Socialist Alternative

By Dezee Walker
Minneapolis, MN

I first started having socialist views in middle school. In the sixth grade, we took a political survey and I was the most radical in my class. Even at my young age, I could not grasp why there were so many problems in our country when we were supposedly the number one nation and everyone was jealous of our freedom.

As the world continued to crumble before my eyes, I became even more radicalized. A war on Iraq was waged and it was painfully obvious it was for oil. While our government dropped bombs, I picked up books, educating myself on the war and furthering my political education.

Last fall, I came to the University of Minnesota, knowing I wanted to join a group. I met Socialist Alternative during the strike of University healthcare and clerical workers my first week on campus. I joined the strike solidarity group and participated in a student hunger strike in solidarity with the union workers.

The amount of time and effort that Socialist Alternative members put in was remarkable. After the strike was ended, I was convinced this was the best organization to make a difference in.

By Laura Madsen
Bloomington, MN

Like many in my generation, I became politically conscious because of September 11 and the Iraq War. My older brother started the Youth Against War and Racism club at Kennedy, where we both attended high school three years ago. He and other friends of ours were with Socialist Alternative. The arguments that the socialist kids were making always seemed to be the best explanations of the events that were unfolding around me.
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by Nick Shillingford
River Falls, WI

I always knew that corporations’ only goal was to make money. Unfortunately, I failed to fully understand our current system. I hoped that working people could gain more control with a few adjustments to the voting system, or more laws to limit the power of corporate lobbies on our government.

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina is what really opened my eyes to the shortcomings of capitalism. In the richest country in the world, families are being ripped apart and being sent to live in temporary housing all across the United States. How is this possible? The truth is: capitalism is unable to effectively deal with situations like Hurricane Katrina.

What I also hadn’t fully understood was how crucial it is for big business and the millionaire politicians to keep their workers powerless. Who would want to work a low-wage job 50 hours a week unless they were forced to by their conditions? Nobody would!

Capitalism will inevitably lead to the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. That is why I joined an organization that is prepared to fight the injustice of this system and replace it with true socialism and economic democracy.

By Ryan Timlin
Minneapolis, MN

I worked for Wal-Mart for two and a half years. It was an eye-opener to see and finally understand the class struggle here in the U.S., and how one company can affect so many people around the world. I became a socialist because I experienced the abusive behavior of corporations firsthand.

Once, when many of my coworkers were going to quit Wal-Mart to get jobs at another store opening in our town, Wal-Mart managers told them they would give raises if they stayed, but in the end the raises amounted to pennies. They deceived us into staying on the job.

During this time, I was growing tired of the Democrats not doing anything to help out. They were supposed to be the alternative to the Republicans, but both have done nothing but support Big Business. The only way to make change is to have a party for the working class.

It’s time that the exploitation and horrible labor practices and inequality in our society come to an end. But capitalism will not provide us with an end to these horrible problems. Capitalism lives off of these problems and will only create a larger gap between the rich and the poor.

By Katie Quarles
Minneapolis, MN
As an LGBT person, I was politicized in high school by the constant presence of homophobia. At first, I was attracted to anyone who opposed the reactionaries and Republicans on this issue and other social issues as well. However, I quickly realized that the discrimination against LGBT people had the same root cause as racism, sexism, and oppression in general.

We live in a system that relies on the divide-and-conquer method. Whites are pitted against Blacks, immigrants against citizens, and heterosexuals against LGBT people. In the last elections, Bush was able to gain support by using LGBT people as scapegoats, saying that the problems the country is facing were being caused by moral decay – which for him includes gays wanting the right to marry. Bush used this to distract from the real causes of the problems in this country, like the Iraq war, job losses, and poverty due to the lack of social programs.

The struggle for gay rights needs to be linked with other progressive struggles. If we stand together with the women’s rights, anti-racist, antiwar, and labor movements, we are all much stronger. To end discrimination and oppression of all types, we need to get rid of the system that relies on them.