Rabbit Shelter
Living in the Texas suburbs can sometimes feel isolating if you aren’t spending time with your neighbors. There isn’t much to do if you don’t have a car either, so many people tend to get pets. Me and my siblings were luckily gifted rabbits by our kind neighbor Don. My rabbit Toby, soon to be known as Toby I, was a great rabbit. She was a very sociable and caring mother. Toby I was the mother of many healthy and beautiful rabbits, but she gave birth to one rabbit which caught my attention. This rabbit was identical to her, so promptly I named her Toby II. Though my backyard was spacious, the rabbits had decided to hole up in a small playhouse I had in a corner up against the fence.
This house was soon the savior of many rabbits but also the source of many troubles. The playhouse was completely made of plastic and had slightly elevated above the ground. It was a little dirty on the inside due to abandonment and being left to bare the elements. After cleaning the house, the rabbits started to move in and make it their home. They created a burrow under it to help keep them cool, but also inhabited the inside of the playhouse in which they often went to sleep at night. The most interesting thing about this house is that the rabbits often used the entire structure as their burrow. Adult rabbits would often give birth underneath the house but then move the babies inside the house and keep them in a large fuzzy nest of fur they had shed for the babies to rest in. They also took care not to use the bathroom there, instead they would poop just about anywhere else in the garden, which was much appreciated for the sake of the plants. Something also interesting to note is that the parent rabbits would often stay with the babies in the house itself but any other rabbits not care taking would be either in the burrow or elsewhere in the garden. Through all these interesting points I wonder if the rabbits could foresee the issue with their burrow, for it seems the adults knew how to avoid it completely with their precautionary methods which I hadn’t noticed beforehand.
When it rained many rabbits would take refuge in the burrow. Though one time it had rained so heavily that these rabbits had to move everyone inside the house, the burrow was flooding. As quickly as we and the rabbits could we moved any remaining rabbits from under the house. Fortunately, all the rabbits were safe and secure in their little shelter. But it occurred to me that all of the rabbits that had taken shelter in the house had only been the adult and baby rabbits. This leads me to think of when human children leave their house, and they try to live without their parents or throw away their advice, they come back in their desperate moments of need. It’s almost as if the adult rabbits knew this would protect them and their babies from the flood but the pubescent/teenage rabbits chose to ignore it and live in the burrow. Perhaps this isn’t as I describe it and it has to do with an animal hierarchy. Though this house since then for all the rabbits had served as the main shelter for all the rabbits regardless of age. Very few rabbits returned to the burrow and decided that inside the house was the best place for them.
I believe there is cultural relevance in this shelter as most prey animals have a concept of shelter, a place they can turn to when things get dicey. And for these rabbits and myself I knew I could always rely on that playhouse to protect my rabbits in any case of danger such as a flood or wondering cat. Shelter for an animal, especially the prey type, is the most important thing and I think any animal caretaker who cares for their animal tries to provide that shelter for those animals. This makes me wonder if we as humans are born as prey to society and all we’re left with is our natural shelter, be it the shelter of our friends, family, or ourselves.
Who can help us in our time of crisis?
America is facing crises on every front; we’re heading towards one of the most important elections in our country’s history, a housing crisis that’s straining our youth, and migrant crisis that’s testing the limits of our cities’ social and public programs.
The people have been in a constant state of awareness and unrest. In times like these, there are groups that try to get a handle on the situation and offer solutions, often through ideas of radical change.
The revolutionary group I want to focus on is the Communist Party of the United States of America. I want to talk to the people and revolutionary forces that aim to lead our society and country into a perhaps newer, safer era.
In New York City, the home to many revolutionary individuals as well as movements, I want to see how they react to and exist in our current environment and what future they envision for our city as well as our country.
When I say revolutionary, I am referring to political movements such as the women’s suffrage movement or the Civil Rights movement in the US. These are all movements led by people in a political context who hoped to liberate themselves from their oppressors. These are the movements that I hope to target and follow as I report on the state of revolutionary politics in New York City.
The New York CPUSA in the Past
The New York District of the Communist Party of the United States of America is a political organization that follows the Marxism-Leninist school of thought. Marxism-Leninism is the main ideology of the modern communist countries that come to mind such as China, Vietnam, and Cuba.
Although the CPUSA shares this ideology with other parties in other countries, they signify that communism in the United States would not take the same form. This is because of the material differences that every country has in its political, social, and economic circumstances. This also applies at the state level; for example, where every state may have a housing crisis, the conditions and causes of the crisis change based on the state.
Davis’s twenty-two-page pamphlet, Police Brutality: Lynching in the Northern Style (though actually written by Davis’s assistant, Horace Marshall), was published in 1947 by Davis’s office, and it detailed numerous cases of unjustified police violence carried out on a daily basis on the streets of Harlem. Forty-two-year-old Samuel T. Symonette, a Harlem businessman, was “savagely” beaten for thirty minutes by four plain clothed men on 18 October 1947. Peter Train, a 26-year-old veteran, accused New York City police detective John T. O’Connor of hitting and kicking him without reason. Davis pointed out that police brutality was the northern “counterpart to lynch-terror against Negroes in the semi-feudal South.” Davis also praised the Communist Party for its diligence in condemning police brutality. (Clarence Taylor., 2013, p.214) (Benjamin Davis surrounded by pickets as they leave the Federal Courthouse in New York City / World Telegram & Sun photo by C.M. Stieglitz.)
This excerpt from “RACE, CLASS, AND POLICE BRUTALITY IN NEW YORK CITY: THE ROLE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY IN THE EARLY COLD WAR YEARS” shows the activity and concerns of the party in New York during the late 40s going into the 50s. Their work focused on liberating the working class, working within the labor movement, and defending people’s rights.
Starting from this point, the New York District started to focus on more issues that included not only the working-class struggle but also the Black struggle. This is crucial at this point in history, where America was very racially Black and white and the politics were primarily centered around the civil rights of Black and white people and the rich and poor.
The party played a crucial role in assisting the Black community throughout the civil rights movement with the help of Black community leaders from this point forward. Many of the Black community leaders and activists would start joining the Party. This led the party into a new era of progressivism in New York, and America as a whole.
The New York CPUSA of Today
Today, the party is not as strong as it used to be. This is a reflection of the suppression by the state and the lack of common activism and organizing that took place in New York. Not many people are even aware that there is a communist party, despite all the talk of “communists” in the mainstream news.
The CPUSA highlights in an article how participating in the current political climate has been difficult for the party for various reasons.
“At the same time, the party should interact more with traditional media. Even though the consumption of such media has fallen drastically since 2010, there is a trickle-down effect to digital media and social networks. What appears on the front page of the New York Times or at the top of the hour on CNN still has a tremendous impact on overall public discourse.
Take a look at the New York Times archive, where the CPUSA once enjoyed regular mention and coverage. Party leadership had letters to the editor published, events and campaigns were featured, and journalists reached out to leadership for comment and interviews.”
A critique of the party’s lack of interaction with traditional media. I believe this highlights a critical point within the party which they were realizing they had to rebuild their party. The rest of the article provides many reasons and methods on why and how the party should participate in popular media, as it is one of the pressing issues of the modern party as a political organization.
However, after the previous presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, many turned to the ideas of socialism in the United States. This is evident in the New York District body. I asked many people about how and why they joined, and they all gave me the response, “introduction to socialism through the Bernie campaign”.
An interesting thought is that, although Bernie is no communist, he is a self-described democratic socialist. This campaign brought forth the ideas of socialism in the United States and encouraged a great number of youths to join the Communist Party, especially in New York.
An article by the CPUSA states how the New York District began to grow in the following years after the Bernie campaign. “In the section of the report you have received under “NY District” (with the NY Times photograph of our Party and PW banners in the center of the BLM march), you get a picture of the 50% growth in club membership in the recent period.” (Butters, C., 2021, July 2). This report by the New York District of the CPUSA shows not only the growth of the New York district but it also goes on to elaborate on the importance of the youth in the many movements it is involved in.
With these ideas and history in mind, I hope to get a deep look into the activities and visions of the people behind this great struggle to bring liberation to the working class in New York. I want to see how the organization operates to achieve this, as well as how the city reacts to their rising presence.
How we view the Party?
May Day at City Hall
The weather is good, and I headed out to meet some friends. I greet my Jun who I work with to help organize events such as the one we’re having today. The “No More 24 movement”. The event was full of spirit, and I could feel the atmosphere of both strength and joy as some city hall reps tried to rain on our parade. As the celebration comes to a close, me and some of the organizers and attendees make our way to lunch. We make our way to Xi’an Famous Foods, where we start some conversation. We got on the topic of the many socialist or communist groups that showed up at the event. Many of my lunch mates mentioned how these groups were handing out newspapers which seemed odd, mainly for the reason that they had nothing to do with the event. The members at the table had said it was a classic “Trot” move. They explained it was characteristic of methodically Trotskyist parties because “Trots are always trying to recruit and steal other people from other’s events” and they invite them out to “ineffective and anti-organizational” events preventing any movements from truly developing into anything meaningful.
This conversation got me curious about how people felt towards the party either as members or as outsiders. Later in the month I decided to interview a couple of people about their feelings towards the party. Both the people I interviewed are both current members of the New York District Communist Party USA. One is the current co-chair of the Queens club, Taryn, while the other is a newer member of the same club, Erin.
Erin
Erin has brought a lot of good changes to the club while also experiencing and expressing new feelings about both politics and the party. Much like me, Erin agreed with the ideas and concepts behind communism but was never a real joiner of groups or movements like that. She considered the state of things in America as she grew up, feeling that joining any type of movement or group wouldn’t accomplish much. However, the developments in American politics between 2020 and now emphasized the importance of political action encouraging her to join. She believes the party helps guide her action and ability to make a difference, “Now I guess I feel I can be a little more involved in things but in a more specific context in furthering communistic goals.” She mentioned an idea called the “Cycle of Generations”:
“The theory states that a crisis recurs in American history after every saeculum, which is followed by a recovery (high). During this recovery, institutions and communitarian values are strong. Ultimately, succeeding generational archetypes attack and weaken institutions in the name of autonomy and individualism, which eventually creates a tumultuous political environment that ripens conditions for another crisis.” (to, 2010). She believes through the lens of this theory that we are capable of cycling forward towards a greater society and possibly even a socialist one.
Taryn
Taryn is a woman from the deep south with lots of political activist experience as well as a well-traveled individual which complements her knowledge of the world and influences her political opinions. Being an experienced member in the party, Taryn helps direct the Queens club alongside another co-chair, guiding the club’s political action and mentoring new members.
Taryn says about her feelings before joining the party, “I felt very positive about communism.” Growing up she said she hadn’t known the Communist Party was a thing. “When I was growing up the most radical thing in the area was the Democratic Party,” and being from a right to work state there weren’t any labor unions. But this didn’t bar her from communism—she had read the manifesto in her high school age, and she took herself to be an anarchist. However, during her time in Palestine (in her 20s) she realized that the state and who runs it matters, due to Palestine’s condition of being under an occupational force, “you can’t just pretend like the state doesn’t exist”. Before joining the party, she was living in New York and felt hopeless about the future, that things were going badly. Though the nature of the party and its community has given her hope for the future. “Specifically, the Communist Party has really a proud, rich tradition in this country for making things better for the working class…Being the first party to recognize racism as a serious threat to the working class and struggled against it.” Taryn says she hadn’t learned growing up, “that was a history that was erased, very intentionally.” She believes that her education about these actions and events is a sign that others like her are also learning about it, and that is a hopeful sign for the future thanks to the existence of the Communist Party. Although, she does not believe that this optimism comes from communist ideology alone, but through the way the Communist Party members “implement communism in practice but also in their day to day lives… It’s the living example”. So, it is not the ideological attraction alone that gives her this hope, but also the community and its action. As the conversation went on, we moved to the question of how the growth of the party may influence NYC politics. She believes “The party expanding and growing in New York and becoming more active in New York is not because of anything that the party necessarily did I think it’s because specifically the party is part of society and as society changes the need for Communist Party arises and the Communist Party meets that call…What I can tell you is that I think the hope that we have or the trajectory that we have is to make the city a better place to live.” And that uniquely the party will lend the “communist plus” which is the explanation and direction that leads to class consciousness and how we can solve these issues to improve the conditions of the working class.
Meghan
Meghan is a Black 27-year-old New York transplant, who grew up on the east coast and graduated from Cheyney and Columbia University. She is now a full-time professional worker, who works in media and identifies as a civically minded individual. She is currently registered as a Democrat although she “doesn’t like them”. Meghan believes the CPUSA is important and inspiring through its resilience. She believes that it’s necessary due to the ideas supported by current politics reaching a critical point in which it’s necessary to have a fighting force like the Communist Party. Previously as an apolitical individual she had believed in the government’s legitimacy as an institution and had always been left leaning. However, after meeting her current partner, who was then sympathetic to communist ideas, she started absorbing some of those ideas herself. She started to believe the Communist Party is a positively radical political force that embodies “We, the people” and believes we as a country fallen from that. She stated that the Communist Party is “organic and working for the people”. However, she is critical of government, leading her to believe there’s an idealism behind communism that some may have. She fears a future without the ideals of the Communist Party and believes that most Americans hold such ideals at heart behind the influences of extreme politics. She stated that “we’re not the same” as our previous generation in that the worlds we live in is drastically different and that “without a socialist future it would be this but worse and with one it could be this but better.”
Conclusion
In these narratives, I find a shared necessity for societal transformation. The Communist Party USA, with its historical legacy and fulfilling of its role as a movement for workers’ liberation, offers both a vision of a more just society and a platform for collective action. This ethnography has shown me that as I navigate the complexities of New York politics, it’s clear that the party’s influence extends beyond its membership, resonating with individuals across diverse backgrounds who yearn for a better tomorrow. I believe this will lead to an increase in both party membership as well as the consideration of the party as a viable political option.
