Written by Andrew Van Hauer
We need to chat, Millennials and Gen Z. You too, Gen-X. We've been getting fucked over while being patronized about how "easy" we have it for way too fucking long.
I'm 35, born among the first few years of the millennial generation. I was 17 on 9/11. I was in the woods, on an extended trip when it happened. I came back in October and people I'd known my whole life, who personally were unaffected by the attacks, had radically changed, both in personality and views. Like Gen-Xers and other older millennials, I remember a world before that, before everyone was so paranoid they were terrified of their own shadows, before we the general public viewed any desperate, oppressed, or different peoples on the other side of the world as either threats, tools, or invaders. Before the vast majority were crushed between the costs of living and perpetual debt.
I remember Columbine. I was in 8th grade. I remember talking to some of my friends, especially those who were or had been at one time outcasts, bullied, or traumatized. Who were already bored to tears, forced to repeat learning material endlessly, or overburdened with homework that exceeded 5 hours/day in middle school, who were expected to start working at 15 or earlier; I was 12 when i got my first "job" being paid by someone other than my family or neighbors. Even though we hated the shooters, we could see why it happened; as an adult, I can now see these shootings as one way in which the alienation predicted by Marx has manifested.
I've already worked at least 23 years of my life. I've owned 3 businesses as an adult, not to mention childhood and adolescent entrepreneurial ventures. I have 1.5 degrees. Despite all that, I have been homeless three times, and currently make less than $15/hour as a cook... And count myself lucky compared to some of my peers.
We've watched as our education funding was cut to the bone, watched as we are forced to jump through inane and insane hoops to complete the most basic educational or professional tasks, from duplicative resumes and applications to excessive entry requirements for both education and employment; I've seen our time, money, and social circles scammed or eaten away through "unpaid internships," pyramid schemes, recruitment/direct sales scams, temp agencies, "alternative minimum wages" for tipped, young, training, or new employees, commission-only pay, the "sharing economy" of rideshares, apartment shares, freelance food delivery, shopping, taxi, and other services, and of course, student loan debt.
I've watched as we have been denied insurance due to "preexisting conditions," making too much or too little money, or due to byzantine paperwork and rules designed to deny us coverage; I've had friends and family, and myself, refused basic medical care and services, through no fault of our own.
We have been given bad advice, sold false bills of goods, denied any voice or input, and all the while told how "good" he have it while we work 60+ hour weeks for shit pay, and only slide further and further into debt and poverty.
It is time to end these cycles; to demand conditions where all of us can thrive. To demand justice for our fallen peers, whether sent to fight another pointless war, murdered by police, or killed by deprivation of food, housing, or medical treatment. To free the innocent from prison, and put the guilty in their place. To end the bloodshed and deprivation carried out in our names across the globe.
While conditions may not be optimal for a full, immediate revolution, we are presented with other opportunities; no matter the conditions, however, a diversity of tactics are needed to wrest either greater control or necessary concessions, and we should seek to pursue all avenues that may provide either.
This is the single most important election of our lives; not only the presidential race, but also every office from school boards and city counselors up to congressional and Senate races.
We need to show our power, our numbers, and our impacts. We need to win, not just by getting Bernie to the general election, but by electing those of our own generations, and those who are truly leftist into as many offices as possible.
If Bernie gets fucked over, we need to show up for third party and independent candidates, socialist candidates, and activist candidates, up and down the ticket.
And we need to make sure Biden loses by refusing him our volunteer time, any spare change we still have, and our votes. I am #NeverBiden, and he should have 0% support from anyone, especially those under 40.
We also need to flex our economic productivity muscles by organizing unions and strikes, supporting or starting direct mutual support orgs, and through creating our own economy.
We can do this, if we all work towards it.
The first steps are to register, including any address/ID changes, party affiliation changes, and any other steps needed, and then to show up and vote. More than half of us live in states that still haven't voted. This race is far from over.
Next is to go check out leftist and Marxist-Leninist groups. Pitch in if you can or at least follow and share their social media. Better yet, run for office yourself if you are able, or seek party offices from which influence can be exerted.
Talk to your fellow workers about starting or joining a union, and share with each other what skills you each have. Teach each other how to grow and preserve your own food, ferment your own alcohol, make clothes or bedding, fix cars, bikes, or houses, literally find any skills you can trade or enhance. Buy a gun and learn how to use and maintain/fix it.
Get ready to vote, and get ready to revolt. Since they refuse to listen, we must speak louder.
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