"They (the Hearsts) have seem- Yes, know me. You k.row us all. ingly said by their actions that You know me, I'm the wetback. they know me and therefore do You know me, I'm the gook, the not have to repent fortheir crimes. broad, the servant, the spik. Yes However, to this I would say yes. indeed you know us all and we You do, indeed, know me. You know you - the oppressor, mur- have always known me. I'm that derer, and robber. And you have nigger you have hunted and fear- hunted and robbed and exploited ed night and day. I'm that nig- us all. Now we are the hunters ger you have killed hundreds of that will give you no rest. And my people in a vain hope of we will not compromise the free- finding. I'm that nigger that dom of our children." is no longer hust hunted, rob- bed and murdered. I'm the nig- Cinque ger that hunts you now. February 21, 1974

THOSE WHO DO NOTHING MAKE NO MISTAKES

Sisters and Brothers: joining houses were seriously da- On May 17, over 500 agents maged. The target house burned of the Los Angeles Police De- to the ground, and everyone in- partment, the SherriPs Depart- side, six members of the Sym- ment, the FBI, and other police bionese Liberation Army, were agencies surrounded a small cot- killed: Cinque Donald DeFreeze, tage in Compton, a predominantly Mizmoon Patricia Soltysik, Ge- Black community in Los Angeles. nina Angela Atwood, Fahizah Nan- In complete disregard for the cy Ling Perry, William Wolfe, safety of the people of the neigh- and Camilla Hall. borhood and under orders to shoot We deeply mourn the death of to kill, they attacked the house these revolutionaries. Donald De- with thousands of rounds of au- Freeze, Cinque, the leader and tomatic and semi-automatic rifle Field Marshall of the SLA, had fire, tear gas bombs, and fra- a life like many Black people - gmentation grenades. They set continual harassment by police, the house on fire and let it roar in and out of jail again and again, in flames for two hours before constant anguish and frus- calling in fire trucks. Two ad- tration at his inability to pro- vide a decent life for his family in this racist society. Like hun- thwarted the efforts of Hearst dreds of other Black people, he and his media to change the issue became a revolutionary in prison, from hunger and poverty to the developing a vision of different fate of his daughter. "Save the people joining together in an army children" was a theme, repeated to fight oppression of all forms. in almost every communique. Nancy Ling Perry, Fahizah was They were understood by thou- a college student during the Viet- sands of people as serious re- nam war, lived through the youth volutionaries fighting for poor culture movement in Berkeley, and people, not as crazy terrorists. left it to join the growing, beau- Their militancy and determination tiful movement of solidarity and inspired many people. support for prison struggles. Ca- But the success and the poli- milla Hall came from a religious tical effect of this action was only family. She was a social worker, half as great as it might have a gay activist, a gardener, and been. The failure of most of a poet. Like Fahizah she became the organized left to relate po- a revolutionary through her com- sitively to the political initiative mitment to the prison struggle. of the SLA was crippling. In People like these formed the a situation like this, like Attica, Symbionese Liberation Army. The like Wounded Knee, where the decision to create a clandestine contradiction between possessor organization and begin to build and dispossessed, rich and poor, armed struggle is a very difficult oppressor and oppressed is ab- one. These people made many solutely stark, opportunities exist sacrifices and many hard choices. as at no other time to explain They dedicated their lives to the to masses of people the reality destruction of the Amerikan cor- of Amerika. porate empire and its imperialist, When Ronald Reagan said they racist, and sexist oppression and should put botulism in the food died fighting for the revolution. to be distributed, where were The kidnapping of Patricia the outcries of protest, the de- Hearst and the subsequent fense of the right of people to demand - that her family use eat? When Black people in Oak- a little of its tremendous riches land rioted over the quality of to feed hungry people - was an the food and the demeaning way ambitious and courageous revo- in which it was thrown at them, lutionary guerrilla action. It was who supported them? Where were successful on many levels. The the rallies and speeches and leaf- SLA raised to the forefront of lets on racism and poverty and peoples' consciousness the fact hunger in Amerika? When Pa- that millions of people in this tricia Hearsts became Tania, and country are poor and hungry. They the genuineness and courage of forced an unprecedented con- her conviction was clear to e- cession from the ruling class, veryone who listened to her voice the distribution of 4 million dol- and had followed the progression lars of free food to thousands and content of her statements, and thousands of poor people in where were the voices supporting the Bay Area. In Amerika, where her decision and attacking the baby chickens are slaughtered, stupid claims by Hearst and his milk is emptied into the streets, "brainwashing" experts with their and rich soil lies unused so that "stress machines"? the big conglomerates that control Many people did work to sup- the food industries can maintain port the action. Some left papers high prices, they reaffirmed the printed articles exposing the ex- right of all people to eat, and the tent of the Hearst empire, its right of the people to fight to origin in robbery and exploita- obtain the necessities oflife. This tion. Some movement people was the political message of their worked in the food program, push- action. ing the real issues and fighting The SLA successfully main- to improve it. There were good tained the political initiative posters and spraypainting scat- throughout the entire action. They tered throughout the Bay Area. But these peoples'political lea- ing criticism. Many serious re- dership was largely ignored. Most volutionaries had criticisms or of the white left was criminally felt differences with the SLA. blind to the fact that tens of But so-called criticisms of the thousands were heartened and ins- SLA outside a context of active pired by the opening up of new support for peoples' right to eat fronts of struggle, by the real and peoples' right to fight for victories that were achieved, by liberation are indistinguishable, the determination of the SLA. A in effect, from the attacks of the wide range of community groups enemy. The movement, by not and leaders expressed varying activating itself to support the degrees of support for the SLA— action - to explain it, build and all supported the right of the extend it, to struggle over stra- people to food. And at each dis- tegy - created the political cli- tribution, 40,000 people lined up mate where this massacre could to wait for what was often ina- take place. Those wnose criti- dequate amounts of poor quality cisms of the SLA and of their food, defiantly fighting Hearst's action helped organize support for recalicitrance, knowing that Rea- the enemy must share responsi- gan was calling them accompli- bility for the result. ces and making veiled threats Opportunism in the left takes about prosecuting them. many forms. In the white left Yet too many movement spokes- it traditionally means abandoning people and organizations attacked the struggle against racism to the SLA for being "isolated" and push self-interest, economist organized against them, cutting struggles. Sometimes it means them off from potential support-- "reaching people where they're political and material. They en- at", ignoring that where they're couraged people to close their at is racism. Sometimes it means ears to the SLA's words, to be reducing the complexities and un- cynical about the necessity to certainties of revolution to sim- fight for freedom. They said the plistic formulas derived from SLA wasn't attcking the real ene- misreadings of revolutionary li- my, as if Hearst isn't a perfect terature. Always it means taking symbol of the ruling class. the easy way, the non-struggle The article, "Terrorism In The way. Revolutionaries who fight Left," written by the editors of cannot be left to fight and die Ramparts, exemplifies the reac- alone. The spectacle of those tionary nature of this kind of women and men, trapped in a criticism. Throughout, they de- burning building, surrounded by fine armed struggle as something 500 state agents, all on nation- dangerous to the revolution. In al TV for hours and hours, with- the guise of criticizing the action out support from the left, with- they actually organize sympathy out a rally or a speech or a for the Hearsts. And most ser- leaflet or an action, cannot be iously, like the Hearst press, repeated. It is intolerable. they characterize revolutionaries, "However, the irrefutable truth especially those who engage in is that a liberation struggle is armed struggle, as crazy. They revolutionary war. Revolution- assert that rebelling prosoners ary war is a complicated process and their supporters have a war- of mass struggle, armed and un- ped and exagerated view of the armed, peaceful and violent, brutality of Amerika. They pre- legal and clandestine, economic sent the work of Fahizah - Nancy and political, where all forms of Ling Perry - in support of pri- struggle are developed harmon- soners and their struggle not as iously around the axis of armed beautiful, and as a practice to struggle. Anyone who by now be encouraged, but as an example has not grasped these basic facts of mental illness. These are does not know what liberation the politics of liberalism. They struggle is--or is trying to palm must be defeated. off reformism for liberation Revolutionaries must be bold struggle." and creative in giving and accept- Martin Sostre, in a letter in support of the SLA Revolutionary armed struggle ponsibility of mass leaders and in this country has begun. It organizations to encourage and was begun by Black and Third support revolutionary armed World women and men frustrated " struggle, in the open as well by the unwillingness of Ameri- as quiet ways. Without mass kan imperialism to grant them the struggle there can be no revo- most rudimentary human dignity lution. Without armed struggle and rights. It is as old as the there can be no victory. Indian Wars of Resistence and as Nixon, Randolph Hearst, and Char- new as the Black Liberation Army. les Bates crow about is only It cannont be wished away, and a lie and an illusion. The SLA it is not wrong. We support represents thousands and thou- the right of all people to take sands of people in this country up arms and fight for their li- who have learned there is no al- beration. ternative to US corporate fascism Armed struggle is not the only besides revolution, and many more form of revolutionary struggle. who are beginning to learn. Joe Armed actions and mass move- Remiro said from prison: "What ments together make the fabric the SLA has done, there's no way of revolutionary struggle. Today of going back and telling people the US government is in complete to forget what happened, forget chaos. In Asia, Africa, and La- what they saw, forget what they tin America imperialism is on did." the defensive. Black, Brown, and Six revolutionaries fought and Native American resistence here died in our struggle. We must continues to grow. The prisons commit ourselves to study their are exploding with tension. A- practice, to remember their cou- lienation permeates the entire so- rage and determination. If we ciety. It is possible to begin do not honor those who die in organizing thousands of people to our struggle, they will be for- oppose imperialism, support gotten. We will lose sources of Black liberation, and fight to des- inspiration and strength and ex- troy this sick system that op- amples to study. This cannot presses us all. This work must happen. be begun. Armed struggle also Finally, many members of the must be built and supported. A- SLA are still free. They must rmed struggle can illuminate the be defended, publically and priva- nature of the struggle, identify tely. Anyone who is in a posi- the real enemy, win some vic- tion to help them directly should tories, inspire people, give them give them encouragement, sup- experience in different forms of port, shelter, and love. Empty struggle, and prepare for the fu- your pockets. Struggle with them. ture. Armed struggle cannot be- Learn from them. We must pro- come a spectacle. It is the res- tect our fighters. WEATHER UNDERGROUND BAY AREA RESEARCH COLLECTIVE BOX 4344, SATHER GATE STA.