Evergroove trivia, pt. 11

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Evergroove trivia, pt. 11

Submitted by stevenl on Mon, 10/24/2005 - 8:58pm.

There has been at least one candidate for President of the United States to visit Evergreen. Gus Hall, standard bearer for the Communist Party came to one of the lecture halls in 1972 and gave his pitch. Frankly, I don't recall much of what he said, except that he mentioned he had once been a prison cell neighbor to George "Machine Gun" Kelly. What I do recall is the unusual configuration of the crowd. The front seats were lined with senior citizens, probably all born in the 1880s and 1890s, who were ardent and vocal Gus Hall fans. A whole row of white and blue-haired Reds, how colorfully patriotic! I had no idea there were so many senior citizen communists in Olympia in 1972 (like 8 or 10). The rest of the audience were curious and somewhat bemused students. Also peppered in the crowd were right wing hecklers. When it came to question and answer time, Gus refused to answer "rhetorical questions" which was his way of ignoring the right wingers out there. Surrounding all of us were Secret Service guys who looked like they were out of Central Casting. Gus introduced them as his unwanted protection.

When the event was over, Gus walked out to the circle and got into the car that was waiting for him. It was a Lincoln or a Cadillac.

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As I'm sure you're aware, com

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Mon, 10/24/2005 - 10:41pm.

As I'm sure you're aware, communism was more of a realistic possibility in the US in the 30s than the 50s. Evidently, there must have been some holdouts in Olympia hoping for a comeback. :)

Check out this site: Commu

Submitted by Rick on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 7:18am.

Check out this site:

Communism made a larger impact on Washington than almost any other state. "There are forty-seven states in the Union, and the Soviet of Washington," Postmaster General James Farley joked in 1936. The remark, for all its exaggeration, had some foundation.
The Communist movement, founded in 1919, caught on quickly in the Pacific Northwest, picking up members from the fading Industrial Workers of the World and Socialist Party. In the 1930s the CP played key roles in the strikes and campaigns that built some of the region's most powerful unions and used that base to influence other institutions. The Washington Commonwealth Federation, the Washington Pension Union and to some extent the state's Democratic party organization responded to these popular front initiatives. Running as Democrats, Communists won some important public offices, including a seat in Congress.

Ah, for the good old days. How long will it take for communism to be an acceptable political movement again?

"How long will it take for co

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 10:24am.

"How long will it take for communism to be an acceptable political movement again?" Until someone can figure out how to make it work in practice rather than just theory. By my own estimate, that'll be never.

The question is: when is it o

Submitted by Rick on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 12:33pm.

The question is: when is it ok to talk about communism again? Not, when is it ok to create a communist state. The ideals that are contained in communism, as expressed by Marx and Engels, need to be represented in our current political conversation, and presently, they are not. How rich do the rich need to be before the not-rich people get it that their own interests are not served by a purely capitolist model?

I was under the impression ev

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 12:56pm.

I was under the impression every political model was open for conversation, some just more realistic than others. Communism is dead, as both discussion and political model, because it simply doesn't work on a large enough scale necessary for an entire State. For the sake of definition, what is "rich" and "not rich?" Also, Marx didn't believe a peaceful resolution was (is?) possible. I think that while people would prefer equality, they would rather have the vast majority of people living in relative comfort (inequality) than everyone struggling to survive (equality).

What Marx said was that every

Submitted by Rick on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 4:52pm.

What Marx said was that everyone should be brought up to the level of bourgeois, not that the bourgeois should be brought down. The problem is that as the wealth is becoming highly concentrated in the hands of a few, so that there really isn't enough for everyone to have a middle class standard of living. Here are some charts you can look at that visualize the concentration.

And how would you suggest we

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 5:33pm.

And how would you suggest we remedy the situation? By taking wealth away from people and "redistributing?" We've all seen this story too many times and, in the end, it usually doesn't end up pretty (regardless of what Marx expressed by bringing everyone "up," I'm more interested in the reality rather than the theory). What is "middle class?" Would you consider a couple making $100,000 a year middle class?

Ralph Nader visited in 2003.

Submitted by descalza on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 5:18pm.

Ralph Nader visited in 2003.

Personally, I don't really ca

Submitted by Rob Richards on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 6:51pm.

Personally, I don't really care if there are rich people. I'm just tired of seeing the effects of poverty on people. It's debilitating. 25% of working families nation-wide live below the poverty line. Most of the working class is just one bad experience away from homelessness.

The median income in Thurston County is $40,000. I'd say $100,000 is above middle class.

I'm not a big fan of communism, but I'm not really all that impressed with capitolism in practice either. Not by what I've seen so far. I think the best start is to invest in our community by providing a guaranteed living wage, and universal health care.

I more than agree with you th

Submitted by The Fire Inside on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 7:41pm.

I more than agree with you that the vast majority of people are one bad experience (in most cases, a serious health injury/illness) from homelessness. This goes back to another discussion we had, though, and whether it's the job of the government to ensure people have a "living wage" and "universal health care." And I disagree with you on a couple making a combined income of $100,000 as being above middle class (unless, of course, you break the middle class into "upper" and "lower," then I would agree it would fall into the "upper middle class" category).

Based on the median income of

Submitted by Rob Richards on Tue, 10/25/2005 - 9:40pm.

Based on the median income of $40,000, I would consider $100,000 upper-middle class in Thurston County. I think it is also important to note that the national poverty level is set somewhere around $24,000. So the median income in Thurston County does not even double that. I think the conversations about living wage and universal health care are separate. I believe that Olympia would benefit greatly if every business in Olympia provided a living wage to it's employees. I don't think it is the govt's job to legislate that, I think perhaps they could have a role in education. As far as health care is concerned, I believe that people have the right to have access to food, water, and medicine. So I lean toward the government stepping in to make sure people are getting their basic needs met.

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