BY MARK CURTIS
FT. MADISON, Iowa - The reaction to the Oklahoma bombing I've encountered here reveals something about the moods and attitudes of working people today. And the debate over its cause and what should be done show the trajectory of different forces in the U.S. ruling class as well.

I was a little shocked to hear so much approval the morning the federal building was destroyed. A couple of guys expressed satisfaction that the cops and government "got theirs."

"This is what happens when the U.S. government bombs Libya and makes war in the Middle East," someone said to me. Another thought it was proper revenge for the federal agents' raid on the Branch Davidians' compound in Waco, Texas, in 1993. One inmate repeatedly brought up the FBI murders of the family of Randy Weaver, a white separatist who lived in Idaho.

Much of this initial reaction came before the full picture of the bombing emerged. Most guys expressed disgust at the killing of so many innocent people.

Nevertheless, there was a lot of anti-government feeling and hostility to the federal police. Maybe it's because this is a prison full of men with bad experiences with the cops. Some discussion with factory workers from Des Moines during visits here also helps convince me that these feelings are not just limited to those behind bars.

A recently incarcerated construction worker said he thought the bombing would push back the moves to cut Social Security and welfare, and was a reaction to the decline in wages and the general difficulty in "making a living."

How he came to that conclusion is less important than the fact that the deep distrust, cynicism, and even hatred toward the "powers that be" are carried not just by so- called patriotic militias or ultra-right fringe outfits, but by many workers and farmers battered by the economic and social crisis of capitalism.

Liberals and conservatives may be alarmed by this sentiment - but socialists aren't. We do not support terrorist actions. They only harm the building of a fighting labor and communist movement, and give the government a handle to go after democratic rights.

But we do not cringe at anger towards the capitalist government, which will drive workers to reorganize their unions.

Some of the white separatist, anti-Jewish, self-styled militia groups getting a lot of attention lately will provide cadre for fascist groups. Others can be found in the groups that have already mobilized in the streets attempting to close down abortion clinics, and some are inspired by mainstream politicians like Patrick Buchanan.

Right now, however, it is the Clinton administration and capitalist politicians from both parties who are using the Oklahoma carnage as a lever to give the FBI more powers to wiretap, spy on, infiltrate, and arrest members of political organizations. Perhaps the most dangerous proposal is to allow the police to target a group without evidence of any laws being broken.

In the few weeks since the Oklahoma City bombing, we've seen media commentators interview members of rightist militia groups. The liberals ridicule the conspiracy theories but they can't answer them. The rightists come off looking like the good guys fighting "Big Brother" and condemning Clinton's murderous assault at Waco, gun control laws, and FBI abuses.

Who will be on the government's "enemy list" - people like Nojan Emad. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police snatched Emad from the Pathfinder bookstore in Toronto, Ontario. They detained the youth and pumped him for information about his political activities, religious beliefs, and why he visited revolutionary Cuba. Emad is a garment worker and a member of the Young Socialists and Communist League.

Originally from Iran, the young activist was harassed the day after the bombing when "Middle Eastern terrorists" were being blamed for the deaths.

The vast majority of workers do not agree with the rightists. They are not racists or anti-Semitic. They support a woman's right to abortion and object to the police raiding their workplace to deport immigrant co-workers.

Even so, most are not yet aware that they are part of an international class of workers or that the government represents a small class of capitalist owners that exploits them. Until more battles between these two classes occur and the working class forms its own labor party, vague anti- government and anti-rich sentiments substitute for a real working-class program of action against government abuse and capitalist exploitation.

The labor movement can lead the way in defending democratic rights. A good start would be to campaign against harassment of the "foreign looking" as terrorists and oppose the attempts to expand the power's of Washington's secret police.  
 
 
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