On power: An appeal to the Reformers
Trump took an example from the woke zealots: Do not beg for scraps. Seize power!
A guest post by our student liaison, Hersch Maxman, in reply to an article by Max Herschman that appeared in our trusty student newspaper, Hamass Media
“Abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense!” declared President Trump.
My evil twin, Max Herschman, recently posted a heartfelt appeal to the reformists in which he called to abandon all efforts of reformism and seize power from the oppressors. I was so moved that I decided to talk to my twin after years of disconnect.
MH:
“All Power to the People!” cried the Panthers in 1966, themselves directly influenced by Vladimir Lenin’s 1917 demand: “All Power to the Soviets!” These two demands mobilized major sections of their respective populations, drew in broad and diverse groups of people, and in the case of the Bolsheviks, led to the direct seizure of power by the oppressed.
HM: Oh poor Maxy. Mom said you were dropped on your head a few times as a baby. I can’t blame mom - it’s not easy to balance two babies at once. At first our parents thought there were no long term effects, but then you went to college, became a Lenin fanboy, and the delayed effects manifested themselves in horrible clarity…
MH: Shut up you alt-right bigot and let me speak. There exist among us people who still believe in reforms, but reformism has been proven to be a dead end. Fixing the system from the inside is lame. No amount of reform can fix a system which was never meant to serve us in the first place.
HM: “Reforms are lame. Seize power. Abolish the systems of oppression”… I hate to admit it, but you have a point! Not the one you thought you had, but a point nonetheless. Even a broken clock says the correct time twice a day, right? And how many times do I have to tell you that not everyone to the right of Stalin is “alt-right”?!
MH: At least my name doesn’t sound like “Her schmucks, man”.
HM: OK, I’ll give you that one.
MH:
Time and time again, single-issue reformism has been proven to be a dead end. Yes, it functions as a fantastic lifeboat, working to keep us alive and ready to fight another day, but it is unable to truly bring an end to oppression. It fails to recognize that the system we live under was designed for a specific purpose, and to defend a specific group: the people with the power. When it does recognize this reality, it simply lets out a cowardly sigh and explains to us that, “There’s simply no other choice!” Time after time, the reformists demonstrate their own status as being divorced from reality.
HM: I agree with every word! Indeed, time and time again, reformism has been proven to be a dead end. It is unable to truly bring an end to the oppression of the DEI monstrosity. It fails to recognize that the system we live under was designed for a specific purpose, and to defend two specific groups: the so called post-modern scholar-activists who vandalize learning in the name of ‘justice’, and the bloated army of DEI czars, vice provosts, assistant vice chancellors, and assorted bureaucratic barnacles whose livelihoods depend on keeping academia broken. When our reformist friends recognize this reality, they simply let out a cowardly sigh and explains to us that, “There’s simply no other choice!” Divorced from reality they are indeed.
MH:
Imagine, if you will, Fred Hampton, deputy chairman of the Black Panther Party until his 1969 murder by the Chicago Police Department, is brought to us in 2025 by the magic of a time machine. Excited by this miraculous and timely appearance, we elect to ask him for his thoughts on today’s situation. We ask him:
“How do we end the genocide in Palestine?”
He says to us: “All Power to the People!”
We ask him: “How do we prevent ICE from harming our communities?”
He says to us: “All Power to the People!”
We ask him: “How do we protect reproductive rights?”
He again says to us: “All Power to the People!”
HM: Wonderful point! Now imagine, if you will, meeting Donald Trump in person and asking him for his thoughts on the situation. We ask him:
“How do we stop the pink-haired, keffiyeh-clad vandals from hijacking academic life?”
He says to us: “Abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense!”
We ask him: “How do we prevent admissions and hires from being based on skin color and gender rather than merit?”
He says to us: “Abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense!”
We ask him: “How do we deflate the DEI balloon and invest in actual education again?”
He again says to us: “Abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense!”
MH: You didn’t just quote Trump, you Nazi!
HM: You quote Lenin all the time, you commie! At least I admit to having mixed feelings about Trump because I am capable of critical thinking.
MH:
As regards any progressive struggle, regardless of what its focus may be, the answer remains the same. “All Power to the People” is the only viable, permanent solution. Indeed, I must put it bluntly: If your long-term fighting strategy consists of anything less than demanding the seizure of power by the powerless, then your efforts are in vain. Regardless of if you choose to admit it, the people need power — power to determine their destiny, power to build a world free of oppression, power to pursue communities driven by love. Power to make history, and not simply experience it.
HM: You really scare me when you make sense! Every time I see the madness on campus, his words echo louder: “Abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense!” is the only viable, permanent solution. Indeed, I must put it bluntly: If your long-term fighting strategy consists of anything less than demanding the complete abolition of this madness, then your efforts are in vain. Just admit it, the sane people in academia need power:
Power to write real syllabi.
Power to walk campus without getting harassed by terror groupies like you, my #AsAJew brother.
Power to base education, hiring, and admissions on merit (providing reasonable accommodations to those who REALLY need it notwithstanding)
MH:
“All Power to the People!” is such an important demand precisely because it cuts through all of the mystique and so-called complexities that the powers that be try to convince us stand in the way of our freedom. It makes it known that the situation is actually quite simple; that those who benefit from the oppression of the masses do so because they have all the power, and they are not interested in sharing it. Therefore, if we desire any change in our situation, we need power, and since the rulers aren’t interested in sharing, we must take it from them.
HM: Yep. “Abolish all discriminatory diversity, equity and inclusion nonsense!” is such an important demand precisely because it cuts through all of the lies and bullshit that our administration tries to convince us stands in the way of true merit, fairness and equality. The situation is actually quite simple: those who benefit from the DEI monstrosity do so because they have all the power, and they are not interested in sharing it. Therefore, if we desire any change in our situation, we need power, and since our leaders in academia aren’t interested in sharing, we must take it from them.
MH:
True, there is a time and a place for petitioning and other parliamentary activities, but only insofar as they serve the wider goal of people’s power. Petitions, letters, and calling representatives: these are fantastic tactics, but they are not themselves a substitute for a long-term strategy. Our strategy, our end goal, must be power — anything less is selling the masses short. It amounts to a half-baked attempt at enacting real world change.
HM: Wow, Maxy! I haven’t heard you say so many right things since we were in pre-school. True, there is a time and a place for local reforms, but only insofar as they serve the wider goal of abolishing DEI. Our strategy, our end goal, must be power to abolish DEI. Anything less is selling students and faculty short.
MH:
Now is the time to start thinking bigger. It is no longer enough to put band-aids on the ever-growing wound - we must wrest the knife from the hands of the oppressors. Reform, while a perfectly respectable tactical choice, can no longer be an end in and of itself.
So I say to the reformers: will you be content with begging the powers that be for small-scale, short term concessions? Or will you join the hungry masses in their quest for people’s power?
HM: Now IS the time to start thinking bigger. It is no longer enough to put band-aids on the ever-growing wound. We must wrestle the knife from the hands of the DEI monstrosity fed by university leadership. Reform, while a perfectly respectable tactical choice, can no longer be an end in and of itself.
So I say to the reformers: will you be content with begging the powers that be for small-scale, short term concessions? Do you want to keep pleading with people who despise you, or do you want to fight for real power?
MH: WTF?! You just turned my words against me!
HM: Oh Maxy, Maxy. Took you a while to get the point. Unlike you Lenin’s little helper, we in the sane, silent majority often have mixed feelings about Trump. I don’t swallow his platform hook, line, and sinker - far from it. But I have to admit, it’s hard not to chuckle watching him work. For years, you preached that we must dismantle every system of oppression, tear down all power structures, and purge our syllabi, research, and lives of any "forbidden" values. Mere reform, you said, was never enough - only total abolition would do. Then Trump showed up, and in a few short months, he did exactly that but in reverse. To you. Turns out you were the system of oppression all along. And seizing power from the powerful? Funny how it doesn’t feel so righteous when you’re on the receiving end, does it?
All power to the people!