a manger.
Zach, a tall conservative guy at the deli, always comes out and hugs me. When he asks me what I'm going to be doing for the rest of the day I tell him I will be working on our Socialist Planning Beyond Capitalism website. He has never shown disdain for that and will listen to the things I tell him about it.
I ran into the guy who refills the soda shelves. He said he hadn't seen me in too long. He tells me hes always praying for me. He's very speedy and doesn't stop working while were talking but I always insist on a hug, which I get.
Just recently I ran into a bunch of firefighters there and I began thanking all of them. I asked if anyone knew about ICE arresting brave men fighting a terrible wildfire in Oregon when they didn't have their citizenship papers on them. Most of them did not know this and were shocked.
Trader Joe's
Kali was putting out fruit and told me she got into trouble with management for trying to organize a union. We talked about how to stop them from punishing her and stand up for her rights.
Barbara: Sorry to hear that Kali, but you know unions used to demand much more than this
Kali: Like what?
Barbara: A hundred years ago, in this country, the Industrial Workers of the World said that workers should control the factories and the issue they fought for was who was producing the goods.
Kali: But why should they? The owners took the risk of starting up the business.
Barbara: But where did the owners get the money from to start the business? They got it from the surplus labor of the workers.
Kali: What do you mean?
Barbara: How long is your shift?
Kali: Eight hours.
Barbara: Do you know how much wealth is being created?
Kali: I don't know what you mean
Barbara: The wage the owner of Trader Joe's pays you and the other workers is only about 25% of the total wealth that you all create. The rest is for the expenses of the capitalist. So the owner has to pay management, pay taxes, pay landlords to rent the building and the rest is for their profit.
Kali: So you are saying that we workers are producing another 75% of the total wealth that we never see?
Barbara: Yes. What you see are your wages. Your wages are just enough to pay for your food clothing and housing. After all, the employer needs to get you back on the job the next day, so there are limits to how much they can exploit you.
Kali: I never thought about it like this. How come this wasn't explained to me?
Barbara: Because capitalists control the textbooks and don't want you to think this way.
Buzzer goes off
Kali: Ive got to get back to work.
Barbara: Of course. See you next week.
I'm not always so intense at Trader Joe's but I'm always great at engaging people. For example:
I asked a cashier where she was from because of her accent when she spoke to me. I did this because the customer in front of me never said a word to her. She told me she was from Ukraine, which turned into an even longer conversation about what it was like for her to now live in the US.
A very stocky, gay guy with a flower in his hair is always happy to see me. One checker waved and motioned me over while he was at the register. I aways look across the registers to see who's there and then wave.
The Blue Heron
Ever Sunday Bruce and I go in to our favorite bakery, which is run as a workers' co-op and buy things that are sugar-free. Almost everyone who works there knows me and they usually call out my name when I come in. Many of them know I'm a socialist. While we don't often talk about socialism, it's important for them to see a social socialist. I have come to know almost everyone who works there: Joe, Avery, Merry, Eva, Zelle and Adam. Once I asked Merry since she does alterations if she could get the wrinkles out of my skin. Everybody laughed. Bruce and I shop separately because I need social time and Bruce goes back to the car and reads a book he refuses to come into the Blue Heron with me.
Engaging With Strangers
I often have dialogues with strangers on the street, in parking lots and at musical events. Recently we attended an event called Music in the Park. The music was Scottish folk singing and so inspiring. I simply got up and started dancing to the music by myself. I then started inviting people to dance with me. Some didn't, some did. But even the ones who refused to dance continued to watch the rest of us and smile. Bruce and I got up to dance to a version of Van Morrison's Brown-Eyed Girl. Three other people joined us and we all sang together.
I shop at places where the homeless have their spots. I make a point of giving them $5. I do more than give them money. I ask them how they are doing. I am amazed at how grateful they are and kind in their own way. They are nothing like the stereotypes of hostile or psychotic people who can't stand up and are on drugs, although we see plenty of those, too. While some may think that is a waste of money and time, I believe they deserve respect, something they rarely receive. As a result of this I have found more people (not everyone) open to hearing about socialism.
At one point we were looking for people who could do yard work for us. We had planned to put ads up in stores or look at NextDoor, but that never happened because my street sense got the best of me. We were about six blocks from home in our car, when I saw this guy working in a yard. I stopped the car in the middle of the street and put the car in reverse. I yelled out, hey you, do you live here?. He said he was gardening for the people who lived there. I said, do you have a card?. He said he didn't he was just starting out. I asked how much he charged. He gave me a ridiculously low price. I told him he should charge more and that he needs a business card. Then I asked if he had any openings. We worked it out and he worked for us for about a year. I wrote a great evaluation for him on Yelp and he would end up having more work than he knew what to do with. He was a Trump supporter and wanted to move to a rural area in Tennessee because he didn't like the educational system here. Even after he moved he sent me pictures of him and his son riding dirt bikes. At some point he joked about how we were probably liberal. I told him we were socialists. He said he wasn't sure what that meant. I explained to him what socialism was without lecturing him, without using socialist jargon, in plain English. He was very interested. He told me it couldn't be too bad if I was a member.
Olympia Senior Center
When we first were visiting Olympia, WA, in January 2018 to see if we wanted to move here Bruce arranged for an interview at the Olympia Senior Center in hopes of getting some teaching work. He was hired and his first class was in the Fall of 2018. Over the next seven years he managed to teach every quarter. His classes included:
- Brainwashing, Propaganda and Rhetoric
- What in the World is Going On?
- Visionary Adult Development: The Case of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn
As you might imagine, these courses frequently lent themselves to discussions of capitalism and socialism. I attended almost every class. In general, we had anywhere from 8-10 people, most of whom were retired nurses, teachers and white-collar workers. I often brought out personal experiences about watching Michael Moore's movie Capitalism a Love Story. In these classes I was able to talk about capitalist healthcare. I told them about what care systems are like as a patient in the US and what the health-care systems are like in other non-capitalist countries. In Bruce's class about Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, I often pointed out things about her life that other students hadn't noticed. These included things like her ability to form cross-class alliances that allowed her to get her comrades out of prison. In the last class, I printed out the verses of IWW organizer Joe Hill's tribute to Elizabeth called Rebel Girl. I brought in a video of the song. I led the singing and gradually the others joined in. By the end of the song about half the class was in tears.
After we moved here we wanted to establish a regular place to walk. We walk now in two places. One is where we walk five days a week and a couple of special places on the weekend. Wherever we walk we hold hands. Each of us wears colorful clothes, which makes us stand out. People seem to respond to this. Often times in our weekend walks around Capitol Lake people smile at us before we even notice them. We feel a special affinity for couples who are also holding hands. One time a young Latina women approached us. As our eyes met, she started crying. Through tears she asked us how long we were together. She told us she wished that this could happen for her as she got older. We told her we wished for that for her, too.
Neighbors
In our neighborhood we walk 20-blocks walk from every weekday morning. Along the way we have made connections with other regular walkers but also, people in their houses who see us go by every day. Right now we have about 8 neighbors we know spanning this mile-long walk who we see off and on every day. We always talk with them briefly or wave to them at their windows.
I've gotten to know our neighbors by initiating conversations with them.
Now go into neighbors:
Lin old guy who walks every day using a walker x-miner league baseball player who was a political science high school teacher
Dianne and Deane neighbors whom we wave to in their living room every morning both worked in the military they liked us even though they're conservative and know we are socialists
Daniel gardener/carpenter/musician who is always working on a house near us (he's invited us to his gigs and told us about a blues music festival in Port Townsend) lives on Decatur with Rose
Allie polymorph lesbian neighbor who always says she wants to have a relationship like ours as she sees us holding hands. She has also expressed interest in learning about socialism she will edit Bruce's next book
Laurie neighbor who often talks to us as were passing her house working class worked for the state has a good Irish sense of humor
Ralph he's very interested in socialism and we have good discussions about it
Carrie a social worker who knows we are socialists as we have had some conversations with her about it
Michael (gay guy on corner)
The only two political neighbors we know are Lin and Ralph. Bruce met Lin on one of our walks and he asked Bruce what he was doing with his time. Bruce told him he teaches and writes. Lin wanted to know about what and Bruce sent him the link to our website Socialist Planning Beyond Capitalism. As it turns out Lin is an ex-minor league baseball pitcher who would wind up as a political science teacher.The discussion turned to socialism and Lin was comfortable with that.
We gradually formed a relationship with Ralph over many months. Ralph seemed very hungry to talk about what is going on in the world. We guardedly asked each other about news sources and thought we had something in common. They included The Rising Tide Foundation and the work of Richard Wolff and Michael Hudson. We met with him a number of times to discuss world politics and socialism.
I always initiate waving at people as they drive by even though I don't know them they almost always wave back. Sometimes they wave at us first. You might think that it's odd to wave to people you don't know. Not in Olympia. We sometimes say to each other, is there something in the drinking water?
Worker Co-Operatives
Some people think that worker co-ops have crabby workers because they are probably socialists. These people will learn quickly that they are the opposite of crabby. Worker co-ops are very different than people who work in corporate-owned businesses. If you engage with people who work in co-operatives they are rarely like the image at the top of the page. These folks almost always seem happy and friendly. Sure, they work hard. But they don't have a big boss staring over their shoulder. They are the ones who make the decisions about how much they want to work, how much they want to get paid and so many other aspects of work. Because they get to have a say they rarely look beaten down or overworked.
So please, if you have it in your heart to support the workers, shop at co-operatives and support them in any way you can. Then you, too, can become a social socialist.
Conclusion:
As I learned more about socialism I understood how wonderful it is of wanting the workers to own the means of production. Our society today in Western countries is based on capitalism. Workers do not own the means of productions. Their bosses do and their bosses give them orders. Almost always the big bosses or corporate heads do none of the actual work. They are the ones who collect almost all of the money, then invest it in the stock market to make even more money. Yet they are the ones who tell us what to do, when to do it, how long to do it and if were lucky pay us a living wage. So many, however, are not paid a living wage and have to rely on programs like welfare, for which they are shamed. Many of them do not receive do not have healthcare so they go without.
My point in this article is to take seriously that we are social beings no matter where we go - at work, in school with neighbors and even most challenging, with strangers in public. When shopping it is key to ask two questions of the workers to get the ball rolling:
- How's work?
- How is capitalism treating you
Adult education is the easiest place to have an engagement with people, especially when the subject matter of class is about sociology or history. With neighbors the engagement is slower and more careful because if you live near people there are consequences of tipping your hand too early about being a socialist. As an example, we had a good relationship with our neighbor across the street till he put up his Ukrainian flag. With strangers there is the least amount of time and space to develop political discussions. However, being in a political demonstration makes it easier to get into deeper politics because you can assume everyone is mostly on the same page. The song Bread and Roses is what we often sing. Please listen. Here are the lyrics . Its hard not to listen without being moved by it as I was in my first demonstration and every time I hear it playing today.
As we go marching, marching, in the beauty of the day,
A million darkened kitchens, a thousand mill lofts gray,
Are touched with all the radiance that a sudden sun discloses,
For the people hear us singing: Bread and Roses! Bread and Roses!
As we go marching, marching, we battle too for men,
For they are women's children, and we mother them again.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread but give us roses.
As we go marching, marching, unnumbered women dead
Go crying through our singing their ancient call for bread.
Small art and love and beauty their drudging spirits knew.
Yes, it is bread we fight for, but we fight for roses too.
As we go marching, marching, we bring the greater days,
The rising of the women means the rising of the race.
No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life's glories: Bread and roses, bread and roses.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; bread and roses, bread and roses.
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