Is communism the best cure for injustice?
They wanted to make America more human, they said. No war, no discrimination, no exploitation. And they had a clear idea of how they would do it. “Bring the war home!” they called. And they did it.
“Hello. I’m going to read a declaration of a state of war. (…) Within the next 14 days we will attack a symbol or institution of American injustice.” Bernardine Dohrn, one of the Weather Underground leaders, uttered these words in October 1969. After that, nobody in the US was left feeling safe.
The Weather Underground’s members were mainly young, white students from upper middle-class families, who wanted to destroy the capitalist system and “put in its place something much more human,” according to Bill Ayers, WU member. They were against the Vietnam war. They were also against oppression of all minorities, including Afro-Americans, Native Americans, and factory workers. They found the perfect cure for injustice, they believed: communism. And they were determined to use all possible methods to implement it.
Their attacks started in 1969. During the next 10 years the activists planted bombs at more than 20 public buildings. But this did not break the American government. What changed was only the situation of the Weathermen. They were getting tired, they were missing their families, some of them had no money. In the late 70’s most of them turned themselves in to the local authorities. It was the end of the Weather Underground.
What happened to them and to their utopian ideals? Today, decades later, the most determined enemies of capitalism are exactly the kind of people the WU members were fighting against – mostly members of the upper middle class, university professors, bar owners, teachers. Only two of the original activists are still in prison.
Asked about his present attitude toward what they were doing back then, one of them says, “I would do it again. I’d like to do it better, differently, smarter – but I would certainly do it again.” Are we surprised? Bob Dylan sang, “the times, they are changing.” So are the people. But some of them just don‘t want to notice.
