Collective Assistance as Opposed to Selective Support

by Talib Becktemba

Revolutionary Greetings,

I want to seize this opportunity to focus on what I perceive as an inherent weakness in Our organizational activities which if not corrected will continue to ostracize some segments while undermining Our revolutionary potential and development in the kountry. However, this criticism is not of the entire left, nor is it designed to be a comprehensive analysis focused on the historical relationships that external organizations has developed and maintained throughout the years. My purpose is to expose and enlighten the people about the damaging effects that "selective support" as practiced by some organizations is having on the-morale of a lot of men and women who are painfully active in Our liberation struggles yet systematically looked over when it comes to the dispensing of support resulting from this selective strategy.

As of late there has been a lot of dialogue going on about the necessity of us developing a collective strategy of inclusion which is internationalist in character so that we can begin to erect the type of structures which would enable us to support each other on a level which not only enhances the quality of Our relationships but sharpens Our focus and heightens Our effectiveness as we push forward. Unfortunately, this is seen as just a lot of empty rhetoric to those evolutionaries who are routinely being denied support by these organizations who has shown their inability to apply these theoretical points in practical terms on a level which would offer them some measure of protection against the state's repression. And this failure to offer a broader range of support which is both intentional, and strategic, has had the most dire effects on the psychology and participation of some segments of Our progressive forces because it has discouraged large numbers of potential revolutionaries from becoming actively involved in the own liberation while at the same time it has resulted in some revolutionaries becoming inactive in an effort to escape the state sponsored terrorism which these organizations have failed to even minimize because of the selective nature of their activity.

It has been argued that at this stage in Our struggle that the collective support sought by the victims of these repressive forces is not feasible because most organizations lack the resources in both time and money to broad their approach. Thus making selective assistance a necessary part of their strategy. But what we have to examine in determining whether to continue this strategy is whether it is effective? Has their selective focus on certain individuals and their predicament been effective in raising awareness about the atrocities that we are all subjected to as Political Prisoners, Prisoners of War, as well as kaptured kolonial subjects? And has this selective focus on certain individuals resulted in these organizations rally support and creating a larger movement to eliminate Our collective repressive conditions? Realistically the answer in both cases is no!

The reality is that in most of these cases these organizations champion the cause of usually well known and controversial figures and they focus purely on the circumstances of their case. Which is not reflective of Our collective experiences in any large degree nor does their selective focus seek to change what experiences we do share in common, i.e. the repression, degradation, and the terrorism at the hands of the states repressive forces. All to often these organizations merely seek relief for those individuals who are lucky enough to benefit from the selective political support that they offer.

One paradigm of this is how these organizations set up support committees in these individuals names and fashions support around the particulars of their case calling for an end to the repressive onslaughts aimed at them instead of raising awareness and rallying support to end the repressive conditions which is prevalent throughout these prisons as a whole.

While I am in no way against helping individuals to overcome difficult obstacles, I do have a real problem with the type of selective assistance which tends to leave the repressive forces to terrorize the rest of the kaptive population while only diverting its attention away from certain individuals. And while a lack of funds is a real concern being expressed by some organizations that is just further testament of the necessity for us to pool our resources and physical capabilities together to forge the type of change which is desired and necessary.

However, even at this stage these organizations can establish committees whose focus can be on raising awareness about the repressive policies that gives birth to these horrific conditions throughout the prisons as a whole then move to organize and mobilize a force to eliminate those policies.

No matter how we try to rationalize it, selective political support is a blatantly discriminatory process and the result is always the same! The masses of people engaged in struggle and being brutally victimized are being systematically denied the support which is essential to their longevity in this struggle.

Anyone who is involved in political activity and who has become the victim of the state's sponsored terrorism, know how critical support is from the very beginning which lays the foundation for the protracted support which is always necessary in Our ongoing struggles. The fact is that we all want and need this external support to combat the repression being leveled against us.

It is unfortunate that some organizations are largely unresponsive to these pleas of most revolutionaries for support because the result is that more and more are being forced into inactivity and silenced while others are discouraged by these organizations indifference and are unwilling to participate in their own liberation.

If we are going to be successful in Our revolutionary attempts, we must begin to fashion Our organizations to reach a larger group of people because ultimately it is the masses who will forge change!

All Power to the People!

Talib Becktemba
# 852597 11-2D
Pendleton Correctional Facility
P.O. Box 30
Pendleton, IN 46064

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