DNC dispatch #2 Behind Enemy Lines, Chicago 

This is the second dispatch from Behind Enemy Lines political battle against the Death and Nakba Coronation in Chicago (DNC). These dispatches will provide commentary on the important political and practical questions rising in the fight against Genocide Joe and Killer Kamala and to shut down the DNC for Gaza. 

Over the weekend it was reported that the US-Israel war machine unleashed a new round of horror on the people of Gaza, carrying out airstrikes on the Hassan Salama and Al-Nasr schools in Gaza City, killing 30 people sheltering inside and injuring many more. The occupation forces also carried out a massacre at the al-Hamama School, killing 16. UNICEF reported that the genocide has killed at least 9,211 students and that all 625,000 enrolled students in Gaza have lost a complete academic year. 

While those schools were being bombed (most likely with US-made bombs), one of leading advocates for quality education in Chicago, Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president Stacy Davis Gates was breathlessly expressing support for one the key women making the genocide possible: Killer Kamala Harris. Davis Gates, a DNC delegate, and other CTU leaders have not only been pounding social media for Killer Kamala, she is also one of the featured speakers on a (nauseatingly named) “Progressives for Harris” fundraising Zoom scheduled for August 5th, alongside Chicago’s Zionist “People’s Mayor” Brandon Johnson and other elected officials. 

Notably, none of the social media praise for Killer Kamala from Davis Gates, official CTU accounts, or other CTU officials mention any actual policy positions that she has taken (as others have pointed out, her website has none), her role as a professional prosecutor, and most damningly her participation in the genocide on Gaza and the thousands of school children slaughtered by weapons sent by the administration she serves in and the thousands more children who will be slaughtered if she’s elected president. It’s a gross betrayal of the CTU’s own position in favor of a ceasefire (passed by the CTU delegates and buried by its leadership), a gross betrayal of the Palestinian students, teachers, and staff in the Chicago Public Schools, and a gross betrayal of the people in Palestine currently suffering and dying because of the administration that Killer Kamala is the vice-president of. 

The CTU is widely recognized as both one of the most radical unions in the US and one of the most powerful, not only have they led two historic strikes in the last 15 years, they were a key political force in electing Chicago’s Zionist “People’s Mayor” Brandon Johnson, a former CTU staffer. All of this means that, if the CTU were to take an anti-imperialist, or even a humanitarian position on Palestine, not on paper but in action, they could materially challenge business as usual. What if they had publicly opposed the DNC, especially once Johnson was elected, or after the genocide began? Instead, Davis Gates and the leadership (which includes self-described socialists and radicals) have decided to throw their lot in with Johnson and Killer Kamala, and will be on the wrong side of the DNC (that is, inside, with the butchers of Gaza). Perhaps their current contract negotiations will lead to a few Chicago schools with solar panels on them. Perhaps Davis Gates will find herself as an undersecretary in Killer Kamala’s department of education. How many Palestinian schools will be left standing by then? 

Besides the rank social chauvinism of the CTU, some people are offering the strategy of “pushing” Killer Kamala, complete with handy social media graphics. We’re not normally inclined to dissect individual posts on social media, but one was brought to our attention this morning that helpfully concentrates everything wrong with the fantasy of “pushing”. This post was from Stephanie Skora, the chief development officer of a multi-million dollar union busting nonprofit, who also authors a voter guide that is popular with people who both think that voting is extremely important and extremely difficult. 

Skora, our elections expert, suggests that there is a “golden opportunity to force real and substantial movement RIGHT NOW” and offers a plan of action to “Call DNC delegates” and ask them to sign onto a letter to Killer Kamala demanding an arms embargo on Israel. There is no explanation for why Killer Kamala (again, who has been the sitting vice president every day of the genocide, spoken before an AIPAC convention, and privately met with Netanyahu) would be amenable to a letter from DNC delegates. Nor does she explain why DNC delegates should listen to people who call them, as these people have already pledged their support for Killer Kamala and the whole imperialist Democratic party. 

The whole idea is so helplessly naive, that we’d be tempted to think that it’s a joke, and we’d be wondering what the motivations were, if Skora didn’t put her Venmo account at the top of all her voter guides. So let’s clear the air here: Killer Kamala, Genocide Joe, and Donald Trump, both the imperialist political parties are fundamentally committed to maintaining the status of US imperialism as the hegemonic power in the world today. They all agree (with some differences in implementation) that it’s important to maintain Israel as the attack dog for imperialism in the region. They don’t give a flying fuck what voters or regular people think about the genocide. Both parties, especially the Democrats have developed mechanisms to take people’s legitimate outrage about the crimes of the system, and funnel them back into electoral politics as usual. This is what they did with John Kerry, with Barack Obama, by kneecapping Bernie Sanders. And this is the sham that Skora and anyone else claiming that they can “push” Killer Kamala is participating in. 

Resistance is the alternative. The moral and strategic imperative in response to the US-Israel genocide on Gaza and the precarious situation cause by their belligerence in the region is to do everything possible to deny the legitimacy of the whole imperialist system, and especially the political party currently at its helm. Behind Enemy Lines has collected thousands of names on our Palestine Vote Pledge, a refusal to vote for any candidate that supports the genocide, the occupation of Palestine and its funding, one simple step. Most importantly, people should decide what side they will be on when the butchers of Gaza come to Chicago for their Death and Nakba Coronation: inside cheering? Inside raising meager opposition before falling in line? Or outside fighting for the people of Palestine, and the people of the world? 

We choose the world.
Come to Chicago and shut down the DNC! 

On Sunday, August 4th, dozens of people braved 88 degree heat, to join Behind Enemy Lines in our 6th anti-DNC neighborhood speakout in Humboldt Park, the culmination of a week of outreach in the neighborhood, where we distributed and put up over 50 posters and nearly 1,000 leaflets. The speakout was addressed in English and Spanish by BEL members, friends and supporters, and three children who recently left the West Bank of occupied Palestine. A few people heckled, but more supported, including cars stopping to honk, pick up posters, and even join for chants. As we get closer to the DNC we’re striking out even broader across Chicago! Reach out to join our daily street teams.