La Mouette enragée, who participated in the debate organized in Lille by
the comrades of the OCL, joins in the dissemination of this pressrelease. At the initiative of the Libertarian Communist Organization
(OCL), a public discussion entitled "Electric Cars, Gigafactories in
Hauts-de-France and Elsewhere. Transition from Capitalism?" was
scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 22nd in Lille at the Café
Citoyen. However, ten days before, when this event was being promoted on
Lille's anarchist/anti-authoritarian networks, defamatory remarks,
insults, gross untruths, and outright idiocies circulated about the OCL
(1). The goal of the people who spread them was to prevent this
discussion, which worked because, faced with repeated pressure-both
virtual and in person-the team at the Lille Citizen Café decided to
cancel the reservation for its premises. Ultimately, the discussion did
take place, but in a bar/kebab shop, while the decision was made not to
make this new meeting public to allow for a calm discussion and debate.
Such practices lead us to make the following clarifications:
The OCL is an anti-capitalist and anti-patriarchal organization whose
members work, to the best of their ability and particularly through
their participation in social movements, to promote ruptures with the
established order in order to put an end to social hierarchy and the
state. With the OCL having existed for nearly fifty years, it's easy to
learn about its political positions, whether by reading its monthly
newspaper, Courant Alternatif, listening to the radio shows produced by
its activists (for example, Egregore's in Reims), or by participating in
the libertarian gatherings it hosts every summer. You can find all the
articles published in Courant Alternatif and numerous broadcasts on our
website, as well as a presentation of the OCL and its analyses on a wide
variety of topics: Who are we? and other position papers.
There are many anarchist or anti-authoritarian movements. While they
retain common references on certain themes, linked to the history of the
labor movement and the works of what were once called "socialist
thinkers," their points of view differ on others-particularly on issues
of "race" or "gender" since postmodern ideology revisited them. This
ideology also divides anti-racist and feminist circles, and it has
largely contributed to detaching the "left," in the broad sense, from
the working classes and making it forget the need for a social revolution.
The practice of insults, even physical threats, has unfortunately become
commonplace in far-left or libertarian activist circles-often via
so-called social media and other messaging groups. In these "virtual
spaces," it is impossible to have real and fruitful exchanges, since the
most virulent people occupy them and, through the violence of their
discourse, silence others-the labels "fascist," "reactionary," or
"transphobic," or even the conflation with the far right (or Trump, now)
aimed at burying any opposition. Indeed, for these authoritarians, it is
a matter of waging internal power struggles by fueling conflict in order
to anathema the "enemies" they demonize. Their goal is to prevent the
expression of any dissent, or even simply a more nuanced position,
rather than to put forward a few rational arguments that would allow for
collective reflection in a way that enriches one another and, above all,
advances social emancipation.
Currently, the OCL is the target of such attacks. Its activists wanted
to debate with others the problem posed by gigafactories (electric
battery manufacturing plants) in the Hauts-de-France region, and more
broadly the new economic strategies of capitalists. But such a topic is
clearly considered secondary by certain proponents of postmodernism who
want to decide for the rest of humanity what should be debated. Indeed,
one of our comrades, Vanina, has been blacklisted by them for having
taken a critical position, from a feminist, materialist and libertarian
point of view, against "queer theory" and its effects on feminist
movements around the world in her latest book, Postmodern Lures Against
the Social Reality of Women (2). For Vanina's detractors, not only
should she not have been able to present this book, but the OCL should
no longer exist. Yet, a number of debates have taken place on
Postmodern Lures, where very opposing and contradictory points of view
have been presented and discussed without any clashes or even descending
into insults and defamation. This is the best proof that it is always
better, among comrades, to defend the right to freedom of expression
rather than prohibit it, and to discuss "in real life" rather than in
some digital vacuum, regardless of the degree of inclusivity or
benevolence displayed by its members in their profession of faith.
Finally, regarding the lawsuits by association (here between the OCL and
Tomjo), it seems absurd to us to believe that sharing the texts and
analyses of comrades amounts to a lack of critical scrutiny of their
positions. Thus, we invited Tomjo to debate with us the establishment of
gigafactories in Hauts-de-France, because we value the value of his
analysis (3) and we believe we have far more in common with this comrade
than disagreements. Unlike our "benevolent aggressors" and censors, we
are not a Church stuck in dogma. The discussion on batteries was
interesting, on a subject that enjoys consensus among the political and
economic bourgeoisie and yet leads to profound restructuring of
capitalism and therefore of our lives. We believe it is necessary to
bring a libertarian communist perspective to these questions. A message
to all comrades who have not yet traded their critical thinking for a
binary vision of Good and Evil in activist circles: you can read our
thoughts on this subject in the May issue of Courant Alternatif. The
OCL, March 2025
Notes:
1 - For example, the OCL "is a racist and transphobic split from the
UCL," yet we have existed for 49 years compared to 6 years for the
Libertarian Communist Union.
2 - Published in 2023 by Acratie. A few sentences from Vanina's book or
comments on the OCL website have circulated on social media, taken out
of context and without any comprehensive reflection. Reading a text, a
chapter in its entirety remains the basis of all critical thinking...
3 - This analysis can be found on "chez.renart.info"
https://lamouetteenragee.noblogs.org/post/2025/03/27/au-sujet-de-la-tentative-de-censure-de-locl-de-tomjo-de-vanina-et-accessoirement-du-debat-critique-sur-les-gigafactories/
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