feminism | broken walls and narratives

26 Oct 2019

Joker through the Lens of Violence against Women

H. Bradford

10/26/19

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month. This month also saw the release of Joker, a film which had a controversial release due to fears that it would incite violence. The film is the story of how Arthur Fleck, a solitary, impoverished man with mental illness, becomes the infamous Batman villain. Joker centers on the experiences of the titular character, whose perceptions and narrative are unreliable. The movie focuses on the perspective of a violent male and one that the sidelines experiences of the women around him. The violence against several female characters in the film as well as Arthur’s own experience of domestic violence warrants attention because the film, like the character, is politically neutral on this violence. Even the concerns that the film would inspire violence were gender neutral, as the type of violence feared was mass shootings rather than the everyday violence that occurs in households and in relationships. There was no mass panic that a film would inspire this sort of violence, as it is beyond the cognitive horizon of most people to care. Of course, mass shootings are themselves often carried out by men with a history of domestic violence and misogynistic attitudes. In this way, the film offers some lessons about the ways in which violence against women continues to be normal, invisible, and misunderstood, as well as its place in capitalist patriarchy.

Domestic violence includes such things as physical, emotional, verbal, sexual, and financial abuse, along with stalking and coercion. The word generally applies to violence which occurs between intimate partners, but can also include violence in familial relationships, such as against children, parents, siblings, and elderly family members. While the factors that cause this violence are complicated, a popular feminist theory is Power-Control theory, which originated with the Domestic Abuse Intervention Program in Duluth, Minnesota during the 1980s. Through discussions with survivors of domestic violence, the Power and Control Wheel was developed based on patterns and themes in their experiences. This is a widely used tool for identifying the ways that power and control are exerted by abusers. Power-Control Theory posits that abuse is the outcome of the abuser’s desire to maintain power and control in their relationship(s). While this began by examining the dynamics between individuals, it has been expanded to examine the ways that male power and control are maintained within patriarchy as a whole (Evolution of Theories of Violence, 2015). Within patriarchy, men have had the lion’s share of power and control in society. Control over women is expected and violence enforces their subservience. Women and children are particularly vulnerable to violence because of their inequality in economic, political, and social status. From a socialist perspective, violence against women can be understood as a means to enforce patriarchy, which historically hinged on the transmission of property from father to son and the fact that women themselves have been treated as property. Violence enforces gender roles and a gendered division of labor. Within capitalism, the lesser status of women and their economic dependence upon men, helps to extract their unpaid labor. As such, prior to the efforts of the feminist movement, domestic violence was viewed as private problem within individual families rather than a social problem symptomatic of women’s place within patriarchy. Today, one in three women have experienced some form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime and 95% of the victims of domestic violence are women.

The film is set in Gotham, a fictional city torn apart by class tensions, an infestation of rats, cuts to social programs, and crime. It is against this backdrop that Arthur Fleck, a white male in his 30s, tries to eke out a living for himself and his mother, who exist on the edge of the working class. Along the way, Arthur becomes increasingly violent and through violence, becomes self-actualized as the vengeful, confident, smiling, and dancing Joker. Arthur Fleck is immediately depicted as having little power and control in his life. Early in the film, he is attacked by youth while working as a clown. His employment itself lacks control as is based on the tenuous availability of clowning gigs and as his coworkers and employer are unaccepting of him. He lives with his mother, Penny, who is the dominant figure in his socially isolated life, and dependent upon him for income and care. To make matters worse, the medications that Arthur uses to try to control the symptoms of his mental illness become unavailable to him after social services are cut in the city. Rats and the amassing garbage left uncollected due to a sanitation worker strike, create an atmosphere wherein the entire city seems out of control of patriarchal capitalist power. As a malnourished, eccentric, mentally unstable, outsider living with his mother and barely getting by, Arthur isn’t privy to much of the power and control that other white males enjoy. After sustaining a beating, Arthur’s coworker lends him a gun, which he is at first reluctant to take, but quickly becomes the key to accessing the power he has been exiled from.

A turning point in the film is when Arthur uses his gun against a group of young, wealthy white men who attack him on the subway. Prior to the murder, the young investors are shown talking about a woman, then go on to harass a woman who is riding alone on the subway. When she ignores them, food is thrown at her and she is verbally accosted. She is called a bitch when she gets up and leaves. This is a relatable scene, as 81% of women have experienced sexual harassment in their lifetime (Chatterjee, 2018). The trio of men themselves are a patriarchal trope. They are Brock Turner, Jacob Walter Anderson, or young Brett Kavanagh. They are the kind of guys that wear black face at Halloween parties, bullied kids in high school, rape women in college, excel at sports, and probably get called Chads by Incels. They are smug masters of the universe. The woman’s escape is made possible by Arthur, who has a condition which causes uncontrolled laughing. This draws attention away from the woman, but in turn, causes him to be beaten for laughing at them and then defending himself. He kills two of the men as they beat him, but pursues the third after he flees.

The trio of murdered men work for Thomas Wayne, the father of Bruce Wayne. Thomas Wayne represents the pinnacle of patriarchal capitalist power in the film. He is a wealthy, robust, white, heterosexual, father who is running for mayor because only he can take control of the city. When Wayne decries the murders of such bright, talented young men and calls the poor of the city “clowns,” his insult launches a movement of clown masked demonstrators who protest the wealth gap in the city. Arthur becomes emboldened by the murders and the movement it sparked, but remains on his individualistic, anti-social path of violence rather than joining the movement. This path culminates in the Joker’s live TV murder of Murray Franklin, a popular talk show host and icon of patriarchal power in the form of celebrity, self-assurance, wealth, and bullying. Both Thomas Wayne and Murray Franklin are fallen father figures to Arthur Fleck, who lose their esteem in his mind as he loses his mind and violently take control of his life. Along the way, several female characters are casualties in his brutal metamorphosis.

The first casualty is his mother, Penny. Arthur’s relationship with his mother has unhealthy elements. Although she is mobile, he baths her, and although she is capable of dancing, he cuts her food for her. They also share the same bed. The nature of her health needs are not specified, but the depiction of their relationship is strongly suggested to be codependent. Penny is portrayed as incapable of meeting her own needs and those of her son’s. She is verbally and emotionally abusive, as she shoots down Arthur’s idea of becoming a comedian by telling him that he isn’t funny and shows complete indifference to him when he says he went on a date. His experiences and needs are secondary to her obsession with Thomas Wayne, who she believes will lift them out of poverty. When Arthur discovers that Thomas Wayne may be his father, she fears he will kill her because she kept this secret. He eventually kills her after discovering that he is not Thomas Wayne’s son and that she spent time at Arkham Asylum because of her role in the abuse he experienced as a child. In searching for the truth of his parentage, Arthur learns from an asylum employee that his mother’s boyfriend chained him to radiator, beat him, and starved him when he was a child. Upon learning this, he smothers her in her hospital bed.

Throughout the film, Arthur suffers from uncontrollable laughter, which is attributed to a brain injury. This history of abuse is used to explain where this condition originated, as well as give insight to some of his other behaviors. In 60-75 percent of families where a woman is battered, children are also battered. Children are 15 times more likely than the national average to be neglected and physically abused in families experiencing domestic violence. Exposure to domestic violence can impact children in a number of ways, including increased aggression, depression, lowered independence, social withdrawal, reduced social competence (Rakovec-Felser, 2014). All of these are characteristics that Arthur displays throughout the movie.

When confronted with her son’s abuse, Penny says she didn’t know he was hurt. She is charged with criminal neglect and sent to Arkham Asylum. It is not known what happened to her abuser. Although the film is not clearly focused on this matter, Penny is a victim of domestic violence. The narrative focuses more on her failure as a mother to protect her son from abuse, but both characters are victims. The blaming narrative of the film implies that Penny is at fault for failure to protect her son, which begs the question, “why did she stay?” Why did she stay if her boyfriend was abusing her son? Why did she allow it to happen? This blaming narrative is very real. For instance, Ingrid Archie is a real life example of a California woman who fled domestic violence, but had her children taken away and was charged with failure to protect, even though she obtained a restraining order and went to a shelter (Albaladejo, 2019). Arlena Lindley, was sentenced to 45 years in prison after her boyfriend killed her three year old son. A witness testified that her boyfriend had threatened to kill her if she intervened and that when she tried to escape with her son, she was dragged back inside the home. In another case, Robert Braxton Jr. was sentenced to two years for breaking the ribs and femur of a three month old infant. Tondalo Hall, the infant’s mother, for whom there was no evidence that she had abused the child, was sentenced to thirty years in prison for failure to protect her baby (Banner, 2015).

There are many reasons why women remain in abusive relationships, even when their children are abused. Fictional Gotham, like the real world, has substandard housing and a lack of social services, making it likely that if she left, she would have been homeless with her son. The setting of the film is the late 1970s or early 1980s, which was before domestic violence shelters and community responses to domestic violence were well established. The most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is when the victim leaves, so leaving might have further endangered them both. Statistically, women have a 75% higher chance of being killed if they leave than if they stay (Banner, 2015). Some women fear that their abuser will report them to social services and they will lose their children, which also causes them to stay. Since failure to protect laws have punished women who have fled domestic violence, this is not an unfounded fear. Abusive relationships are based on power and control, she may have felt powerless to leave or incapable of living independent of her abuser. It is possible that she was prevented from leaving. Whatever the case, Arthur clearly blames her for the abuse, which is not an uncommon response for children to have. The blame took on its own fatally abusive character when he murdered her. In the arc of the story, this was done for revenge over the abuse but also as part of his letting go of his life as someone controlled by his mother’s needs. Rather than remain the care giving, weak, traumatized, and abused son, the murder ushers him deeper into a toxic masculinity wherein he has the power to inflict abuse.

As a final observation about Penny, the character may also have been abused by Thomas Wayne while she was employed by him. Although there is no direct evidence of abuse, he could have certainly abused his power to silence her and as her employer, would have had immense power over her very livelihood. Her mental health struggles and dependence upon him for her livelihood renders the relationship far from equal and consensual. Wayne denies that they had an affair, though Penny tells her son that he made her sign paperwork to cover up the truth. Arthur discovers his adoption certificate, which seems to support Wayne’s claim that she is delusional. But in a flashback, Penny again claims that it was drawn up by Wayne. Both Wayne and Alfred, the butler, insist that she is mentally ill. While all evidence seems to indicate that this is true, Arthur later discovers a photograph with a message from Wayne on it. Although he may not have physically abused her, he is able to exert patriarchal power over her without having to resort to violence. Penny does not need to be beaten or killed to keep quiet, she only needs to be delegitimize. By calling her crazy, her claims to reality are called into question. It is an attempt to gaslight her memories and beliefs about the relationship, even though she retains the claim that they were together. It is clear in the film that she experiences mental illness, but this could be either an outcome of abuse she experienced, a factor that made her more vulnerable to abuse, or both. Women who experience domestic violence are three times more likely to develop serious mental illness. Survivors of domestic violence are also three times as likely to have a history of mental illness such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia (Dyson, 2019).

The second victim of domestic violence is Sophie Dumond, Arthur’s neighbor and imagined love interest. Even before he murders anyone, Arthur begins stalking Sophie and imagines that they are in a relationship. In this imagined relationship, he has perfect control over her, as she laughs at his jokes, is never threatened by his eccentricities, supports the murders of the men on the subway, and offers comfort when his mother is hospitalized. After the murders on the subway, he kisses her, as his sexual confidence was bolstered by violence. The kiss never happened, along with the many other scenes. This is revealed when he enters her apartment, begins touching her belongings, and sits on her sofa. She is terrified that he has entered the apartment. The outcome of this encounter is never depicted on screen, but her character is never seen or mentioned again. It is easy to read this omission as she was murdered or sexually assaulted. Certainly, by stalking her, entering her apartment, handling her belongings, and creating a fictional romance with her, Arthur behaves in a way that shows entitlement to her personal space, privacy, safety, and body. Glimpses at his journal reveal disembodied and altered images of naked women and sexual scenes. Again, this points to an unhealthy, sexual, and violent imagining of women.

Another woman in the film who is murdered by Arthur is an unnamed therapist. At the end of the film, he is seen walking out of her office with blood on his shoes. The fate of both Black characters is left up to the imagination, but statistically, Black women experience a higher risk of sexual assault and domestic violence. In the United States, 20% of Black women have been raped and 40% have experienced domestic violence. Black women are also two and a half times more likely than white women to be murdered by a man and 9 out 10 victims knew their murderer (Green, 2017). It is also important to point out the racial dynamics of a white male perpetrator murdering at least one Black woman and perhaps murdering or sexually assaulting another. Arthur attempts to exert control over Black women several times in the film, such as when he tries to verbally defend himself against a Black mother when he talks to her child, when he chides his Black social worker for not listening to him, through his imagined romance with Sophie, and through the murder of his therapist. Angela Davis argued that violence by white men, especially sexual violence, was used to control Black women during slavery. Their bodies and sexuality were the property of white men. Sexual assault was used by the KKK as a weapon of terror against Black women. During the Civil Rights movement, white police officers raped Black activists they had arrested (Davis, 1990). Black women are killed at higher rates than any other group of women. Yet, Black women are seldom viewed as victims. Violence against Black women continues to be ignored and Black women blamed because they are viewed as violent, sexual, less innocent, their lives less valuable, or somehow deserving of their victimization. When they defend themselves against violence, they find themselves punished by the criminal justice system, such as CeCe McDonald, Cyntonia Brown, and Alexis Martin (Finoh and Sankofa, 2019).

The violence inflicted upon women in the film goes without police or community response, though police response is often met with blaming, disbelief, or threats of violence and incarceration from the state itself. Police themselves are often abusers, as 40% of police families report domestic violence, which is four times more than the general population (Police Family Violence Fact Sheet, n.d.). Two incidents of violence against women occur off screen, whereas violence against men in the film is used to shock the viewer and drive the narrative. As a whole, women are ancillary to the film. They are not prominently depicted among the protestors, the violence against them goes unnoticed, several of their roles are unnamed characters, one role primarily exists in Arthur’s mind, and none of them are shown making it out of the movie alive. Violence against women is canon, as in other iterations of the Joker, the character has raped Barbara Gordon and has an abusive relationship with Harley Quinn (Dockterman, 2019). Gotham is a world of men and Joker is story of a beaten down male, beating down powerful men. But, it is also a story of violence against Black women, domestic violence, narratives that blame mothers for their abuser’s actions, the intersections of mental health and victimization, and the continued normalcy of violent masculinity.

The universe of Batman is always a story about capitalism. The hero, Bruce Wayne, is a capitalist who fights bad guys in the form of villains with mental illness. He does this with the help of the militarized Gotham police force. To side with the hero is to side with the ruling class and its enforcers against the dangerous elements of the lumpenproletariat. Joker takes place before the advent of the central hero or the militarization of the police. If there is a central message of the film, it is that capitalism creates villains. If there is an argument, it is that austerity and trauma begets violence. Through the narrative of the film, Arthur Fleck’s violence can be attributed to childhood trauma, unmet mental health needs, social instability, isolation, and unchallenged misogyny. But, the film says little about how this impacts women. This part of the narrative is truncated. Capitalism may indeed create some villains, but it also creates its own grave diggers. The power of workers and social movements against capitalism is depicted in the form of a sanitation strike and masked protest movement. These mobilizations must ultimately fail for Batman to rise as the capitalist vigilante who keeps the order of capitalism and patriarchy. As for the women in the movie, they too fade into Gotham’s eternal night. The dark city swallows their stories. In this way, art mirrors the life of many women. If there is a feminist message to be drawn from the film, it is the need to Take Back the Night. Rising above the erasure of capitalists, vigilantes, police, and misogynist villains means doing things that these female characters were unable to do: uniting together, being heard and seen, demanding social provisioning, fighting oppressive narratives of abuse, holding abusers accountable, and creating safety that doesn’t rely on punishing the mentally ill.

Sources:

Albaladejo, A. (2019, October 18). Child Law Penalizes Moms for Abusive Partners. Retrieved from https://capitalandmain.com/child-law-penalizes-moms-for-abusive-partners-10-16?fbclid=IwAR2MyXXcyUclO4IW_NFztLOtUSx8uK2MdjueEbd8jvhx0hIcYmPKfK4RzFk.

Banner, A. (2015, February 3). ‘Failure to Protect’ Laws Punish Victims of Domestic Violence. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/do-failure-to-protect-law_b_6237346.

Chatterjee, R. (2018, February 22). A New Survey Finds 81 Percent Of Women Have Experienced Sexual Harassment. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/21/587671849/a-new-survey-finds-eighty-percent-of-women-have-experienced-sexual-harassment.

Davis, A. Y. (1990). Women, culture & politics. Vintage.

Dockterman, E. (2019, October 8). The History of Joker Movies and Character’s Origin Story. Retrieved from https://time.com/5694280/joker-movies-history-origin-story/.

Dyson, T. (2019, June 7). Women suffering domestic abuse have triple the risk of mental illness, study says. Retrieved from https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2019/06/07/Women-suffering-domestic-abuse-have-triple-the-risk-of-mental-illness-study-says/8981559918365/.

Evolution of Theories of Violence. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.stopvaw.org/evolution_of_theories_of_violence.

Finoh, M., & Sankofa, J. (2019, August 22). The Legal System Has Failed Black Girls, Women, and Non-Binary Survivors of Violence. Retrieved from https://www.aclu.org/blog/racial-justice/race-and-criminal-justice/legal-system-has-failed-black-girls-women-and-non.

Green, S. (2018, August 7). Violence Against Black Women – Many Types, Far-reaching Effects. Retrieved from https://iwpr.org/violence-black-women-many-types-far-reaching-effects/.

Police Family Violence Fact Sheet. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://womenandpolicing.com/violencefs.asp.

Rakovec-Felser Z. (2014). Domestic Violence and Abuse in Intimate Relationship from Public Health Perspective. Health psychology research, 2(3), 1821. doi:10.4081/hpr.2014.1821

Posted in culture, feminism, gender, movie review, Politics/Ideas, socialism and tagged abuse and capitalism, Black women and domestic violence, Black women and Joker, blaming mothers for abuse, domestic violence, feminist review of Joker, Joker, Joker domestic violence, Joker review, Joker violence against women, male power, patriarchy, power and control, Socialist review of Joker, Sophie Dumond, violence against women, why women stay | Leave a comment

The following is an interview that I did with a blog entitled Third Party Second Bananas, about running for Vice President of the United States in the 2020 election as the candidate for Socialist Action. Jeff Mackler is our presidential candidate. This is reprinted from the blog and the link can be found here: https://thirdpartysecondbananas.blogspot.com/2019/06/heather-bradford-2020-vp-social-action.html

Heather Bradford, 2020 VP Socialist Action

Heather Bradford is the Vice-Presidential running mate with Jeff Mackler on the Socialist Action ticket for 2020.

The following is from the Socialist Action webpage:

“Heather Bradford, a member of Socialist Action’s National Committee, will be the party’s vice presidential candidate. Bradford is the organizer of Socialist Action’s branch in Duluth, Minn., and Superior, Wis., in the Lake Superior region. Bradford works full time as a women’s advocate at a domestic violence shelter and part time at an abortion clinic and as a substitute public school teacher. She is the secretary of AFSCME Local 3558, a delegate to the Duluth Central Labor body, and a union steward.

She is a founder of the Feminist Justice League, a Duluth-based feminist organization formed in response to the anti-abortion “40 Days for Life” group and an active member of H.O.T.D.I.S.H. Militia, an abortion fundraising group. Bradford has been a long-time activist and participant in the LGBT, environmental, and antiwar movements.”

https://socialistaction.org/2019/05/11/socialist-action-launches-2020-presidential-campaign/

Q: How did you arrive at becoming a member of Socialist Action?

When I was in my early 20s and attending college, my major was International Studies. Through my coursework, I quickly learned that much of the world was impoverished and lacked access to such basic things as food, medicine and clean water. I also learned that global suffering was connected to the policies of organizations such as the IMF, World Trade Organization, and World Bank, which played a role in perpetuating colonial relationships based upon economic exploitation. I also recognized that the United States has played a sinister role in destabilizing countries through war, support of dictatorships, economic coercion, and overthrowing democratically elected governments that leaned towards socialism. The more I learned about the state of the world, the more I saw patterns that indicated a systemic problem and the more I began to identify with socialism. At the time, I believed that socialism had gone extinct as a movement. I believed it was something that must have died off decades ago. But, to my surprise, I found that Duluth had its own socialist group! I sought out the only socialist group in my city, which was Socialist Action, and I have been a member since.

Q: And how did you happen to become the Vice-Presidential nominee?

In February, I was contacted by Jeff Mackler, who is the National Secretary of Socialist Action and our presidential candidate. He asked me if I would be interested in being his running mate in the 2020 election. I took some time to think this over and agreed. His recommendation was then discussed and approved by the Political Committee and later, the National Committee, both of which are the governing bodies of Socialist Action between conventions.

Q: Socialist Action has been described as Trotskyist. Could you explain to us how that makes SA different than other political parties on the Left?

That’s a great question with a lengthy answer! One difference between Socialist Action and some other socialist parties is that we do not provide any support to candidates of the Democratic Party. We call on workers to break with the Democratic Party as we believe it is fundamentally and inevitably a party of the ruling class. As such, it will always promote U.S. imperialism and the immiseration of workers around the world. Our staunch refusal to support the Democratic Party (or any capitalist party, such as the Green Party) differentiates us from some other socialist groups. Though, it is important to note that from time to time, we support the candidates of like minded socialist parties and would support the formation of a Labor Party within the U.S. At the same time, we believe in the right to self-determination for oppressed groups. Therefore, we believe in the right of oppressed groups such as women, LGBT, oppressed racial minorities and nationalies to form autonomous movements to fight for their interests. We believe that the liberation of these oppressed groups is an essential component of working towards socialist revolution, which is itself an important component of our core ideology. We are revolutionary socialists whose aim is the overthrow of capitalism. While working towards the goal of revolution, we support reforms that challenge the structures of oppression inherent to capitalism. Revolution must be international, worker led, and socialist in nature (rather than in stages or in one country). Some socialists agree on some of these principles and not on others or interpret them differently. This is a short answer to what is otherwise a long and complex question.

Q: According to the SA membership handbook, belonging to this party has some pretty strict requirements compared to other political organizations. It looks like in order to sign up you really really must be dedicated and invest some serious time. Does that make it difficult to recruit new members?

We consider ourselves a vanguard party, so we want to recruit people who are dedicated to the goal of socialist revolution and able to adhere to the level of political discipline necessary to function as a united and effective group. I often attend over one hundred and fifty political events or meetings a year and compared to my comrades, I feel like a slacker! We try to recruit people who we meet through our engagement in social movements, so those who enter our orbit are usually already politically active. Dedication is not an issue as much as convincing new contacts of our political platform. In my experience, a major barrier to recruitment for new contacts is our position of class independence from capitalist parties. Lesser evilism is a prevalent narrative that seduces socialists towards the Democratic Party during elections.

Q: Throughout American history I observe progressive groups are presented with an infinity of directions since they are political pioneers (abolitionists, suffragists, socialists, etc.) and as such they have intense disagreements over which direction to go and method to use. I mention this because as I was looking at the background of Socialist Action it seems your party is not immune from this historical pattern, receiving more criticism from the Left than from the Right. What do you think it would take to unite the Leftist political parties?

Leftist political parties can and often do work together in mass movements. Socialist Action believes in forming United Fronts, which allows us to converge with other leftists on issues we can agree upon. Because the two party capitalist electoral system is rigged against us, we don’t think that elections are really where socialists are going to be the most effective. We can make the most impact by building independent movements that put pressure on the political system or economy. Movements for immigrant rights, anti-war, women’s rights, LGBT rights, better wages and working conditions, housing, prison reform or abolition, and so on are arenas were leftists can work together. Of course, leftists come together with their unique histories, rivalries, and perspectives, which can hinder cooperation and movement building. Sometimes fighting also stems from the fatigue and demoralization of the long haul fight against capitalism. But, movement work can bring us together. The formation of a Labor Party would also be a vehicle for smaller socialist parties to collaborate. The militant labor struggle required for the creation of such a party would hopefully draw socialists together.

Q: What do you make of a segment of the working class being dazzled by Trump with what some would call an almost cult-like fervor?

Around 43% of American did not vote in 2016, so, there is a large swath of the U.S. population that was not enamored enough by Trump or Clinton to bother voting. According to Gallup, Trump’s approval rating is 40%, which is lower than the average approval rating of 53% for presidents since 1935. Trump certainly appeals to a segment of the population, which represents the failure of the left to effectively organize workers and offer them a meaningful alternative to voting for racism, sexism, and xenophobia. Trump seemed like an outsider and anti-establishment to some voters. I think it is also important to note that racial minorities overwhelmingly did not vote for Trump. The American working class is often imagined as white and male, but racial minorities, women (when including racial minority women), and people with incomes under $50,000 a year did not vote for Trump. The task of socialists is to continue to support the interests and liberation of the most oppressed segments of the working class (women, racial minorities, sexual/gender minorities, etc.), offer real solutions to workers who have been duped by Trump, and fight real and terrifying elements of racism and reaction that have been emboldened by Trump.

Q: The Republican playbook for 2020 appears to be painting the Democrats as “socialist.” I gather from the SA website that even Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are considered as servants of the ruling class rather than the working class?

I think we are entering an age wherein socialism has lost its teeth as an insult. Republicans may have to change the language of their putdowns as socialism becomes increasingly popular. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has done nothing to earn the honor of being called socialist. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez muddy the water a bit by invoking the language of socialism, without really clarifying what precisely this means. As you recall, I became a socialist through internationalism. Socialism means standing against imperialism, which is characterized by the international dominance of monopoly and financial capitalism of a few powerful countries. It is the duty of socialists to stand against U.S. power as an expression of imperialism. At the same time, socialism should be international. How could any socialist, which is a movement based upon the power and liberation of workers, tolerate wars or foreign policies which harm other workers? Yet, Bernie Sanders has supported U.S. foreign policy, stated that he wants a strong military, has approved U.S. military spending, and supports U.S. wars, such as in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez sent mixed messages about U.S. intervention in Venezuela. Even if they clarified what they meant by socialism into a cohesive ideology that seeks to end capitalism, the Democratic Party is not the vehicle to accomplish socialism. It is a party that supports U.S. power around the world and ultimately harms workers here and abroad by supporting militarism, financial institutions, corporate interests, and the maintenance of private capital. These things should be anathema to socialists.

Q: Socialist Action has been around for awhile but it was only in 2016, as far as I can tell, that a foray was made into Presidential election politics. Why did it take so long?

Our main strategy and theoretical grounding is to magnify our organizational power by participating in social movements and the labor movement. So, elections are not where we see ourselves making the most impact in society. We are a small party, elections are time consuming and expensive, and not where change is made. However, we recognize that elections are a way to meet new people, expose others to our ideas, and point out contradictions and failures in the political system. Perhaps as our party grows or gains new experiences, we can avail ourselves in elections more often, but this will never be the center of our political work.

Q: How do you plan to conduct your 2020 campaign?

We plan to have a speaking tour through several cities in the East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast, which we hope is a way to meet new people and express our views. Jeff Mackler will be speaking on some panels and to the media and I will try to do some media work myself. We also hope to collect a list of endorsers and regularly publish the list in our newspaper, Socialist Action. Our campaign also includes a social media presence on Facebook and hopefully other platforms as well as literature, stickers, buttons, and other materials. We have a campaign team that is actively strategizing how to get our message out.

Q: In 2016 the SA ticket was not actually on any ballots from I can see. Will that change in 2020? Will there be Socialist Action candidates for other offices?

Our campaign team is looking into this. It would be great to have ballot status in some states. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, the region where I am from, this requires around 2,000 signatures. We’ll see what we can do!

Q: What do you hope to accomplish in this campaign and how will you measure your success?

Simply having a campaign at all is a success for me, as it is an opportunity to meet people and discuss socialist politics. Anything that increases the scant attention and understanding of revolutionary socialism in society is a step in the right direction.

Q: I know it is early in the 2020 election season, but has your VP nomination impacted your daily life in any way?

I am a busy person. I work at a domestic violence shelter, often averaging over 40 hours a week. I have had over time on every paycheck since January. I also work at an abortion clinic and as a substitute teacher. In April, I was also a costumed Easter Bunny. So, I am 100% a worker and in addition to this, I am 100% engaged in social movement work. I am especially active in the reproductive rights movement. Running for Vice President adds a large item to my already full plate. It involves conference calls, seeking endorsers, increasing my participation in the party at a national level, and pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I can be a shy and reserved person, so I am finding that I have to quickly grow in ways I haven’t before. But, I hope this experience develops my leadership skills and my abilities as a revolutionary. I also hope it is a springboard for running for office in more modest and local, but realistic political races. Winning the U.S. presidential election is in no ways a real possibility, of course, but as socialists we believe a better world is possible and are committed to doing everything in our capacity to bring a better world about. I will never be Vice President, but I hope I can play a small role in working towards a world without such things as war, poverty, homelessness, mass incarceration, homophobia, sexism, racism, early death, exploitative work, and climate crisis. To that end, socialism is our best and only solution.

Q: Thank you Heather for participating in this VP project.

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A not so revolutionary blog about feminism, socialism, activism, travel, nature, life, etc.

Archive for the category “feminism”

The Struggle for Abortion Rights in Poland Continues

Our Reproductive Rights Won’t Be Handed to Us

Heather Bradford

Written 3/06/20

Posted 4/12/20

Abortion and COVID-19

H. Bradford

written 04/04/20

Posted 04/06/20

COVID-19 and Domestic Violence

H. Bradford

Posted 04/04/20

Written: 03/26/20

Always a Man

H. Bradford

10.27.19

Joker through the Lens of Violence against Women

H. Bradford

10/26/19

Sources:

A version of this article appears on Socialist Resurgence: https://socialistresurgence.org/2019/10/23/the-struggle-against-the-40-days-for-life/

The Struggle Against the 40 Days for Life

Heather Bradford

10/21/19

What is the 40 Days for Life?

The 40 Days for Life Campaign Today

The Need for a 40 Days for Choice

Book Review: Abolitionist Socialist Feminism: Radicalizing the Next Revolution

Heather Bradford, 2020 VP Socialist Action

I don’t believe in Hell

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