"Solidarity Forever" Sung by IWW-- Portland May Day

[michaelscandirito]

Way to divide yourself against a genuine union. It's not like these guys are AFL-CIO loving fascists. I realize Ayn Rand didn't like "group think", and don't have anything against her, but to marginalize these guys based on her premise is kind of absurd.

[lexflyingfish]

@michaelscandirito Um, I'm not an Ayn Rand fan; from what I understand she was an atheist who took "rugged individualism" to extremes.

[michaelscandirito]

@lexflyingfish I wouldn't call it anything extreme. Rand's objectivism is pro-corporation, pro-big business, pro-limited liability stuff. That is anything but individualism.

"Group think" is the phrase you use to mock the union members in this video. Ayn Rand popularized that phrase in criticizing any form of altruism. If she were alive today, she might have realized, not all forms of altruism are all that bad. Genuine unionism and cooperative business/markets to name a few.

[lexflyingfish]

@michaelscandirito To IWW's credit, I didn't see any IWW presence at the Oct. 26 Occupy Portland rally put on by Jobs With Justice and with very heavy involvement of AFL-CIO, SEIU, etc., so maybe IWW has some good instincts about not being co-opted.

I especially disagree with Ayn Rand about the "altruism is bad" thing; it sounds nuts to me...Not much different than nihilists etc. who say the strong should be free to bully the weak (which happens in any totalitarian system IMHO).

[lexflyingfish]

Addendum to my earlier comment here-- apparently the IWW is expected to be part of a planned blockade of West coast ports, instigated and coordinated by the Occupiers, which would hurt average middle class and poor people. If that's the case then IWW are, literally, tools.

[lexflyingfish]

@michaelscandirito ...But "Class War" signs and red/black flags etc. do seem just a bit mob-like to me.