No to more cops in schools
Thank you for printing the insightful article titled
"Attacks on rights follow Colorado school killings," by
Maggie Trowe (May 10, 1999). I am a teacher in the Seattle
area and am very concerned about the occurrence in Littleton
and the repercussions that have resulted. At least one
suburban school district in our area has banned students from
wearing trenchcoats to school. Discussions abound regarding
the increased use of cops and security devices. The Littleton
episode was even used in our local media to attack teachers
fighting for an increase in wages: the Seattle Times printed
an article stating that our demands for a salary raise
imperiled our students' safety, since less money would be
available to hire cops for school hallways.
Like Trowe, I don't believe that increasing the presence of cops in the schools and attacking students' civil liberties will improve anything. In fact, the opposite will occur. The Littleton shootings are one of the horrifying outcomes of capitalism in its death throes.
Capitalism creates human misery, and that is what caused the shootings in Colorado. Ultimately, it is only the demise of capitalism that can prevent more Jonesboros, Moses Lakes, Springfields, and Littletons. In the meantime, students' rage can best be mitigated by giving students a greater voice in what happens at school. Another measure that would help would be to provide more counselors in the schools to listen to students' concerns (most counselors are hired to make schedules and enforce school rules). Further repression toward young people is a surefire recipe for disaster. In implementing it, the ruling class is taking up a battle it will never win.
Sue Kawakubo
Seattle, Washington
The bosses' world disorder
I appreciated Maggie Trowe's timely column in the May 10
issue. There is no working class solution to antisocial acts
like the Littleton shootings under capitalism; neither are
there quick-fixes for the social breakdowns, tensions, and
polarization that mark life in capitalist America today. The
new book from Pathfinder, Capitalism's World Disorder,
explains that "disgruntled middle-class layers, enraged
bourgeois youth, thin strata of demoralized workers - these
social layers are radicalized by mounting fear, envy, and
resentments. They respond to prejudice and demagogy." (page
145).
It is the job of class-conscious workers to cut through the sensationalized and exaggerated news coverage of events like the shooting in Colorado and explain in clear terms how the toiling classes, and especially young people, can begin to confront the bosses' world disorder. Doing so, as Trowe explains, "gives them confidence and dignity and a feeling of human solidarity."
Bill Kalman
Miami, Florida
`Asians for Mumiá
The banner "Asians for Mumia" at the April 24 march to
free Mumia Abu-Jamal in Philadelphia was followed by around
150 young people. One of the organizers of the contingent
told me that the group included Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong,
Cambodian, and Chinese-Americans. Later, I met a group of
Filipino-American students who had also marched with the
group.
At work the Monday following, I talked about the march and this contingent in particular. Black co-workers, supporters of Mumia Abu-Jamal, were stunned and Vietnamese co-workers became more interested in finding out about the case.
Candace Wagner
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NATO's ecology disaster
The April 19 edition of the Globe and Mail newspaper in
Canada printed a report of the NATO bombing of the factory
complex at Pancevo, Yugoslavia, equally shocking to the
report you carried in your May 3 issue.
The Globe and Mail correspondent, Tom Walker, reported, "An ecological disaster was unfolding yesterday after NATO missiles ripped apart a combined petrochemical, fertilizer, and refinery complex on the banks of the Danube River north of Belgrade." Among the gases sent billowing over neighboring homes by the missile explosions were chlorine, hydrochloric acid, and phosgene.
Oil and gasoline from the damaged refinery poured into the river, forming slicks up to 20 kilometers long. Workers at the complex decided to release tons of ether dichloride, a powerful carcinogen, into the Danube rather than risk having it blown up.
"This is our worst nightmare," said plant director Miralem Dzindo. He said the plant's production was nonmilitary. "The sickness of the minds that did this to us is enormous. By taking away our fertilizer they stop us growing food, and then they try to poison us as well."
Roger Annis
Vancouver, Canada
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