4/29 Marx is Back, and local organizing

Join us Wed 4/29 7-9pm room 026 at the UW School for Social Work (corner of 15th N.E. and N.E. 41st) 

1. MARX IS BACK -- Preliminary Discussion to prepare for upcoming meeting with Todd Chretien (5/13)  (1hour) 

They said that Marx was dead--that capitalism had triumphed. Then came the realities of globalization. Then came endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then came the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Now, Marx's ideas seem to explain the world a lot better than what you see on Fox News. 

But Marx also predicted that the inequalities of capitalism would give rise to resistance. And we've only just begun to see the emergence of a new generation of struggles, from the protests for immigrant rights, to the factory occupations of workers in Chicago, to the massive outpouring of solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine.  Socialists believe that these struggles can be joined to fight for a different type of society--one in which greed, inequality and war are replaced with solidarity and justice. Come to a discussion of Marx's ideas and how they apply to today and then get involved in helping us to build a socialist movement! As Marx himself said, "philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it!"  

We will start by watching/listening to a video talk "Marx is Back" by Ashley Smith -- A member of the ISO, Ashley Smith is on the editorial board of the International Socialist Review  and has written for left-wing publications such as CounterPunch, Dissident Voice, Socialist Worker , and ZNet

Then we will have time for discussion. To further the discussion check out the Socialist Worker's three-part series of articles on Karl Marx and his contribution to the socialist tradition by Brian Jones

Part 1 - The Return of Marx
Part 2 -Marx becomes a Marxist
Part 3 - Marx's vision of Socialism

2. Local Organizing (50 mins)
We will be having a discussion on our local organizing in seattle, and how we want to allocate our resources to different struggles given the current political climate. 

3. May Day Plans (10 mins) 

Friday is May Day we will be participating in the 9th annual May day March - Rally 3:30pm, March 4pm. Gathering at St. Mary’s Church, 611 20th Ave S. The demands are: A Call to President Obama and our representatives to  RENEW JUSTICE AND RESTORE ALL RIGHTS FOR EVERYONE! • Employee Free Choice • For A People’s Economy • Health Care for All • End to the War in Iraq • Moratorium on Raids & Detentions •

After the March the ISO is hosting a Concert with revolutionary Hip Hop artist Son of Nun to raise money for our Socialism 2009 Conference - Check out the post for more info and respond to the Facebook Event

4/23 Thursday Meeting and Socialism 2009 Launch Party

Instead of our normal Wed night meeting this week, The Seattle ISO's meeting has been rescheduled for Thursday as the legendary Palestinian hip-hop trio DAM is coming to UW on Wednesday during our normal meeting time -- join us at the show for some great political Hip-Hop.

Please join us on Thursday 4/23 at 6:30 pm at UW School for Social Work Room 030.
We will be discussing how our recent LGBT Liberation Speaking Tour with author Sherry Wolf went on her 5 stops in the NW last week, as well our "Schools not Jails" work with the 1-100 campaign to stop the building of a new jail in Seattle and with Educators Students and Parents for a Better Vision of Seattle Schools -- Come join us for this discussion and get involved!!

After the meeting we will be heading to Cafe Metropolitan in Capitol Hill for our first
Socialism 2009 Launch Party
Featuring: DJ Bigsby of Red Eye Flight
8pm -- Cafe Metropolitan (1701 E Olive, in Capitol Hill)
$5 Suggested Donation

Come help the ISO launch the most exciting Left-Wing Political Event in the US -- the Socialism 2009 Conference: Building a New Left for a New Era --July 2-5 in San Fransisco. Dance to the Soul and Funk sounds of DJ Bigsby of Red Eye Flight, drink the evening's signature cocktail the "People's Bailout", discuss politics and activism with seattle socialists, friends and allies, and learn all about the Socialism 2009 Conference. All proceeds go to benefit activists traveling to San Fransisco for the Conference.

Check out a video preview for the conference as well as invited speakers www.socialismconference.org for more info on the conference and speakers. Come to the launch party or email info@iso.org for info about attending with a group of activists from seattle.

and Save the Date for our Second Launch Party
a May Day Bash featuring
Baltimore Hip-Hop Artist Son of Nun
May 1st 8 pm at Hidmo (2000 S Jackson St ) $5 suggested donation
Check out Son's music and videos

4/14-16 Sherry Wolf -- From Stonewall to Prop 8: History. Theory & politics of LGBT Liberation

Northwest Speaking Tour
$5 suggested donation

April 14 - Bellingham
Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1708 I Street, 7 pm

After Party, 9:30 pm location TBA
Co-sponsored by 4 Women Events, LLC

April 15th - Seattle
Seattle Central Community College, 11 am
Room BE 3132

University Of Washington, 3pm
Room B014 in the School of Social Work

Seattle Central Community College, 7pm
Room BE 1110

April 16th - Olympia
Evergreen State University, 1pm
Lecture Hall 1

Co-sponsored by Evergreen Queer Alliance

April 16th - Portland
Portland State University, 7:15pm
Smith Student Union Room 101


check back for updates on venues
For more information, or to co-sponsor
e-mail info@seattleiso.org or call 206-931-2922.

Sherry Wolf writes “ON THE EVE OF 2009, it is impossible to speak of a national gay liberation movement, as that would entail active groups of people mobilizing at the grassroots to achieve common aims. There has not been a national march on Washington to demand civil rights, to say nothing of liberation, since 1993. The vibrant twenty-fifth anniversary march commemorating the 1969 Stonewall rebellion in New York City the following year drew an estimated one million people, but these actions were not used by mainstream gay organizations with money and powerful connections to build grassroots movements as a means of winning concrete gains.”

On the fortieth anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, what is the state of the LGBT rights movement? What is LGBT liberation in the era of Obama? Where does homophobia come from and how can we end it once and for all? Join the International Socialist Organization, Haymarket Books, and Sherry Wolf for a lively discussion of the key questions of the political period.

Wolf is the author of the forthcoming Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics and Theory of Gay Liberation (Haymarket Books, 2009). Wolf is an associate editor of the International Socialist Review and has written for Alternet, Znet, Counterpunch, DissidentVoice, MRZine, New Politics, Socialist Worker, and many other progressive publications and Web sites. She is a popular public speaker on campuses nationwide and has appeared on radio shows from Pacifica’s Democracy Now! to NPR-affiliate KALW’s Your Call. Wolf is a long-time social justice activist and Jewish Anti-Zionist since her student days in the anti-apartheid campus divestment movement through to today’s struggle for equal marriage rights. She graduated from Northwestern University with honors in Philosophy, yet adamantly agrees with Karl Marx: “The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it.”


Selected articles and video by Sherry Wolf:

Teamsters and Trannies, Unite!

Stonewall: The Birth of Gay Power

The Roots of Gay Oppression

The Myth of the Black-Gay Divide

The Unapologetic Case for Gay Marriage

LGBT Political Cul-de-sac: Make a U-Turn



Sherry Wolf talks with Rose Aguilar about the movement for gay marriage that exploded after the 2008 presidential elections. This panel discussion was part of the Northern California Socialist Conference

NW Tour Sponsored by:
Haymarket Books and the International Socialist Organization

Endorsed by:
Queer Ally Coalition, 4 Women Events LLC, Democracy Insurgent at UW, Campus Anti-War Network at UW, Amnesty International at UW, Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center (SMYRC) Portland, OR., Bitch Magazine, Jobs with Justice Portland, Evergreen Queer Alliance,
Triangle Club at SCCC, and the Portland State University Queer Resource Center.

To Endorse or for more information, e-mail info@seattleiso.org or call 206-931-2922.

To download flyers click here:
11x17 - All Tour Dates

11x17 - Bellingham

11x17 - University of Washington
11x17 - SCCC
11x17 - Olympia

Chop Sheet - UW
Chop Sheet - SCCC

4/8 ISO Meeting @ the UW

ISO Meeting @ the UW -- Wednesday, April 8th @ 7:00pm
UW School of Social Work, room 026

Agenda:
1. The Origins of Gay Oppression from a Marxist Perspective: 60 min
This will be a political preperation for our meeting the following week with Sherry Wolf: From Stonewall to Prop 8: History, Theory and Politics of LGBT Liberation. Please see the reading list below

2. ISO meetings with Sherry Wolf -- Final Details: 25 min

3. Setting up our Seattle branch/changing roles: 25 min
The ISO is growing -- we just formed a new SCCC student branch. Join us for a discussion about how we want to set up the group at UW as well as what we are involved in on and off campus.

4. Announcements: 10 min


Readings for Gay Oppression discussion, in order of priority:

Selected articles and video by Sherry Wolf -- listed in the post above
If you have read the above article, check out these

Class Divisions in the Gay Community, by Peter Morgan

Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic Vision For All Our Families and Relationships

Reinventing a Queer Left, by Peter Drucker

Socialism and Homosexuality, by Thomas Harrison

Journal: Gay Left, a British socialist journal produced by gay men in 1975-1980 (PDFs of issues available online)