Category Archives: Writings

Let’s Learn From the Past and Welcome Syrian Refugees!

personal, Reflections on Current Events, Talks, Writings,

Talk at Forum at The Evergreen State College: After Paris: Responding to Islamophobia and the Refugee Crisis

by Peter Bohmer, December 2, 2015

Let Us Learn from Our Past and Welcome Syrians to the United States!

First, a little first about my parents and grandparents! My family is from central Europe; my parents were born and grew up in Vienna, Austria as assimilated Jews. In March 1938, the Austrian government welcomed the invasion of Nazi Germany although there was some popular resistance. Germany immediately annexed Austria. My dad who was 22 years old was arrested and imprisoned in late March 1938 for being active in the Jewish community. He was also beaten by the guards but was released in August 1938. My father and mother immediately fled Austria for France which let in many Jews in although they also limited entry; e.g., from Poland which had the largest Jewish population in Europe…

Read more:
Let’s Learn From the Past and Welcome Syrian Refugees (.docx)

Interview of Peter Bohmer by Kourosh Ziabari

Reflections on Current Events, Writings,

Interview on Solidarity, Occupy and U.S.-Iran Relations.

What follows are my answers to a written interview from  Kourosh Ziabari, a writer and reporter for the Fars News Agency,  an Iranian foreign policy news and analysis website. I submitted the following answers to Kourosh Ziabari’s six questions on August 4, 2015 and slightly revised them on September 18, 2015.

 

Question 1- For many years, you’ve been a political activist protesting racial discrimination across the United States, as well as other forms of social injustice. You’ve also organized solidarity movements with the people of crisis-hit countries like Vietnam, Puerto Rico and Cuba. How does the US government perceive your activism and how does it react to you? Are such egalitarian and liberal movements ever taken seriously by the White House? Do they leave any impact on the major decisions of the US government and its institutions?

My answer.
My own active opposition for many years to the U.S. war in Vietnam is probably what I am proudest of in my life. The millions of people in the United States outside the military but also inside the military deserve credit for actively opposing their government’s waging of a murder, immoral and illegal war. Of course, the people who deserve the most credit are the Vietnamese people who opposed the U.S. occupation and war. … (see link above)

A Critique of the July 10, 2015 Austerity Proposal from Greece by Syriza; There is an Alternative!

Reflections on Current Events, Writings

Update: Monday, 11:00 A.M., July 13th, 2015. The European Zone governments, the Eurogroup, led by Germany demanded even more concessions and humiliation from Greece such as controlling Greek privatization and the funds generated from it and monitoring and controlling the Greek government’s budget as a price for Greece staying in the Eurozone. It explicitly states there will be no forgiveness of Greek government debt. The Greek Prime Minister, Tsipras, accepted these new conditions which is further blackmail by Germany and Eurogroup. The new plan is even worse than the deal that the Syriza leaders forced through parliament on Friday, July 10th. This even more restrictive austerity plan will now go back to the Greek parliament but Greece has little choice but to “accept” this imperialist deal if it rules out leaving the Eurozone.

What follows is my commentary of July 11th, 2015 after Syriza proposed a restrictive austerity plan with the hope that the Troika would accept it. The Troika led by the German finance minister, Schauble, has now demanded an even greater violation of Greek sovereignty.

Criticism of July 10, 2015 Greek proposal for a bail out!

by Peter Bohmer, July 11, 2015

Building Power from Below and Taking Power

Talks, Writings

Drawing on recent economic and social change in Latin America, some ideas on strategy for radical transformation of society. “I argue in this paper that prefigurative politics are an essential part of economic and social transformation. However, on their own, they cannot gain sufficient importance and scale to undermine the dominant capitalist structures. It is necessary to also win the state in order to transform it and end its repressive power. Developing this position is the focus of this paper.”

View full talk:
Building Power from Below and Taking Power

What is Going on in Venezuela?

Talks, Writings

Challenge of mainstream media views of protests in Venezuela

Talk given at Forum on Venezuela in Seattle, Washington on April 5, 2014

There are two different stories about Venezuela—one view is that the protesters there are part of a world- wide protest upsurge such as what has been happening in Turkey, Brazil, Chile, Ukraine and Egypt in 2011, against an increasingly repressive and poorly functioning economic system. In this narrative, the protesters in Venezuela want more democracy, less corruption and an economy where goods are available…

Read full talk:
What is Going on in Venezuela? (pdf)

Video of April 5th Forum

My Brief Reflection on the April 14, 2013 Venezuelan Election and Destabilization Efforts

Reflections on Current Events, Talks, Writings

It is really important that we demand the U.S. government accept the victory of Maduro. His margin in the recent election was almost as big a margin as Obama in voting percentages in 2012. As far as  I know the U.S. and Spain are the two countries who have not accepted the results. This is interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela.  Capriles and the right-wing in Venezuela not accepting their loss in a system where votes are counted very accurately creates a very dangerous situation.  Destabilization somewhat reminiscent of the attempted 2002 coup is occurring including attacks on community media.  Let us also challenge the U.S. media misrepresentation and stress the fairness of the count of the April 14th election.

That is the main issue and should be our main focus, support for the electoral process in Venezuela and Maduro as President .

As someone who is in solidarity with the Venezuelan revolution, a secondary but important issue is why the election was so close, especially since Maduro seemed comfortably ahead in the polls?  This is not questioning his victory but the small margin, 2 percentage points. I hope that the response in Venezuela goes beyond the necessary defense of Maduro’s victory;  that it extends to a serious examination of some of the ongoing problems such as corruption, clientalism, violence and major inefficiencies in some public programs. I hope there is a major and ongoing process where there is consultation with the popular classes about their criticisms and this leads as quickly as possible to the deepening of the revolution –growth of participatory democracy, popular power and socialization of the economy.

The death of President Hugo Chávez  is a great loss for the people of Venezuela and to people all over the world. U.S. imperialism and the right-wing and the rich in Venezuela are using this period as an opportunity to intensify their efforts to destroy the development of “Socialism for the 21st Century” and turn back the advancements. The Venezuelan people no longer have Chavez to support them. My hope is that out of the tragic death of Chávez  that participatory democracy and socialism from below can flower and expand and that the Maduro led government will support this transformation rather than move to the right to appease the opposition.

La lucha continua, Peter Bohmer

Don’t Criminalize Homeless People: Create Affordable Housing and 24 Hour Drop-in Centers

Reflections on Current Events, Writings

Letter to The Olympian newspaper

December 19, 2012;  printed in The Olympian, December 25, 2012

I strongly oppose the proposed No Camping ordinances. There is a shortage of low-cost and affordable housing in Olympia. Banning camping near City Hall and on all city property will create further hardships for homeless people. It criminalizes people for being homeless rather than making available more affordable housing and other social services.

What is wrong with camping out on city property?  If there is a problem with urination, Olympia should provide free bathrooms rather than preventing camping and sleeping outside. It should open City Hall as a place to sleep at night.

People can be charged with a crime if they assault someone but because a middle class resident feels unsafe or uncomfortable near a homeless or street person is not a reason to make camping or sleeping outside illegal or to further restrict sitting on the sidewalk.

The Mayor and City Council are supposed to represent all people in Olympia including homeless people. These proposed city council laws do not do that nor do they represent those in Olympia who believe housing is a right and people should not be criminalized or forced out of Olympia because they are homeless. It is good the Olympia City Council voted to end the no busking ordinance but that is not enough.

I urge the Olympia City Council and Mayor Buxbaum to reconsider their position on the No Camping laws, to reject them and not further restrict camping, sleeping outside or in one’s car and not limit sitting on the sidewalk.

Sincerely, Peter Bohmer