"Walking on the Path of the Vanguard"

Viewing Chairman Avakian's speech in the heart of the barrio

Revolutionary Worker #1243, June 13, 2004, posted at http://rwor.org

"This was a great event: to hear the words of the leader who speaks to us with the truth, who takes things apart with such a clear analysis, who teaches us with a science that advances our understanding." So it was described by an organizer of the May Day showing of the video clip.

On May 1st, in a restaurant in the Pico-Union section of Los Angeles, a group of a dozen Latino proletarians and others gathered to watch the video clip of the historic speech by Chairman Avakian, "Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About." The event was sponsored by Libros Revolución. There were immigrants from Mexico and Central America, some of whom heard about it at the earlier Immigrant Workers March. There were revolutionary communists and members of La Resistencia. One woman makes a living as a street vendor, and stayed up the night before to study the speech excerpt that was in the Obrero Revolucionario . An African American nurse who attended was thrilled by the multi-national gathering.

After the clip was over, an immigrant woman from Mexico rose to her feet and spoke from her heart: "When was I ever going to meet up with an analysis that made me feel sane and whole? The things you think and feel weigh on your heart because you can't understand: Why do we live in such desperation, without any real reason for the fact that no matter how hard you work, you don't have enough money to survive? You just can't understand why they're fighting this senseless war, where they're killing innocent people - for what?

"It's here that I can understand and express things. It's this leader and this newspaper that gives me the courage to express things that I'm drowning in. It makes me feel that, yes! we can unite and struggle to seize power and bring about change."

An immigrant man from Mexico spoke of the struggle he had with his friend to win him over to come. He almost didn't come because he felt he had nothing to say and that if he were asked a question he wouldn't be able to respond. The man continued, "In this system the common people have no right to speak or have opinions. Supposedly we don't have the intellect to study science. Science is only for the higher classes to own and to use. This leader gives the ability to understand that science is not something unreachable. Like he says, we shouldn't be afraid to use this science and it's important to understand that we have the ability and the right to do it. The people need this so much!"

Another immigrant woman rose to her feet, struggling to control the emotion in her voice: "I'm feeling a great emotion, like I feel like I want to cry: to be able to analyze and understand things like, `What is monopoly?' These are words that have to do with a science and yes, we can understand, use and analyze them. When has anyone given us, the ones on the bottom, the chance to understand, analyze and participate in a debate like this? To be able to break things down with a correct understanding fills us with confidence and courage, so that today and even right now we are walking on the path of the vanguard, doing something brand new, something that belongs to the future."

Can you hear them? The voices of those forced into the shadows--they long for a leader who can show them the reason for their stolen lives and a path to liberation. When the conscious proletariat hears Bob Avakian they can recognize that he is rare and unique and irreplaceable. Who could argue then that they would not embrace this leader who links their lives to their historic mission to bring about a communist future? Who would call on them to fight for anything less than the liberation of humankind?

Listen... they're playing our song. Can you hear it? "The Internationale."... "We have been naught, WE SHALL BE ALL!...We must each one decide our duty, we must decide and do it well..."