Only two of the six stadium gates were open, causing long lines of fans waiting to enter. There was a heavy police presence both inside and outside the stadium. Most fans I spoke with agreed these measures had little to do with "security" for baseball players, fans and stadium workers.

Many fans felt it was for show, to convince people they are "doing something." While I agree the measures had nothing to do with our safety, I think it is wrong to say they are just for show. Rather, the clear message was that we must expect more inconvenience and fewer civil liberties and must accept the fact that we can no longer do everyday things, even something as minor as a ball park picnic, that we used to take for granted. In a small way, what happened at sports stadiums is an indicator for what the U.S. rulers have in mind for us as they pursue their war.

Carol Sholin
Castro Valley, California
 
 
Bush and 'rule of law'
I would like to see more discussion in the Militant of President Bush's use of the "rule of law" language in his propaganda supporting war and attacks on the sovereign nation of Afghanistan and concurrent attacks upon democratic liberties in the United States.

In particular, certain voices among peace activists call for the application of international law to "bring the terrorists to justice" as a counterposed strategy to the U.S. rulers obvious intention to mount a ground invasion of Afghanistan. Is there a just way to "bring the terrorists to justice" under the conditions of capitalist rule and social crisis which prevail in the world today?

Ben Fiering
Peekskill, New York
 
 
A working-class analysis
Although I can understand what was being said in the letter "A sterile exposition" in the October 1 edition, I would have to say that it is not the Militant's job to provide emotional support during a tragedy. On the contrary, its job is to give readers a rational working-class analysis to a situation.

The statement by Martín Koppel was exactly what I was looking for from the Militant. As a member of the Young Socialists it helped me to explain our position about the terrorist actions.

Julian Santana
Tucson, Arizona
 
 
Solid guide to action
This is in response to the October 1 letter by John Rubinstein which scored the September 11 statement issued by Martín Koppel, New York mayoral candidate of the Socialist Workers Party.

The statement did not specifically add its voice to the outpouring of sympathy, including a good slug of cynical exploitation and war drive ammunition. Nor did the statement offer an expanded explanation of its political stand. It was written and issued within hours after the assault.

The "buried" paragraph so apparently upsetting to Rubinstein, expresses concisely, and with total Marxist accuracy, that actions such as those of September 11 "have nothing to do with the fight against capitalist exploitation and imperialist oppression." Hardly "perfunctory," as Rubinstein asserts.

A reader could be left with the impression that such statements "issued at a moment of profound political crisis," are a dime a dozen. For my money, the statement is, for now, an against-the-stream declaration that revolutionaries can be proud of and use as a solid guide to action.

Harry Ring
Los Angeles, California
 
 
Airline layoffs
The day of the terror attacks, all entrances to the departure area from the public side of the airport were locked down. Workers with airport ID badges had to stand in line with passengers and go through the X-ray machines. Security personnel were backed up by U.S. marshals and armed custom officers. Random pat downs were introduced.

The tension is high. A co-worker witnessed an American passenger plane escorted by two fighter jets land at O'Hare, after its radio failed. Passengers have refused to get on board planes because they felt security was not good enough.

Within days the media was full of figures on a number of layoffs among the airlines. That refocused the discussion among my co-workers, especially those with lower seniority.

We finally got the figures September 21 and they had to be implemented by the next day. We were called into the office and given five to 10 minutes to decide if we want to take layoffs or elect to fill an open position or bump into a low seniority position. This despite the fact that we are running about the same number of flights as before the devastation of September 11.

There is no severance pay for the laid off workers but the company agreed with the union demand to continue full medical coverage until the end of the year. Northwest Airlines sees this as an emergency situation over which it has no control and there is an escape clause in the contract.

While the airline companies were given $15 billion in cash and credit, workers wonder where that money is going? The day after the layoffs overtime was reintroduced.

Dave Lee
Chicago, Illinois

The letters column is an open forum for all viewpoints on subjects of interest to working people. Please keep your letters brief. Where necessary they will be abridged. Please indicate if you prefer that your initials be used rather than your full name.  
 
 
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