cartoon: masses, etc.

Above: cartoon from The Masses magazine circa 1916. Joke referencing earlier cartoon below.



Above: 1913, same publication, similar cartoon as originally drawn.




Below: for a period Soviet cartoons such as the one from the Soviet Satirical magazine Crocodile below made fun of the problems of rapid collective industrialization.




All of these funnies are from marxists.org including this one on post-modernism.

cartoon: Henry Dubb by Ryan Walker

Ryan Walker was a cartoonist for the Socialist Paper Appeal to Reason in the days before WWI and the Russian Revolution. We have posted a cartoon below dealing with housing. You can see more cartoons on the Marxists Internet Archive website (marxists.org) [link to homepage] [deep link to cartoons]

A look back: Quebec fascism, KKK, bailouts in Ontario, YCL club life

CLICK ON ANY IMAGE FOR FULL READABLE VIEW

Above: YCL clubs of the past may hold lessons and tips for today's youth

Above: ditto.







Above: history proves that IT CAN HAPPEN HERE. Although major fascists like Arcand were federalists, the article above shows nationalism as being more akin to bigotry versus a genuine act of self -determination. While Germany had ominous events like the boycott of Nathan Israel's Department Store and Kristallnacht Toronto has had events like the Riots at Christie Pits Park.













Above: racist movements are again cropping up in Canada, most notably Alberta.

Above: Racism can also be systemic and entangled in class structures and economics, poverty.
(note: Joe Abramovitch's sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment at St.-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary in Quebec.)

Above: Is current premier Dalton McGuinty any different?

Above: Unity of the left is still needed more than ever today

Above: Free speech has been fought for more at home than overseas

a look back: home children and child slavery

above: article from 1924. "Three Hundred More Child Slaves"

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave an apology to the victims in this scheme recently.

The CBC reported that: " Canada has not apologized for its role in the program... Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said the Conservative government had no plans to apologize."

click an image to zoom in to read

below is the verbatim article from the above images:

A news despatch [sic] states that in the British House of Commons it was said that three British Boy Settlers had committed suicide during the last year in Australia. Apparently in spite of all the excuses for the acts of the five boys who have taken their own lives here in Canada, it seems to be a general rule that boy immigrants do so because of the conditions of slavery under which they work. In our last issue we showed how these boys were delivered bound over to Canadian farmers as cheap labour. In Australia also this is done. Another reason why the Labour movement should fight like the devil to abolish this infamous practice.

another article:

THREE HUNDRED MORE CHILD SLAVES

A recent press despatch states that three hundred more children from Great Britain have arrived in Ontario under the parental wing of the Salvation Army. Quite a long report is given of the details of their arrival, and a really beautiful description of the distributing homes in the Niagara Peninsula is written into the account. The press despatch goes on to state that steps have been taken to prevent the boys passing through the city of Toronto while passing to the homes because there is "a possibility of encountering temptation while doing so." Another enlightening paragraph states that the farmers are demanding boys, boys, and more boys in order that their crops may be safely garnered this fall.

In fact, "quite an interesting scene is depicted when the newcomers arrive, and the farmers flock to the hostel to secure their boy farmhands."

As far as the temptation bunk is concerned, we have an idea that the Sanctimonious Army is not so much worried over the evils that the boys may encounter, but that they do so in an effort to live up to every clause of their contract in delivering the child farmhands over to the farmers who are so eager to receive this bountiful cheap labor. And the scene of the farmers grabbing at the cheap labor reminds me of the old slave markets of the Southern States before the Civil War. Once again we protest against this slave trade and denounce those who are responsible for delivering these children of British workers into believing that they are escaping any misery by migrating to this country.

A look back: crawford cartoon #2

a look back-crawford cartoon #1

The Red Haggis series of comic strips appeared in the Young Worker during the 1930s.

"Hoot Mon!" seems to be a catch phrase used often in the cartoon.

from People's Voice: WHO ARE THE HATEMONGERS IN CALGARY?

(The following article is from the November 16-30, 2009, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 133 Herkimer St., Unit 502, Hamilton, ON, L8P 2H3.)

A recent report for the Southern Poverty Law Centre sheds important light on the hate group which is spreading its violent message in southern Alberta. The Intelligence Report by Sonia Scherr begins with a brief account of a clash last March 21, the International Day for the Elimination of Racism:

"Wielding `White Pride Worldwide' flags and wearing black combat boots, about 40 members of the Aryan Guard and their supporters strode through the heart of Calgary... to broadcast their message of hate at City Hall. But they never got there. Instead, they encountered several hundred anti-racist protesters, some of whom threw rocks, water bottles and even cans of vegetables at the group as traffic came to a halt and police called for backup. Police eventually herded the neo-Nazis onto a bus that returned them to their vehicles on Calgary's outskirts. Though no serious injuries were reported, the melee snared headlines across Canada and prompted Aryan Guard spokesman Kyle McKee - who has `Kill Jews' tattooed on his shins - to declare victory."

The Aryan Guard have spread fear and anger among Calgary's 250,000 immigrant and minority populations.

"Essentially a racist gang," writes Scherr, "the Aryan Guard is the most public hate group to appear in Calgary - which, like much of western Canada, has a history of such activity going back to the Klan of the 1920s - in the past two decades. These Nazi look-alikes have clashed with counter-protesters at rallies in the city's downtown, handed out white-power music CDs to teenagers in an attempt to bolster their membership, and perpetrated attacks on minorities despite espousing non-violence."

The Aryan Guard was founded in late 2006 with help from two former teachers: Paul Fromm of the Canadian Association for Free Expression, who lost his teaching certificate because of his white supremacist activities, and National Socialist Party of Canada leader Terry Tremaine, a former part-time university lecturer who in 2007 was fined $4,000 by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal because of his racist and anti-Semitic Internet postings.

"They were the main catalysts behind bringing these young fellows here," said Constable Lynn MacDonald, hate crimes coordinator for the Calgary Police Service.

MacDonald says the Aryan Guard now has roughly 20 full-fledged members, and another 20 to 30 supporters, including those belonging to the Valkyrian Legion, or woman's wing of the Aryan Guard, which consists mostly of the girlfriends of male members. The majority are in their early 20s.

The group began to draw attention in 2007, when members began distributing hate literature in Calgary and Lethbridge.

In August 2007, the Aryan Guard began disrupting anti-racism rallies. Two months later, they rallied outside City Hall to denounce Muslim women who wear burkas while voting. Since then, they have conducted sporadic demonstrations, including "White Pride Day" rallies held on the International Day for the Elimination of Racism.

As Scherr notes, "the Aryan Guard has found itself vastly outnumbered by anti-racist protesters, including members of Anti-Racist Action Calgary." While police say both Aryan Guard members and counter-protesters have been arrested for assaults, ARA spokesperson Jason Devine says no member has been charged in connection with any incident at an Aryan Guard rally.

Meanwhile, the Calgary Police Service admits that Aryan Guard members have been linked to several assaults, including one against a cab driver from North Africa.

Writing about this attack on the neo-Nazi Stormfront website, McKee boasted about getting the case dismissed: "The reason being was that they couldn't make a positive ID because apparently everyone there was all dressed in combat boots with white laces [and] black flight jackets and all had shaved heads. So let this be a lesson to anyone who wonders why on earth all us skinheads dress so similarly. [T]his is another great reason. lol [laughing out loud]".

In July 2008, a 17-year-old Aryan Guard member who had been making anti-Asian remarks followed a young Japanese woman as she left a bar and kicked her in the back of the head with steel-toed boots. He was wearing red laces - a skinhead symbol indicating he'd spilled blood for the movement.

ARA members believe that the Aryan Guard is responsible for the violent attacks against Jason and Bonnie Devine's home. Aryan Guard members have taunted the couple about the firebomb attack. "Is it hot in there?" they have asked during protests, according to Devine. "How are the kids? How's the house?"

And in yet another ugly case, four Aryan Guard members were charged with disturbing the peace after vandalizing a shopping mall and using racial slurs on a First Nations reserve near Calgary.

Scherr reports that two of the group's most prominent members, McKee and Dallas Price, faced assault and weapons charges in connection with a September 2006 confrontation in which one victim was hit with a wooden club and another was stabbed with a knife. Guard member Robert Reitmeier was charged with attempted murder in connection with a November 2006 assault on a man who suffered skull and facial fractures. Member Bill Noble was convicted in 2008 of posting hate material on the Internet that primarily targeted non-whites, Jews and gays. A judge sentenced him to four months in jail and imposed limits on his computer use for three years, though Noble continues to post frequently on Stormfront.

COMMUNIST PARTY CONDEMNS CALGARY POLICE INACTION

The failure by the Calgary Police Service to seriously investigate neo-Nazi violence against anti-racist activists is a reckless and shocking dereliction of duty which endangers lives. On October 3, the family home of Jason and Bonnie Devine and their four young children was the target of yet another such attack, in which windows were smashed and Neo-nazi graffiti was spray-painted on the front door: a swastika and "C-18", an obvious reference to the violent British fascist organization known as "Combat 18." In February 2009, the house was firebombed with molotov cocktails.

Fortunately, nobody was hurt in either incident, but the long history of email and telephone threats against the Devine family is ample warning that they remain in serious danger. The most likely suspects are in plain view - the Aryan Guard group which has been actively promoting racism and neo-Nazi ideology in Calgary for several years. Jason and Bonnie Devine have been in the forefront of community activists calling attention to the Aryan Guard. Both have campaigned as candidates for the Communist Party, and their courage has clearly angered the local fascists.

Despite its motto, "To maximize public safety in Calgary with vigilance, courage, and pride," the Calgary Police Service has ignored repeated public appeals to take action. Aryan Guard members are suspects in various other crimes, including the beatings of a homeless man, a gay community member, and a cab driver from North Africa, but no arrests have resulted. In the view of the Communist Party of Canada, this pattern has gone beyond neglect, into the territory of tacit encouragement of criminal activity. If serious injury or death results from further attacks, innocent blood will not only be on the hands of the perpetrators, but also on the hands of the Calgary Police Service which hides behind the feeble claim that "both sides are equally responsible" and that the Aryan Guard is simply "exercising its right to free speech."

The time has come for the City of Calgary and the Alberta provincial government to intervene in this crisis situation. Strong political leadership is required to replace Chief Rick Hanson with a police chief who is willing and capable of ensuring that swift action is taken to bring an end to these racist attacks. In the meantime, we extend our ongoing full solidarity to anti-racist activists and all democratic-minded citizens of Calgary who are standing up to the violent neo-Nazis in their community.

It should be noted that a redwatch* style website targeting communists, anarchists and jews in Canada has a link to the recent violent attacks.

* [from wikipedia]...Redwatch is a British neo-Nazi website that publishes photographs and personal information of alleged left-wing and anti-fascist activists. There also used to be a British magazine of the same name, and with similar subject matter. The website's slogan is "Remember places, traitors' faces, they'll all pay for their crimes", a quote from neo-Nazi musician Ian Stuart Donaldson.

The information gathered by Redwatch is indexed by cities or regions. Many of the people listed are members of the Anti-Nazi League or other anti-racist or left-wing groups...

A look back: Veterans of Future Wars

As you can read below, students in the 1930s started a movement called "Veterans of Future Wars". The goal of which was to raise awareness that they would almost certainly end up fighting a major war in the future, and therefore wanted advance payment while they were still alive to use it.

Click on the page images to zoom in and read

Above: an except of the 1936 article is appropriate for remembrance day 2009,

- A handful of decrepit veterans are posing on Armistice Day before a hideous column of stone "dedicated to the sacred memory of those who died that we might live." We pass by on our way and stop to watch the ridiculous mimicry. suddenly we realize that it is this, that you and I in the event of another war, will be doing. this nincompoop, tin-soldier tomfoolery that is enough to make every victim of the last war turn over in his grave and cry aloud 'But this is not what our children were promised' This thing was to end. There was to be no more clashing of guns and sabres' 'Tis done forever'"

Below: a front page from the 1920s. A headline reads: Collegiate pupils are coerced into military training.

Another paper from the 1920s. This one reads: fight forces of war! abolish the cadets!

Sadly the predictions of the Future Veterans came true. This front page shows how Fascist Italy's invasion of Ethiopia was a sign of things to come.

In a few short years it became clear that Nazi Germany and fascism had to be stopped the hard way.

A Look Back- YW and olympic games

It's back to the future when it comes to the 2010 olympics

The following articles are from the Young Worker from 1932 (Los Angeles olympics) and 1936 (Berlin-Nazi Germany olympics)

click on an image to read

below: political cartoon about the work camps of the 1930s, but is the same attitude being played out in the lead up to 2010? Where are the homeless to go during the olympics?

A look back: Young Worker 1934 and residential schools

In this digitized page of the Young Worker, a headline reads: "Nineteen Indian Boys Flogged with Strap Soaked in Vinegar" this had a dateline of April 25, 1934.

While the term "Indian" is outdated except in specific legal terms, the article shows the racism of the government, society and the YCL's fight against it then, and sadly is still having to fight against racism today.

click on an image to read

FIGHT FOR THE RIGHTS OF INDIAN PEOPLE! (editorial from 1934)

The inhuman flogging of nineteen boys at the Indian Home at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia brings sharply before the whole toiling youth the misery of the young Indians. Segregated in reservations, denied the simplest democratic rights, considered as wards of the government, discriminated against, the young Indians are brutally oppressed and exploited by the ruling class. The few schools which exist for them are controlled by the catholic church. Indian youths who become educated in one way or another are refused the chance to teach as was shown recently at a school. The Indian people have nearly no say as to their children's education.

This case also exposes the role of the church and brings out sharply the need for struggle for secular education and against religious instruction in schools.

The young workers and farmers of Canada should protest against the oppression of Indians; we must fight for equal rights for them; for the right to vote; for unemployment relief; for special governmental aid to the starving Indian farmers, hunters and fishermen. We should begin to fight for the right of the Indian people to control their own schools, assign their own teachers and have these schools in their own languages.

The fight for Indian rights is part and parcel of the struggle for the RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE INDIAN PEOPLES, which means the right for them to establish their own governments, the right to separate from Canada if they wish.

While the Indian youth does not form the most decisive section of the Canadian young workers and farmers, the fight for Indian rights will help develop proletarian internationalism and will help combat national chauvinism and patriotism. The Canadian toiling youth will never be freed from oppression.

This brutal assault must call forth protests which should be sent to the government. We should demand a thorough investigation and punishment of the school principal, Father Mackey. We should support the financial drive carried on by the Indians of the Shubenacadie and other reservations for the purpose of asserting their rights in this case.

As against this case of brutal assault which is but one example of oppression of the Indian people, we have the example of the Soviet Union which freed all peoples formerly oppressed under the Czar's government and where all nations live in fraternal equality. Intensified struggle can wrest better conditions and equality for the Indians and they will lead to decisive battles for the right to self determination. However it will be a SOVIET CANADA which will finally solve this problem for the benefit of the oppressed Indian masses.


Please note that some views of 1934 have obviously changed here in 2009 in light of present circumstances. Examples are the masculine terms like fishermen. Another example is: "we must fight for equal rights for them" and " However it will be a SOVIET CANADA which will finally solve this problem for the benefit of the oppressed Indian masses." sounds paternal but shows that the wording is simply not reflecting the meaning proven by the following lines: "RIGHT TO SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE INDIAN PEOPLES, which means the right for them to establish their own governments, the right to separate from Canada if they wish."

The line: "While the Indian youth does not form the most decisive section of the Canadian young workers and farmers..." in light of present day events and the way history has played out shows that this is not exactly the case. Aboriginal peoples are very much in the forefront of battles against imperialism and capitalism. What remains to be seen is when the masses (versus the activists) of the Aboriginal population join the fight, not to mention the rest of the workers and the trade union movement. Because divided we fall.

a look back at The Young Worker: images

Below you will find images from the pages of the Rebel Youth's predecessor publication, The Young Worker.

YOU CAN READ THESE PAGES BY CLICKING ON THEM

Above: the first issue. "Rebel Youth" ominously appears as a title to come.

Above: first anniversary issue.

Above: Sacco And Vanzetti on front page.

Above: News of the government ban of the YCI publication from Canada. This would be the equivalent to banning the WFDY News.

Rebel Youth will post selected articles of interest from the Young Worker archives in times to come as many issues of today's youth are the same issues that have been fought by the youth of yesterday.